# Advice on buying a computer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549 "2006-10-15T18:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/1 "2006-10-15T18:19:50Z")
I currently own the following: Compaq Presario 6370US puchased in 2001 2.53 Ghz Pentium 4 1GB SDRAM Memory (max) Nvidia 6800 Video card Soundblaster Live! sound card 120 GB and 200 GB Hard Drives I’m thinking about maybe getting a bit of an upgrade. Mostly I use it as an all purpose computer - Internet, work, fiances, music, media, gaming, but obviously it’s the video games that push the hardware limits. So any thoughts on what to buy out there? I’m looking to spend in the neighborhood of $1000-1500. Whats the difference between Intel and AMD and all the different processor types (Pentium 4, D, Duel Core, etc)? What brands should I check out / avoid? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/2 "2006-10-15T18:26:06Z")
You may want to wait until early next year, when Microsoft Vista is released. You could buy a system now and upgrade to it later, but I think a system with Vista preinstalled will work better. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/3 "2006-10-15T18:28:19Z")
^ I concur. Also, your current PC isn’t half-bad. A 2.5ghz chip can still hold it’s own; the only major advancement since then has been hyper-threading. You could probabley get away with simply upgrading your graphics card at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/4 "2006-10-15T20:36:03Z")
I agree too. Computer progress has really slowed down over the past few years. Wait for 6 months after Vista comes out then get yourself a Vista-ed PC. If you want a stop-gap upgrade, can I suggest a nVidia 7800 GS (as your PC likely has an AGP graphics slot)? This is the route I’ve taken with my 2.4 GHz Shuttle PC. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/5 "2006-10-15T21:01:28Z")
Give Vista a little longer than six months. It’s going to take a little while for everyone to upgrade their software to work with the new security model. I’d also vote for keeping your current system, with a new graphics card and some more RAM. That’ll probably get you the biggest speedup for the lowest possible price. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/6 "2006-10-15T21:34:50Z")
I’m with **ultrafilter** in that you couldn’t pay me to upgrade to Vista until it’s been out for at least a little while. I’d probably recommend buying now, though - it’s a pretty good time to buy from a hardware perspective. Also, as someone with a similar system (though without the RAM and video card upgrades you’ve gotten since 2001)… well, it depends how much of a priority gaming is for you. For anything else, stick with what you’ve got for another year or so, I’d say. Processors, since you asked: The short story is that if you’re looking at gaming and want the computer to last for a while, you want a Core 2 Duo. It’s the newest from Intel, and even the AMD-fanboys are forced to admit that it’s got huge advantages over the current AMD offerings in power and efficiency. For 1500 or so you should be able to put together a pretty good machine, something that should last 3+ years with minimum need for upgrade if you don’t need to be cutting edge the entire time. Something like this, from Dell, is pretty reasonable in your price range (no monitor or speakers which I assume you have), and you can probably get it cheaper if you watch SlickDeals: [QUOTE=Dell] Components PROCESSOR Intel ® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (2.4GHz, 1066 FSB) edit OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD edit MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs edit HARD DRIVE 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit MONITORS Video Ready w/o Monitor edit VIDEO CARD 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS edit SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit [/QUOTE] That’s 1300 or so… can add another year or two onto the warranty and maybe a dedicated sound card and stay around 1500. If I were building it myself (or from Monarch, which might be a good idea), I’d get a motherboard that supported SLI so I could add a second video card a year or two down the road. Mmmmmmm, toys… I want to buy my new system RIGHT NOW instead of waiting and giving it to myself as a holiday present as I had planned… patience is so silly. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/7 "2006-10-15T21:46:42Z")
You might want to read [this article](http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35084) decrying gaming performance under Vista. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/8 "2006-10-15T23:13:08Z")
[QUOTE=Kiros] …(no monitor or speakers which I assume you have), and you can probably get it cheaper if you watch SlickDeals: [/QUOTE] I’ve actually been thinking of upgrading the monitor to this 19" widescreen from View Sonic: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116014](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116014) It’s really cheap, a buddy of mine in IT uses them for his home gaming machines and they seem pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/9 "2006-10-15T23:15:37Z")
