***Official Computer Upgrade thread***

[flomo]

I need a new PC for home use, mostly for storing pics and surfing porn(the free stuff). i have a monitor(samsung 204b) whickh should last a couple more years. i'm currently using a 6-7 year old dell

where should i be looking?

i'm be idiotic when it comes to electronics. my computer knowledge is "click, click, PORN!"

[Warpe]

You shouldn't spend more a grand and probably quite a bit less for a good mid-priced machine. Go brand name, minimum dual-core, likely quad-core processor, minimum 6GB RAM, discrete graphics card, lots of USB ports, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a Blu-ray burner and TV tuner card. Hit Best Buy or whatev.

[Illfavor]

You shouldn't spend more a grand and probably quite a bit less for a good mid-priced machine. Go brand name, minimum dual-core, likely quad-core processor, minimum 6GB RAM, discrete graphics card, lots of USB ports, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a Blu-ray burner and TV tuner card. Hit Best Buy or whatev.

I am also pretty bad with electronics but have been researching the exact same topic as the OP for about a month and almost none of these these things seem necessary if he's really using it for what he says. I doubt you need to spend more than $500 to get a machine worthy of your needs...

[JKDS]

why even get a new one? like, is xp not compatible with the latest flash players or streaming feeds? if storage is an issue you can just buy an external harddrive for <$100 that would store everything you'll ever take a picture of in 9 lifetimes.

[Warpe]

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/...ur-best-tv/?hp

[flomo]

"discrete graphics card"
sorry, i don't understand. What does the discrete mean?


JKDS
we have a hard drive. here
wife was unable to set it up and now i think it is in storage. i never played with it.
so, as always bigred was right.

current comp is all fucked up.
low disk space messages, got hit by that virus/worm thing a few years back, everything is super slow
i can still lose money on stars so that is normal.

[Warpe]

separate and distinct from the motherboard...not a biggy if you're not gaming...TV tuner card is a must these days tho

[Tiresman]

Checkout TigerDirect I've bought like a dozen computers from them over the years. Both laptops and desktops. Only had a problem with one and they were very quick to replace. Including shipping both ways. Before I went to Vegas I bought an Acer laptop for $299. Let me know what you think.

P.S. Did you try the Oxtail recipe?

[boost]

warpe why do you say a tv tuner card is a must? Do you use your computer as a DVR? Im pretty interested in this actually as I have a desktop that I never use and a 500gig external HD.

[Warpe]

warpe why do you say a tv tuner card is a must? Do you use your computer as a DVR? Im pretty interested in this actually as I have a desktop that I never use and a 500gig external HD.

Not yet but I'm planning to. Read the NY Times link above and some of the additional info in the comments. Basically, you can set up a comp to run streaming video to your TV plus run your normal cable feed. There's also some pretty slick software out there that lets you run everything with your remote, but there's numerous ways to run it. And, yes, you can use your HD as a DVR.

[boost]

why would you want to run streaming video to your tv? I mean.. ftmp streaming video blows balls. However I think a TV tuner and a decent widescreen monitor is a must for someone with a small apartment. This way they can do without a TV and whatnot.

[Jack Sawyer]

flomo, any pc of about $600 is perfect for you. Get Dell or Sony or HP in that price range, look for intel core 2 duo chips, and you will be golden.

[Keith]

separate and distinct from the motherboard...not a biggy if you're not gaming...TV tuner card is a must these days tho

Not quite true..... onboard graphics will probably be limited to 1280*900 ish on resolution. Flomo said he had a samsung 204b which can do 1600*1200 so the big question then is how many tables you play ? tile them or stack them?.If you tile the tables and you are currently using the 1600*1200 screen resolution on your poker then you may want to consider a cheap and cheerful graphics card capab;e of 1600*1200 to get the most out of your monitor.

[flomo]

i tile 4 tables at 1600X1200
i'm guessing monitor is good for only a few more years and then would be replaced. i'm not really sure the life expectancy of monitors.


