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#1 2003-01-14 2:26 pm
- bearsclover
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-06
- Posts: 366
I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
On an impulse I won a low-end new PC on eBay. I have written my "PC guru" asking for advice, but he is dragging his heels in giving me advice. So I beseech you Windows people, please help!
I have an option of getting some upgrades. Here's the list the vendor gave me (copied and pasted):
CPU upgrade to anthlon 1.3G is $20.00;
CPU upgrade to XP 1800 is $40.00;
CPU upgrade to xp 2000 is only $55.00;
5-port usb 2.0 PCI card is only $20.00;
Front usb port is $5.00;
Power supply upgrade from 300w to 400w is only $6.00;
A set of keyboard/mouse/speakers is only $20.00;
Memory upgrade to PC133 256mb only $15.00;
Memory upgrade to PC133 512mb only $35.00;
Hard drive upgrade to 40gb(5400 rpm) is only $25.00;
Hard drive upgrade to 40gb(7200 rpm) is only $33.00;
Hard drive upgrade to 60gb(7200 rpm) is only $46.00;
CDROM upgrade to 16XDVD is $25.00;
CDROM upgrade to 48X16X48 CDRW is $30.00;
To add 48x16x48 cdrw is only $50.00;
This case has one case fan place and it is only $4.00
for each case fan.
Windows98 2nd endition (CD & Manual) $100.00;
Windows XP Home (CD & Manual) $95.00;
I have Windows 98, so I think I'll stick with that and upgrade to XP later.
I am going to keep my fabulous G4 as my "main" computer (email, web design, etc. etc.) but I want a PC to download large files, movies, that sort of thing. I don't want to sink too much money into this PC, since it won't be used constantly (like my G4 is).
Here is some info about the PC (copy and pasted, once again):
AMD Athlon t-bird 1.1GHz processor (upgrade upto amd xp2000 available);
heatsink & fan;
SDRAM PC133 128MB (upgrade upto 1G available);
20G HDD 5,400 rpm (upgrade upto 80G available);
AMR 56K modem;
Motherboard w/ built-in video , Sound & Lan;
52XCDROM (upgrade to CDRW or DVD available);
1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive;
Mini-Mid tower ATX case with 300W (upgrade to mid tower case available);
The key features of the SiS730S chipset mainboard include:
* AMD Athlon XP support up to 2200+/Duron support up to 1.2GHz clock rates - Support 200/266 MHz Front Side Bus .
* Processors are automatically configured using firmware and a synchronous/asynchronous Host/DRAM Clock Scheme
* 128bit 3D AGP Graphics Accelerator with 64MB(Max) frame buffer embedded in North bridge, up to 1920x1200 16M resolution.
* Two DIMM slots SDRAM 168-pin memory modules Support for 100 MHz memory bus & Maximum support up to 1GB.
* One 4X AGP slot for Video Upgrade & it support AGP 2.0 compliant interface
* Two 32-bit PCI slots & 1 AMR slot
* Provides ATX power connector
* ACPI and previous PMU support, Suspend Switch, and Keyboard Power On/Off
* Support Wake on Modem, Wake on Lan and Wake on Alarm
* Provide Direct Sound AC97 Codec on-board, for Audio & Modem applications.
* Provides PC99 Color Connectors for easy peripheral device connections
* Floppy disk driver port with 1Mb/s transfer rate
* One serial port,One parallel port with support for ECP and EPP, Two USB ports, two PS/2 port (for mouse) and one infrared port
* Built-in hardware monitoring for CPU/system temperature, fan speeds and mainboard voltages
* Onboard 10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet LAN
* LAN controller integrates Fast Ethernet MAC and PHY compliant with IEEE802.3u 100BASE-TX, 10BASE-T and ANSI X3.263 TP-PMD standards
* Bundled w/ 56Kpbs Fax/Modem AMR Module
OK, so obviously I don't know half of what this means. I know I want to add more RAM (512 megs sounds good). And I think I'll upgrade the power supply, and get some more fans. (But how many fans? What is with the fan thing? Where would they put the extra ones?) I have an 80 gig HD at home here, waiting to be installed (but I've never installed a HD and am chicken about trying). So I was thinking, maybe I should just get the HD upgrade too, and get a faster HD while I'm at it. I am not interested in a processor upgrade. I can get a video card upgrade later. I think I want a CD-RW upgrade, but then again, I have a USB CD-RW that could work in a pinch. But the upgrade to CD-RW is so cheap, I am sorely tempted.
