Buying/Building a New Computer

Inumo · January 28, 2011, 07:24:53 PM

My current desktop's starting to act older, and my mother said she'd like it for her job. I'm pretty sure I can do the transfer, but I need to know what to look for in a replacement. Any guidelines/suggestions for parts to make a decent tower for less than ~$650? I think my hard limit is around $750 or $800.

Tapewolf · January 29, 2011, 05:26:56 AM

Personally, I'm waiting for Bulldozer to come out. Have to see what the prices are like, mind, and by the looks the desktop processors might not come out until the tail end of this year so that may well be too long a wait for you...

Reese Tora · January 29, 2011, 11:26:31 PM

$650 is definitely doable (not counting major peripherals like monitors and battery backup)

You were talking about doing a transfer, what OS is on your current computer? be aware that pretty much anything you get now will have windows 7 if it is not a mac or a linux box, and you might run in to some issues figuring out which folders to transfer some of your files to. (like email files for Outlook or Thunderbird)

Don't be discouraged, just be aware that issues might come up.

as for what to look for in a replacement, what sort of specs does your current box have?

Inumo · January 30, 2011, 12:31:00 AM

Quote from: Reese Tora on January 29, 2011, 11:26:31 PM
$650 is definitely doable (not counting major peripherals like monitors and battery backup)

You were talking about doing a transfer, what OS is on your current computer? be aware that pretty much anything you get now will have windows 7 if it is not a mac or a linux box, and you might run in to some issues figuring out which folders to transfer some of your files to. (like email files for Outlook or Thunderbird)

Don't be discouraged, just be aware that issues might come up.

as for what to look for in a replacement, what sort of specs does your current box have?

Currently, my OS is Windows XP on a 1TB hard drive. I'm assuming when I say that, if I just remove that hard drive and plug it into another computer, I can use it like before, but with better specs. The same goes for transferring my mom's hard drive over; unplug hard drive, move to other computer, plug back in, continue.

My current processor is an AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 3800+, 2.0GHz. My graphics card is an nVidia GeForce 8500 GT. Not sure what else you might need... Main problems I'm having currently is a sound card that won't necessarily recognize I have speakers plugged in 100% of the time and a headphone jack that makes a really high pitched whine if I use it.

Reese Tora · January 30, 2011, 04:45:40 AM

yes and no...

windows complains(read, required you to reactivate windows) when too much hardware changes, so you'll need to have the drivers for the new tower on hand right away so you can get the internet connection up and running to activate over the internet. (the second time you reboot, windows will lock you out until you activate, so you won't be able to install drivers... you can still phone activate, but that's a pain in the butt.)

also make sure that you have compatible connectors; sounds like your computer is probably using SATA, but make sure your mom's hard drive isn't PATA.

Drayco84 · January 30, 2011, 03:41:37 PM

When you put a hard drive into a new comp, you may as well reinstall Windows anyway as it'll need to redetect the hardware, then install drivers for the new hardware, and the old drivers may cause conflicts. And that's in addition to re-activating Windows.

Second, copies of Windows 7 CAN be bought separately, but it's gonna be one of the pricier items on the shopping list. Also, depending on what you upgrade to, you may have to get the newer OS anyway. (Since XP is now mostly "obsolete".)

Inumo · January 30, 2011, 04:15:59 PM

Alright... Good to know. Is there at least a way to keep the information on my hard drive with me for the transfer, then?

Reese Tora · January 30, 2011, 05:39:33 PM

Quote from: Inumo on January 30, 2011, 04:15:59 PM
Alright... Good to know. Is there at least a way to keep the information on my hard drive with me for the transfer, then?

yes... plug it in as a second hard drive on the new computer, everything will be accessible for you to copy over, and now you have a secondary storage drive you can use for backups (note: it's not recommended that you rely on these backups, as that secondary drive is more likely to fail than the new drive. but, if that does occur, it's a quicker restore than more secure backups.)

Inumo · January 30, 2011, 06:34:21 PM

Alright... Would doing the same thing I did to get my old hard drive files onto my 1TB hard drive work to get the drivers etc. onto the 1TB drive after I've got all the data on the 1TB drive to the new drive? Specifically, the process written here.

I get the feeling that statement made close to no sense, but I'll hope for the best anyways.

Drayco84 · February 06, 2011, 01:58:39 AM

Yeah, it should...

You should also be able to just COPY the files via drag-n-drop within the OS once the new HDD has been installed and set up. (When installing Ubuntu, you MAY wish to leave the old drive disconnected. I found out from personal experience that the thing is a goddamn PAIN if it doesn't treat the drive you're installing to as the primary/boot drive during setup.)