Upgrade or new computer???

[Adam]

Hey, Doug. I just went through something similar...I'm sure that a lot of us have the same decision to make periodically. I have an HP from 2008 (I think) that I wanted to speed up. After looking at new computer prices and piece part upgrades, I decided with the upgrades. I do have a Core 2 Quad processor, though, which is faster than what you have...but the Pentium D is probably fine for what your son does.

For me, I added RAM (I added 4GB because I have a 64-bit OS, costing me $62), got a new graphics card (I spent $140 and treated myself, but you can probably spend under $50 and trounce what you have), and went to a SSD. The SSD is where you might end up spending the most, but I don't know what size you want. You can get them for under $100, no problem, depending on the capacity. The SSD can speed things up quite a bit in terms of overall OS feel (boots up faster, finds files faster), but I don't suspect that he'll see any real difference in gaming because of it. The extra RAM and graphics card will do that part.

Hardware is one thing, software is another. Windows can get bogged down over time, so running a program like Rick suggested can help clean up the registry and delete unnecessary files. I forget if XP does automatic disc defragmenting, but if not, do that. Some of the slowness can come from searching for data on the hard drive (which a faster HD can fix, but so can better data organization). For example, part of the speed up from me installing that SSD was me doing a fresh install of the OS. Had I done a fresh install on my existing HD, it would have been faster booting up.

 

[hizzaah]

Check craigslist or other forums for used stuff. Or better yet, outlets. Dell outlet has some good deals and you can even get coupons for 20-25% off once/twice a month (sign up for their outlet mailing list and follow them on twitter). Plus, you can probably get Windows 7 and you get to add a longer warranty if you choose.. As others have mentioned, it's not really worth upgrading your current machine imo. Polishing a turd if you will.. Yeah, you guys might not need the bells and whistles, but it's worth it in the long run, especially if you get a good deal.

Dell Outlet Home and Home Office | Dell

 

[fuzz092888]

I'ved used Crucial before for RAM upgrades on my MacBook Pro and it seems the cheapest you could update the RAM for is about $28 from them (or $76 for the full upgrade to 4GB). With a graphics card upgrade <$50 and possibly an upgrade to solid state, let's call it $250 (or $350 for more RAM). Now if we estimate that we want his computer, be it this one or a new one, to last until at least the end of high school that's 4-5 years. This is approaching the lifespan that BSA quoted a computer should last/be kept for. If his computing needs don't change, and assuming there are no failures or any other part replacements needed you have a $250-$350 expenditure now followed by an almost mandatory expenditure of $500+ for a laptop for college. Which is ~$800+ over 4-5 years. If you upgrade him now to another desktop (~$4-500) I'm still thinking he'll want a laptop for college (so much easier) which is an addition expenditure of $500+ coming to ~$1000 over the same time period. Upgrading now to a laptop (~$700) probably gets him through freshman year or more of college, puts your cost over the same time period at the price you pay for the laptop, and with a small upgrade about halfway through may get you all the way or nearly all the way through college. Unless of course he wants/asks for a new laptop for college

I'm all for upgrading, but I think over the long run getting a good laptop now will provide the most benefit and longevity combined with spending less over your other options/over the same time period, at least from my perspective.

 

[Adam]

I'ved used Crucial before for RAM upgrades on my MacBook Pro and it seems the cheapest you could update the RAM for is about $28 from them (or $76 for the full upgrade to 4GB). With a graphics card upgrade <$50 and possibly an upgrade to solid state, let's call it $250 (or $350 for more RAM).

Let's call it <$80 for RAM and a graphics card. An SSD would be nice, but it's not necessary.

As for laptops, and I'll welcome the slings and arrows, I'd be hard pressed to recommend anything other than a Mac. I'm guessing that they aren't all this way, but every Windows laptop that I've ever used has been hotter and louder than s**t. My MB Air has the same processor as my PC laptop, but while the Air is dead silent and cool for almost everything that I do, the PC laptop has an annoying fan drone to it regardless of if I'm doing anything or not.

Want a dead silent (unless you're gaming), incredibly small, yet still powerful "desktop?" Get a Mac Mini. Heck, you can even put Windows on it. Get one with an SSD, and he'll be rockin'. Sure, it's integrated graphics only, but that's not horrible anymore (not awesome, but not horrible). I think that blows past your bang-for-the-buck, though. Way past.

 

[fuzz092888]

Let's call it <$80 for RAM and a graphics card. An SSD would be nice, but it's not necessary.

