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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: heidi s who wrote (23175)	11/3/2001 11:01:48 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 110652

I like Dells much better than Compaqs, stick with Dell. Dell's support is better and their machines are more reliable. A faster processor would help, DDR ram would help a little more. Get as big a hard drive as you need just make sure it spins at 7200 RPMs not 5400. Consider a 2nd hard drive for a backup. Avoid XP Home Edition. XP Professional and W2K Professional are both much more stable than Win 98.

To: heidi s who wrote (23175)	11/4/2001 3:18:40 AM
From: Nick Morvay	Respond to of 110652

heidi, if you are upgrading the current machine then start with the memory. Windows loves lots of memory. Push it up to 512 minimum. At todays memory prices it's a cheap upgrade to maximize performance. Also, it's not a difficult procedure to expand memory. If you are on Win98xx then move to either Win2K Pro or WinXP Pro. If you are on Win2K, there is no pressing need to move to XP unless you want the window dressing. The enhancement over Win2K don't warrant the exposure to possible problems. Although Win2K and XP platform will run slightly slower than Win98, the enhanced memory utilization will take better advantage of RAM and result in a much more robust and stable system. You can add a large HDD but your MB may not support the UDMA100 used by todays fast 7200RPM IDE drives. Further upgrades now depends on cost vs. payback. Is the CPU/MB upgrade (perhaps requiring new box) vs. new system worth the cost. You need to factor in your time to do the upgrade. At this point a new system may be more desirable. I have never purchased a Dell but have heard good things about them. Here is a comparison between AMD and Intel CPUs including a comparative value indicator. It may be more info than you require but the cost/performance value is educational. tomshardware.com Here is a scorecard for all CPUs. The scores are based on the Intel iComp intel.com benchmark unlike the above system test that is more thorough. cpuscorecard.com Regards, Nick

To: heidi s who wrote (23175)	11/4/2001 6:00:48 AM
From: thecow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110652

heidi s If you're not experiencing any problems with Win98 (from the age I assume that's what you are running) why bother. Your machine should easily handle the chores you describe. I'm sure you can find a better deal and some fine machines with some of the other major companies but if you do decide to buy new, I'd go with the one you already trust. Both Win2000 and XP are more stable operating systems with XP having fewer hardware and software compatibility problems with older stuff. The newer processor speeds are amazing but how many of us really need to save a few milliseconds with each operation. That said, I just replaced my Dell 450 98SE with a Dell 8200 XP Home Edition and am pleased. I didn't *need* it, I just wanted it. From the description of what you use it for, the most effective upgrade you can make is a faster internet connection. A newer machine will not make your internet experience any different. tc :-)