Need Help Buying a Computer

[sleepysentry]

Hello,

A family member of mine needs a new computer to upgrade her aging 3 year old Pentium 4 2.6 Ghz. She insists on buying a Dell. She does web design and of course has to keep up with the latest technology for the most part. She has no interest in gaming, but I want her to be ready for Longhorn. To add to all this, I think she wants to keep the total price under $1300 as much as possible. I'm guessing she needs 1 GB of RAM. For the video card, a 128 MB x300SE will have to do because of its price. The processor is the only problem we're having. The next generation of processors are here but they're too expensive. With the computer she wants, she would have to get a Pentium 4 530. Do you think she would be able to use a 32 bit processor for the next 3 or 4 years without running into compatibility issues? With this in mind, would it be better to upgrade to the next system up and get a Pentium 4 630?

Thanks for your help. This is a tough time to buy a new computer. We're stuck between 3 different processors (32 bit, 64 bit, and dual core) and a new version of Windows that will come out soon.

 

[imported_Kensai]

I'd go for 64-bit compatibility.

 

[imported_rod]

I doubt she would benefit at all from a dual core CPU. 64-bit P4 sounds like the best choice for her. The P4 630 should be good (that's the 3Ghz, 64-bit, 2MB cache model, isn't it?)

RoD

 

[furballi]

There's nothing wrong with that old PC. Wipe the hard drive/load WXP, bump up the RAM to 1GB, and it should be competitive with the latest offerings. This is a web design PC....

 

[AustinMatherne]

Originally posted by: Kensai
I'd go for 64-bit compatibility.

 

[akugami]

P4 2.6ghz...perfectly fine PC. Bump up the RAM to two new sticks of 512MB RAM to get 1GB if you haven't. Get a brand spanking new HD, programs like Photoshop love fast access times and graphics for the web do not need to be print advertisement quality so the P4 2.6ghz should handle it fine. Sure, it'd run faster on a new computer but I don't think it'd run intolerably slow. An old computer from 3 years ago might be running on an HD spinning at 5400rpm so a new HD could provide a nice speed boost. Get a copy of Windows XP if you don't already have one. Back up all critical data, do a fresh install of Windows onto the new HD, transfer all of the data onto the new HD. Keep the old HD as data storage if she wishes or as a backup to all work she does.

A new 7200RPM HD should cost about $100 or a little over for a 200GB drive. A 1GB set of RAM cost roughly $80-100. If she doesn't like the performance boost from those two items you can re-use it for the new system you can then build for her. It's a situation where the upgrades can't fail to be a good investment.

At this point, I'd recommend getting an Athlon64 system because it's the best bang for the buck. In three years if she still wants an upgrade she can buy an X2 processor and more RAM and likely be good to go.