So, what say you? I am working on a budget here, so I am trying to be cheap, but at the same time, I don't want to pass up a good deal on an upgrade. Any advice would be appreciated!
Madness takes its toll
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#2 2003-01-14 2:38 pm
- freeeekyyy
- Member
- From: Puyallup, WA, USA
- Registered: 2002-07-13
- Posts: 175
- Website
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
Well, none of those upgrade prices are all that great, actually. Get a good LAN card, since you'll be using the PC for large downloads, andc maybe put in a case fan. Also, I would make the pluinge to XP, even though it is $95. XP beats the living crap out of 98, and won't stall your system halfway into a download. Also, if you plan on gettting the USB 2 card, you'll need xp, because 98 doesn't support usb 2.
|{]_|<BR>-----------------------<P>Hello, I am a signature virus. Please add me to the bottom of your sig and help me take over the world! Resistance is futile.
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#3 2003-01-14 3:03 pm
- Ribtorus
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-11
- Posts: 13245
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
I'd go easy on loading fans into your PC. I run a number of PC's with overclocked P4's and one case fan is plenty. It's better to have good airflow with one fan than have lots of fans just re-circulating warm air in little vortices inside the case. A single fan at the upper rear of the case should be plenty unless you plan on getting hard drives that run particularly hot. The stock heatsink and fan for the cpu should be fine as well unless you plan on overclocking, and even then the stock fan may be fine. The power supply fan also draws air into the case and provides general cooling like a case fan. There should be no need to make the PC any noisier than it has to be.
It's true that heat can lower the life of a cpu, but you'll probably upgrade the cpu before you have seriously reduced it's life by any real amount.
It's not a movie.
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#4 2003-01-14 4:44 pm
- pcguy
- Member

- Registered: 1999-11-18
- Posts: 5234
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
If I were you, I will do the fellow upgrade
512M for 35 upgrade is reasonable
xp 1800 for 40 I will do
the computer will come with 2 usb port, but I will do the front usb port for $5 buck
ps upgrade for $6 I will do
Do not settle for the world in shades of grey
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#5 2003-01-15 7:09 am
- Superman
- Member
- Registered: 2001-12-22
- Posts: 1986
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
well that PC sounds ok. How much are you paying for it? It doesn't have a very good motherboard I noticed. Its suck with PC133 and can't use DDR, so an Athlon 2000 would definatly be starved for bandwidth. To me it sounds like a MicroATX Form ECS board that has built in video and uses PC133 [url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=13-135-112] like this ]/url].
It sounds like it'll be fine for downloading and storing files. You definatly wont be able to play any games on it without buying a video card. Looks like you have 2 PCI slots. do NOT get a LAN card like sombody sugjested. It has LAN built in, I think 100mbps is fine for downloading...
and ditch windows 98, it sucks horribly, get XP or 2000 or dont go PC at all.
goodbye
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#6 2003-01-15 1:37 pm
- bearsclover
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-06
- Posts: 366
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
Thanks everyone! After reading the advice on this thread and talking to my "PC Guru" (who finally deigned to offer his sage advice) I chose my upgrades:
1800 XP CPU upgrade
512 MB RAM
60 GB 7200 rpm HDD
CD-RW and CD-ROM (I decided I wanted two drives
Madness takes its toll
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#7 2003-01-15 2:10 pm
- bearsclover
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-06
- Posts: 366
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
Superman: I wanted to thank you for the link to the motherboard (that you suspect is what I am getting). I've been reading the feedback about it. Sounds like just the thing for me. I hope you are right
Madness takes its toll
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#8 2003-01-15 2:51 pm
- Ribtorus
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-11
- Posts: 13245
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
I like Zonealarm's firewall. They have a free version and it's very customizable.
I don't bother with anti-virus software because I use web based e-mail (Yahoo). But if you will be using Outlook or Outlook Express, then Panda antivirus products seem to be the best rated. Just like on Macs, I've had some difficulties with Norton products on my PC workstations, so I avoid that.
Of greater concern to me is adware and spyware. To protect yourself from it, use a good firewall, like zonealarm, that will let you decide what services can access the internet and what can't. There is a free product called Ad-Aware which gets updated fairly frequently and can strip any spyware and adware out of your system.
It's not a movie.
