1 post tagged “video card”
It is getting close to that time again when I must rebuild my windows computer. I have built my own every time but one, the first computer I purchased over 10 years ago. And I have always stayed under $1000.
Currently I am running an Athlon XP 2600 (2.08 GHz) box, with 1 Gig of RAM, a upgraded last year GeForce 6600GT 128 MB graphics card (last of the AGP), 2 Hard drives (150 + 80 GB), etc…. and is getting a bit long in the tooth. I am noticing 100% CPU usage doing just normal activities. I have worked hard on tweaking and getting the system as lean as possible to make it tolerable. And with Vista coming at the end of January, it is a good time to fix the problems.
Since I have the Beta installed on a test partition of this computer, I ran the Microsoft Vista Upgrade Advisor, I get the following scores:
Since my main issue is CPU, that means a new CPU is needed, which cascades down to new Motherboard (current motherboard only supports current processor) and video card (new motherboards do not have AGP slots, but support PCI Express). So might as well add new RAM as well since I should upgrade to 2 GB anyway. And while I am at it, I am running out of space on my hard drives (which are IDE) and get new SATA drives.
For the first time in many years, I am going Intel.
Some may wonder why I do not just buy a new computer since I have to replace the core parts from a company such as Dell. Well, my answer is three fold.
#1. If I was going to buy a computer from a company, it would be Apple so I could run both Vista and OS X as I do on all my other computers. And if I were buying Apple, I would have to go for the Mac Pro since I have a Macbook, MacMini, and iMac already. But I do not have the cash for a Mac Pro or the real need for that much power. Which leads me to #2.
But first a side note: Why doesn’t Apple have a box between the MacMini and the MacPro? The iMac’s are all-in-one’s which I do not need. I need a BOX. The MacMini is not big or powerful enough and the Mac Pro is too much. Should I wait till after MacWorld? I have heard nothing of a new Mac coming….
#2. I already have multiple monitors, multiple internal DVD and CD drives, a good sound card, and excellent case & power supply. I do not need these things, or new software (other than Vista), so why purchase them?
#3. And last, I love to build my own. I love getting the parts, assembling and installing. I love tweaking and tuning it and getting it to come alive. I just love it.
Currently I am eyeing the following (note, I am NOT a gamer):
Asus P5B Deluxe (retail)
eVGA GeForce 7900GS (retail)
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz (retail)
(2 x 1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 SDRAM DDR 800 PC6400 (retail)
(2) Seagate Barracuda 7200 Perpendicular 250 GB SATA Hard drives (OEM)
*note: Links are for viewing purposes and not necessarily where I would purchase.
This is looking to be close to $1000 which I do not want to exceed if possible (with shipping and minus rebates). Let me know if you can find a better configuration at the same price or better!
