Need advice on upgrading, please.

Hi,
I have a Gateway Performance 1400. I have a couple of problems with it that I would like some advice on. First, I got this PC from a guy who works on computers and it was his personal computer. Awhile after I had it, I started finding a lot of hidden porn files on it. They were popping up in unusual places, like Windows Media Player 10. I really, really don't want this kind of stuff on my PC. And one of my kids might stumble onto it. It also clutters up my hard drive, which is only a 20GB. I am thinking I might be better off replacing the hard drive than continuing to struggle to get all that junk off this one. And also, with prices coming down I might get one a little bigger. But my main question is this. I want to upgrade my memory and it takes RDRAM. I have read that that is the most expensive ram out there. It's also only a 1.4GHz. Would I be better off to just replace the motherboard, CPU, memory and hard drive? The tower is in good shape and so is my monitor. I have an Easy-Access Midtower Case. I think the power supply is OK too.

Here is the info. I have on the system: Intel Pentium 4 1400 MHz, 100 MHz external Bus, Motherboard- Intel D850GB Model, Version- AAA49507-903, Memory- 256 available, 4 slots of 64 MB each, Max. Memory- 2GB, RDRAM-PC600 or PC800, supports ECC

Do you think it would be cost effective to upgrade all of this or just start over with another machine? I sort of like the idea of building it myself. I have put some components in. Sorry this is so long.:confused Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Thanks

 

with those specs I would say start over. AMD and INTEL both have budget boards and chips plus ddr2 is cheap right now. the performance increase realized would be well worth it. As for the power supply I would also update that due to newer power requirements . Just my humble opinion

 

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any recommendations as far as what brand components are best? I am also working with a limited budget and may have to do this a piece at a time, depending on prices. Where is the best place to get a good deal on parts and supplies? I am really excited about building a new system myself! Do you think my tower will be OK? I also want to say thanks to all of you who give advice and tips in these forums! I have learned so much from you guys! You might say that I am a "Geek in Progress". Or at least trying to get there! lol.

 

personally I use http://www.newegg.com/Store/Computer.aspx?name=Computer-Hardware As far as processors go I would get an nvidia chipset board with amd or intel chipset board with intel. stay away from sis chipsets. you will have varying opinions on which (amd or intel) to get but having used both they both perform well IMHO.Got a budget in mind? let us know so we can point you to your hardware level

 

Hi, Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I just put in a new Zoom Modem and I have already bought a new CD-RW Drive. I haven't put that in yet though. I'm still trying to figure out my budget. (Got a kid getting ready for college this coming year). A local computer store quoted me a dual core processor, AMD motherboard, w/ 1GB of Ram for $250.00. But that price was with them doing the installation. They couldn't seem to give me a straight answer on what it would be for just the parts. That is too much for me to spend at the moment and I can do the work myself. And it doesn't even include a hard drive. They have a 80 gig HD for $59.00 and a 160 gig HD for $69.00 but they are ATA. I'm not sure if I will need that type with a new MB. I need to get my costs down as much as possible. I have been trying to pick up one part at a time. I am hoping to learn enough about PC's that I may be able to, in the future, make a little extra money working on them. Thanks so much for your help.

 

You should be able to build a pretty decent PC for under $400 for parts, quite a bit less if you go with a Sempron (do they still make Semprons?) or Celeron CPU. Even more savings if you don't need a video card and just use on board video. You'll probably go with a SATA2 hard drive these days, as most new motherboards have only one IDE/ATA channel, usually designated for an optical drive or two, but DVDRWs are now available as SATA drives also. SATA and ATA hard drives have almost identical prices, and a 250gb can be had for under $100. Personally, I wouldn't get a drive smaller than 160gb. They fill up fast these days...

BTW- I totally agree with the above statement: avoid using an SiS chipset if at all possible. They tend to be problematic when it comes to adding a video card. The video slot usually requires it's own separate driver in addition to the video card driver, and it can turn into a massive nightmare if not installed just right.

 

you all forgot to take into acct (or maybe not), that they will more than likely have to buy an os disk, unless they already have one? or maybe they can copy their key (if it's legit), borrow a disk and insert their key? also, since it's a gateway housing you might have to modify the plugs for the power switch etc.? anyway, g/l

 

Thanks so much for the advice. I did some checking on newegg last night and was saving everything to a wish list to add it all up. Just as I got most of it done, my ISP cut me off It cuts off after 4 hours, which stinks! I admit it's a little confusing at times, trying to match up components.:confused And I hope the Gateway tower will work out for an upgrade.