"refurbishing" my PC

[crinkles]

I have an IBM Thinkcentre desktop. It is now 3.5 years old. I was considering buying a new computer (most likely Apple Mac) but the last few days I think I need to be a bit more spendthrifty.

I have been removing unused programmes etc, to try and give it a spring clean. I am defragmenting now (overnight), and will also remove the old files when I get an external hard drive (and defragment again).

What is the best way to increase the performance.

It has
Celeron D about 2.4 GHz
512 MB RAM,
no seperate video card
80 GB hard drive.

So I am thinking of getting up to 1.5 GB more memory if my case can supprot it, I have no idea? How do I go about checking this.

I am also going to buy external HDD, one to expand the current hard drive space, and a larger one for backups.

Is installing RAM hard to do? I am a newbie with working with computers.

 

[bubbatime]

Another stick of ram (512mb-1gig) would be really cheap. If you shopped around, you could probably find one for 15-20 bucks. That's about all I would do to that older computer to stretch some life out of it before I went out and upgraded to a new one.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

More RAM will get you the most bang for the buck. It is probably the easiest upgrade to do as well.

http://www.crucial.com/#

Go to a website like this and it can scan your system and give you upgrade options. Most of the memory sellers have something similar. Either by scanning your system or you just tell it what system you have. Scanning is nice because it will tell you what you already have installed if you don't already know.

I would seriously consider going to 2GB if possible. 1GB would be an improvement but 2GB is even better. I have XP on all my computers and upgrading beyond 1GB is quite noticable.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

In addition to bumping the RAM, I suggest buying a new hard disk. A hard drive that's 3.5 years old needs to be upgraded. 100-120GB disks are inexpensive and are a good amount faster (and quieter) than the original fare.

 

[daves66nova]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
I have an IBM Thinkcentre desktop. It is now 3.5 years old. I was considering buying a new computer (most likely Apple Mac) but the last few days I think I need to be a bit more spendthrifty.

I have been removing unused programmes etc, to try and give it a spring clean. I am defragmenting now (overnight), and will also remove the old files when I get an external hard drive (and defragment again).

What is the best way to increase the performance.

It has
Celeron D about 2.4 GHz
512 MB RAM,
no seperate video card
80 GB hard drive.

So I am thinking of getting up to 1.5 GB more memory if my case can supprot it, I have no idea? How do I go about checking this.

I am also going to buy external HDD, one to expand the current hard drive space, and a larger one for backups.

Is installing RAM hard to do? I am a newbie with working with computers.
go to http://www.bold-fortune.com it'll let you know how to remove ALOT of useless files.

 

[Cutehumor]

hard drive and ram. makes the pc faster and you have more space. that's what I did

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Seagate 120GB ATA-interface drive, $61.99, free shipping from NewEgg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148130

 

[Virtuoso]

As ToyotaNSaturn stated, an internal harddrive upgrade is in order. Instead of buying two externals, buy a large FAST internal drive and use that. You'd be amazed at how much fater your PC responds with a new speedy unit. And then buy an external for backups.

+1 on all other comments about the RAM. You may also consider a processor upgrade, but I would only do it if you can get a significant increase in speed out of it. Small bumps in clockspeed are rarely worth the cash.

 

[SrDriver]

Try the following web site for parts.

Link To Website

 

[PandaBear]

Ram for sure. Like others said, 2GB is pretty much the standard nowadays. If you can find a used CPU for cheap (Pentium D or something like that) that wouldn't hurt to upgrade from the celeron too.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Seagate 120GB ATA-interface drive, $61.99, free shipping from NewEgg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148130


I sold a sony vaio RS 220 tower P 4 2.5ghz, 512 ram, 120 seagate gb, wifi card on ebay for $116 a few weeks ago.

I do have 160 gb in my sony vaio RS520, I was thinking of getting a secondary 500 GB IDE maxtor drive for storage. bestbuy was selling for $129

 

[crinkles]

thanks for the replies. How hard is installing an internal disk drive? I've got a slimline case.
I've gotta get to work...

 

[mormit]

Go to the IBM website...or maybe the Lenovo site. You should be able to get all the information by looking up your model under support. You'll have access to specs, memory type. Should also have details on installing a new HDD and there may be updated bios, drivers, etc you can install.

After that if you still want to have the feel of a new computer/OS without investing in a whole new system, try downloading a live boot CD of Linux. Cost=free, though they do appreciate donations.

 

[eljefino]

If you have a slot for AGP or PCI-E you can get a used video card on ebay for silly cheap, and there are so many you can pick one in your city and probably persuade the seller for local pickup. I got a card for $1 that way with 32 mb ram onboard, it was cheaper than adding system ram!!

The all-in-one motherboards get distracted, for lack of a better term, supplying video, and a card will help that.

Go into your BIOS (hit delete, f1 etc immediately after booting it) and see how much system ram is shared by the onboard video. Could be as much as 256 meg, you probably only need 16-32 and can back that down... releasing the rest of that ram to your programs. Cut your display res down to 16 bit from 32, it will use less resources and you won't see the diff anyway.

