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General discussion

Which major manufacturers are most easily upgraded?

Aug 3, 2005 9:18PM PDT

I'm looking for a sub-$1000 system from a major computer manufacturer which I can upgrade later. I would consider Monarch if I could understand the ins and outs of picking case/motherboard/processor/etc. This is why I am ruling out right now the suggestion of anyone that I build my own.

I want a computer with a TV tuner and PVR capability. My idea is to take a minimal package with 512RAM and integrated audio and video and upgrade to at least a gig of RAM and decent audio and video cards around December or January. I would rather just go ahead and put anything left in my budget toward getting the largest hard drive possible, since replacing/adding a hard drive is the most annoying task I've ever had to do with a computer.

Discussion is locked

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well, any...
Aug 4, 2005 1:06AM PDT

i would look at the media center emachine, as everyone that posts here will probably reconmend that. any gateway, with media center edition, includes a tv tuner and fm turner, and you can pimp the hell out of them. check my profile for what i did with mine. Cool

you can get a decent pc from monarch, with pvr with a good mobo case ram and hdd for, well, maybe not under $1000 so i guess that rules that out.

i would go with this,
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7261429&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat60700050019&id=1117176782087

it will be slightly over your budget with tax but dual core will be worth it in the future.

konny

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Which major manufacturers are most easily upgraded?
Aug 4, 2005 1:59AM PDT

Well in the sub $1000 price range you should be able to get what you want with out haveing to upgrade later.
Even Dell and others will do it for this price. John

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I Suppose I Should Ask What to Look For
Aug 4, 2005 9:05AM PDT

I am likely to keep this desktop running for at least three years.

In planning ahead, I figure that being expandable to 4GB RAM is better than 2 GB. Can anyone say that there is no chance of me regretting only being able to upgrade to 2 GB three years from now if I am not a gamer?

What I have read suggests that I should make sure I have a PCI Express slot on the motherboard. Anything else of that nature I should look for?

Are any computer manufacturers idiots when it comes to how they configure the insides of a computer, making upgrading a more difficult task than it ought to be? Are there any computer manufacturers who do things to make opening up the case and adding or replacing parts easier?

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It's not easy...
Aug 5, 2005 6:34AM PDT

to choose between quality and quantity. I've been trying to make it easy for 15 yrs. But, if you have a good understanding of what makes up a PC then you are better off than most who try to configure them. Especially for later upgrades. PCIe is great for better video. Two PCIe slots pair like video cards together for great gaming. If that's what you want to do. The new SATA standard is the wave of the future. Here's the minimum I would look for.

A good AMD64 fx processor. ASUS makes good motherboards for this. You won't be able to use 64bit right now but XP64 is out and will be released next year. Plus the software world will have caught up by then..we hope. There are a couple of ways to go for disk drives. I use a pair of 10K rmp WD raptor 74gb. setup up for SATA RAID array 0 striped. The mobo should have at least 4 expansion slots. A good mid-tower case with at least 500w PS. Slots to expand to 4gb. You won't regret it.

Is this the kind of info you're looking for?

and life goes on...

Jack

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(NT) (NT) eMachines t6522
Aug 4, 2005 2:55AM PDT