Computer Upgrade

[mofo91105]

Since money is at a premium, I was thinking of upgrading my current PC, which is around 4 years old to something pretty new. I just found a good deal through Micro Center, and was wondering what you guys thought about it. I only use the computer for Microsoft Word, iTunes, burning home movies, and AIM, so keep that in mind. Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4200+
2GB Dual Channel PC-3200 DDR SDRAM
300GB 7,200 Serial ATA Hard Drive
LightScribe Dual Layer 16X DVD +-RW Drive
16X DVD-ROM Drive
ATi Radeon Xpress 200 Video Chipset
TV Tuner w/Personal Video Recorder and FM Tuner
9-in-1 Memory Card Reader

The computer is an HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7470n in case anyone was wondering. I would love to hear what you think. The computer is 599.99, which I think is a great deal, but if you guys have a better option for 600 dollars, let me know. Thanks again for anyone who read this.

 

[greatman05]

Dawg, YOU SHOULD GET THAT! At that price, it's hard to turn down! 1 question: are there any rebates to get it to that price, or are they just having a sale?

 

[F1N3ST]

Its not that good of a price, and it puts you in a hole with the WAY outdated memory.

Here, better processor, TV tuner, and Card reader. And better motherboard, better RAM. BETTER. 40A Power Supply=Better. And you can overclock, and this will have WAY higher resale value.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813127017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820144046
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820300608
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16815100146
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811190086

 

[Grafficks]

That is a fantastic price for that PC. For $600 that is a fantastic deal.

However, when you come onto a PC-Enthusiast forum and ask about buying a pre-built computer, you are bound to see encouragement to build your own instead.

So unless you are inclined to building a computer yourself, then that Pavilion desktop would be a superb choice.

Good luck

 

[greatman05]

See? Even Grafficks agrees with me. People often tell me "Get this card", or "Dump that computer!", But you see, that comp you picked is SUPERB for its price. IT EVEN HAS A 300GB HDD! While the sale lasts, YOU SHOULD BUY IT!

 

[sghiznaneck]

F1N3ST is right on the money. With a dual core processor, that memory is going to hold the processor back. It's like putting radial tuned suspension in a car and then putting 4 bias ply tires on the beast. You'd be better off either upgrading the board to DDR2 memory compatibility or building your own.

 

[MetalX]

... Why is it that before socket AM2 came out, nobody thought the good ole' DDR1 was holding back the processors? Not even FX60? Then AM2 comes out, shows that the higher memory speeds have absolutely NO performance gains over the old ones on Athlon 64s, and then everyone says that the old ram is holding the processor back? It's not. Marketing just wants us to think it is. Thats a great price for what you get.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[greatman05]

Good Point MetalX. Like Grafficks said, this is a enthusiast forum. Often, I have to bold what I want answered so they don't try and recommend something I didn't ask for. If you're still there, BUY THE DAMN COMPUTER ALREADY!

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It is a really excellent deal but seems overkill IMO for using AIM and burning DVDs etc. A cheaper Celeron D/Pentium 4 HT based PC would be best suited for those tasks.

 

[greatman05]

Well, overkill or not, it has great potential (some games, photos, videos, home theater, etc)...

 

[mofo91105]

Thanks for all of your input. I know this is an enthusiast board, and that pre-built sometimes defeats the purposes of boards such as these. Regardless, I will be purchasing this computer because I think it is a great deal. I am currently running on:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Soyo Motherboard
768MB 266MHZ Ram that reads at 133
80GB Western Digital IDE ATA 133 Hard Drive
ATI Radeon X800

I built this computer 4 years ago, and with the help of a stripped down copy of Server 2003, it still runs quite fast, way faster than some of my friends' computers that are a year or so old. I hate all the junk that new computers bring, which greatly slows down speed, so I plan on reinstalling Windows minus the junk. Also, I get a 10 dollar option to buy the Media Center version of Vista when it comes out, which is a plus, so this is the most practical thing for me right now. I am a college student with no money, so this is all I could really afford. Coupled with the fact that I am using an extremely old computer, anything is an upgrade at this point. Again, thank you all for your comments and help.

 

[tifc8lraz]

Thanks for all of your input. I know this is an enthusiast board, and that pre-built sometimes defeats the purposes of boards such as these. Regardless, I will be purchasing this computer because I think it is a great deal. I am currently running on:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Soyo Motherboard
768MB 266MHZ Ram that reads at 133
80GB Western Digital IDE ATA 133 Hard Drive
ATI Radeon X800

I built this computer 4 years ago, and with the help of a stripped down copy of Server 2003, it still runs quite fast, way faster than some of my friends' computers that are a year or so old. I hate all the junk that new computers bring, which greatly slows down speed, so I plan on reinstalling Windows minus the junk. Also, I get a 10 dollar option to buy the Media Center version of Vista when it comes out, which is a plus, so this is the most practical thing for me right now. I am a college student with no money, so this is all I could really afford. Coupled with the fact that I am using an extremely old computer, anything is an upgrade at this point. Again, thank you all for your comments and help.

Hopefully, you can transfer your current video card over, because you have a mid-range and would be going to the bottom of the lowend-range.

 

[Tedster]

personally I am against box sets. You come out so much ahead when you build your own system. Plus you can recycle old parts and save money also.

It would be much better to get two 150gb sata hard drives than one large one. Always have 2 drives to back up files to - also with two drives you can set up a RAID array (for even faster loading).