Leslie Fiedler

Computers??

I need to know which would be a cheaper alternative: Buying A New Computer, or Upgrading My Old Computer. I have 256 MB of Ram (It freezes all the time) Intel Pentium 4 Processor Would it be cheaper to upgrade the Ram, update my graphics card, buy a thin monitor, install a dvd burner etc... Or just throw it off a balcony a get a new one? If you decide I should upgrade, what other things do u suggest I should upgrade? Thanks

Public Comments

1. Buy the new one. You'll have a lot easier time making sure everything is compatible. Upgrading use to be a cost saving alternative, but to run todays software and games it's often cheaper to buy new.
2. Buy a new computer, you can find a good one for 500 if you already have a monitor. Don't buy a e machine! hp or gateway
3. get a new one
4. A new computer. By the time you pay someone to do all the labour to upgrade and buy all the things you need to now install you might as well have a new one.
5. get a new one wuts the point of gettin an upgrade if u cant see the effects of it if it freezes all the time so yea get a new one
6. it depends if you want to wait forever on your computer to load and have it freeze up in the middle of something then i would get a new computer but if you don't care then i would get an update....personaly i would get a new computer
7. get a new centrino duo-core. The new dvd burner will run you about half of what a new CPU will cost you.
8. it really depends on what you are planning to do. with a pentium 4, how about maxing out the memory on the motherboard first? 256 MB is barely enough to load an OS these days....let alone any software. Much software produced in the last 2 years requires 512 MB of memory to run, and recommends 1 GB. but memory is very cheap right now, and that may give you what you need. pentium 4 is still a pretty current processor, though many new desktops come with dual core processors now. but, if you really want to figure it out...I would suggest you price out what it would cost to buy the components you want in your system, and price out pre-built systems, and see what the difference is. when deciding what to upgrade (and how much to spend) you really need to consider what you will be doing. just about everything is improved by upping the memory (go for 2 GB, or more if your mother board will support it). if you are a gamer, you may want a better video card. (100 to start, and up from there). do you have a cd or dvd burner? these days, if you buy a burner, a dvd burner is a great idea, because they hold at least 8 times what a CD holds, and are really great for backups. you can also add USB and firewire ports, depending on what you do with your computer. many places offer very good deals on refurbished systems, such as tigerdirect.com. if you don't mind a pre-owned system, you can sometimes find outstanding deals. good luck!