StarDestroyer.Net BBS

So yeah, I'm considering some hardware. I figure, a stick of RAM will power my PC for a while, and another hard drive won't hurt, seeing as I'm constantly deleting stuff to make way for new stuff. This is what I have right now:
I bought this in Feb 2003 (The same month I always get a computer, now)
Compaq Presario with
2.5GHz P4
512 MB PC2100 DDR
Intel Integrated Graphics Card
Some decent sound card (maybe integrated? Dunno)
It came with XP Home, but it was reinstalled with XP Pro Dec 2004.
24 GB free space left on a 120 GB HDD.
16X DVD drive, 48X CD burner
I have a 17" CRT monitor by NEC, and some cheap speakers made by CA (dunno, that's what it says on them.)
3.5" floppy drive (Yay!)
I have an HP DeskJet 820 Cxi that dates back to 1996. Still runs good, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to get a newer one that lets you replace individual colour cartridges.

So basically, I want to know if there are other things worth updating, other than hard drive and RAM, and possibly the printer. I am thinking of getting a 19" LCD widescreen monitor for about $200. I don't do the PC gaming thing, I play solitaire and a few old games that run with no trouble.

The idea is that I can replace and upgrade a few things, augment a couple things, and do it cheaper than buying a new system (that wouldn't run Vista, because it scares me).

I'm looking for stuff that you guys would recommend, because I don't trust the guys at Best Buy/Future Shop (mostly because I know them).

Another thing I'm interested in is a portable USB drive. I've seen one that was an actual HDD with a flip out USB connector, and of course the now common (but still new to me) USB Flash drives. I like the idea of space outside of the computer, but is it useful when you can only put on 128 MB? I figured a half gig to a gig should be good, but I don't want a cheap one that craps out on me.

I'd maybe recommend getting a newer/secondary optical drive. Dual layer dvd burners are fairly cheap nowadays and can be had for around $70-80. Assuming you do anything in the way of burning. Flash drives aren't too expensive, and imo Sandisk is one of the superior brands in terms of quality.

As far as flashdrives go, Sandisk is an excellent choice, especially the cruzer micros. Those fit on your keychain fairly well, which makes them harder to lose. I've had two of them so far, and only replaced the first to get a bigger one.

As far as the system itself goes, beyond more RAM and HDD space, we can't make any recommendations unless we know what the point of the system is. 300 GB HDDs are fairly cheap, especially if the system supports SATA (which it may not). Unless the computer actually feels slow, there's little point in upgrading until it breaks.

flash drives come in sizes up to 8gig (tiger direct had 4gig on for 40$). usb hd drives come in all sizes, i urrently have 1 100gb and 2 250gb ext drives.

hp has a good deal on their six cartridge printers, 36$ for all six ink cartridges and 150 sheets of paper.

It's not that it's getting slow, call it a preemptive measure. And my formative years were spent learning about preemptive measures (Thank you, George!). I just don't want to wait for it to break, I want to make sure it doesn't go down. It's like replacing a hip when it looks like the current one will fail. It doesn't happen in medicine, but it might be useful in computer hardware.

For USB HDDs, I meant this one I saw that was a small squarish box, very small, not like a normal external HDD. Although a proper external HDD wouldn't be bad. A little harder for portability, but a lot easier than lugging around a desktop tower.

The DVD burner might be a good idea, but I've seen a lot by random manufacturers. It's like the difference between getting a Magnavox DVD player or one of those Electrohome ones that knockoff my Toshiba, and getting an actual Sony or other recognized name in home electronics. I don't remember the names (Comstar? some other ones, probably), but I figured I should avoid those until I learn different. A friend of mine was going to get one, but I told him to stick with the LG instead.

Also, for HDD, Seagate would probably be the best bet, or would you guys recommend another maker at all?

You generally don't need to replace computer components "preemptively" - honestly, anything you buy that doesn't have moving parts is probably just as likely to die as what you have running right now.

If your computer is pretty much doing everything that you want it to right now, the only things I can think of that you'd really benefit from right now are a better monitor and better speakers.

I'm of the mind that consumer-oriented inkjet printers are basically a big scam, but then I get along just fine with an old monochrome Laserjet 4MP, so I'm not sure what I'd recommend in terms of a color printer... depends on how much printing and what kind of printing you do.

General Zod wrote:I'd maybe recommend getting a newer/secondary optical drive. Dual layer dvd burners are fairly cheap nowadays and can be had for around $70-80.

Are you talking Australian dollars? Because they can be had for around $40 USD.

Australian? Pfft. Real money is Canadian, silly. That's why the Parker Brothers made theirs like it!

The idea is to do a little future proofing, not replacing broken stuff. I just want to know what I can to keep my PC fairly current, I figured a gig of RAM should do that, along with some more space. I was just wondering what else I should look at, because I'm sure I missed something obvious. The DVD burner is a good idea, I hadn't thought of it yet. And speakers, perhaps, if I can get them cheap, which I probably will. The monitor is a given, at this point. The colours on this one are starting to look funky.

Uraniun235 wrote:You generally don't need to replace computer components "preemptively" - honestly, anything you buy that doesn't have moving parts is probably just as likely to die as what you have running right now.

If your computer is pretty much doing everything that you want it to right now, the only things I can think of that you'd really benefit from right now are a better monitor and better speakers.

I'm of the mind that consumer-oriented inkjet printers are basically a big scam, but then I get along just fine with an old monochrome Laserjet 4MP, so I'm not sure what I'd recommend in terms of a color printer... depends on how much printing and what kind of printing you do.

General Zod wrote:I'd maybe recommend getting a newer/secondary optical drive. Dual layer dvd burners are fairly cheap nowadays and can be had for around $70-80.

Are you talking Australian dollars? Because they can be had for around $40 USD.

I haven't bothered shopping for one for some time, so it's entirely possible my prices aren't quite accurate.

Adding more RAM would be a good idea, though for the usage you describe it's not really necessary.
Throwing in a Seagate 320 gig hard drive would add to your storage space, though you need to make sure that you get one in the proper format (IDE or SATA, depending upon your computer)

A good DVD burner brand is NEC.

As far as printers go, unless you really need color and don't mind paying through the nose for it, an inexpensive HP or Samsung monochrome laser is the way to go both for speed and cost of printing.

I've been using an HP Laserjet 1200 for over six years now and have had no trouble at all out of it.