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#9 2003-01-15 9:40 pm
- Just_Some_Dude
- Member
- From: The Lone Star State
- Registered: 2003-01-15
- Posts: 10
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
I would rather pay the extra cash for a Pentium [RAMBUS or DDR], the Athlons are kinda shady IMHO.
"Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must lead" - Henry Chinaski
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#10 2003-01-15 10:15 pm
- Odin
- Member

- Registered: 2000-07-16
- Posts: 5706
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
Then your opinion is wrong 
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#11 2003-01-16 2:13 am
- bearsclover
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-06
- Posts: 366
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
I've always liked AMD. My "old" PC (4 years old
Madness takes its toll
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#12 2003-01-16 8:39 am
- tommarsh
- Member
- From: My House
- Registered: 2002-09-12
- Posts: 101
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
There isn't anything wrong per se with AMD processors, you just have to understand their shortcomings.
- They do run hot, so make sure you get a good processor fan AND a good case fan.
- They use more electricity than a comparably performing Pentium chip, although you'll only notice a spike in your bill if you're running 100 of them (it doesn't use THAT much more juice...)
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#13 2003-01-16 8:40 am
- Egress
- Connoisseur of Eyebrows

- From: Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Registered: 2000-02-05
- Posts: 5049
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
I think the best upgrade you can make is to your OS. Two words: Red Hat. www.redhat.com (Actually, the best place to get Red Hat is probably www.tuxcds.com , they have Red Hat 8 for $9.75, while redhat.com sells it for $40.00.)
Hey!!! Was that Pithy? Got a twenty?
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#14 2003-01-16 11:05 am
- Superman
- Member
- Registered: 2001-12-22
- Posts: 1986
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
well, when you get it, install Windows 98 is easy, but Windows 98 Sucks so bad its not even funny. Goin from that to 2k pro was a dream for me. XP home and XP pro arent that much different either, besides some special networking features in XP pro and Dual Processor compatibility.
And about Athlons VS Pentiums, The new Tbred Athlons don't run very hot. I replaced my 1700 Palaminio w/ a 1800 Tbred, and my idle and load temps dropped about 25F (I idle around 94F normal, around 102F now thats its overclocked). And they also used about 10 watts less electricity now since its .13 micron.
a PC is nice to have, especially if you have a Mac also, it alows you to do things the mac cant, while still letting the mac be best at the things it can.
I have a 733mhz G4 and a 1.8ghz Athlon PC, both are cool.
goodbye
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#15 2003-01-18 4:03 pm
- AMD
- Member
- Registered: 2002-12-12
- Posts: 1958
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
well, when you get it, install Windows 98 is easy, but Windows 98 Sucks so bad its not even funny. Goin from that to 2k pro was a dream for me. XP home
Agree 100%, Going from 98se to Win2K pro was a world of difference.
I can't remember the last time I had a Windows related issue, I've had hardware go bad (NIC card & HD) but a 100% Win only problem?, none.
My 2cents..
Since you went Athlon (good move IMO), good MB's that support 333FSB are going down in price. If you decide to upgrade soon for whatever reason make sure the MB supports 333FSB. Your XP2000 will run better on it, it'll likely support DDR400 RAM, and in a year when 333FSB XP2800's are cheaper, you can drop one in and have a big speed boost just like that.
With a PC you upgrade on your own, you'll might never have to buy a new system. I have upgraded here and there for the last 5 years keeping the system I use fairly up to date.. learning a lot along the way.
My friend who owns a G4 had me build him a moderate PC, he's turned into somewhat of a nut upgrading and tinkering... so be careful, before you know it you could be a bona fide computer geek 
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#16 2003-01-19 6:34 am
- bearsclover
- Member

- Registered: 2002-07-06
- Posts: 366
Re: I got me a Pee Cee! I got me a Pee Cee! Advice please!
Well, after reading all your advice and thinking about it for a while, I've gone and bought XP Pro. Found a good price for it on eBay. My PC Guru recommended Pro, and I've heard elsewhere that it's somewhat better. Even though I could have limped along on Win98 for a while, I would have eventually had to upgrade, and that seemed like a waste of energy. So I just bit the bullet and got it.
While I look forward to XP, I suspect I'll prefer OS X. However, one of the main reasons I have felt so soured on PCs lately is simply explained: Windows 98. I managed to tolerate it, but gave me all sorts of grief. I had to tiptoe my way around it, fearing any new software or hardware installation. This overly cautious fear and dread started to rule my computing experience. I was always so "careful"
Madness takes its toll
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