Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Im computer is about 5 years old i think and pretty slow I plan on formatting the computer completly as there is lots of rubbish on it and reinstalling windows Iv been thinking about possible upgrades. Its current specs are.... AMD Athlon 64 3400+ processer 2.19 GHZ 1 GB of ram and 180 GB harddrive Would something like this make a difference? motherboard bundle I dont do gaming i mainly use the 'puter for browsing internet, music and stuff. Would i be better off just wiping everything and starting again or fitting the motherboard bundle? Cheers Dave. :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 petethegeek is veiwing If anyone knows about 'puters he should Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytim38 Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 if its five years old and you can afford a new one dont do anything just buy a new one, five years in computer tech time is light years, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) and you can afford a new one dont do anything just buy a new one, Well thats just it...... i cant. unless i can get a higher spec computer for £100. Edited January 12, 2011 by Daveo26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolhead Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I dont do gaming i mainly use the 'puter for browsing internet, music and stuff. Would i be better off just wiping everything and starting again or fitting the motherboard bundle? Cheers Dave. :yp: Your current spec is more than capable of doing what you want already. Due to microsoft's poor programming a wipe and re-install still often proves necessary after a few years. Upgrades are rarely a good choice. It tends to be poor value for money and can introduce technical problems. Better to buy an off the peg machine that's on offer from a large retailer. A re-install will perk it up no end. Save your money for a full replacement in the future. Back up anything you want to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiceychilli57 Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) A re-install will keep the microsoft gremlins at bay for a while Dont bother with Vista buy windows 7!! much better!! if you have a child in education you can use their name and school to get it off software4students for a hell of a lot cheaper than PC world :yp: changing the motherboard wont really effect its general performance not worth it. If its still a bit slow after re-install shove another stick of RAM in it Spicer Edit: after reading the specs 1Gb of RAM is really quite low definately look at getting more Edited January 12, 2011 by spiceychilli57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 It's time to buy a proper laptop, with a proper Operating System. Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Billy did you read the bit about money??????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I do i know what ram to buy? Is it one size fits all? i know it fits in a slot in my computer im not worried about actually fitting it just getting the right one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethegeek Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 petethegeek is veiwing If anyone knows about 'puters he should I know enough to keep my distance from these deceptively simple questions . Generally speaking I'm in agreement with the points made by coolhead. Upgrading older systems piecemeal often leads to grief and suffering with little in return. Best to either start with a 'bare bones' system or, as suggested, look for a volume manufacturer's sweet spot de jour - the latter particularly if you are going to be purchasing a M$ licence at the same time. And on the subject of operating systems, you might like to consider trying out one of the more user friendly Linux live CDs - eg Linux Mint 10 - if you haven't already. If you are just doing mainstream stuff you may find it feels more responsive and it should be less prone to acquiring cruft over time. PS For answers to your questions regarding memory upgrading try here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Billy did you read the bit about money??????????? Save up. You can get a MacBook for £850. Why throw money away on a laptop that works half heartedly. At least you get a powerful, reliable and excellet all rounder which has a 10 hour battery as standard. If you have a question about the hardware, ring Apple. If you have a question with the software, ring Apple. If you want to learn more stuff, walk into an Apple store with you MacBook - they'll give you all the free advice you want. Pay peanuts get monkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twitchynik Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Wipe and start a fresh when you've saved a few more quid. You may have compatibilty issues with a motherboard upgrade and it's not really getting you the that much more oomph. If you did want to spend a few quid on it then get some more memory. Macs are nice (I was lucky enough to move move from PC to Mac) but the cheaper MacBooks aren't relatively cheaper, even when you factor in performance, security and ease of use/support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsey Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 There are a few different types of RAM out there - so don't just buy 'anything' and hope. Use the system scanner tool on this website: http://www.crucial.com/uk/?click=true and it should scan your current setup and let you know which RAM you'd need to buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiceychilli57 Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 There are a few different types of RAM out there - so don't just buy 'anything' and hope. Use the system scanner tool on this website: http://www.crucial.com/uk/?click=true and it should scan your current setup and let you know which RAM you'd need to buy Either that or google CPU-Z good benchmarking tool that will give you easy simple to read specs for all bits of your machine. That will give you a speed (HZ and most likely telling you its type: DDR2 as well as telling you that you have 1Gb of RAM in it. Looking at the motherboard link im presuming its a desktop, go into novatech or overclockers and find the right speed and more importantly the type of memory overclockers RAM look at left side click required type and speed Probably another 2Gb would be fine for your needs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSPUK Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I have to go with P.T.Geek - go with Crucial memory upgrade - save everything you need than do a complete re- install - better still install Linux Mint - I have it on one of my hard drives and it is much quicker by half than Microsoft - only trouble I have is so much stuff on Microsoft. