Topic Title

All (and especially Neil!) -

My current 'puter (a Compaq P4 2.5GHz) just can't keep up with all of the programs I currently run (not just Dcad!).

I'm looking to purchase a new desktop box that will have to balance speed and options with budget. I'm looking for recommendations - either pre-built (ie. Dell or local shop) or custom build (me or the local shop)

I'd like to keep the cost of the box down to about $500 - though it may have to climb if I build the box and the OS eats up a goodly portion.

Preferences: Intel (not AMD this time), XP or Vista 64, good graphics card with on-board memory and dual output, lots of USB ports, Firewire port, multi-card reader, parallel card and wireless card. I may purchase a new monitor as well, though I can live with my current one if the box gets a little expensive.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

It isn't clear what your problem really is but, if you want to keep down to a budget, you may find that a simple motherboard/chip/ memory upgrade will suffice.

I did this last week and got a dramatic increase in performance that was certainly not expected. It was even manifest with DataCad, well o2c, anyway.

I suspect the main benefit came from the move from a 2.4 chip to 2.8 dual core, and the dual core was the big deal.

If you are short of USB ports, a four-port PCI card is available for just a few dollars on eBay, but be aware that many modern motherboards are a bit short of PCI slots these days. My new board has only two.

Hi,

The most important part of the upgrade is the effectiveness of the Intel Core 2 CPU, and you have two of them on one chip. That and upgrading to (at least) 2GB of RAM. I would put in 4GB and use WinXP 32bit -- which will let you use 3GB (sometimes 3.25GB) for now, and if you upgrade to Win7 (64bit) in the future, you'll use all of it.

If your case is decent, then a motherboard, CPU, RAM, and a video card should be doable for under $500; and maybe even a new HD, too. This is effectively a new machine, and if you already own a copy of WinXP, then great! If your case is not so good, then I can try to work up a list that still hits your budget.

Hi guys -

Nick: I'd like to have a totally new computer - though I agree that just gutting the current box would be the least expensive. I think I'll need to make sure that there is plenty of expansion capabilities (PCI slots, etc.) with this as well. The current Compaq case is okay, but it's a little tight with stuff right now.

Neil: The WinXP that I own came with the Compaq and is built into the recovery disk ( ). I have an Acer laptop that is running Vista 64 with no problems, and my first thought is that while Vista seems to be a problem in and of itself for some, the migration to Windows 7 seems to scream to bite the bullet for the extra RAM and utilize it now. My Acer also has 4GB of RAM, and I don't think I want any less than that. I can migrate a fairly new HD over to the new box, though it might be better just to pop for a new HD as well, since they are so cheap now.

Thanks for the advice ... keep it coming!