I think the deciding factor will be whether Supreme Commander and Spore run on my current machine. Company of Heroes runs really great with the current setup…up until the point where the entire computer freezes for no reason. After some web searching this seems to be a common problem. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/10 "2006-10-15T23:26:00Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I think the deciding factor will be whether Supreme Commander and Spore run on my current machine. [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t hold my breath on that, at least not with decent graphic settings. A friend recently told me about a site called [ibuypower.com](http://ibuypower.com) that builds gaming machines. I’ve never ordered from them, so I can’t say how they are, but this friend writes tech articles for one of the print mags, so if he recommends them, they’re probably pretty good. If you want to reuse parts like your DVD-ROM drive and floppy drive (and possibly your hard drives), and you don’t mind building your own machine, you should be able to upgrade for less than $1000. The upgrades I have planned come in at $820 (mobo, CPU, hard drive, RAM, and video card). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/11 "2006-10-18T17:15:40Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] I wouldn’t hold my breath on that, at least not with decent graphic settings. . [/QUOTE] I’m not so sure about that . The buzz on the web seems to be the graphics settings won’t be that high. There are a couple of new FPS games though that look they require quite a bit what with their dynamic lighting and shadow effects. I think for now, $200+ in memory upgrades might be the thing to do ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/12 "2006-10-19T00:15:48Z")
Except that it doesn’t support more than the 1Gb it already has. Piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/13 "2006-10-19T17:27:19Z")
I too think your current computer is fine. I run pretty much any game I want on a similar rig. You may benefit from a fresh re-install of Windows as much as new hardware. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/14 "2006-10-19T17:56:13Z")
I’m in almost exactly the same boat, **msmith537**. I’ve concluded that it’s really worth waiting a few more months – the Intel Core Duos are new enough that there is still a price premium, especially for the mid and high-end models. They should be priced more competitively soon, and will give you a lot more bang for your buck than anything you can buy right now. And there’s no point in upgrading an AGP video card these days, so you’re/we’re pretty much stuck. As much as I’d love to upgrade (I’m playing Oblivion, which can be a slideshow at times), I just can’t bring myself to buy right now when a significant improvement in price/performance is right around the corner. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/15 "2006-10-19T19:29:08Z")
The OP’s computer isn’t particularly upgradeable (aside from swapping the video card) so complete replacement’s about the only viable plan. Until then, I’m willing to bet that they’re running the same installation of Windows that the thing was shipped with. Back up all data, bookmarks and whatnot, then do a full “nuke and pave” re-installation of Windows. This will clear out so much crud from the far corners of the Registry, and scraps of long-ago deleted programs, and it will probably run a lot faster. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/16 "2006-10-19T20:03:41Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] The OP’s computer isn’t particularly upgradeable (aside from swapping the video card) so complete replacement’s about the only viable plan. Until then, I’m willing to bet that they’re running the same installation of Windows that the thing was shipped with. Back up all data, bookmarks and whatnot, then do a full “nuke and pave” re-installation of Windows. This will clear out so much crud from the far corners of the Registry, and scraps of long-ago deleted programs, and it will probably run a lot faster. [/QUOTE] The problem is that people are right, it’s not a bad computer, but it is near the end of it’s usable lifespan as I’m now out of upgrades. I can run most games like GTA, Half Life, BF2 and Company of Heroes (for 10 minutes, which I’m pretty sure is a software, not a hardware problem) at reasonible graphics settings, although BF2 is a bit stuttery at times. Basically I think I’ll wait as long as I can. The clean install is an interesting idea though. What I might do is simply plug in a new 300GB hard drive I have lying around and just start from scratch. I keep all my non-app files on a second hard drive anyway. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/17 "2006-10-19T20:29:32Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] The clean install is an interesting idea though. What I might do is simply plug in a new 300GB hard drive I have lying around and just start from scratch. I keep all my non-app files on a second hard drive anyway. [/QUOTE] Yeah it’s a little traumatic, but a couple days after you do it you’ll be very glad you did. It used to be practically mandatory to reinstall Win98 every year or two, but XP can stand some refreshing too. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/18 "2006-10-23T14:25:20Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Yeah it’s a little traumatic, but a couple days after you do it you’ll be very glad you did. It used to be practically mandatory to reinstall Win98 every year or two, but XP can stand some refreshing too. [/QUOTE] Actually I’m amazed at how much performance has improved. It wasn’t that tramatic since I basically used a fresh hard drive but kept the old one. Company of Heroes still craps out though. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-buying-a-computer/376549/19 "2006-10-23T21:41:31Z")
Yep, it usually helps. Did you try the Company of Heros 1.2 patch, which was released on September 16th? [http://www.filecloud.com/file/3803/Company+of+Heroes+v1.2+Patch+English/](http://www.filecloud.com/file/3803/Company+of+Heroes+v1.2+Patch+English/)