Should I buy a new computer or upgrade old?

martin57

Hi folks,


I have an old June 2000 Mesh computer 700 athlon but has been upgraded partly i.e 250gb hard disk + a 60gb disk, dvd writer. Working fine with xp pro but understandably a bit slow. it has a midi sized case. Crt monitor is fine will do me ok, and as I have bad eyesight I prefer the crt to the washed out screen of a lot of the tft's.


1 should I upgrade i.e buy a new motherboard bundle for maybe around £150 or thereabouts and is a motherboard and cpu hard to fit? Its one of the things I have never tried to do, I have changed hard disk, added memory and dvd writer. I would like a motherboard with tv out if its available saving the cost on a dedicated graphics card.

2 what about buying a new computer? would probably spend up to £800 if I went down that route. I notice that companies like Mesh now only offer a warranty with the buyer paying full courier costs for return to base outside mainland and only will pay courier costs for first 3 mths if living on mainland. Begs the question how good a warranty is this then, maybe better than none.

since the hard disk is fine and I have a dvd writer what do you think about the motherboard bundle idea and if its easy enough to fit? Would save me a lot of money if it worked out,

I look forward to all your advice,many thanks

martin57

espresso

How much RAM? It will never be super fast but t depends what you use it for.

real1314

I had a similar dilemma a few weeks back - P4 1.6GHz with 768MB, 80GB HD (+300GB usb external) and 128MB Radeon gfx card. But it was getting very tired running security stuff and doing all the things the kids wanted to do.

I could have got a bit more memory, could have spent £150 or so adding a nw m/board and proccy, but would need new ram then and the HDD wouldn't have been compatitble with the new connections.

So, £299 on a Dell 530 from tesco direct - Quad core Q6600, 300gb HDD, 2gb Ram, Vista Home premium.

Imho it's a better value move in the long term. I can add a decent gfx card if I want (apparently the psu is afairly good one) and could add more ram.
If you've been using a machine that old, do you really need to spend over£500 or will you get more bang per buck at this sort of price?

and just keep your crt (i'm still using an old 15" tft that I got with the P4 machine in 2001).

DatabaseError

your power supply will almost certainly not be up to the job of running a new PC. Bin (or better yet, freecycle) what you have and buy new. £800 would get you a very good PC

SJames_3

To be honest, I think a new PC would definately be the best way to go. I think you'd find yourself having to replace too many components on your existing PC; aside from the motherboard and CPU you'd also be requiring new RAM and a PSU. Maybe £800 is a little excessive, like real1314 said, £500 will still get you a very fast PC. You can also transfer your HDD and DVDRW over to a new PC.

eijit

I agree. I know it's tempting to want to keep the PC and just upgrade, but never seems to be as effective as just getting a new machine. The mobo on a new machine would probably support faster RAM too.

800 seems a bit high by the way. I got an Athlon X2 with 2GB RAM a few months ago for 220, which seems to be about the standard price

Airwolf1

I'd also say a new PC. If you price one up on Dell's website, you can generally ring them up and barter, I've done this on many occasions. I just email my contact there now when I want a new one.

For £800, you should get a decent spec too.

Sput2001

What do you use the PC for?

An £800 machine is likely to be way more than most people need, unless you're well into your gaming.

almillar

The CRT is worthless, but keep it if you like it and save money on the new computer. The DVD writer and hard drive can be carried over. You'l need to check that you've got available IDE ports on the new comp. If you decide on carrying stuff over, go for a build your own. As you say, motherboard/CPU/RAM package for £150, power supply for <£50 (please don't go for the cheapest, I've had one wreck my hardware), and you'll have spent way below that £800. You've enough change for a whopping new monitor if you want.
If you buy a mobo packgage, especially from a shop, the stuff is often already connected, making it much easier. A small bit of googling will get you a guide for doing anything!. Change the case too for £30ish...

nomoneytoday

With an 8 year old machine, IMHO upgrading it effectively would be like Triggers Broom...

It would probably need a new mobo, cpu, ram, gfx card and psu
The HDD would probably be looking at an upgrade in a year or so
That only leaves a case (£20 item) and DVD writer (again not expensive) to carry forwards.

Maybe get a new pc, and use your dvd writer as a 2nd one in it, and get a £10-20 external case for the 250gb hard drive?

tasone

i just had this problem, myself, upgrade or buy a new one.

with a machine that old, it would be better to buy a new machine.

a lot of the old stuff is not worth using, a new machine will be all sata device, and unlikely to have any IDE ports on it.

i have a space 40gb ide harddrive here, and looking to buy a external usb drive bay, but for the cost of the bay i can buy a external usb with a 80gb harddrive for a extra £5.

so most of the old stuff is not worth using, and just buy a new machine, and use the one you got as a spare.

Andy