upgrading my pc. tips, pointers, guide me in the right direction!

supra90turbo

supra90turbo

shaeff is FTMFW!
Mar 30, 2005
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so... im getting this warning when i start my pc that blah blah failure of HD is imminent... whatever, so i guess i'll upgrade.. lol

i suppose its time anyway, since my 80gb primary HD has 2.3gb left, and my 12gb backup has 2.5kb left... yes, kilobytes....
sooooo..........

i want a new hard drive, and since this is basically an original HP Pavilion from 00 or 02 era, anyone have any thoughts on anything else?

thanks,
kurt
 
B

bluemax

The Family Man
Mar 30, 2005
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Orange County, CA
What do you have now? What are you going to use it for?
If its internet only, then you probably just need a new HD.
You should probably archive everything else on CD (gold ones if you want the CD's to last for your life time). You do have a CD burner don't you? It must take you years just to fire the computer up or do anything that needs to access the HD.
I'm running internet on a Dell PII and it works fine.
But I've got two other computers that are built from scratch for the serious work.
 
supra90turbo

supra90turbo

shaeff is FTMFW!
Mar 30, 2005
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im thinking about buying the junk to build a decent comp from scratch... i'd like a lightning fast do anything computer.

i dont game. that's a plus right there.. saves me money.
i use it for internet mostly. i can probably get away with a new HD and in the meantime just start building up another... but i dont think that my money is best suited for the PC... i need to build my car. well, need/want... i want to build my car first.

basically, i'm just looking to replace a few parts. it works fine now, but im on borrowed time. i'm using it right now, and every day, but i have a feeling that it can and will go anytime.
 
americanjebus

americanjebus

Mr. Evergreen
Mar 30, 2005
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if you just dont want much of an upgrade get a new 120gig hd

or if you really wanna do stuff, get yourself an alienware.

me, i'd just get a server tower, new mb with necessary ports 64 bit processor, two drives, one for os, and other for storage, and a decent grahphics, gforce 5200 i beleive was the number? been out of comp loop for a bit.
 
GrimJack

GrimJack

Administrator
Dec 31, 1969
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idriders.com
I'm not sure where you live, but do you have computer specific stores there? The little ones that don't carry anything but computer parts, not the big chainstores...

If all you are going to use it for is internet, don't bother dropping any serious coin into the thing. Buy a cheap setup and put a gig of memory on it, and a big HD. For the motherboard, see if you can find a board with an AMD Sempron built on... and video & sound included on the board as well. You should be able to get one of those cheap - like I'll be surprised if you end up spending more than $300 total.
 
GrimJack

GrimJack

Administrator
Dec 31, 1969
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Actualy, Alienware looks really neat, but is overpriced and their customer service sucks.

I'd buy a Falcon system first... and of course, I can build a faster system with my own hands for less money. Computers are NOT hard to assemble, if you are willing to work on your own engine, you can damn well plug a computer together. :)
 
Furball

Furball

Yes, I play Halo
Apr 2, 2005
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newegg.com is where I buy my computer parts from. Fast shipping, great service, I have never had a problem with them. Personally, I wouldn't go with onboard sound and video. It's not much more to get a sound card and video card. Plus it will help with overall system performance cause your cpu isn't having to do everything.

You can pick up a sound card for 10 bucks. I personally bought this card in a pinch. It works great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829130001

Video card, you can get a semi ok one for around $40-50.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125191

Good luck.

P.S. I agree with GrimJack, don't buy Alienware, they are way overpriced.
 
supra90turbo

supra90turbo

shaeff is FTMFW!
Mar 30, 2005
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i think i'm going to take your advice GrimJack and go visit the little computer store the next town over... they helped me when i needed some coax for my KS rewire, so i may as well go check 'em out.

(im not looking to spend a shit-ton... i just want it to run good again)


thanks guys.
 
drunk_medic

drunk_medic

7Ms are for Cressidas
Apr 1, 2005
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I buy almost all of my computer parts from Newegg.com
Other honorable mentions are mwave.com and directron.com

If you don't need a bad-ass gaming rig, I would suggest a little "barebones" system from newegg. There are systems that you can buy for cheap, which are pretty much all-in-one.
How good are you with computers? Can you install a hard drive, CPU, memory, hard drive, and configure jumpers correctly? If so, I would suggest buying a barebones system and putting it together, or getting a cheapo system from a reputable vendor. Even the "lowest" level [read: cheapest] Alienware system with a big hard drive added would probably be more than sufficient for you.
 
drunk_medic

drunk_medic

7Ms are for Cressidas
Apr 1, 2005
574
0
0
Woodstock, GA
D34DC311 said:
LOL, DM, cheap and alienware dont go together.
Click to expand...
I configured an Alienware "Bot" with the 2.93 GHz processor, minimum OS, RAM, upgraded the optical drive, made the Hard Drive 250GB and it was less than $800 with no monitor.
Alienware is not terribly expensive, unless you go top of the line.
VoodooPC can get very pricey, too.
You know, I don't know if they do it anymore, but if you bought all of the components, mwave used to put together and "burn in" your barebones system for a small fee.
 
SupraMario

SupraMario

I think it was the google
Mar 30, 2005
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holy crap $800,
i can build a system for $800 that is top of the line with monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. and im not kidding man.
 
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