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Im going to fit another two 512 Mb ram sticks its ddr pc3200 and i understand i have to fit it as a matched pair or four? so if its got two 512 mbs in then i cant use 1 gb sticks in the free slots? Then im going for a full re-install hopefully that should cure my woes. Thank you everybody for you advice Just need a bit more about the ram... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Im going to fit another two 512 Mb ram sticks its ddr pc3200 and i understand i have to fit it as a matched pair or four? so if its got two 512 mbs in then i cant use 1 gb sticks in the free slots? Then im going for a full re-install hopefully that should cure my woes. Thank you everybody for you advice Just need a bit more about the ram... You can use 1gb sticks, but in this day and age I'd be aiming for at least 4GB (2x2GB) If you're seriously only putting another 512 in there, I'd not waste your money. Saying that, Windoze will fail to recognise anything above 3.5gb of ram. Unless it's in 64 bit. Don't mix and match memories. Always go 1gb + 1 gb and match the other specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Oh and if you have four slots, DO NOT fill all of them. One is DDR and the other is probably sdram. These will more than likely not run simultaneously on your motherboard and you'll just ruin the laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Billy its a pc not a laptop, talking of wasting my money, have you seen the price of ddr ram? Its about £30 for a 1gb stick god knows what 2two 2GBs would cost me. Iv been told by several people windows xp needs 2 to 3 gb of ram to work nicely. Installing another TWO 512mb would take my computer into that level. Then a re-install and it should be cooking with gas. Im a bit baffled by the ddr and sdram thing because sdr sdram which might be what you are refering to only has 168 pins so it cant be used in a ddr motherboard and ddr is short for "DDR SDRAM" so obviously that would fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 It's time to buy a proper laptop, with a proper Operating System. Here Billy, What's your view on the Macbook Air? I have a Macbook (not pro) but was looking at an Air in Duty free the other day. The 13 inch one looks very sexy. What are the drawbacks you think? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Billy, What's your view on the Macbook Air? I have a Macbook (not pro) but was looking at an Air in Duty free the other day. The 13 inch one looks very sexy. What are the drawbacks you think? Andrew I would have said to avoid it, but since the last update they've stepped up the processors and video cards (really struggled to process HQ vids) I'd still avoid it because of the lack of an optical drive. However, if you're just looking for a netbook, the MBA is perfect though. So so so many people didn't believe me when I said it was a laptop. It's unbelieveably thin and it's astounding that all that battery power (8hrs) and quality in a tiny little slate. Sounds silly, but I am seriously upset that they've dropped the backlit keyboard from the new MBA range. Go MacBoook or Pro. At least you get to have a decent size HDD and it doesn't have to be the expensive solid state one. I upgraded my HDD when I bought it - stuck a 500GB 7200rpm in and it's the dog's danglies Edited January 13, 2011 by Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Billy its a pc not a laptop, talking of wasting my money, have you seen the price of ddr ram? Its about £30 for a 1gb stick god knows what 2two 2GBs would cost me. Iv been told by several people windows xp needs 2 to 3 gb of ram to work nicely. Installing another TWO 512mb would take my computer into that level. Then a re-install and it should be cooking with gas. Im a bit baffled by the ddr and sdram thing because sdr sdram which might be what you are refering to only has 168 pins so it cant be used in a ddr motherboard and ddr is short for "DDR SDRAM" so obviously that would fit Oh erm, I must've got mixed up with the name.. Can't remember. Basically one fits one type and the other fits another type of RAM. These shouldn't be mixed. Don't know where you're getting your RAM prices from, but DDR2 and DDR3 2GB are on eBay for £20 each (some as low as £12, but performance will be poo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 It's time to buy a proper laptop, with a proper Operating System. Here shouldn't agree but the missus won one before christmas and it is a serious bit of kit. Absolutely of no use to the original posters question though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drive By Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I have a pc with 1gb of ram that is probably 4ish years old running XP. I feel no need to upgrade as all i use it for is surfing the net and for watching films and it copes with both activites with no issues. It doesn't like running multiple things at one (but then neither does my brain...) but i rarely have call to do that. Having a few bits of software like ASC and malware seem to keep it ticking over fine. Having a nice shiny new pc is an attractive prospect but the cost isn't! I think it sounds like the OP can just stick with what he has. Mac book is an insane choice for someone just wanting to surf the net. Awesome bit of kit but only if your going to utilise most of its potential. £850 isn't quite so easy for a lot of people to come up with, i think it's unfair to assume that people have vast sums of disposable income... In fact my iphone surfs the web fine (unless it involves flash...) and i reckon that will have a lot lower spec! Although it's not trying to run xp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveo26 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Oh erm, I must've got mixed up with the name.. Can't remember. Basically one fits one type and the other fits another type of RAM. These shouldn't be mixed. Don't know where you're getting your RAM prices from, but DDR2 and DDR3 2GB are on eBay for £20 each (some as low as £12, but performance will be poo) I know but i need DDR and it is silly money compared to the newer stuff Maybe the reason you dislike windows so much is because you no nothing about it? Edited January 13, 2011 by Daveo26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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