Jack
i was looking to be in that price range and find something that can be purchased online.

Tiresman
i did make the oxtail, i'll try to find the pics and posst them in the culinary pimping thread. (although it may be after i get this computer thing worked out)


i live in NYC and sales taxes are high here and usually things cost more in the city to begin with.

i'll look at tiger direct and best buy online.

[Jack Sawyer]

This one probably suits your needs about tenfold

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-P6...707494&sr=1-12

[Illfavor]

You can custom build one at dell.com for pretty cheap, or find a refurb at their outlet for around $400 that would probably be everything you wanted.

[flomo]

This one probably suits your needs about tenfold

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-P6...707494&sr=1-12

that looks good!
is HP better than Dell? or is that just a silly question?

[AdamThePirate]

They're all about the same if you're buying a ready-made one, Dell, HP, both "fine" choices.

I mean the best way would be to build your own rig but it's probably too much hassle if you've never done it before and don't have much interest.

Also the graphics on that suck as it's integrated with the motherboard and not a separate component. But as long as you're not playing graphic intensive games it should be ok.

The 8GB of ram is extremely overkill, 2GB is fine for any modern rig. The Quad-core processor is also probably over the top, but hey for $600 that's all a pretty cheap setup.

[Keith]

a better option with decent graphics rather than onboard crap.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883103218

[flomo]

i looked at dell online and went thru the customizing thing. it was fun, but i did not know all the correct answers.

i'm drunk -----godnoght

[flomo]

some rambling by flomo about getting a comp
Wife feels best about ordering a dell online. which is kind of sucks for me because now i have to customize the bitch to what i want.
**CLICK, CLICK, PORN** MOtHeRFUCk3R!!!! **CLICK, CLICK, PORN**
that is what i want


now i just got to get shit figured out.

[Warpe]

Run through the options, post em here and get advices.

[flomo]

Run through the options, post em here and get advices.

good idea, i'll do this tonight

thank you Warpe

[flomo]

We will only be using one computer for the next 2 years. A second comp will probably be purchased in 2 years(family of 4). We have a monitor, canon printer, and speakers(left, right and subwoofer).

bluetooth not needed, i have 2 and 5 year old kids and will never see an unattached component if they get a hold of it.
wifi not needed at this time.
and we don't watch much TV.

current comp is a 7 year old dell, can this comp be cannabilized. i'm guessing the stuff is too old to be worth it.

i'm clueless on processor, software, security, online backup, sound card and video card.

this iswhat i came up with for basic comp which totaled at $469(i have to keep it under $700)
Built on studio desktop
Compatibility InstructionsCongratulations! Your system is ready to be built.We have some recommendations for you highlighted in green below.Software & Services
PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® dual-core E5200 (2MB L2, 2.5GHz, 800FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9 edit
Dell Recommends
Office Home & Student.

Lets you create great-looking documents, spreadsheets and presentations quickly.
Upgrade to Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 [add $99 or $3/month1]


WARRANTY & SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
MONITOR No Monitor edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 4DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
VIDEO CARD Integrated Intel® GMA X4500HD Graphics edit
SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
SPEAKERS No Speaker Option edit
Dell Recommends
Multimedia Speaker System delivers an ideal combination of performance and value
Upgrade to Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speaker System [add $110 or $3/month1]


KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell Consumer Multimedia Keyboard and Laser Mouse edit
My Accessories
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Day Trial edit
Dell Recommends
Dell Recommended
Upgrade to McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months [add $109 or $3/month1]


TOP SELLING SOFTWARE Pcmover Essentials - moves everything to your new PC edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
ADOBE & ENTERTAINMENT WildTangent Games edit
Dell Recommends
Complete photo and video editing made easy at a Great Value!
Upgrade to Adobe® Photoshop® Elements + Adobe® Premiere® Elements [$99 or $3/month1]


ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
MEDIA READER Integrated 16-in-1 Media Card Reader
MODEM No Modem Option
Mouse Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Network Card Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
REMOTE ACCESS Dell Remote Access, free basic service

[flomo]

i ordered a dell and it arrives tomorrow.

porn has not worked on my comp for 2 weeks. i'm so horny i almost fuck3d my wife.

