What would be better?

[psp83]

I posted a while ago about rebuilding my pc at home.

Its a Pentium D 2.8ghz, 2gb RAM, PCI-E

I want to upgrade to a better spec machine within the next 2 months (end sept). I dont know if i should just buy a new one or buy the parts and rebuild my machine i have now 

I'm a web designer/coder and have lots of power hungry apps open, esp photoshop cs3.

So, should i rebuild or buy a new pc?

I will be going over to Vista.

[john]

If you have lots of apps open at the same time then providing they don't need to interact with each other then it may be worth considering running them on more than one machine which needn't be as highly spec'd as a single machine trying to run them, especially as you already have the existing machine. You can also get switch boxes to enable you to use the same keyboard, mouse and monitor and with a local network you can transfer data between machines.

I'm not saying this is necesarily the best solution for you, just that it's an option that you may wish to consider if you decide to buy another machine rather than upgrade your existing one. It also gives you the option of still being able to work if one machine develops a fault.

I have two machines a work which came in handy when a script that I developed recently took 4 days to execute due to memory paging requirements and caused the machine to slow down to almost a standstill.

[Rik]

See what deals are out there, Paul. It's often as cheap to buy new as to re-build, especially if consumer spending is down.

[vitriol]

More specs of your current machine would help get a definitive answer Paul, for example if your motherboard is a LGA775 socket then you could drop in a duel / quad core CPU (depends on BIOS support), another GB of RAM (if you're moving to Vista 32bit) would be a good decision.  Also as vista is dependant on the graphics card I would strongly recommend a dedicated card (if you don't have one already.)


If you're struggling with Motherboard information, normally CPU-Z will give you plenty of information about it.

Depending on what you currently have though it might be best to go with Rik's suggestion and just buying new.

[psp83]

I'm at work at the mo so cant get any specs as vnc is not working.

I use CPU-Z anyways.

The mobo is LGA775. Its an Acer. CPU-Z doesn't give the mobo brand though.

The mobo is maxed out on memory already (2gb max)

I have a PCI-E dedicated card. its a eVGA GeForce 512mb 7950 GT KO

[vitriol]

That limits things a little then.  Assuming that your BIOS supports them, a quick upgrade would be to put in a fast duo / quad.  The Q6600 GO SLACR version retails for around £110.  Shame that you can't add more RAM as Photshop loves the stuff and going over to Vista will put a big dent into your physical RAM.

Unless you're prepared to stick in another motherboard thats just about it as far as an upgrade is concerned.  Unless Acer have released a new BIOS that supports more than 2GB RAM.

Still cheaper than a new system though, but there are some great deals to be had from the likes of Dell.

[psp83]

I might just buy a custom built one from a local pc shop and use this one as a server as my old server died a few months ago.

Heres some more specs.

Processor :

Intel Pentium D 820
SmithField
Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz
Socket 775 LGA

Chipset & Memory :

Northbridge : ATI RS400/RC400/RC410 rev. 01
Southbridge : ALI M1573 rev. 31
Graphic Interface : PCI-Express
Memory Type : DDR2
Memory Size : 2048 MBytes

System :

System Manufacturer : ACER
System Name : Aspire T650
Mainboard Vendor : ACER
Mainboard Model : ERC410Mÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
BIOS Vendor : American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version : R02-A3
BIOS Date : 06/02/2006

[psp83]

Just been on Dells website and what do you think about the following specs?

PROCESSOR : Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q9450 Processor (2.66GHz, 12MB cache, 1333MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM : Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium with Service Pack 1, 32-bit - English
MEMORY : 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
HARD DRIVE : 500GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive   
GRAPHICS CARD : 256MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 3650 graphics card
OPTICAL DRIVE : DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
SOUND SOFTWARE : Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES : 19-in-1 Media Card Reader

Price : £609.02 (inc del)

Or i can go with the above except with a diff processor.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8200 processor (2.66GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB cache)

Price : £469.02 (inc del)

[Simon]

When I was 'researching' my latest build, I was advised that the Dual Core would be more than adequate, unless I intended to run more than two resource intensive applications simultaneously, and it does seem quite a jump in price for the Quad.  Don't take my advice though, Paul, as I'm hardly qualified to make any expert judgements.

[psp83]

On a normal day i would normally have the following running at the same time..

Outlook
Excel
Word
Dreamweaver CS3
Fireworks/Photoshop CS3
Several Browers
WLM & Yahoo.

[Simon]

I guess, if the money isn't an issue, the Quad would be future proof, and it's also always good to have power in reserve. 

I'm sure you'll receive more advice in the morning, Paul. 

[Rik]

Go Quad, Paul, given the kind of apps you run.

[Inactive]

Keep an eye on this Paul;

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_6766.htm

No price yet.

[Gary]

I believe there is price drop in Q3 on the way from Intel, at the end of this month possibly but keep your eyes peeled online, could mean some great bargains will be had

[psp83]

Here's another spec with Q6600 Processor

PROCESSOR : Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 Processor (2.4GHz, 8MB cache, 1066MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM : Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium with Service Pack 1, 32-bit - English
MEMORY : 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
HARD DRIVE : 500GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive   
GRAPHICS CARD : 256MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 3650 graphics card
OPTICAL DRIVE : DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
SOUND SOFTWARE : Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES : 19-in-1 Media Card Reader

Price : £499.01 (inc del)

[psp83]

what shall i go for? 

[Rik]

I'd go for the £600 one, it's more future proof. Though I am well known for spending other people's money. 

[Gary]

I'd go for the £600 one, it's more future proof. Though I am well known for spending other people's money. 

I agree with Rik, I always go for more than I need to save having to update components at a later date, and future proof my machine for as long as possible

[Rik]

Like minds. Of course, I'd add a couple or three extra HDs to the spec too.

[psp83]

I would add extra hard drives but dell site doesn't offer the option, plus it'll be cheaper to get a few from ebuyer! and i have some to take out my old pc aswell

[Rik]

Strange that, Paul, you'd think they'd at least offer the option on a second drive.

[Inactive]

I would wait until Aldi give a price on their one, you may be pleasantly surprised, I have one of their machines, just coming up to 3 years old, no problems at all.

[psp83]

Me wait? I want everything yesterday lol..

[Rik]

Give it time, that will change.

[Inactive]

Me wait? I want everything yesterday lol..

It may well be worth the wait, the spec looks good to me.

In any case, it will be in the shops on Sunday, still quicker than waiting for Dell delivery.