What is the cheapest way to upgrade a computer?

[beawulfx]

I am currently using a pretty old beast, by computer standards, and it is NOT fitted for speed/gaming. I can run emulators just fine with lots of speed, it's just the recording aspect that is driving my crazy.

I love recording videos, but I realize it's such a pain sometimes that its taking away my desire to actually play the game! I have to play it at such a laggy and slow pace that I dread attempting a really difficult battle and all the videos attempts to slog through

I was wondering if anybody had an idea of the cheapest (I am an average ol' university student living away from home in a low paying job, woo!) and easiest way to get a quick upgrade that would help me out in this (and other?) departments? I know nothing about computers or how to make them run better, but I think I am a pretty fast learner. Just looking for a push in the right direction. (well I know the basics, I am exaggerating a bit)

If anyone wants to analyze what I've currently got and tell me how mediocre it is, I would gladly provide the info if I knew where to find it!

EDIT: Looking at 'system' in the control panel gives me some info;

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition ver. 2002 [service pack 3]
Dell Dimension DE051 Intel Celeron CPU 2.66 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM

[DarthPaul]

Kick it.





Seriously though buy a new one.

[Smash]

Exactly.



There's little point in upgrading it; in the end, buying a new one will alwas be cheaper and doubled in efficiency. That's planned obsolescence for you.

[goldblade0]

The weakest thing in your computer from what you shown is your processor.  For upgrading that aim for a Pentium 4, Celeron processors are, for the most part, crap.  Also upgrading the video card might be a good idea, but I dont know anything about yours so I cant really give a suggestion.

The cheapest thing you could do in increase the speed of your computer is likley to just reoptimize it or reinstall WinXP.  

and just to let you guys know, I've been using a old Pentium 2 for, quite a long time, only recently was able to upgrade it.  I was able to most things, minus newer video games on it.

[gojoe]

300 bucks at walmart will give ya somethin slightly better

[SilvasRuin]

If you want anything decent, you will avoid Walmart electronics like the plague.  Shop at Newegg.com .  It is the best computer store I've seen.  That or buy from Dell.  You could probably build a better computer for the same price as a Dell computer by ordering the various stuff at Newegg and being picky about the price ranges and capabilities of the components.

[philsov]

upgrading is a waste of money in the long run.

http://www.ecollegepc.com/

gogogogogo.

[Archael]

mac with windows xp parallels on it

[beawulfx]

Thanks for the info guys, goldblade, I could tell you what video card I have if you know how to check that out, I honestly don't know. I thought I bought one at one point, but I have no idea what it was...

Also phil, would those 'performance' PCs be a lot better than what I have now, or even the 'value' ones? I would love a cheap upgrade in that range sometime down the line when money is a little less tight. And since I have a (fairly crappy) monitor, all I would need would be the 'tower' that they are offering for the whole upgrading process, correct?

DISCLAIMER: Yes I am pretty clueless.

[goldblade0]

One way to check the video card is to Right click my computer.  Click Mangae.  Click Device Manager on the right bar.  Click the plus next to Display Adapters on the right box thing.  That should show what your video card is.

[beawulfx]

Thank you! It says it's an 'Intel 82865G Graphics Controller'

Even though I don't know much, that sounds really terrible to me, probably the built in one and embarrassing to still be using >_>

[philsov]

probably the built in one and embarrassing to still be using >_>

This.

It actually works fine for everything but the latest computer games.  

Cheapest form of upgrade would be to get another gig of ram.  Most ram cards come with open slots for that very purpose, and you won't have to mess with a new motherboard/processor at all.  You'll have to open up your computer and identify what kind of ram you need (2x 512 or just 1x gig, e.g.), but that's a simple enough step.  

I had a top of line computer back in 2002 until maybe 4 months ago.  I upgraded it from 256 to 512 RAM in... 2006 or so, and it kept me aloft for the new two years.

[goldblade0]

That may be the cheapest upgrade, or most expensive depending on what you want.  The Nvidia Geforce 5200FX goes for around $20 and is a good upgrade from there.  If you want to look for a upgrade I belive at least you have a AGP video card slot from your computer.  Currently with me I'm using a Nvidia 6200 which is $15/20 more expensive if I remember correctly.  But remember no matter what card you get, get a AGP, not PCIe x16

[SentinalBlade]

I am not a fan of Intel. if i could id buy it out and shut down the plants to prevent more crap from being produced. its built in, and that means if you want to upgrade it, you have to put another graphics card in there(making the total: 2). and most motherboards that come with intel dont support 2 video/graphic cards....

Your best bet for overall performance is to buy a new one.

The best thing for poor people is to buy more RAM. if all your wanting to do is run emulators and record gameplay, all you need is more ram, and wont need a ne computer.

If you remember back in the 1.3 playthrough topic i kinda explained it a bit on what recordings do and why RAM is important.

I have a total of 3.25 gigabytes of RAM, and i record like my machine was built for it.

The ONLY problem i see with you getting mroe RAM, sometimes a motherboard doesnt have enough slots for more, or even doesnt support larger sticks of RAM.... ive seen motherboards with only 2 slots for RAM and could only support 512mb for each slot.

[goldblade0]

actually Sentinal your wrong about the video card thing, allong with the age of the computer its still using DDR ram instead of DDR2.  DDR2 normally gives a lot of room for excess ram.  But back to the vidoe card thing, in most computers with a intigrated video card, if they have a slot it will just disable the intergrated when the new one is plugged in.

[beawulfx]

Ok thanks again for the info coming in, I'm catching on to some things. If I did go with a super cheap video card like you mentioned, and then with another gig of RAM, these are both things that can be taken out and used again when I do fully upgrade my computer, correct? If so, I think I will go that route and see if things improve! I hope they will...

So I will look for the Nvidia Geforce 5200FX and then another RAM upgrade, but before that I need to make sure I have the ability to even place them in the computer I have now. I think I could find out how to check that myself with some research, but if anyone could sum it up or give a link that explains it easily enough that would be great too!

[ffzman]

I have a total of 3.25 gigabytes of RAM, and i record like my machine was built for it.

Well I have 4GBs of ram and I record like Rosie O'Donnell trying to run the boston marathon. Fuck Vista, srsly.

[beawulfx]

Also goldblade, you mentioned reoptimizing or reinstalling XP as a way of potentially increasing performance; I don't have the XP installation disc anymore, AFAIK, but what do you mean by 'reoptimizing', if you don't mind explaining?

[ffzman]

Also goldblade, you mentioned reoptimizing or reinstalling XP as a way of potentially increasing performance; I don't have the XP installation disc anymore, AFAIK, but what do you mean by 'reoptimizing', if you don't mind explaining?

A lot of XP systems have a recovery partition, so you don't even need a disc to reinstall.

[beawulfx]

Oh well that would be handy. I could also download it probably by torrent or something if needed correct? Or would that not work?

Also by reinstalling do I lose any files or anything, or is that just a simple/safe thing? Do I need to make backups of my stuff beforehand?

*wishes he knew more about computer technical details*