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Is upgrading to the latest, greatest hardware going to make a noticable difference in my systems performance?

V

veryape

Platinum Member
I built this system two years ago, it's and Athlon 650 with 256mb of pc133, TNT2M64 video card on a KX133 board running two hard drives(1 15gig7200rpm and 1 2gig5400rpm)and I see so many people here running XPs, MPs, and P4s that it makes me have major system envy, kinda like penis envy except with a system instead of a penis.

I just wonder if I upgrade to the newest stuff out there if I will notice that great a difference, enought to justify the purchase. Don't get me wrong, being the geek I am I'm going to do it either way but I was just wondering what some of you thought on the subject.

I don't play games that often but when I do they seem to run fine, although I know my video card could be better. I'm not a graphic artist or anything, I just like to overclock. The reason i'm writing this is because i'm bored with the system I have now and am itching to upgrade, just because. I just don't know if upgrading is going to show me a noticable improvement. I mean the processors have doubled in speed since I last upgraded and virtually everything has improved hardwarewise so i'm thinking the answer is yes, I will notice a pretty significant difference in speed, what with DDR, ATA133, AGP Pro and especially the new dual Athlon boards...drool.

Let me know what you guys think and where you stand on the subject of upgrading just because.
 
I deal with different pc's everyday and get to see the differences.
If you upgrade to a XP or P4 system with good memory the answer to your question is a resounding yes.
Also a newer video card would be the most likely upgrade to make a big impact on your experience provided you are a gamer.
If not then 2d quality is up to the eye of the beholder.
 
Thanks, but what I really want to know is how many here upgrade just because they want to have the latest and greatest and not because they need to or because their system is not powerfull enough to do the tasks they need it to do. I would imagine the majority of people here do it just because they want the best stuff out there and for bragging rights, since this is a hardware forum and site. I guess I should add a poll.
 


<< I just wonder if I upgrade to the newest stuff out there if I will notice that great a difference, enought to justify the purchase. Don't get me wrong, being the geek I am I'm going to do it either way but I was just wondering what some of you thought on the subject. >>

You will definitely notice great differences, but whether it's worth it depends on your needs.



<< I don't play games that often but when I do they seem to run fine, although I know my video card could be better. I'm not a graphic artist or anything, I just like to overclock. >>

In that case, you'd be better off with a low-end Athlon XP or even a Duron mated to a GF3 Ti200.



<< The reason i'm writing this is because i'm bored with the system I have now and am itching to upgrade, just because. I just don't know if upgrading is going to show me a noticable improvement. I mean the processors have doubled in speed since I last upgraded and virtually everything has improved hardwarewise so i'm thinking the answer is yes, I will notice a pretty significant difference in speed, what with DDR, ATA133, AGP Pro and especially the new dual Athlon boards...drool. >>

Everything will be much faster, though ATA133 isn't that helpful. Dual Athlons will give you very little performance increase unless you're using Photoshop or doing 3D rendering.



<< Let me know what you guys think and where you stand on the subject of upgrading just because. >>

Technically, you really wouldn't have to go all out. However, I am a firm believer in regular upgrading because computers still aren't fast enough.
 


<< Thanks, but what I really want to know is how many here upgrade just because they want to have the latest and greatest and not because they need to or because their system is not powerfull enough to do the tasks they need it to do. I would imagine the majority of people here do it just because they want the best stuff out there and for bragging rights, since this is a hardware forum and site. I guess I should add a poll. >>



It's kind of like broadband. Once you get it you never go back. Almost everyone here doesn't NEED to upgrade. Everything I do can still probably be handled on a PII 400 (cept maybe Return to Castle Wolfenstein... no idea).

But once you get used to the speed of a newer system and then check out your old you never realized how much slower it was.

My rule a thumb has always been this: Whenever there is a processor 2.5x as fast as yours, its time to upgrade. That is 1625 mhz for you. With the new XPs out, their actual megahertz is close to that, so I'd say you would notice an increase if you upgraded you CPU Mobo and VidCard.
 
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