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Cheaper to upgrade a computer or buy a new one?

How Can I Upgrade My Computer? Or should I just buy a new one?

  • I didnt know anything about computers, (and still dont) and so bought an HP about 3 years ago and I gotta say... it sucks. I didnt know what was good and what was bad, but appearantly, I only have a 254mb Ram in this PC (Piece of Crap). What can I do to make this a a far better computer? I mainly just use my computer for music, but I just want it to perform better when I play games. Its slow, and it takes games (such as Sims 2) minutes and minutes to load. It seems like it can be cheaper to upgrade this computer than buying a new one. I just dont really know what I need and what I could do. Or should I just buy a new one? If so, any suggestions for a great pc? Im preferably looking for a laptop, but any good suggestions would be appreciated. Links would be great. If I do buy a computer, what should I be looking for? I know I didnt give much info as what else my computer has, but Im just looking for a general answer. Thanks.

  • Answer:

    Everyone seems to be saying buy a new one, I'll disagree. 256MB of RAM will kill any system. Another 512MB or 1024MB or RAM will speed it up considerably, not just a little, a LOT. Cost $50-$75 and pretty easy to do. After you get the RAM upgraded then its on to the video card. If you are only a casual gamer then don't spend much money on it. A dedicated video card will speed up computer games many times over 4-6x faster for a $75 card wouldn't be too tough. Result: For $150 or so you could have a machine that performs MUCH better than it does now. I can guarantee you can't get a new machine for under that amount.....well, I've done it but it certainly not fast. If money is not an issue then sure, go ahead and splurge, but just know that with 256MB of RAM and no dedicated video card ANY computer would be crippled--take off the shackles and you will be amazed at the difference.

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For the same price as it would cost you to bring your computer up to speed, you could buy a whole new system. Plus, being HP, i would throw it out and start from scratch anyway BUT... If you want to upgrade, you would have to find out what parts are compatible with your motherboard. Then i would suggest adding some more RAM, then upgrading your CPU and graphics card. Hope this helped

thunderbox666

Not knowing the specs on your system all I can recommend is max out the ram, you will see a huge difference! Also if your motherboard will take a processor upgrade do that as well. Next would be video, since you're not a gamer you can get a good card for under 100 bucks. Just google the make and model of your pc for specs, then check to see if it can be upgraded. If it can then go from there, it will certainly be cheaper to upgrade than to buy a whole new system. Here are a few good links for hardware: http://www.newegg.com/Store/Computer.aspx?name=Computer-Hardware http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlcNEW.asp?CatId=6 These 2 websites have great return policies and fast turn around.

Mr. Linux

You should probably just buy a new one and upgrade from there now that you know more about computers. Also, if you want game performance, i highly suggest you do not get a laptop. Right now a computer for decent gaming would have the following specs: Pentium 4 2.8Ghz + Nvidia 7600Gt on Pci-Express. (Now the 8800Gt is average,but my 7600 Gt runs all my games well) 1Gb ram (I have 512Mb, but this wont be sufficient in the near future) and thats basically it. You could try to upgrade your computer, but since yours is old, the motherboard might not support pci express (for the new video card.). Anyways, remember you MUST upgrade the video card of almost any computer you buy, since intergrated ones are horrible. (I used to get 10 frames per second on cs source, unplayable, upgraded video card and nothing else, now i get 100 frames per second+.)

AlphaBetaized

If you can afford to, buy a new computer. You can get a reasonably fast computer for a good price. HP, Acer, or Dell should be just fine, and have reasonable prices. Try getting above 2.0 Ghz with more than 512MB of RAM and a large hard drive, and any additional featues you would like with the computer (such as # of usb ports, card readers, cd/dvd burners, etc)

Norm!!

If you try to buy parts for an upgrade, you could of bought a good laptop a little cheaper than the upgrade, Go Ahead and Splurge, and buy yourself a new toy... DELL All the Way...Good Luck

Devil Dog

Sims 2 requires quite a decent video card in order to play it smoothly. I would have to say 256 mb system memory is really inadequate. You will need at least 512 mb of RAM. Since you are using it only to play music mainly, it wouldn't be wise to buy a new system there, would it?

marsulein

go to tigerdirect.com and look for a computer. Good prices

Micro

You should always buy a new 1. In the end it would cost more to upgrade then to get a band newbie.

markhurls

if u want to stick with keeping the computer i would buy more ram because 256mb is under the minimum requirement, u will need atleast 512mb minimum and if u just want a new computer trry buying one at tigerdirect.com or tigerdirect.ca(for canada) they sell only brand new parts and computers and at a low price. everybody that i know that baught from their enjoied the stuff they baught their cause of the low price, good quality and fast shipping but if u want to play high end and high graphic games, i would just get a new one

Drekentai

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