Upgrading or buying a new computer...

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone would be able to perhaps provide some links as to where I can get more information on what tech specs I need so that I can have a faster computer (& perhaps better graphics rendering for gaiming, etc). I would like to educate myself more about the hardware components & I don't know where to begin.


My PF usage is usually at 434 MB & I have a pentium 4, Win. XP, 2.81 GHz, 512 RAM.

I'm thinking of upgrading or buying a new one, but I don't want to get ripped off. The other day I was thinking of getting more RAM so that I could have 1 GB total, but I don't know if that would help the situation.

I'm also worried that when I get the new PC I'll end up with Vista, which I heard puts a large strain on RAM. In that situation, I'm thinking 1 GB of RAM wouldn't cut it.

So for instance, if money was no object, considering what's available on the market or will be in the next few years, how can I reach this goal?

Thank you kindly,
Charlotte

[Chris Stoecker]

Is this a laptop or a desktop? If you have a desktop you could easily just update the RAM and Graphics card and probably get the performance you are looking for. If it is a laptop you are going to have to look at a new computer to get a better graphics card. If you upgrade to 1GB of ram you will probably see an increase in performance in running applications and maybe even some in games depending on what games you are playing. Yes vista does use more ram then xp but you should be fine with 1GB.

OSCR has a computer recommendation pdf that you could look over and that may help you in deciding what to get. Also if you want to ask more question on the forums or come down to OSCR Underground in the ILC Room 136 we would be happy to answer your questions.

Hi & thank you It was what I was looking for (it's actually a desktop).

I'm actually a University of Toronto student & I appreciate the help very much.

[Dan Parmelee]

1GB of RAM is fine for basic stuff in Vista (word processing, listening to music, etc.) If you plan on getting serious with gaming, video creation, photo editing...you need 2GB.

A good cheap performance boost for your machine would definitely be the 1GB RAM upgrade. It makes a world of difference.

Thanks a lot! I think I will need the 2 GB eventually. I also heard that the hard drive speed counts too, but not as much as the drive space. There are so many things to consider, so I don't know if more RAM might solve the slowness? Perhaps there may be more to it?

[Andrew McCabe]

If it were me, I would upgrade the whole computer at this point. The extra RAM will have an impact on performance only when running several applications simultaneously. But the processor, hard drive, motherboard, video card, and condition of the Operating System all play large roles in the overall speed.

I just installed Vista on a Athlon 64 at 2.55 Ghz and 1GB RAM and I was unhappy with the performance. I think for Vista, you will certainly want a Core 2 or Athlon 64 X2 and 2GB RAM.

That is my opinion, but I am not too patient with slow computers...

[Dan Parmelee]

I beg to differ, Andrew -- more RAM improves startup times, application load times, etc. More RAM = less swapfile usage. Seriously, the difference between 1GB and 2GB in Vista is enormous. Remember, just idling, Vista is using 500-700MB of RAM.

[Andrew McCabe]

I agree that more RAM equals less swapfile usage. That's what makes computers with more RAM faster. But you only run out of RAM and use your swapfile when running multiple applications. I know that there are exceptions to this rule and that applications are cached in memory after you close them and that they use more memory when they have it available.

But I don't see how you are disagreeing with me Dan.

Thank you all for your input. I am researching more into the different processors, what clock speeds are, etc. I agree with you amccabe - I'm definitely tired of slow computers