How old is your computer???

[archeryguy1701]

I use a computer that's almost eight years old. It's got 40GB of hard drive space, 128MB RAM, and (I think) 1GHz of processing speed. It works for most things, but sites like IGN and GameSpot are running more slowly for me. Maybe somebody who knows more about this stuff can tell me which attribute(s) needs to be upgraded for those sites to run optimally?

RAM and proccessor would definately give you a nice boost. I don't know what operating system you're running on, but the RAM should probably be at a bare minimum 512MB. Processor you probably make most things work, but I would suggest jumping it up to maybe a 2GHz. But the RAM would make the biggest difference.

 

[Cutter John]

And now would be the time to get it. RAM is like what, $12 a Gb now?

 

[thaniyo]

Just had its second birthday, I got it in May 3th, 2007.

 

[Rii]

I use a computer that's almost eight years old. It's got 40GB of hard drive space, 128MB RAM, and (I think) 1GHz of processing speed. It works for most things, but sites like IGN and GameSpot are running more slowly for me. Maybe somebody who knows more about this stuff can tell me which attribute(s) needs to be upgraded for those sites to run optimally?

I suspect it's not worth upgrading the system. Compatible parts will be scarce and their prices artificially inflated relative to their actual performance, and there'll almost certainly be hard caps on such upgrades limiting them to around five years behind the times. You'd be better off with a new system, keeping the display and such from your current PC if you're still satisfied with it. If you can't afford that at the moment, it'd be best to soldier on with your current system until you can.

 

[ialfan]

Main PC:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 @ 3.2GHz (1.184v)
8GB DDR2 1026 Ram
ATI 4850 HD 512MB Graphics Card
~2.5TB Hard Drive Space split over 3 drives
20x DVDRW
Samsung T240 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor
Windows 7 Ultimate RC1 Build 7100 x64

 

[BigFoot]

I use a computer that's almost eight years old. It's got 40GB of hard drive space, 128MB RAM, and (I think) 1GHz of processing speed. It works for most things, but sites like IGN and GameSpot are running more slowly for me. Maybe somebody who knows more about this stuff can tell me which attribute(s) needs to be upgraded for those sites to run optimally?

I suspect it's not worth upgrading the system. Compatible parts will be scarce and their prices artificially inflated relative to their actual performance, and there'll almost certainly be hard caps on such upgrades limiting them to around five years behind the times. You'd be better off with a new system, keeping the display and such from your current PC if you're still satisfied with it. If you can't afford that at the moment, it'd be best to soldier on with your current system until you can.

Either that, or get used parts to upgrade the PC.

 

[Deckerd]

Main PC:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 @ 3.2GHz (1.184v)
8GB DDR2 1026 Ram
ATI 4850 HD 512MB Graphics Card
~2.5TB Hard Drive Space split over 3 drives
20x DVDRW
Samsung T240 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor
Windows 7 Ultimate RC1 Build 7100

Model: PS-2-Stroke
Type: air-cooled, single cylinder (MIX 40:1)
Displacement: (cm³) 106
Max. power output: (HP/rpm) 3/3800
Crank speed: (rpm) 3800
Ignition system: TCI
Starting mode: recoil start
Fuel tank capacity (lt) 2.6
Air cleaner: semi-dry
Engine oil capacity (lt) 1
Fuel consumption (g/PS.h) 1.5L/H
Dimensions (mm) 454 X 362 X 374
Net weights (kg) 14.8

 

[FPAlpha]

My desktop PC died on me a few weeks ago.. i turned it on one morning and everzthing was fine. Switched it off because i had to do some electrical stuff in my appartment and switched off electricity too.

After i was done my PC just wouldn't start.. i took him apart and looked at everything.. no dice. He served me well for about 4 years.

So i went out and got me a shiny, new Laptop (planned to do this but after christmas) which is cool as hell. Does everything much faster and better.. i can even play new games with many settings quite high whereas my old PC would have made a slideshow out of it (if he was able to run it at all).

I planned on building me a pure gaming machine but i don't think i will.. i don't game as much as i used to and will probably buy a new TV and XBox 360 later in the year to fulfill all my gaming needs.

