Do I upgrade or not, what is your opinion

[richd44]

Ok, here it is , I have an old rig.

Athlon 2500+ @1.86

Asus a7v8x-x

1 gig of ram 512 (2700), 512 (2100), I know all should be at least 2700 speed
but I just took the 2100 out of another rig to see if it would make a difference.

Radeon 9000 agp card

WinXP corp

Seagate 160 gig main drive
Seagate 320 gig storage drive

Lite On DVD burner

Mostly I use my rig for internet business and general surfing. I also have a tv tuner card for watching cable tv. The most demanding thing I do is rip alot of DVD's and burn them for backup.

My question is if this rig does what I want is it worth $300.00 to $450.00 to buy a new motherboard, cpu, (something like a amd 2x 3600), new memory, and a video card. I will still do the same tasks, just faster.

Will the faster CPU and better video card give me a better picture when watching a tv broadcast or DVD? I guess I would be able to run more apps together with more ease.

I have also been thinking of getting a cheep laptop. So do I upgrade this old rig. Then I would have one new faster computer and still be able to use my present rig as a backup, or do I just add a better video card to the old rig and look for a cheep laptop.

I hope this was not too long winded but I would like to hear some of your thoughts on this.

Thanks

Richd44

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: richd44
Ok, here it is , I have an old rig.

Athlon 2500+ @1.86

Asus a7v8x-x

1 gig of ram 512 (2700), 512 (2100), I know all should be at least 2700 speed
but I just took the 2100 out of another rig to see if it would make a difference.

Radeon 9000 agp card

WinXP corp

Seagate 160 gig main drive
Seagate 320 gig storage drive

Lite On DVD burner

Mostly I use my rig for internet business and general surfing. I also have a tv tuner card for watching cable tv. The most demanding thing I do is rip alot of DVD's and burn them for backup.

My question is if this rig does what I want is it worth $300.00 to $450.00 to buy a new motherboard, cpu, (something like a amd 2x 3600), new memory, and a video card. I will still do the same tasks, just faster.

Will the faster CPU and better video card give me a better picture when watching a tv broadcast or DVD? I guess I would be able to run more apps together with more ease.

I have also been thinking of getting a cheep laptop. So do I upgrade this old rig. Then I would have one new faster computer and still be able to use my present rig as a backup, or do I just add a better video card to the old rig and look for a cheep laptop.

I hope this was not too long winded but I would like to hear some of your thoughts on this.

Thanks

Richd44

Unless you want to do more faster, ie. multitasking while burning DVDs.

If thats all you use it for the real question is...is it worth the money to you to build a faster system.

 

[Muse]

I have two systems and bought a pretty good laptop 4 months ago (Thinkpad T60). The second desktop I almost never use. It can help in troubleshooting a problem. But so can a laptop, although a laptop isn't as helpful.

I'm thinking of building a new system, but my best system is alot older than yours. I built it 4.5 years ago:

MSI KT3 Ultra2 mainboard
AMD Athlon XP 1700+ CPU
BFG geforce 6600 GT OC AGP video card
DDR - Crucial/Samsung Original PC2700 512 MB
Just bought a 2nd stick of identical RAM, for 1 GB (to be installed this week when it arrives)

5 PCI slots:
Kingston EtheRx PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter (DS21143, based on Intel 21143) PCI
USR Model 2977 PCI hardware modem
Hercules GTXP soundcard PCI
MyHD HDTV 120 HDTV PCI
MyHD HDTV 120 HDTV daughterboard PCI

4 IDE devices:
Seagate Barracuda IDE HD's: 120, 160, 200 GB
NEC ND-2510a DVD/RW burner/player

Logitech MX510 optical mouse, corded
Teac 1.4 MB floppy drive


I'm unaware of needing an upgrades system, but I would undoubtedly enjoy benefits I just don't know about. When I built my 2nd system (now my worst system), it was a revelation how much faster it was than the one it replaced.

The best thing about building a new system is the knowledge you gain in planning it. It keeps you in the game, so to speak. It's entirely up to you when you do it.

 

[richd44]

thanks for the quick reply. I guess it is just hot wired into our brain to alway want the fastest system we can afford. I am just having a small problem trying to justify the cost of a better system. I can get by with what I have, I could also be very happy with a new and improved rig. MY wife on the other hand would wonder why I need a faster computer.

Maybe a laptop for he, ye thats the ticket. I may be able to make that fly a little easier.

All kidding aside I think it would be great to burn a DVD in 5 min. insted of 20 min., and do other things at the same time.

richd44

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: richd44
thanks for the quick reply. I guess it is just hot wired into our brain to alway want the fastest system we can afford. I am just having a small problem trying to justify the cost of a better system. I can get by with what I have, I could also be very happy with a new and improved rig. MY wife on the other hand would wonder why I need a faster computer.

Maybe a laptop for he, ye thats the ticket. I may be able to make that fly a little easier.

All kidding aside I think it would be great to burn a DVD in 5 min. insted of 20 min., and do other things at the same time.

richd44

Yup, faster is always better, but the $$ can hurt
Sounds like you could better justify the Lappy to the Mrs.

 

[yh125d]

Prob your best move is a better proc and a faster dvd drive.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: yh125d
Prob your best move is a better proc and a faster dvd drive.

I don't think he said how fast his DVD drive is.

 

[lobbyone]

You can burn DVDs faster with a faster DVD burner :thumbsup:

 

[Eos]

Originally posted by: lobbyone
You can burn DVDs faster with a faster DVD burner :thumbsup:

Isn't there a point of diminishing return with dvd write speeds? Like after 8x you gamble on accurate burns?

 

[Smitty308]

You don't just go out and get a new washing machine just because your's is old even though it is still working fine, do you???

Think about it!!! The companies have all of convinced that we need the latest and greatest.

Smitty

 

[Job]

Originally posted by: Smitty308
You don't just go out and get a new washing machine just because your's is old even though it is still working fine, do you???

Think about it!!! The companies have all of convinced that we need the latest and greatest.

Smitty

Yeah, but washing machines bore the living crap out of most people....

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: Smitty308
You don't just go out and get a new washing machine just because your's is old even though it is still working fine, do you???

Think about it!!! The companies have all of convinced that we need the latest and greatest.

Smitty

I don't know how much it is from companies advertising to get the latest and greatest. I think we have convinced ourselves that we NEED the latest and greatest when in fact we do not.