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General discussion

HELP! I have and older computer and need to upgrade

Dec 16, 2004 12:50PM PST

I have a sony computer i bought in 1999 i have 128mb ram like 2gig or smaller hard dive and (big surprise) my computer is sloooowwww. DO I have to buy a new computer? how much will it cost me to get this thing running like a brand new computer? please help
-chris

Discussion is locked

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Some Qeustions
Dec 16, 2004 3:04PM PST

1. What type of processor does your pc have?

2. What windows program are you running?

3. What type of ram is your system using? I know it's 128MB but is it DDR ram, SDRAM or what.

Even with all the answers to these I'm not sure if your PC will ever run like a new one, but it may run a bit faster with some minor adjustments.

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specs
Dec 17, 2004 4:49AM PST

its a pentium processor. Im not sure how do i tell what kind of ram it is? and i am running windows me.

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upgrade or buy new?
Dec 16, 2004 7:01PM PST

If you still have the restore CD set, you can restore this computer back to its out-of-the-box state and it will run better. But, it will never be a high performance machine. In my opinion, a 5 year old computer is not worth upgrading. Restoring yes, upgrading, no. You'd be better off putting that money towards a new computer.

If you have the room, you could always restore this one, network it to a new computer and use it for back up or storage.

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UPgrade.... No
Dec 17, 2004 2:13AM PST

chris,

Upgrading your system will cost you about $300.00. At the price they are giving new computers away for today buy a new one. Just make sure that you have 256 MB memory.

Bill
.

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NO...cleanup first...
Dec 17, 2004 3:50PM PST

If you don't learn what you did to slow this PC, you'll repeat the problems, maybe after a longer time.
Do the antivirus and spyware clean, check out msconfig>startup, and defrag...
Keep asking questions.
search for Belarc Advisor and Aida32 for profiles and harware info for your processor, etc.

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Move on, get new system
Dec 17, 2004 8:37PM PST

Without reading any other posts, so excuse me if repeated.

Alot has changed since 1999 and its worth just getting a new system. Of course, cost is an expense but as I said, alot has changed. Now, is a very good time buy with all the Xmas deals out or even later upon cleaning inventory. Basic systems are leaps above what you have and for roughly $500 or even less a complete system can be had, maybe a monitor or not(extra cost). You get all new stuff, OS, s/w bundle, bigger HD, graphics, the whole 9-yards and considering the cost of updating your old system, using that money plus more whould be best spend on new system.

good luck -----Willy

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upgrade vs new
Dec 18, 2004 12:20AM PST

I have a comp I bought in 2000, It is also a WIN ME. It is very fast. It has a 1G proc, 2G hard drive 256mb ram. You can check what specs you have by going to start/prog/access/system tools/system info. If your comp doesn't have a fast proc, or no more than 128mb of ram, you might be better off investing in a newer one. They are less than $500 now. But as some one here has already mentioned, you could run into the same prob in a new comp if you don't do maint on yours. Defrag a couple of times a month and disc cleanup are all little things that keep your comp running smoothly.
Hope this helps.
Frank

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Computer Upgrade
Dec 18, 2004 12:45AM PST

Don't bother, get a new one! You can get a new CPU with all the bells and whistles for about $300-350. Use your old monitor, keyboard & mouse. I do not think price is any indication of quality! Go cheap! If you took the cases off of two CPU's, I have a suspicion you would see that the various components are all furnished by the lowest bidder.
Believe me; you cannot upgrade for this price!

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I do not intend to brag, but
Dec 18, 2004 4:29AM PST

my system is;

Processor - 3.0GHZ Pentium 4 processor
RAM - 2 GB
Hard Disk - 220 GB

Mine is fast, but by no means the fastest.

My point is, a computer that is now 5 years old will struggle in today's environment.

If all you want is a computer that will do some word processing, and calculating, or play non-ram or non-processor speed intensive games, or a computer that is non-internet capable, then an older system is fine. But nowadays the more you want your computer to do, the more capacity it needs in every department.

And I agree with what other people have said. You need to analyse why your old computer has slowed down so much, carry out some housekeeping and virus and spyware checking and nurse the computer back to its full speed.

And any new computer you buy, if you do, be aware that without adequate protection, you will be infected with malware or hacked by someone else, within 15 minutes of connecting to the internet.

Mark

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RE: faster
Dec 18, 2004 10:56PM PST

I don't like XP yet. My 4 yr old PC is 200mhx mmx, 48mb ram, 4mb video. I don't struggle as I don't do newer fast games requiring 5 terrahertz, 40gb ram, 1gb video....you get the pic.I also still use DUN as I am poor. AND I don't get hardware blowouts like some do...motherboards.

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If its Pentium 2 or lower buy a new one
Dec 21, 2004 11:03AM PST

If its Pentium 2 or lower buy a new one.

If its a Pentium 3 or higher, upgrade your memory & hardisk if possible also your video card and OS.

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Gaming Or Home?
Dec 22, 2004 12:23AM PST

There is a bigggg difference between a home computer or a 1000 doller gaming rig...If you like to game on comps then i would suggest a:AMD64 Anthlon?,ATI Radeon 9800 Pro?,sony-17" LCD,2 speaker set,creative labs audiogy 5.1,Seagate 7.m17 hard drive and its really your choice of memory and mother board but make sure its not too slow. Then if you want a home computer then make sure its based off of 4 things:Media features, good sound, all of the microsoft office software,lots of memory and to have it layed out for easy conveince.
I hope this helped if not please email me at: BrennanandEvan@aol.com