[kmind]

god I love you

[BooG690]

Being that it'd be stupid to start a new thread since I'm thinking about upgrading or getting a new comp. as well...I haz a ?:

I have an Intel Pentium 4 2.40 GHz processor. I don't have dual processors. I think the 512 MB of RAM is slowing me down though.

I don't feel like spending $400 on, even a refurbished DELL, if I can just stick in some RAM and get it going again. All that wireless crap and graphics card isn't really important to me anyway (actually, it depends, wtf does a graphics card do, anyway?). So my question is: does the fact that I DON'T have dual processors affect my decision to simply stick RAM into my computer?

[Keith]

xp or vista.?

graphics card will let you play 3d games ....onboard graphics will give a lot worse 3d game performance . If you don't play computer games such as shoot em ups / aero simulators/racing games you probably won't need one. the 4500 onboard graphics flomo was looking at does high res graphics as far as i can tell so should be ok with a large monitor , but cheaper onboard graphics may well limit you being able to use a big monitor.

do you get the hourglass symbol and lots of hard disc access at the same time a lot .....if so could well be a symptom of low memory available and the swap file getting hammered.If so extra memory could help ...assuming you have free memory slots in your computer.
If its a P4 depending on the age it could well be DDR memory you will need rather than DDR2 which is the newer stuff so could well be more expensive to upgrade (DDR is twice the price of DDR2 here in the UK).
If you are confident in taking the side off your computer , have a look and see what motherboard you have and if you have any spare memory slots.

[spoonitnow]

warpe why do you say a tv tuner card is a must? Do you use your computer as a DVR? Im pretty interested in this actually as I have a desktop that I never use and a 500gig external HD.

Not yet but I'm planning to. Read the NY Times link above and some of the additional info in the comments. Basically, you can set up a comp to run streaming video to your TV plus run your normal cable feed. There's also some pretty slick software out there that lets you run everything with your remote, but there's numerous ways to run it. And, yes, you can use your HD as a DVR.

Just thought I'd throw this out there, but I have an old desktop hooked up to my TV just to play console emulators and watch movies on.

[Warpe]

Being that it'd be stupid to start a new thread since I'm thinking about upgrading or getting a new comp. as well...I haz a ?:

I have an Intel Pentium 4 2.40 GHz processor. I don't have dual processors. I think the 512 MB of RAM is slowing me down though.

I don't feel like spending $400 on, even a refurbished DELL, if I can just stick in some RAM and get it going again. All that wireless crap and graphics card isn't really important to me anyway (actually, it depends, wtf does a graphics card do, anyway?). So my question is: does the fact that I DON'T have dual processors affect my decision to simply stick RAM into my computer?

Yeah, max out whatever RAM your comp will take. My new but old Compaq (got it refurbished from a buddy) is limited to 1GB but it does everything I need it to do.

[BooG690]

I'm running a 32-bit version of Windows XP. I'm pretty sure it uses SDR RAM. And I'll update when I open the side of the computer.

Mod, perhaps we can make this the "***OFFICIAL UPGRADING COMPUTER THREAD***"? Just a suggestion...I like asterisks.

[Keith]

Bump..

I dying to know out of curiosity.........Is the porn any better on the new puter

[flomo]

Bump..

I dying to know out of curiosity.........Is the porn any better on the new puter

YES! ...

[aka_red]

[a500lbgorilla]

i ordered a dell and it arrives tomorrow.

porn has not worked on my comp for 2 weeks. i'm so horny i almost fuck3d my wife.

hahaha flashes of Married with Children

i ordered a dell and it arrives tomorrow.

porn has not worked on my comp for 2 weeks. i'm so horny i almost fuck3d my wife.

lol dis