Lately it’s becoming more and more apparent that my Dell GX1 (p2 400) w/ 128mb ram, onboard craptastic video card and 13 gig harddrive has towed the line from neat to passable to obsolete to just plain suxx0r.
That being said, I have alot of bills… more bills than I would ever wish on a person, to be exact.
So who can point me in the direction of cheap systems I can order online?
I don’t even have a price range yet because I don’t know what I need. I have a little mini case dealie so I know I can’t just upgrade the current setup, I know enough about hardware to change a motherboard/processer/fan and to add video cards, network cards and ram, but I don’t know too much about setting up hardware from scratch (The multitude of wires oozing from the power supply scares the bejesus out of me).
Links and friendly advice encouraged (begged for).
I just got a used Dell on eBay a few months ago for about $200. It has a 700 MHz CPU, 256 megs RAM, 10 GB HD, and the vendor installed a 16 MB video card and a Soundblaster Live! card. All this for about $200 and shipping.
This is probably not what you’ve looking for (I assume you’re looking for more of a speed jump than a 700 MHz CPU, etc.) but I wanted to give you a taste for how cheap PCs are on eBay. Especially used ones.
I did buy a new “custom built” PC a while ago on eBay, but its parts were crappy, and I ended up just upgrading it all in a few months.
I would stay away from super-cheap PC systems online. They end up being crappy and not very stable. Not worth the trouble.
In my experience, I’d rather go for a slightly older PC but one that had good parts, rather than a “new” PC that had crap parts.
I vote you build your own, it’s actually very easy, and there are many sites online that have a step-by-step process. This way, you get exactly hat you need, nothing more, and you might save money. I say might, because sometimes name brand PC’s can be cheap since they sell a lot, but if you don’t have a lot of money, then it might be hard getting one from them that isn’t close to top of the line (if all you want is 800 MHz - 1 GHz, I don’t know if they still make those, and if they do, then it might be worth getting, since they probably want to get rid of their inventory.)
As for all those wires: you can’t screw them up, things only fit in ONE place (well, sometimes more than ONE place, but they always fit in the RIGHT place.)
Ehhhh…I could be wrong, but sometimes the memory won’t work in a new motherboard. At least that’s what I’ve been led to believe. And even if the memory does work, you’ll probably want more than 128 MB. That’s pretty paltry by today’s standards. (I consider my used Dell’s 256 to be the bare minimum. 512 or 1 GB is better.)
But it’s true–the CD, floppy, keyboard, all that good stuff can stay.
When I upgraded my PC, I changed a lot of things (well, the shop did it–I’m too non-savvy to do it myself). I basically kept the CPU, hard drive, floppy, and CD-RW drive. I put it in a new case (a purple case!) because I don’t think the motherboard would have fit in the old case.
If you’re like me and won’t do that complicated stuff yourself (but it does look like you’re more savvy than me), then take it to a shop and ask for an estimate.
Also, do you want to add any PCI cards, like a USB 2.0 card, or a firewire card? Or at least make sure that the motherboard can take such cards later…
Check out this site, you can modify a complete package w/Operating system or build one from scratch. They will assemble and test whichever components you choose, you can do what you are comfortable with on your own. They also provide a warranty service.
Haven’t used them myself, my cousin recently got an Athlon 2600 system from them with memory and a hard drive. He was satisfied with their work and customer service.
I appreciate everyones feedback. I definitely do want more RAM, and my harddrive is only 13gig so I think I need to change that out… My Dell case is uber itty bitty so it actually has a sort of laptop-looking-cdrom, so I’ll prolly need to change that out too. Hooo wee. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
I think my soundcard is onboard too. My keyboard and mouse are fine though.
Attempting to upgrade a Dell is a risky operation. Quite a few of the earlier models had a unique arrangement of wiring in the power supply main connector. Physically, it was the same plug that every other AT/ATX supply uses, but the connections weren’t. So, you’d need to change the motherboard and PS at the same time.
