Upgrade or buy a new PC? Help!

[glen65]

Hi All,
This is my very first post. I hope you can help me. I’ve been lurking around a few days and it seems like a helpful group. This may be a little long but I want to give as much info as I can so you don’t have to ask me for additional info.

Anyway, My daughter just picked up Sims 2 and it seems that my old system can’t handle it. Here’s what I currently have.

eMachines T1100

CPU: Intel® Celeron® Processor 1GHz (w/128KB)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Chipset: Intel 810 chipset, 100MHz FSB
Memory: 256MB SDRAM
Hard Drive: 20GB HDD
Optical Drive: 12x Max. Write CD-RW Drive; 3.5" 1.44MB FDD
Video: Intel DirectAGP 3D (810 shared)
Sound: Intel 82801 AC '97 Audio
Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready PCI internal Fax/Modem
Peripherals: Keyboard, Mouse, Stereo Speakers
Ports/Other: 2 USB ports (1 on front bezel), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio In & Out, 1 Midi/Game on front bezel, Mic-In & Head Phone jack on front

I went to eMachines’ website and they suggested I upgrade to the following… Manufacturer: eVGA
Model Type: nVidia MX4000 64MB DDR PCI 4X Graphic Card
Part No: 64P1NV39SX
SKU: VAEV64P1NV39
$59.95

They say… By doubling the RAM size, the GeForce4 MX-4000 64MB PCI will allow gamers without an AGP slot to play games at a higher resolution with good performance. With features such as Digital Vibrance Control?(DVC) and nVidia Shading Rasterizer?(NSR), the casual user will experience eye-opening 3D graphics.

My questions are…. 1. Will this help? 2. Is it just a bandaid for a bigger problem? 3. Should I just go buy a new system? My wife has been hinting at number 3, but I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a new pc. Other than my daughter playing games, the pc is basically used for surfing.

Thanks all!

[hockey man]

Welcome to the Pc Guide. I'm no expert with older technology, but I can tell you this- a MX4000 is a very-very low end card and you can buy one from Newegg.com for under $40. The I810 chipset is very old technology. Saphalline more than likely has all the specs memorized for that chipset, so wait for him to make a suggestion.

[glen65]

hockey man,
Thanks for the info! Hopefully more will chime in.

[jcnoernberg]

My questions are…. 1. Will this help?


A new video card wouldn't hurt, but like the last post said, you can get that card (or the equivalent) for a lot less on, say, ebay. everyone's onto 128mb and 256mb cards, 64mb cards can be had for a steal. i assume you don't have agp, so just got for any decent pci card. your pc is likely on its last leg, so don't sink too much money into it.



2. Is it just a bandaid for a bigger problem?

yeah, obsolescence
what are the requirements to run the software? what is it saying when it fails to install?



3. Should I just go buy a new system? My wife has been hinting at number 3,

I like option 4.) BUILD a new system! why not learn something and save money at the same time?



but I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a new pc.

how much do you have? a few hundred dollars can get you going



Other than my daughter playing games, the pc is basically used for surfing.

that pc will be fine for surfing, games will be another thing. but like i said, that computer may not last too much longer anyhow.

[hockey man]

We need to know a couple of things:

1-What games are you talking about?

2-What is your budget?

That video card is still not really going to be enough to do anything somewhat intensive. . .it is at the bottom of supported graphics cards. . .a PCI Geforce 5500 would be more powerful.

[Jonas]

[QUOTE=glen65]Hi All,
This is my very first post. I hope you can help me. I’ve been lurking around a few days and it seems like a helpful group.

eMachines T1100

CPU: Intel® Celeron® Processor 1GHz (w/128KB)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Chipset: Intel 810 chipset, 100MHz FSB
Memory: 256MB SDRAM
Hard Drive: 20GB HDD


Thought I'd stick in my 2nd post (a reply) My wife has a T1116 and it's been doing some bad things lately. I installed a new firewall (Sunbelt Kerio) and updated Avast so thought either could be causing problems since I had only 256 memory and the machine is loaded with applications. I increased the page file to X2, cleaned registry, deleted lots of junk, and defragged. Still happens and I had it in my mind that adding another 256 of memory might help. Nothing in the documentation except "168 pins, unbuffered and 100/300" and I couldn't find the fsb specs anywhere on the machine so I just went ahead and bought 256 of 300 figuring it would be backward compatible if it actually was a 100 fsb. Right? Wrong!
You'd think the slower memory would be cheaper but the price on that is about twice what I just paid for 512M of DDR2. Actually the DDR2 is the only thing I added to my new Acer Aspire because I wanted to stay away from expensive upgrading and must say that I'm delighted with the Acer and not unhappy with the price of it. I already have a Sony monitor etc, etc with a switch to go from one to the other. (I have a five machine network because I always try to get use out of the retired hardware people seem to want to give to me. :) )
Anyway, what I'm getting at is: I've come to the conclusion that upgrading components is not always the best way to go. By the time I upgrade, I can buy a new box with most of the work done for me. I actually use my main computer seriously with most work being desktop publishing to a wide format printer. But no more web sites.

[hockey man]

Jonas, please start your own thread to avoid confusion.

[saphalline]

Jonas was commenting on this thread in regards to just buying a new system rather than upgrading. No confusion there, other than the rambling. :p

glen65 - Primarily, we need to know the budget you have for any upgrades or even a new system. I won't lie to you - as soon as I saw "Chipset: Intel 810 chipset, 100MHz FSB" and "Video: Intel DirectAGP 3D (810 shared)", I started to cringe! :( That is a horrible system for playing The Sims 2. Your system is so far behind what that game requires. Although even more surprising is the absolutely pathetic so-called "upgrade" that eMachines' website suggested! :eek: Wow! That's bad!

My first inclination is to suggest something like this GeForce FX 5500 PCI vid card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133134) for an upgrade option. The CPU in that thing isn't bad so a vid card upgrade would allow your daughter to play The Sims 2. On the other hand, that chipset is horrible! And as Jonas has already said, it won't accept PC133 SDRAM, so you're stuck having to buy the super-super-expensive PC100 SDRAM. You're also limited to a max of 512MB of RAM, which isn't surprising for that era of computers - but modern systems can reach 2-4GB easily.

If your budget is low and you want to upgrade, I'd suggest that FX 5500 vid card. Beyond that, I wouldn't recommend spending any more money on that old system. It's just not worth it. I've got an old second-hand Linux box that's far more advanced than your main system.

If you have the money for buying a new system, definitely look into that first. The cost might be less than you think, too. Best Buy as an example has this eMachines bundle (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999950500050007&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01173&id=pcmprd50700050007) for $330 + tax. That's it! No rebates or anything, just instant savings on a new system with a monitor! Granted it uses older technology, but the lack rebates or other paperwork for that price can't be beat. Moving up in quality and price, there's this Compaq Sempron bundle (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999950500050001&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01173&id=pcmprd50700050001) complete with printer for $640 before rebates. The main rebate for this bundle expires today, but fear not. Next week, Best Buy will have another rebate to replace it, for HP or another manufacturer. And of course Best Buy isn't the only place to shop! ;) You can find awesome deals like this in any store that sells computers. Just shop around.

[glen65]

All,
I would like to thank everyone for their help/comments. I've come to the realization that there's no upgrading that lunker. I'm going to build a new one or build one. If I build one, it will be a first from me so expect to see more questions!

Thanks again!