As for laptops, and I'll welcome the slings and arrows, I'd be hard pressed to recommend anything other than a Mac. I'm guessing that they aren't all this way, but every Windows laptop that I've ever used has been hotter and louder than s**t. My MB Air has the same processor as my PC laptop, but while the Air is dead silent and cool for almost everything that I do, the PC laptop has an annoying fan drone to it regardless of if I'm doing anything or not.

Want a dead silent (unless you're gaming), incredibly small, yet still powerful "desktop?" Get a Mac Mini. Heck, you can even put Windows on it. Get one with an SSD, and he'll be rockin'. Sure, it's integrated graphics only, but that's not horrible anymore (not awesome, but not horrible). I think that blows past your bang-for-the-buck, though. Way past.

I only recommend an HDD upgrade because I've had two die on me as two different laptops I've had got older. One an HP and one......my Mac. I also know people who have had computers for double the length I had either of those laptops whose hard drives have been fine, but I have had a couple computer tech guys advise HDD upgrades after a certain period of time depending on how much computing you do and how much the computer is on. Who knows, maybe I just got lucky with both

 

[Grador]

Guys, I'm not sure an SSD is possible, does that system even have SATA?

With a processor that old and slow a new graphics card will do little to nothing. You're going to be quite limited by processor. Adding a little more ram is at best a stop gap.

I would put $0 into any system that doesn't at least have a Core 2.

EDIT: Does the system even have PCIe for a graphics card upgrade? Finding an AGP card would be quite a pain.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Check craigslist or other forums for used stuff. Or better yet, outlets. Dell outlet has some good deals and you can even get coupons for 20-25% off once/twice a month (sign up for their outlet mailing list and follow them on twitter). Plus, you can probably get Windows 7 and you get to add a longer warranty if you choose.. As others have mentioned, it's not really worth upgrading your current machine imo. Polishing a turd if you will.. Yeah, you guys might not need the bells and whistles, but it's worth it in the long run, especially if you get a good deal.

Dell Outlet Home and Home Office | Dell

Guys, I'm not sure an SSD is possible, does that system even have SATA?

With a processor that old and slow a new graphics card will do little to nothing. You're going to be quite limited by processor. Adding a little more ram is at best a stop gap.

I would put $0 into any system that doesn't at least have a Core 2.

EDIT: Does the system even have PCIe for a graphics card upgrade? Finding an AGP card would be quite a pain.

Polishing the turd maybe a bit more graphical than I'd like but it's quite nicely explains the situation. In the end you'd still be very much cpu bound no matter the upgrades.
SSD, memory and win7 could make an impact, but it would result in smoother windows experience, not in heavy processing.
I added ssd to my previous pc - AMD x2 3800+ (@ 2.4gb) with 2gb ram. Adding ssd did help a bit, like I said - things were running much smoother, quicker windows boot times, but in the end upgrade to core i5-2500k changed everything (still using same ssd old for boot disk)

Adding stronger gpu to that machine is complete waste

Like me and other said before, used/refub pc with much stronger cpu will bring world of change to performance. See the ebay link I posted above. Core I3 3.1, 6gb ram, wifi, 1tb hd and a dedicated video card with multi monitor support - all for $200 - thats a great deal

 

[Nemo128]

13 years old? Upgrade him with a job application.

 

[Adam]

So, Doug...did you buy a Mac, yet? I'd say wait until Maverick is released, but I don't want to hold you back.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

We are looking at new machines currently. I really don't want Windows 8 so we are looking for a system with Windows 7 and a graphics card to future proof it somewhat... It's crap like this that keep me from having a nicer HT system. Waiting till Thursday to start making a decision or not...We might be getting a used laptop from a relative. I don't know how good it is...no details as of yet. So just gonna wait until we see if it's worth dealing with.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Guys, I'm not sure an SSD is possible, does that system even have SATA?

With a processor that old and slow a new graphics card will do little to nothing. You're going to be quite limited by processor. Adding a little more ram is at best a stop gap.

I would put $0 into any system that doesn't at least have a Core 2.

EDIT: Does the system even have PCIe for a graphics card upgrade? Finding an AGP card would be quite a pain.

It has a PCIe slot.

 

[Hi Ho]

I would not put one penny into a system that old. Windows XP will lose support from Microsoft next year. A Pentium 4 is barely usable for any modern tasks much less games of any kind. Upgrading RAM will make little difference. A new machine would be a much better place to invest. I too am not a fan of Windows 8 but it can be made to look a lot like 7 using tools like Start 8 or Classic Shell.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

We are looking at new machines currently. I really don't want Windows 8 so we are looking for a system with Windows 7 and a graphics card to future proof it somewhat... It's crap like this that keep me from having a nicer HT system. Waiting till Thursday to start making a decision or not...We might be getting a used laptop from a relative. I don't know how good it is...no details as of yet. So just gonna wait until we see if it's worth dealing with.

