Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- From: "antioch" <r.antiochdunkthis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 13:47:51 +0100
Hello GH
I am with you all the way with your advice - if the PO can wait - big
changes are due in 2007.
TO BZ,
You may find that spending money now will be a waste.
And in the meantime, Google and do some research with those review sites and
performance forums - I did for my last two 'build to order' systems - have
not regretted it.
If you want some links/suggestions, come back.
Your current system should be OK - had you got a 3Ghz P4 then 400w would
have been minimum. If yours has the Prescott chip they do run hot.
The 9800 is/was a cracking GPU in my opinion, but I think over the last year
or so, Ati have lost it a bit. My latest has nVidia.
An upgrade of GPU with a 2.8 may not give any great increase in
performance - mind you there are two camps of thought - low to med CPU with
high end GPU no great increase in performance compared to a low to mid range
CPU coupled with mid range GPU - BUT high end GPU needs a 3.2 or better
CPU(so the argument goes)for a better performance - but then you have not
said what is your usage of your system.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Rgds
Antioch
"GHalleck" <ghalleck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uZ$yCNigGHA.3984@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
bz wrote:
Hi,
I am not sure what I want to do. Upgrade the video card or just buy a
new dell.
I have a 2.8Ghz P4 w/ HT, 1Gig of memory, and a AGP ATI 9800 Pro with
128Meg.
Antec 350W power supply.
I have noticed that my 350W PS is running pretty hard with my 9800Pro.
My first plan is to upgrade the video card to a GeForce 7600, and upgrade
to a bigger power supply to drive the card. This will set back around
$200+$100 = $300 bucks
My second plan is to go all out and buy a new dell for $1400.
Should I just buy a new Dell XPS400 for $1400 (this one comes with a
nVidia 7800GTX)
or should I look for a better AGP video card?
The Dell comes with a 7800GTX but only comes with a 375W power supply.
Will that 375W enough? I don't want that fan inside the ps keeps
cranking high all day.
What do you guys think?
What are the real reasons for your dissatisfaction with the
present Dell computer except that there is some money burning
a hole in your pocket? Some parts can be easily replaced in
a proprietary system while others can not be done so easily.
And replacing one OEM branded system with another presents the
same issues in the future.
The alternative of a custom-built desktop computer could be a
more reasonable approach. For modern computers, 375 Watts is
somewhat paltry and seriously limits future upgrades. The rule-
of-thumb for a Pentium-4 system in the 3.0 GHz range (and faster)
is at least 450 Watts. The Dell XPS400 is somewhat obsolete in
view of current custom-builds or DIY-builds that uses Pentium-D
CPU's up to 3.6 GHz, Dual-Channel DDR2-800 MHz RAM, etc.
Look around, IMHO, this is not really the year to build or buy
systems as there are major changes looming on the horizon that
includes preparing and buying for Windows Vista, 64-bit systems,
and so on. Nor may the Intel Pentium line be the best CPU of
choice in the future.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- From: bz
- Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- References:
- upgrade or buy a new computer?
- From: bz
- Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- From: GHalleck
- upgrade or buy a new computer?
- Prev by Date: Re: clock problem - advice?
- Next by Date: Re: CD's not recognised by my computer
- Previous by thread: Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- Next by thread: Re: upgrade or buy a new computer?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
