Oct 30 2003
Time to upgrade…
My computer is getting old and creaky, so it’s time to upgrade. I’m not going to throw the whole thing out, since the CD/DVD reader/burner is fine, the hard drives are good and plentiful, the sound card is adequate, the keyboard is alright, and the box is good. Instead, want to fill ‘er up with new components. Specifically:
- A new MoBo. Nothing too fancy, just a good reliable MoBo that is more or less current
- A new processor to go with the MoBo — something in the 1Gig range
- More RAM
- A new video card (a nice big fat digital one, since I want to couple it with a digital LCD monitor)
I also want to install Windows XP. The problem is that I don’t want to do any of this work myself. I don’t want to lose a day figuring out what goes where, how to do the BIOS update, why the knee bone isn’t connecting to the leg bone, and all that. I’m capable of doing it, I just hate the frustrations involved.
That’s why we have odd little people who sit in cluttered little shops. They do this kind of stuff every day, so it’s a no-brainer for them.
The question: Does anyone know of a good reliable person or shop in Montreal (or the South Shore) who can reliably do that kind of work? I want a real shop — a pro — not just someone’s cousin who’s “good at computers.” If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment!
15 Comments on “Time to upgrade…”
*cough* get a Mac *cough*
;)
Yeah, I think seriously about that every six months or so. But right now, for me to convert over, would run me almost $10,000. We’re talking 2 iMacs (17″) and an iBook, plus a lot of software. It ain’t gonna happen this year.
FWIW, I like a little shop on St. Denis, near Mont Royal, called CyberLogique.
I don’t know what they’ll charge you but they were the first computer store I found when I came back to Montreal that wasn’t filled with arrogant twits and pumped up game nerds.
And any place that takes orders for custom length ethernet cables is okay in my book.
Have you asked at Microbytes? They built systems to spec there, I’m sure they can do a build with new components you buy there plus your old components. And their prices are good, my new system has a 1.8 Ghz processor that was not at all expensive (tip: buy Athlon, not Pentium).
Ed:
You might want to seriously consider getting a new machine instead of doing that much upgrading. Complete systems have gotten insanely inexpensive, and with the price drop that’s coming on processors on Nov 3 or so, they;ll get even cheaper. Here’s an example from a really good shop in Ottawa. It’s a pdf of their upcoming system specials for Nov. Note the Athlon 2200 system for $439!!! 40 GIG hd, 256 MB pc2700 RAM, brand name motherboard, built in network card. The only thing is, it’s using built in video, which might not be enough fo what you want to do. I’m sure you could find something similar in Montréal.
Just a thought anyway, and then you could keep the old machine for ‘experiments’ (would make a great mp3 jukebox!) or donate it to someone who really needs it.
Either way, don’t get anything until the price drop has hit the retail channel in the next week or so…it’ll be anywhere from 10-25% on both Athlon and Pentium. And I definitely echo Bill’s suggestion to buy Athlon. Much better value for the money.
Hey! I could be considered one of those odd little people. :P
I can definitely recommend someone: the IT guy at my work, who builds all of our PCs himself. He does a lot of upgrades for employees.
Have you chosen the components you want already? If not, I’d recommend checking out the reviews and forums on anandtech.com and ZDNet’s http://www.extremetech.com. Then go price-comparison-hunting on Epinions or CNet Shopper to get a good array of prices - so you’ll know if someone’s vastly overcharging you.
I would tend towards the higher end of the price range to “future proof” your purchase a bit. I was shocked to find out that the MB in my work PC wouldn’t accept more than 768MB because it was a cheaper model.
Definitely, if you want to get some life out of your purchase, look for an ability to take on a lot of RAM, a fast system bus, AGP 8X graphics, and high-end connectivity like Serial ATA, fast Ethernet, FireWire and USB 2.0.
My recommendation would be an Asustek A7N8X Deluxe paired with an AthlonXP 2500 (1.8GHz) processor - it’s got all of the above (you can max it out at 3GB of RAM!) plus Dolby 6-channel sound for games and/or DVDs. The MB itself should cost under $200 CDN and the processor under $150 CDN esp. if you shop online for deals.
If you want to stick with an Intel P4, the Asus P4C800 gives you similar connectivity, video, audio etc plus a faster 800MHz system bus, 4GB RAM limit, etc - but it’s gonna cost you: the board itself is $200 US and a 1.8GHz P4 processor will be over $150 CDN. So AthlonXP is still the better deal!
For graphics? Go NVidia AGP 8X. I have a GeForce 3 and it rocks. Several manufacturers offer cards based on the GeForce4 Ti chip; if you want to drive a big digital display (or multiple monitors, if the card(s) support it) get something with 64-128MB of memory.
My $0.02!
Count a second vote for the Asus A7N8X MB and AthlonXP 2500 - that’s what I have in my new machine and I am VERY satisfied. It’s important to pair compatible processors and MBs, and those two were designed to work with each other. I also have a Radeon 8500 video card, highly recommended.
Thanks for all the great tips, folks! L&D, I will take your advice and wait for the price drop, but I’m not sure I want to go for a cheapo package. That’s what I did last time and now I’m paying for it. Those cheapos use a lot of 3rd class components. For example, last year I upgraded to 256MB of RAM, but my “bargain” computer’s MoBo can’t see more than 192 of it. How bizarre is that? I’ve got 192 MB of RAM. I feel like some kind of off-kilter retard!
Of course you could wait till next year and get an Athlon64 on an NVidia NForce3 motherboard, but…there’s always something newer around the corner!
The thing is, I don’t do gaming or any hardcore stuff, so I don’t need any kind of leading edge stuff. At the same time, I don’t want to be dangling at the trailing edge, so something middle of the road is fine.
My pricing method is to pick a minimum acceptable processor speed, then run my finger down the price list until I see a big jump: +$10, +30, +50, +250…. Okay, I’m buying the one that costs only $50 more than my baseline, thus I get the best possible processor speed in my pricerange.
Or so I hypothesize. Worked pretty well last time.
Not to be a pain but… why 2 iMacs and an iBook?! Just get a 12″ Powerbook and an external monitor.. or even a new G4 iBook. As you yourself say, you don’t do “hardcore stuff”… And you know darn well that the extra few bucks you spend on Apple will save you years on your life by relieving undue stress associated with Windoze and Plug & Pray… ;)
Just saying, I mean I know you just bought a house and all. :)
my two cents, cus’ i’m like you and just like to hand the box to someone and say *do it*.
1) please *do* price the components you want against a new computer, as suggested.
2) like bill, i like microbytes. stuff gets installed right, they’ll fix any problem, everythings guaranteed, and they don’t treat girls like beings from another planet. oh, and they’re cheap!
Well, I did a bad thing and bought a Dell. More on that later.
Boris, I would never in the world have only a laptop. Too portable, and thus too vulnerable. I tend to be a bit lazy about backing up, so I don’t want to have ALL OF MY STUFF roaming around town with me.
Also, I hate the idea of having to plug and unplug all those things whenever I want to move (monitor, trackball, printer, scanner, etc.) Do iBooks have some kind of docking station setup? I just imagine it would always be slowing me down.
I had this idea of switching holus-bolus, which means convincing M to switch too. (I pitched the idea, but she’s not ready to jump yet.)