View Full Version : Mom needs upgrade plan.
Despite what my mother says about her computer being okay to run, I would have to strongly disagree with her. I'll tell you a short story. I came on here tonight, because my brother was playing World Of Warcraft downstairs. All I wanted to do was write something on the forums. System crashed a few times and hung there for 3 minutes.
Okay, I'll spare you my life's story and get to the point. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
She's got a 600 MHz P3, 128 MB RDRAM @ PC600, Windows 98SE, and a slow 30 GB (possibly) 4200 RPM hard drive.
I went to my local shop's website and wrote up a quote, but I need some advice on this.
What I would like to do is keep the CPU, but get some more RAM (possibly 256 MB to 512 MB), a faster hard drive (no Raptors, but a 7200 RPM would be nice), and a new OS. I hear that Windows 2000 Pro is nice, but my shop says that you have to build a system from them to get 2000 Pro. I was thinking XP Pro, since it's faster and is only $50 more than XP Home. However that's gonna cost $600 Canadian, so I've got to make a few sacrifices.
Airtraffic
04-23-2005, 04:31 AM
Junk that old Box completely and go to Computer Surplus in Calgary (that is where you are huh?) i saw a p4-1.7g allready loaded with XP for $300.00
Great deals on older stuff there,i picked up a dell 1g labtop for a chick friend there for $400.00
biXen
04-23-2005, 05:08 AM
I'd say some firmer tits and ass should do it. And maybe get her hair done http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dopefish.gif
dark_angel
04-23-2005, 07:18 AM
P3 and RDRAM?
are you sure it is a P3 600 MHZ CPU?
IgWannA
04-23-2005, 09:50 AM
you'd really be better off getting a whole new computer. new motherboard, processor, memory and hard drive. if she's not using it for games then you could get a mobo with built in graphics and sound which would save some cash. if you look around www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com) you can get some good deals on motherboard/cpu/memory combos. although personally i would like to buy the motherboard separate so i know to get a good one. if you buy separate you can get an athlon 3000 (still very respectable), motherboard (with graphics) and 512mb memory for around $250. the hard drive will be another $100.
Raidomarek
04-23-2005, 11:49 AM
P 3 and RDRAM was real proffessionals choise few years ago...
Kevin Wolff
04-23-2005, 12:22 PM
I doubt your mom actually needs a new computer. Having Windows 98 is probably the only thing holding it back, especially if it's never been reinstalled. Didn't I tell you this last night? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Wiping and installing 2000 or XP should make things better. Without a RAM upgrade, tweak it a bit. Or, get some more RAM. Hard drives help too if the current one is slow, but I doubt yours is 4200rpm. My 4200 drive is from the P1 era.
Airtraffic
04-23-2005, 12:33 PM
dark_angel said:
P3 and RDRAM?
are you sure it is a P3 600 MHZ CPU?
I missed that,I though rambus boards were interduced for socket 370 which if my memorys correct started at 733MHz.
Could be wrong though.
Airtraffic said:
Junk that old Box completely and go to Computer Surplus in Calgary (that is where you are huh?) i saw a p4-1.7g allready loaded with XP for $300.00
Great deals on older stuff there,i picked up a dell 1g labtop for a chick friend there for $400.00
Nah, Memory Express is where I got my stuff. I'll have to check out both places, but for newer stuff, I'd go with ME, but for an upgrade for my mom, I'd probably check out something from there. Convincing her was the hard part. See, she doesn't use it that much, but it really could use an upgrade (or build a new one). No one wants to surf the net on a 600 MHz processor. It's a Dell, actually. When I ran Everest Home Edition, she has between 0 and 10 MB of free RAM. Mine has between 500 and 780 MB, depending on what I'm doing with it.
Does that Computer Surplus have a website? Maybe I could find a cheap base system for my file server that I'm gonna build.
Kevin Wolff
04-23-2005, 02:50 PM
No one wants to surf the net on a 600 MHz processor.
My brother always surfs the net on a 500Mhz processor. You must need a faster browser. (Opera is the fastest I know of, followed by Firefox/Mozilla 1.7).
Installing the nVidia drivers took 5 minutes. On my machine, it takes 2 seconds to install the ATI drivers. The mouse is a optical mouse, but when I try to move it, it looks like it's got stuff in it. When I'm not doing anything, it works fine.