Relatives laptop is a no go. (it's complicated)


Looking for a deal I can have here by the 25th...26th at the latest. His b-day is on the 27th.

I'd like to stay reasonable with price...$500-$650 maybe. Don't need a monitor or speakers but if they are in the deal it's ok. Would like Windows 7 and a dedicated graphics card if possible.

This is Windows 8 but what do you all think?
https://deals.bestbuy.com//computers+amp+tablets3/product/8998157/lenovo++ideacentre+desktop++8gb+memory++1tb+hard+drive


Remember the boy is not an extreme gamer...not even close. (Minecraft is the most demanding thing he plays at the moment) I just want to buy him something reasonably nice.

 

[Rickster71]

Relatives laptop is a no go. (it's complicated)


Looking for a deal I can have here by the 25th...26th at the latest. His b-day is on the 27th.

I'd like to stay reasonable with price...$500-$650 maybe. Don't need a monitor or speakers but if they are in the deal it's ok. Would like Windows 7 and a dedicated graphics card if possible.

This is Windows 8 but what do you all think?
https://deals.bestbuy.com//computers+amp+tablets3/product/8998157/lenovo++ideacentre+desktop++8gb+memory++1tb+hard+drive


Remember the boy is not an extreme gamer...not even close. (Minecraft is the most demanding thing he plays at the moment) I just want to buy him something reasonably nice.

Hi Doug,
Do you think his gaming tastes will change as he gets older?
The reason I ask, it has an entry level graphics card and a power supply that will limit card upgrades.
And it still has Win-8
Nice other than that.

I emailed you sys requirements for Minecraft

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Hi Doug,
Do you think his gaming tastes will change as he gets older?
The reason I ask, it has an entry level graphics card and a power supply that will limit card upgrades.
And it still has Win-8
Nice other than that.

I emailed you sys requirements for Minecraft

Lord knows...I don't know what I'm doing this afternoon let alone what his future holds.

 

[Rickster71]

Lord knows...I don't know what I'm doing this afternoon let alone what his future holds.

What do you mean?
Every afternoon you go shopping at Pier One, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

 

[avnetguy]

Relatives laptop is a no go. (it's complicated)
This is Windows 8 but what do you all think?
https://deals.bestbuy.com//computers+amp+tablets3/product/8998157/lenovo++ideacentre+desktop++8gb+memory++1tb+hard+drive

That video card only scores a tiny little bit better than the intel 4600 video on the i5 so that a waste.
Plus, as mentoned in one a review, the power supply is very weak with no 4 pin video card power.

This looks a tad bit better, (also available on amazon.com)
Acer Desktop 12GB Memory 2TB Hard Drive AT3-605-UR20 - Best Buy

 

[STRONGBADF1]

What are the ins and outs of integrated graphics vs a graphics card? Is it better to have more ram or dedicated graphics for the same price?


Sorry to be a pain and thanks again guys!

 

[avnetguy]

Onboard intel graphics, 4000 series and higher, are actually pretty good and would probably do for a low end gamer. With that said, a good dedicaded PCIe video card will no doubt be much faster.

For comparison you can look up cards here -> PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmark Charts - Video Card Model List

As an example, the Intel i5 4th gen has 4600 graphics rated at 609 while the GT 630 724.
If you're planning on playing serious games upgrade to a card that scores in the thousands (e.g. GTX 650 1829 for ~$100 for a minimum)

 

[Grador]

Onboard intel graphics, 4000 series and higher, are actually pretty good and would probably do for a low end gamer. With that said, a good dedicaded PCIe video card will no doubt be much faster.

For comparison you can look up cards here -> PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmark Charts - Video Card Model List

As an example, the Intel i5 4th gen has 4600 graphics rated at 609 while the GT 630 724.
If you're planning on playing serious games upgrade to a card that scores in the thousands (e.g. GTX 650 1829 for ~$100 for a minimum)

Honestly, if his current preferences for gaming are Minecraft, then i would expand upon the above point and say to not worry about graphics at all. Save the money from getting a higher end system and if your son decides to go hardcore gaming, deal with it later. You'll get a faster card for less money down the road anyway. The only problem with that is the aforementioned issue on power supplies.