[robbbb]

hello
my pc freezes too ofter and i have to reload xp and all that nightmare that goes with that but mostly it's too slow.
time to get a new one. probably just a tower for now.
i don't really know what specifications to look for (speed is my main concern i never use a lot of disk space anyway.
this is what i found in control panel under system.
XP Home version 2002 service pack 2
AMD Duron Processor
902MHz , 304 MB of ram
would even the cheapest pc be very superior to this since mine is about 7 years old if not what should i look for?
thank you for your help
rob

 

[norton850]

"would even the cheapest pc be very superior to this since mine is about 7 years old"
Yes

What's your budget? You mention speed, but what's your main use for the system going to be? Do you want to build it or buy it?

 

[robbbb]

my budget is low so i think i would rather go for tower first rather than buy a whole system . not sure what you mean by build it. i use it for working on my site, photo programs, communicating on msn and email,

 

[ozrom1e]

I have a Duron 750 and it works just fine. A little slow but it still works. What you have to do is spend a little bit of time on system maintenance and such and also add some ram to it so there is at least 512 Mb or more. Since you are slightly financially embarrassed and so am I what you do is keep your eyes open at the local flea market and also when driving around become a scrounge and pick up computers that some one is tossing out. I found an Athlon 2800+ Compaq that really rips, the price was exactly right = free. Now I have a fast system and with all of the bells and whistles I need. Oh I also have 1 Gb Ram free by the road.

Have a good New Year and keep looking oh also you will need a pair of needle nose pliers and a phillips head screw driver.

 

[flavallee]

Rob:

I'm running Windows XP SP2 on a 7-year old Compaq Presario 5900T with an Intel Pentium III 733 MHz processor and 384 MB of PC133 SDRAM, and it runs fine. I have a minimum number of programs running in the background, have most of the "eye candy" disabled, have several settings tweaked for maximum performance, keep the buildup of temp files and spyware cleaned out, and don't run any memory-hungry and graphically-extensive programs in it. :up:

If your budget is limited and you're still in the market for a new tower, I would recommend one of the Compaq Presario models in the $500.00 - $600.00 range - which you will find to be much more powerful and much faster than what you're currently using. :up:

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[robbbb]

thanks everyone good advice.
is there a single or a few specifications that will help me. although i have been on this machine for years i seem to have not kept up with the jargon as to what is what as far as processors and MHz even means.

 

[Lt_Galan]

Well if you want speed i suggest you look for something along the lines of a Pentium 4 or Pentium D processor, with at least 2.0GHz (make sure its not MHz ). As with what ozromb1e said, make sure you get at least 512mb in RAM. With what you say you use it for, you probably will be good with a cheapo on-board graphics card and sound card. When your shopping for that new computer (i suggest you just buy a new one opposed to upgrading you current one, that would cost alot more in your situation) you should make your main focus on a decent processor and good RAM. Your average price would be around $300-$400. Make sure to shop around plenty and dont get ripped off

 

[TRS-80 vet]

thanks everyone good advice.
is there a single or a few specifications that will help me. although i have been on this machine for years i seem to have not kept up with the jargon as to what is what as far as processors and MHz even means.

I think ANY new machine, with base equipment will serve you well. And I think you could do much better than the $500 - $600 figure mentioned elsewhere...

 

[jmwills]

Shop online, and I use Dell. For what you are looking for, I have sen machines for $300 (no monitor), XP Home.

 

[flavallee]

Robbbb:

If you look at Walmart, Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc., you can find a low-end, basic desktop in the $300.00 - $400.00 price range that has an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processor. Be careful though not to select a model that has a minimal amount of RAM(256 MB). You don't want to have any less than 512 MB.

I suggested something in the $500.00 - $600.00 price range because they tend to come with more RAM(1,024 MB) and with a higher quality display adapter to handle the demands of software that can be memory-hungry and graphically-extensive.

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[robbbb]

thank you all
so is it just the processor and the ram then? since my pc always has about 85% free space i thought memory was not an issue but i'm probably missing something. when i go to defragmenter it says 37.26 GB free space 31.59 GB free space 84%. this is probably not the ram then. can someone explain . although i have been somewhat pc literate for some years this basic stuff i really don't get,

 

[jmwills]

1 gig = 1024 mb so a 40 gig hard drive with nothing on it will only show 39062 mb.

 

[Old Rich]

when i go to defragmenter it says 37.26 GB free space 31.59 GB free space 84%. this is probably not the ram then. can someone explain

That is telling you the details of your Hard Drive . . not RAM

 

[robbbb]

i have it figured out now. i don't really have to think about the hard drive they are all way bigger than the one i'm using. ram and a good cpu.
appreciate the help
rob

 

[OneLuv]

go 2 best buy or the likes they sell displays w full warranty got an emachines 2.30Ghz/celeron/80gig hd/512mb ram.....300 4 tha tower.