Kevin Wolff
04-23-2005, 03:22 PM
You've said that already. You need an OS reinstall, even if it's of 98.
Tedski
04-23-2005, 04:45 PM
Kevin Wolff said:
You've said that already. You need an OS reinstall, even if it's of 98.
That would be favourite to at least try and get it going a touch quicker. Alternatives are deleting caches, temp files, history etc. as I doubt these get done in a hurry. Then defrag, scandisk and check for spyware stuff, as that'll likely slow things down too.
Whoever suggested the 2nd hand place was giving pretty sound advice too. Just try and be sure of what you are getting in terms of graphics/sound, so that as and when that sort of stuff is available cheaply you can do that too. Also, if XP is already installed on a 2nd hand machine, really try and get one with more memory.
Well the defrag seemed to speed things up a little bit (not a lot), but I've been told that the cheapest and most effective way to get an upgrade is to get some more RAM. I convinced my dad for some RAM, and he doesn't even use his computer that much (just like my mom). Just for stock checking, banking, and a few other things. Sped up a little bit. I also got him a 7200 RPM hard drive, because his old one died on him. He wanted a SATA drive, but he didn't have the onboard controller for it, and wasn't willing to get a PCI card. My mom is a little more anti-technology (anti-computers, to be specific), so it'll be harder to convince her. Maybe I'll have her friend try and do it.
Tedski
04-24-2005, 05:14 AM
More ram will definitely help. Something else you could try - but think carefully about what you are doing before you do so - would be a registry 'cleaner' of some sort. There are loads of them about, perhaps someone can recommend a good one? I still think, as said by someone else, the best move you could do would be to reinstall windows after formatting etc. This has the effect of cleaning the registry anyway http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif but you would obviously need to discuss this as regards what needs backing up and what doesn't. I assume that disk space isn't an issue, because that would be something that wil also give you slower speeds.
My mom's hard disk is 5 GB full out of 30 GB.
Last night I got a General Protection Fault error in kernel386, followed by a BSOD. This sounds like software now, but I'd just like to point that out.
Kevin Wolff
04-24-2005, 11:23 PM
Last night I got a General Protection Fault error in kernel386, followed by a BSOD.
Since it's after the fact, I truly miss these.
http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif
Destroyer
04-25-2005, 12:00 AM
well what kind of case does she have, or are u planing on getting a new case too, cuz if its that old ull prob have to get everything new.
It's a Dell case, so it won't be easy to upgrade the mobo. Better off buying a new one when the time comes.
Wamplet
04-25-2005, 09:11 AM
Kevin Wolff said:
I doubt your mom actually needs a new computer. Having Windows 98 is probably the only thing holding it back, especially if it's never been reinstalled. Didn't I tell you this last night? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Wiping and installing 2000 or XP should make things better. Without a RAM upgrade, tweak it a bit. Or, get some more RAM. Hard drives help too if the current one is slow, but I doubt yours is 4200rpm. My 4200 drive is from the P1 era.
In agreement there. The operating system will make a world of difference. Of course, if you go this route, you will want some more RAM. If you have to waste money on the current computer, I'd just say to get an OS and ram. Otherwise, get a new computer. Honestly, you are much better off just getting a newer computer, though.
g-dog
04-25-2005, 11:53 AM
^^^^^^
100% percent agree w/ Wamplet here... read my thoughts after reading through entire thread.
*I'd ebay purchase WinXP Pro...and some ram...maybe $175 (US ?).
Maybe spend around $450(US) on buying new case, mb, cpu, ram, & video..... salvage the hd...maybe the PS too.
I can't get 2000 Pro without having to buy a new system (that's what my shop says). My mom's friend totally recommends 2000 Pro, because it's fast, and it doesn't have the "junk" as XP Home does. Otherwise, it's either XP Home or Pro, plus some RAM. But how much RAM? Are we talking about getting 256 MB RDRAM or 512 MB RDRAM? Gotta remember that my mom hardly uses this thing. Probably 256 MB of paired RDRAM.
I'm getting XP Pro X64 when it comes out. Gotta wait until the bugs are out of it (not gonna happen), and 64-bit drivers are good and running. Although some people have said it might be a waste of money, unless you use lots of memory and do some heavy lifting (which it does, sometimes).
