thoughts of upgrading my computer

[science_man_88]

I've been pondering a while now if I should upgrade my computer it's CPu is outdated , not sure if my ram is up to date, seems to take a while to do things running ggnfs, prime95 etc ( thought my LL's is in the current GPU72 range I think), etc. ( part of this might be my internet in case upgrading likely won't help), I do have enough space ( only using 60 GB of over 500 in usb and other drives, I think). even navigating into folders seems to almost look timed out. my spu is at 100% frequency and 100% usage but sometimes my memory is barely half used ( waste of memory in one sense). I was told to wait for better deals and not necessarily go to the top of the line ( though I saw a i7 within my price range), I learned though talking that ram now comes in up to 8 GB sticks I think. I'm just wondering what to do I barely can get my printer to look like it's working lately ( lower ink may be to blame but it may also be other things) and although I'm sure what I see sometimes as green beside the windows, my twin told me it might be just my graphics card not in correctly, and drivers not fully equipped. any input would be helpful.

[Dubslow]

Well it would be nice to know what you have right now. Yes, there are 8GB ram sticks, but they're expensive as all get out. You can get 8GB = 2 x 4GB for 30-40 bucks right now on Newegg. What's your current proc, mem capacity, GPU, et ceterae?

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by Dubslow

Well it would be nice to know what you have right now. Yes, there are 8GB ram sticks, but they're expensive as all get out. You can get 8GB = 2 x 4GB for 30-40 bucks right now on Newegg. What's your current proc, mem capacity, GPU, et ceterae?

I have a compaq presario SR 2050NX with upgrades in the ram department ( up to 4 GB) and it has a 232 Gb main hard-drive I got a new energy efficient printer( though it seems to be printing like crap for text lately):

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name FLEC-PC
System Manufacturer Compaq Presario 061
System Model RE476AA-ABA SR2050NX NA680
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz, 2799 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 3.18, 17/08/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale Canada
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7601.17514"
User Name FLEC-PC\FLEC
Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) Not Available
Total Physical Memory 3.19 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.57 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.37 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.53 GB
Page File Space 3.19 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

looking at this I see a few things that worry me like how total and available aren't the same.

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

I have a compaq presario SR 2050NX with upgrades in the ram department ( up to 4 GB) and it has a 232 Gb main hard-drive I got a new energy efficient printer( though it seems to be printing like crap for text lately):





looking at this I see a few things that worry me like how total and available aren't the same.

part of the problem I think is the OS upgrade I did ( originally ran XP, and went through vista and then 32 bit win 7 before win 7 64 I think)

[Dubslow]

Yikes, that's an old proc. What frequency is the memory, and is there a discrete GPU?

I would definitely think about upgrading this. (Money-dependent, I probably would have in 2009 or something.)

[Dubslow]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

part of the problem I think is the OS upgrade I did ( originally ran XP, and went through vista and then 32 bit win 7 before win 7 64 I think)

Indeed, W7 came out a year after they stopped producing the proc, and the produce procs until they're below the bottom of the stack.

[Dubslow]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=3245052
Says you can only have 2 GB RAM (DDR2) installed, and graphics integrated on the motherboard.

You are long overdue for an upgrade. What sort of work does P95 assign you?

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by Dubslow

Yikes, that's an old proc. What frequency is the memory, and is there a discrete GPU?

I would definitely think about upgrading this. (Money-dependent, I probably would have in 2009 or something.)

no GPU involved here not sure if I can afford it not sure on the memory frequency, I think it's DDR2, is there a way to check without opening everything up ? ( I have resource monitor open right now, about 172 MB or ram that's free ( not modified, in use or, on standby ( about 1400 MB)).

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by Dubslow

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=3245052
Says you can only have 2 GB RAM (DDR2) installed, and graphics integrated on the motherboard.

You are long overdue for an upgrade. What sort of work does P95 assign you?

I think I have 2 LL in the 46M range right now and I just finished a ggnfs run on a C127 now if only I could get to the aliquot folder so I could get the test data in my tests desktop folder but it doesn't seem to want to load it up in the folder icon.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

I have a compaq presario SR 2050NX with upgrades in the ram department ( up to 4 GB) and it has a 232 Gb main hard-drive I got a new energy efficient printer( though it seems to be printing like crap for text lately):
<SNIP>looking at this I see a few things that worry me like how total and available aren't the same.

On the printer --have you run a head-cleaning routine on it? If that doesn't help perhaps the cartridge is nearly out. Software indications of ink levels are VERY approximate. I have had the monitor indicate there was still substantial ink while the printing was very gappy. A new cartridge fixed it.

On the system itself --It seems that the main route available for upgrading would be a new motherboard and CPU. Of course, that would likely mean new RAM, as well. This supposes that the board is one of the standard form factors, so that you could fit a new one in the case. At some point you'd have to question whether it is worthwhile trying to salvage anything (except maybe the HDD) out of the current machine, rather than building from scratch.

A new board might also imply a new video card depending on the type you have now. If it's AGP then replacing it is a certainty. You could go with a new mobo with onboard video, but a separate GPU would let you get in on all the GPU crunching fun.

Side note: if you want to withhold some of your information, you'd be better off replacing it with xxxx's. The blackouts are easily seen past.

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by kladner

On the printer --have you run a head-cleaning routine on it? If that doesn't help perhaps the cartridge is nearly out. Software indications of ink levels are VERY approximate. I have had the monitor indicate there was still substantial ink while the printing was very gappy. A new cartridge fixed it.

On the system itself --It seems that the main route available for upgrading would be a new motherboard and CPU. Of course, that would likely mean new RAM, as well. This supposes that the board is one of the standard form factors, so that you could fit a new one in the case. At some point you'd have to question whether it is worthwhile trying to salvage anything (except maybe the HDD) out of the current machine, rather than building from scratch.

A new board might also imply a new video card depending on the type you have now. If it's AGP then replacing it is a certainty. You could go with a new mobo with onboard video, but a separate GPU would let you get in on all the GPU crunching fun.

Side note: if you want to withhold some of your information, you'd be better off replacing it with xxxx's. The blackouts are easily seen past.

my family wants me to wait for better pricing, and to go not to the top of the line ( as they get cheaper later on) ( though last I checked I had enough in my account right now for a i7). I don't play games too much I don't think but I do yahoo stories that could have video etc. and I play chess from time to time. but it's better to know before hand for the needs / wants, my PC at 100 is heating our place of living without having to turn on the heat here, and yet it hasn't caught anything on fire yet. I do have external drives ( mostly USB, so I may need to get a USB hub as most of the ones I saw only have like 3 usb plugs and a lot of stuff I like has USB involvement I think ( actually I have a wireless mouse now that I think of it, a ipod ( used mostly for memory if anything) , my cellphone has a usb PC plug in, I have a 8 GB stick out on lend right now and I have a 232GB portable drive that uses usb. think my printer uses usb as well. though I have a few adapters if necessary. no I haven't ran a test at all outside of printing as far as I remember, at last check my black ink was 1/4 and my colored ink was about 50%, so that might be it.