looking to upgrade my pc

gday2uk · Post by **gday2uk** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:23 pm

NewbieJohn wrote:Of course whatever you do, an external hard drive will be much much slower than an on board one drive, especially if you have programs loaded on it or some space is being used a Virtual memory

Depends on type and connection of external drive.
eSATA is faster than USB 2.0 and FireWire.
If you must use external drives wait a year or so for USB 3.0 to arrive.

deck · Post by **deck** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:15 pm

I think you would be best starting a fresh. As you will be buying all new parts what is the point of puting them in an old case. New cases they dont cost a lot and will accomadate new new drives and chips alot better for the DIY builder. In terms of expantion slots / usb ports leads and fans the case will play a big part of your PC
Deck

gday2uk · Post by **gday2uk** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:52 am

deck wrote:New cases they dont cost a lot and will accomadate new new drives and chips alot better for the DIY builder.

Not true.
A good ATX case that is 8 years old can have the same features as a good ATX case that is new. Drive and 'chip' sizes have not really changed.
As for case fans, you really don't need them unless you have a lot of heat generating inside the case - which would be say 4 hard drives, 4 sticks of ram and 1 or 2 high end graphichs cards and maybe an overclocked cpu. Otherwise you're just making a noisey machine for yourself.

DIY_Johnny · Post by **DIY_Johnny** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:57 am

yes but motherboards have changed, e.g. support dual graphics cards, onboard sound is a lot better.

I agree there is a point where its just better to toss the system out and start again, perhaps gobbling bits of your old system like the ATX case etc, ram is compatible, its that cheap anyway

deck · Post by **deck** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:42 pm

Building a PC from a box of bits can be fun but if you are happy ending up with frankensteins monster' rather than robo cop

for the same money.

Deck

scot-canuck · Post by **scot-canuck** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:06 pm

I quoted someone before about £300 - £400 for a good entry level PC (case made of metal rather than foil etc)

Intel CPUs are the way to go at the moment, AMD are nowhere and their processors don't have anything on Intel chips on power / price ratio (IMHO)

DDR2 ram is fine, DDR3 is still too expensive for what it is, though prices are coming down and might be worth considering for future proofing.

Putting a pc together is easier than doing flat pack furniture (most stuff can only go in one socket and is keyed to only fit one way around) Plus its a good way to learn a lot about computers and you get what you want, not what the store wanted.

Ill give some ideas tomorrow when more awake.

DIY_Johnny · Post by **DIY_Johnny** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:20 pm

yeah when I did it I just ended up tossing out the old system upgrading was a non issue as any potential cost savings were small and balancing a system is important.

RichieP · Post by **RichieP** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:29 pm

The original question was about upgrading, not building a new computer, which is what it will be with a new case and licence.

The cheapest way to upgrade is reuse your case and licence. Just replace the main parts, ie mobo, CPU, hard drive and RAM to what your budget allows.

deck · Post by **deck** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:56 pm

What I am saying is look at the end product. Well done you have upgraded your PC' but the guy next door as built a new one from scrach for the same price.
I no which one I would choose

Deck

gday2uk · Post by **gday2uk** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:40 am

deck wrote:What I am saying is look at the end product. Well done you have upgraded your PC' but the guy next door as built a new one from scrach for the same price.
I no which one I would choose

Deck

How can he do it for the same price if he has to buy a new case and a new OS? (DO people really buy OS's these days? There are so many available for free if you know where to look).

feva · Post by **feva** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:38 pm

il have to use the same case, as it quite big and when i bought the computer desk i had to cut parts of it just for it to fit!

part of me wanting to upgrade is to learn abit more, im in doubt that this computer has got a couple more year in it, ive got no issues with the speed it runs at, it perfect for what i want it for.

i just fancy a challenge to see if i can do it my self!

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:14 pm

Go for it just for the practice and experience.
This link has some very good help and pictures in all it's links.

http://www.fonerbooks.com/replace.htm

dave

deck · Post by **deck** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:14 pm

Let us all know how you get on but above all have fun with it.
Deck

hamish72 · Post by **hamish72** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:56 pm

On the point of old case I used a flip open desktop case for many years through as many changes of all the bits within it was so much more convenient to flip the lid open for frequent access but when it ran out of space I was forced to go Tower which hidden away under the stand is nearly impossible to get at

as to your set up DDR memory is nearly as costly as DDR3 so unless your board has DDR2 forget it and buy new mother board and CPU
Probably your old Graphics card (maybe AGP) wont find a home in new board so you will have to change
Power supply may be under rated for new board graphics and CPU so change that

now forget it and update the lot