Crispy Critters
04-26-2005, 02:46 PM
I can't get 2000 Pro without having to buy a new system (that's what my shop says)
Sounds like your shop is looking for some money http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
Did they give a reason why? I've had Win2k installed on Pentium MMX 233 with 128MB EDO before. Sure it was a tad slow on boot up, but it was much better than 98.
You don't need a new system to install 2000.
Kevin Wolff
04-26-2005, 03:52 PM
I've had Win2k installed on Pentium MMX 233 with 128MB EDO before.
I've got you beat.
Pentium 166MMX with 48MB RAM. 48!!!
Crispy Critters said:
I can't get 2000 Pro without having to buy a new system (that's what my shop says)
Sounds like your shop is looking for some money http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
I actually never asked them personally about it, but their website says that you have to buy a new system. A guy I spoke to says that if she wants to get 2000 Pro, then I could just buy an OEM copy of it. He also said that for XP 64 Pro, that they're not gonna be selling the OEM copies of it. That I would have to buy a retail copy of it (lots of money). Probably just get XP Pro. Not gonna be doing a lot of 64-bit stuff.
Kevin Wolff said:
I've had Win2k installed on Pentium MMX 233 with 128MB EDO before.
I've got you beat.
Pentium 166MMX with 48MB RAM. 48!!!
I've got YOU beat!
A rock.
Dr. Kill
05-11-2005, 04:36 PM
No one wants to surf the net on a 600 MHz processor.
you think that's bad, check out my old pc's specs:
windows "captain crash" 98
350mhz pentium 2 (big as an nes cart)
64mb ram
10 gig hard drive
8mb video card (then I got a 3dfx voodoo 5 for it)
2x agp slot (at least it HAS an agp slot.)
56k modem (then I got slow cable)
now imagine trying to play Red Faction online. Even after the upgrades, it was still painful. I'm hooking it back up just so I can play Blood.
A few days ago, she approached me, and said that she might want an upgrade after all. She'd like a new computer to be put in her room which she can watch TV on with an LCD TV. Hook the LCD TV up to the computer, and switch back and forth. On the LCD TV would be the TV, of course, and on the LCD flat panel monitor w/VGA connector would be where the computer stuff is done on. Sounds crazy, but the Alberta government actually pays for this sort of stuff. Like $500 towards a new computer out of guess what?? Your taxpayers money. I paid $65 in tax this year, and even though it's not a lot, and I'll get it back, the money sometimes still goes towards these things.
Ok, she actually just wants to put some new parts in it. Guys, for what she uses it for, and the frequency, I doubt it's worth buying another one. Now if I was using it all the time (which I'm not, thank God http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif), then I would say yes, get a new system.
As for the OS, her friend recommends 2000 Pro, because it doesn't have all the "shit" as XP Home, although XP Home is about $100 cheaper. Basically, what he's saying is the bloatware. Lots of unneeded stuff on there. There is also XP Pro, which is $200 CDN (versus $249 CDN) for 2000 Pro, and from what I understand, an improvement on 2000 Pro. Of course she doesn't need the remote desktop or domain name support, but maybe I should talk this over with Kevin Wolff or Wamplet over ICQ.
DudeMiester
05-15-2005, 08:42 PM
While XP does have a fair bit of bloat, you can turn it all off or use alternatives like WindowBlinds. So if it's cheaper go for it.
Okay, so we'll see how XP Home does. I'll have to tweak the hell out of it in order for it to run fast.
I'm still debating how much RAM she needs to get. I was thinking either 256 to 512 MB. For what she does, I'd say 256 MB.
Tedski
05-16-2005, 04:12 AM
jeffbthomson said:
Okay, so we'll see how XP Home does. I'll have to tweak the hell out of it in order for it to run fast.
I'm still debating how much RAM she needs to get. I was thinking either 256 to 512 MB. For what she does, I'd say 256 MB.
I'd say more like 512mb. She may not do too much on it, but it isn't going to like just 256mb of ram. More than 2 things at once it'll probably struggle at. Bear in mind that the other components aren't going to be that good - i.e. CPU, GFX Card and Hard Drive. For the other side of it, there's bound to be a lot of tweaks you can do to stop the unnecessary bloat, you should be able to google loads of info for that. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
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