Upgrading/Replacing Acer Aspire AX3400

dasis16

Hi all

I've registered hoping you guys can help me with a dilemma I'm having. I would like to upgrade my desktop pc, which I mainly use for watching tv shows and movies. Its connected to my TV via an HDMI cable. I have separate external HDs, one for TV shows and one for Movies. I just want the PC to either have a step up (more RAM and/or a graphics card?), or to buy a new PC that would be an upgrade on a seriously low budget. I realize I may be dreaming price wise, but I would like to know my options so I can save up if needs be.

My current PC Stats are as follows:

AMD Athlon II X2 220 Processor - 2.80ghz
3GB RAM
64-bit Operating System running Windows 7 Home Premium

Please bear in mind the PC tower is a slim-line one, so there isn't much space in there at all really!

I really appreciate it if you've read this far. Any advice you guys could provide would be magic. Thanks a lot.

closed

what's wrong with it as it is

dasis16

There's nothing wrong with it as such, but I feel it is time to upgrade it. Ideally I would just like to make some adjustments to the hardware so that it runs faster and handles HD movies better.

If that's not possible then I would like to buy a better machine for as little as possible.

closed

it's a relatively new machine, reasonably specced, plenty of ram, should be fast and be able to play hd movies easily

if it's slow, backup and factory restore.

-TangleFoot-

dasis16 wrote: »

seriously low budget

• XBMC on Linux: £0
• XBMC on a Raspberry Pi: £50
• New desktop sans OS: £150
• New desktop with OS: £240+
• All singing, all dancing powerhouse: £500-£2000

dasis16

"New PC with OS - £240 + "

Is this really any better than my PC? The processor doesn't seem to be anything to shout about compared to mine, but I prob don't know what I am talking about.

It's over three years old, and I can afford to make some changes. I also want to plan ahead in case I need to save (which I will do if a new PC is in order).

Splott

Your PC as others have said is more than good enough for what you do with it. The fact it is over 3 years old isn't an issue.

-TangleFoot-

dasis16 wrote: »

Is this really any better than my PC?

Doubtful - it's just the cheapest Windows box they have. You want to plan ahead? Get something a little bigger, crack those external drives open and stick them inside (or replace them entirely) - internal drives are usually quicker and cheaper.

You may not have put much thought into it before, but the case and power supply are just as important as the other parts that make up a system.

dasis16

I want to spend some money. What I want to know is how to spend my money wisely to upgrade my current system.

Replacing the tower casing is definitely an idea I was already thinking about. I was thinking about installing a graphics card (as the current graphics card is integrated) and came to conclusion that I pretty much have to buy a bigger tower to do this. I just don't really know where to start.

closed

unfortunately you've posted on a moneysaving site, which is on the whole is about saving money or spending money wisely.

There are sections for spendaholics, the grabbit section etc


A new case (if you can find one to fit) doesn't add any value.

You could buy an ssd

there are threads elsewhere about upgrades

http://warriornation.net/Forum/showthread.php?t=740984
http://www.techimo.com/forum/graphics-cards-displays/263752-help-upgrading-graphics-card.html

if you are desperate to throw some money at a new machine, post a budget and what you wish to run on it, all you have mentioned so far is hd video, which any machine bought in the last 7 years can handle, integrated graphics or not

Cisco001

RAM - it support up to 8 GB in total. However, you need to check if you got 64 bit windows.
You can get 4GB x 2 ddr3 ram or remove your 1 GB RAM and replace with one stick of 4 GB

video card - can add a cheap amd 6450