Lately, I’ve been seeing deals, and I mean DEALS! on Dell machines - A recent one involved rebates, free shipping and some clever configuring to get what’s normally a 2.8 GHz $1800 server for $400. At that price, there’s no monitor or operating system, but who cares? Buying a bare hard drive and processor will cost more than that.
I’m with Bibliovore in spirit (I am a major Machead who also has to use PCs) but if the OP wants to use his existing software, then switching platforms is probably not something he can afford right now.
Personally, I have my eye on the new G5, but that’s waaay out of my budget right now.
Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.Don’t buy a Mac. Don’t buy a Mac.
:rolleyes:
Follow the Dell wisdom offered above. $ 500.00 is pretty tasty for a new machine with those specs.
I realize I may have been unreasonably vague up there. Please, do not purchase a Macintosh computer !
Ya know, I’ve heard alot of good things about Macs and I’m almost tempted to lean that way for my imaging projects, but truth be told, I want a decent gaming machine. I’m gonna have three computers and a linux server on my home network as soon as we’re done moving everything around (moving apartments this week. w00t w00t)
The linux machine is just an ongoing project, just to futz around with sendmail, shell scripts, etc… so it’s okay that my linux box sucks for now, as futzing around in not a huge priority.
I do, however, want to be able to pop in the latest multiplayer RTS/FPS and get my game on against my roomies and my current Dell, as cute as it may be, simply refuses to comply with this request.
I’m checking out the newest links. Hooray shopping!
Cartoon, you bought a dud Mac. I understand. And sympathize.
I, on the other hand, have never had a dud Mac. At least not so far. Two iMacs, two G4s, countless other old crappy Macs, none were duds. I love my Macs. They are not duds.
I have had a dud PC, but I upgraded it and it’s better now.
The sad fact is, computers from either platform can be duds. Doesn’t mean all the computers of that platform are duds as well.
malkavia, sorry about the gender confusion! :eek:
And Macs are good for imaging (Cartoon’s experiences notwithstanding) but if you are working on a budget or looking for a decent gaming machine, then put the Mac on the backburner for now. Enjoy looking through the links!
Hmmm, if you know your hardware look for a computer fair in your area (there should be one atleast every coupel of weeks), and go there.
You can either do your homework and build your own system by getting all the hardware you need, or buy a complete system form one fo the vendors (if you do that, make sure they are local to you, and they offer you a good warranty).
If you are looking for a gaming machine you need the following:
Windows XP
RAM (atleast 512 MB)
Video Card: DX9 Compatible with 128 Megs of vRAM. So an ATI 9600 PRO or higher, or an Nvidia FX 5600 ULTRA or better (though if you go nvidia, it’s really FX 5900 ULTRA, or stick to ATI for now).
CPU: atlast 1.5 ghz.
You said money is tight, but if you can save up my best recomendaiton (short of building your own system) is to pay a little extra and get yourself a professionally built gaming system from Alienware or FalconWest (google them up). Pricey, but you get what you pay for.
[slight hijack] Reading all of this is really interesting. What if I just want to increase RAM? How does one do that? I know I have to buy some do-dad but wouldn’t know how to install it. I can’t take it back to the store because it was custom-built. Can’t take it back to the custom-builder because he’s dead. [/slight hijack]
mmm…forbidden doughnut (nice name BTW!), you could probably take your computer to any shop and have them install some more RAM. It’s a very simple job if you know what you’re doing, so I can’t see any computer place, especially a local one, telling you they can’t do it because you’ve got a custom built system.
You’ll have to find out what kind of RAM your mobo supports, how much total RAM, and how mnay modules it will support as well as how many are currently in use. Also, You’ll have to know the FSB speed of your comp based on your CPU.
For example: My mobo supports 2 gigs of ram, it can hold 3 RAM modules (DDR), and is running an AMD 2400 XP CPU running with a 133 mhz System bus speed.
So I know I need DDR 266 mhz (PC 2100) RAM modules.
As evilhomer points out, any computer parts store (as well as big retail stores like Best Buy and Comp USA) can do this for you. I don;t know how much it will cost you though.
[/slight hijack]