Yeah my presario actually has 768mb memory~~I'd probably upgrade that, funny thing is memory is more expensive for this pc than for my mac, at least at Crucial.
Upgrading to 2 gigs will make a huge difference... ~$60 at newegg
..any thoughts on any kind of diagnosis on cpu/motherboard/hd to know if they are in good health, or is it pretty much a go/no go kinda thing on these components?
You mentioned that you would need a graphics card for playing the game, +more ram +power supply +who-knows-what-next (everything else is aging...) +maybe a faster hard drive... it will all start to add up.
What I'd do... see if at least a new power supply will hold you over till say, October when Win7 comes out... save some shekels up in the mean time, and get something in the $400-$500 neighborhood which will really be quick and usefull for a couple/few years with Win7 already on it. Once you get the newer one, play/tweak/install/upgrade/yadayadayada on the geezer-comp.
Yeah my presario actually has 768mb memory~~I'd probably upgrade that, funny thing is memory is more expensive for this pc than for my mac, at least at Crucial.
I've never successfully tried to upgrade RAM, though, so I don't know if those maximums are theoretical or actually tangible. Either way, the amount is tied to the motherboard's chipset and how much it allows.
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Is the pain of not knowing, worth the price of saying nothing?
You mentioned that you would need a graphics card for playing the game, +more ram +power supply +who-knows-what-next (everything else is aging...) +maybe a faster hard drive... it will all start to add up.
What I'd do... see if at least a new power supply will hold you over till say, October when Win7 comes out... save some shekels up in the mean time, and get something in the $400-$500 neighborhood which will really be quick and usefull for a couple/few years with Win7 already on it. Once you get the newer one, play/tweak/install/upgrade/yadayadayada on the geezer-comp.
I've never successfully tried to upgrade RAM, though, so I don't know if those maximums are theoretical or actually tangible. Either way, the amount is tied to the motherboard's chipset and how much it allows.
I'm thinking on the one hand that replacing the PSU will get me some more time to use the system; on the other hand how far away is motherboard or cpu or HD failure, do I sink $50 into the tired thing, or just replace. Are there diagnostics for checking the "health" of other components?
Exactly. Now, there is trial-and-error - if the PSU swap doesn't do the trick, then it's likely the motherboard, and if it's somehow not that, it's the CPU or RAM. That can get expensive though. Unfortunately, the only good motherboard testing software I know of costs upwards of $300.
What I would recommend doing (if it's running XP) is just save the hard drive, get what you need off it, and get a cheap new system.
__________________ Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
- Proverbs 30:5-6
Exactly. Now, there is trial-and-error - if the PSU swap doesn't do the trick, then it's likely the motherboard, and if it's somehow not that, it's the CPU or RAM. That can get expensive though. Unfortunately, the only good motherboard testing software I know of costs upwards of $300.
What I would recommend doing (if it's running XP) is just save the hard drive, get what you need off it, and get a cheap new system.
Yeah, I could check one of the local shops that's refurbishing systems, see what they have, might be surprised what I could find.
Epilogue: I ordered a new power supply and some RAM from newegg and just put it all in a bit ago~~just marked where stuff unplugged and put the new one in, replaced a memory stick, and everything when super easy...
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