Hi,

 

My current PC is an AMD Athlon XP2200 1.8GHz with 1 gig of ram. I'm contemplating getting myself a new PC and wondered if anyone has any recommendations? I have no problem with putting a PC together from parts as that'd be the cheapest way I'd imagine which is what I did with this one (parts ordered from Scan).

 

I only use it for basic things like the internet, connecting to camera/MP3 player etc and working on various office documents. I don't do any gaming. I'd also want to connect to my TV to stream the footie or films.

 

Is it worth buying a new PC or shall I just format it and reinstall windows? Will a new PC be a lot faster for the basic things?

 

Cheers

 

Vijay

if it was me, just upgrade the mobo, proc & ram. thats all you have to do if you want it quicker. otherwise you are just wasting your money.

Cheers Mario. So basically use the HDD (only 100 gig) CD's PSU and case and replace the bits you mentioned? Will it be a real noticable increase in speed?

yes mate. thats all i ever do with mine if i want to upgrade. the main thing in things running quicker is the proc & ram. you may get away with just upgrading them alone depending on what your mobo will take. if you get the make/model of the one youve got in, then you can find out what the maximum size proc & ram it will take. tbh, 1gb is plenty for what you want to do, so it could just be a case of new proc. the only other way to speed things up considerably, as ive done, is go for scsi hard drives, but they arent cheap. a standard IDE drive runs at 7200 rpm, but the scsi`s are 10000 & 15000 rpm, so you can imagine the difference.

To be honest, if you're just doing the internet, Camera, MP3, office thing, you may as well just reinstall Windows. There's nothing wrong with your spec to do that. If nothing else, do that first and if you're still not happy, then upgrade.

I've got an old laptop for the same situation. It's running XP on 500Mhz and 512Mb of RAM and runs perfectly well for the internet and office.

 

Cheap as chips solution.

Edited December 1, 200817 yr by lcridford

Mainboard is an MSI K7N (6373) nFORCE

just looked, and the max size proc that will take is what you have in it, the 1800+. so if you want to upgrade its a new mobo & proc.

 

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/detail_spec/k7n420pro.htm

Cheers Mario. If I do end up upgrading the main board and processor, what's good to go for?

im currently running of the Foxconn P4M9007MB-8RS2H -motherboard on a core 2 duo processor with, 3gb of ram , and find it more than adequate for anything i throw at it lol,

 

although my board is by far the latest spec anymore, id give foxconn a good mark all day!;)

Cheers Mario. If I do end up upgrading the main board and processor, what's good to go for?

 

 

that all depends on your budget & whether you want to stick to AMD

not bothered about which processor, jusr looking for a nice quick PC. What's a ball park figure for a decent mainboard and processor with some memory?

heres a couple of sets.

 

AMD

 

proc - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149211

mobo - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/113844

ram - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/111439

 

 

PENTIUM DUAL CORE

 

proc - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152177

mobo - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142654

ram - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/111439

 

 

theres loads to choose from. i personally prefer the pentium even though its more expensive, but ive had 2 AMD setups & both have gone pear shaped, so would never go back to them. had no probs with the pentium setup though. at the end of the day its down to which way you want to go.

intel are the best ATM thats were i have gone after years on amds and i'm well chuffed with it

Try Speedie computers in Birmingham, Look on their ebay shop you can get a 3gig pc with 1k of ram for about £65 all you have to do is recase it in a nice tower (make sure its ATX) and away you go.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Speedie-Computer-Systems-Store_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ0QQftidZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm

 

Allan

Edited December 2, 200817 yr by gruntpa64

Can any ATX case be used for an Intel or AMD board?

 

Cheers

 

Vijay

As long as the motherboard is for an ATX case I think so.

if the board is atx format yes