To upgrade or buy new - that is the question.

[StompAWOT]

Merry Christmas everybody...

As can be seen in my signature, my current system is:

Athlon 64 X2 3800+
eVGA 133-K8-NF41 -AX
eVGA Geforce 7800GT
CORSAIR PC3200 XMS 2GB
Crucial PC3200 2GB
SoundBlaster Audigy 2ZS Platinum
Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550
300 GB Seagate
500 GB Seagate

Once I upgraded to Vista from XP (while I still only had 2GB of Ram) it didn't run nearly as well. I have a lot of random program lock ups, and it generally doesn't run well. I purchased another 2GB of Ram (the Crucial), and while it speeded up a bit it still crashes relatively often (part of the reason I want to simply start over with a new system completely).

On Christmas eve my power supply died (3 years and one month after purchased - 1 month after warranty expired) and I decided now was the time to get a new rig. I hate to admit it but I'm consider buying instead of building, specifically the following XPS at Costco - Link to XPS at Costco . I would hope this system would last me about 3 years - similar to my existing box.

I used to use the computer basically for gaming & light photoshop work, but once I went w/ Vista my favorite game (Battlefield 2) stopped working on it. HL2 & its mods seem to run fine. However as the wife & I just had kids, I'm going to be doing a lot more video editing. If I had the above XPS I might even buy some new games that require a more powerful computer.

So now the big question - do I pick up a powersupply & new video card at Microcenter today to try to extend my computer's life another year or so? Or do I just go w/ the XPS? Despite the fact that I've been building my own rigs for 15 years, I think I'm ready to go prebuilt...so I'd prefer not to get that debate going.

The three "deals" they have (which aren't great deals - but aren't bad given I'll have the instant gratification of fixing it today) are:

GameXtreme 700 Watt Power Supply for $69.99 AR

This e-GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCIe 2.0 for $69.99 After Rebate (I know its more expensive than at Newegg), or

This GeForce 9800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 for $94.99 After Rebate

[Edit] - Do these video cards even work with my mobo??

Yep - I'm looking for instant gratification (with the video card & power supply) and not looking for a full rebuild. If I do get the XPS (or another prebuilt system you recommend), the twins will probably get my old box (downgraded back to XP) for their first computer.

Thanks for any thoughts or opinions.

 

[jae]

I vote XPS. It is a pretty good deal especially if your about to do more video editing work.
Since the old box will be for the twins all itll need is a 300-400w PSU and some cheap video card; maybe GeForce6 series.

 

[Blain]

You will learn more if you forget the new system for a while and focus on bringing stability to your current rig.
Forums are fine, but actually troubleshooting your own problems will give you tools for the future.
Be methodical about it and keep track of everything you do... what works and what doesn't.

 

[StompAWOT]

Originally posted by: Blain
You will learn more if you forget the new system for a while and focus on bringing stability to your current rig.
Forums are fine, but actually troubleshooting your own problems will give you tools for the future.
Be methodical about it and keep track of everything you do... what works and what doesn't.

Between the new kids, the housework, and the job I don't have the kind of time I used to. I don't disagree at all that it would be helpful and beneficial, but if you ask me if I want to spend time with our 11 week olds or diagnosing a computer system I can quickly answer. Similarly, if I'll gain material speed efficiencies with the new system (as it relates to the video editing) that too might be something I should really consider.

I've been told they're only young once & to cherish it....

Maybe I'm answering my own question here - however I was really wondering whether my existing rig could be brought to "adequate". Perhaps your point is that even w/ the video card I'll still have the same random crashes I hate right now...

 

[StompAWOT]

Instant Gratification FTW!

I ended up hitting Microcenter and got the following rig - essentially the same as the Costco one without the monitor, but a slightly larger HD, for $300 less (I didn't really need the new monitor).

XPS @ Microcenter

Took the money I saved and bought a Blu-Ray player for $199 ($100 off - and plays my PITA AVCHD files from my camcorder).

Oh - and I got the Power Supply and a 9500 GT for the old computer - will bring it back to XP and use it as my gaming rig (the games I like should play just fine on it!)

Merry Xmas to me!!!!