Optimize your windows, turn off all the fancy animation etc. annoyances.org has great ways to speed things up for free.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
thanks for the replies. How hard is installing an internal disk drive? I've got a slimline case.
I've gotta get to work...


For your case try the RAM upgrade first, then CPU, then hard drive.

Why? RAM is easy, CPU need some know how (still easy), but hard drive needs either a clean OS install or a partition migration (via software).

Most desktop come with 3.5" hard drive, 3.5 years is a borderline between SATA or PATA/IDE drive transition, so you may have either one. If you have a ribbon cable goes to your hard drive (2 row of 20 pins each, with master or slave jumper setting, etc) then it is a PATA/IDE. If you have a small cable that is only about 1" or less wide, then it is a SATA.

AGP/PCIe graphics upgrade won't give you a lot of non gaming performance upgrade unless you are a power user (i.e. photoshop or HD video playback).

If you can't even figure out how to upgrade a hard drive yet, you probably should be touching Linux at the moment, stay with windows for now.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Cut your display res down to 16 bit from 32, it will use less resources and you won't see the diff anyway.



Have done that - what a bloody difference!!1

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear


If you can't even figure out how to upgrade a hard drive yet, you probably should be touching Linux at the moment, stay with windows for now.


baby steps mate, baby steps...

Does the USB speed limit the interaction speed of external HDD's?

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: WishIhadatruck
More RAM will get you the most bang for the buck. It is probably the easiest upgrade to do as well.

http://www.crucial.com/#

Go to a website like this and it can scan your system and give you upgrade options. Most of the memory sellers have something similar. Either by scanning your system or you just tell it what system you have. Scanning is nice because it will tell you what you already have installed if you don't already know.

I would seriously consider going to 2GB if possible. 1GB would be an improvement but 2GB is even better. I have XP on all my computers and upgrading beyond 1GB is quite noticable.


Think Centre A series Type 8424.

Each memory slot can hold DDR PC3200 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*


2 slots, 512MB installed in one slot. 62$ US for 2x 1GB chips

Maximum Memory Capacity: 2048MB
Currently Installed Memory: 512MB
Available Memory Slots: 1
Number of Banks: 2
Dual Channel Support: Yes
CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU Family: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.80GHz Model 4, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 2793 MHz
Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.

Q: Will my system recognize the maximum upgrade?

A: Possibly

How much memory your Windows OS will recognize depends on which version of Windows you are running. 32-bit versions of Windows will see (and utilize) only 3GB or 3.5GB. To utilize more memory, install a 64-bit version of your OS. More information about OS memory maximums can be found at http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.aspx?qid=4251.


Q: What memory goes into my computer, and can I mix speeds?

A: DDR memory with support for DDR PC3200 speeds.

Because DDR memory is backward-compatible, you can safely upgrade your system with any of the guaranteed-compatible DDR speeds listed below, even if your manual calls for PC1600 or PC2100 speeds.


Q: How much memory can my computer handle?

A: 2048MB.

Adding the maximum amount of memory will improve performance and help extend the useful life of your system as you run increasingly demanding software applications in the future.

Q: Do I have to install matching pairs?

A: No.

No, you can install modules one at a time, and you can mix different densities of modules in your computer. But if your computer supports dual-channel memory configurations, you should install in identical pairs (preferably in kits) for optimal performance.


Q: Does my computer support dual-channel memory?

A: Yes.

To benefit from the performance advantages offered by dual-channel systems, you should install memory in identical pairs. Installing a kitted pair is the best way to ensure that your modules are identical, right down to the chip count.



Q: Does my computer support ECC memory?

A: No.

Your system does not support ECC. Because ECC and non-ECC modules should not be mixed within a system, install the same type of modules that are already in your system.



BEWDY!

 

[crinkles]

I took a few picks of the inside. Extra RAM slot ocnfirmed. is 184 pin the right size?

On the front right is the HDD, lying under the CD-RW drive. There seems to be some kind of bus/splitter at the back of the CD-RW drive, this assembly (CD-RW plus female plug ends) comes out the front of the case. The tape cable (2" wide) and a 4 pin copper plug plugs into this assembly. Another 4 pin copper plug goes into the HDD. (which is SATA by the way).

I am thinking I want to get rid of the CD-RW seeing as I have the DVD-RW externally on a USB port. ANd replace that by with a large second internal HDD in the bay left open by the CD-RW drive. Is this possible based on the photo's below?

what is the slot in the top right of this photo (below) for???

 

[OVERKILL]

The slot you are showing is one of your RAM slots, which is open.

Some advice:

New systems are cheap. If you have to start dropping your desktop colour depth down to 65K colours because your system is SLOW when you are using 16M colours? You need to evaluate how much money you are going to be "saving" by dumping money into this.

Going from the pictures, you are dealing with a system that has very limited expandability. This should be taken into consideration as well.

The last computer I owned that I actually noticed a video PERFORMANCE increase in modifying the desktop colour depth was a Toshiba Satellite 330CDT; PII 266Mhz with a 4MB PC-Chips 65555 video card.

Food for thought: Many video cards have as much RAM as your computer does right now.