 

[Smiley]

Thanks for the replies. I know that I need a new computer someday, but it will have to wait until I come into some more money or the old one dies completely.

 

[RandyS]

I just got an Acer laptop four days ago to replace the computer I've had for the past four years. That one was a hand-me-down from my best friend who passed it onto me when he got his new one in August 2005. I used it til it literally overheated and burned out, then after a month offline, I got this one.

 

[ialfan]

Main PC:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 @ 3.2GHz (1.184v)
8GB DDR2 1026 Ram
ATI 4850 HD 512MB Graphics Card
~2.5TB Hard Drive Space split over 3 drives
20x DVDRW
Samsung T240 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor
Windows 7 Ultimate RC1 Build 7100

Model: PS-2-Stroke
Type: air-cooled, single cylinder (MIX 40:1)
Displacement: (cm³) 106
Max. power output: (HP/rpm) 3/3800
Crank speed: (rpm) 3800
Ignition system: TCI
Starting mode: recoil start
Fuel tank capacity (lt) 2.6
Air cleaner: semi-dry
Engine oil capacity (lt) 1
Fuel consumption (g/PS.h) 1.5L/H
Dimensions (mm) 454 X 362 X 374
Net weights (kg) 14.8

Hah I was in a rush posting mine. But to add to my original post for those who couldn't figure it out, my computer's oldest parts are a year old with a modest upgrade this January.

 

[backstept]

in 2004 I built this machine
2.2ghz Athlon
1GB RAM
NVidia 6800GT
Asus motherboard

runs Fallout 3 and LOTRO nicely . . . in fact most games run pretty well on it still
obviously can't run any DX10 stuff, but I don't do enough gaming to warrant an upgrade

 

[Rincewiend]

2 years old...

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
MSI K9N SLI-2F nVidia nForce 570 chipset
Samsung 500GB SATA II U300 7200RPM 16MB
Bought it with 2 GB ram, no it has 4 GB...
Came with a GeForce 7900GS but upgraded it to a GeForce 9500GT
PSU is 350 Watt...
Runs any games well enough i throw at it...
Planning on getting another 1internal HDD since games seem to be needing more space nowadays...

 

[Rii]

Model: PS-2-Stroke
Type: air-cooled, single cylinder (MIX 40:1)
Displacement: (cm³) 106
Max. power output: (HP/rpm) 3/3800
Crank speed: (rpm) 3800
Ignition system: TCI
Starting mode: recoil start
Fuel tank capacity (lt) 2.6
Air cleaner: semi-dry
Engine oil capacity (lt) 1
Fuel consumption (g/PS.h) 1.5L/H
Dimensions (mm) 454 X 362 X 374
Net weights (kg) 14.8

"Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!"

 

[Deckerd]

Model: PS-2-Stroke
Type: air-cooled, single cylinder (MIX 40:1)
Displacement: (cm³) 106
Max. power output: (HP/rpm) 3/3800
Crank speed: (rpm) 3800
Ignition system: TCI
Starting mode: recoil start
Fuel tank capacity (lt) 2.6
Air cleaner: semi-dry
Engine oil capacity (lt) 1
Fuel consumption (g/PS.h) 1.5L/H
Dimensions (mm) 454 X 362 X 374
Net weights (kg) 14.8

"Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!"

 

[Candlelight]

Which one...?

My work PC is a 2 year old iMac (running XP).

My work laptop is a year old Macbook Pro (running OS X, XP, 98 and 7 in virtual).

My home pc is a six year old HP Pavillion (running XP). It still does the job well but will replace it within 12 months when Windows 7 goes online.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have an Intel iMac that's three years old.

I have no interest in getting a newer model until they make an iMac without a drive (like the MacBook Air). I have no interest in Blu-Ray on my computer, and the Air has proven that Macs no longer need drives of any kind (unless you're into authoring DVDs, which I am not).

 

[Daedalus12]

The newest desktop I got is about 3 months old. It's not really mine as it belongs to the research group but I am the only one who is using it.

It's an Intel Core i7 920 box with 8 gb of ram and some mediocre graphics card.