Is it time for a better computer?

[Travis King]

I know that this isn't exactly Windows XP related, but I was curious if it
was time for a better computer because a few games have been a little on the
slow side. The visualizations in WMP9 are somewhat slow when I'm using full
screen. Any opinions would be appreciated. I believe my computer does meet
the requirements for the new "Longhorn", but I think it just barely meets
the requirements. Anyway, here are my system specs. Anything that you
think should be upgraded or is bad if not the whole thing, let me know. Any
recommendations would be welcome...
-Power supply unit: 400W 8 connectors
-3 case fans (all three light up) One in back. One in side. One on top.
-Aspire X-Dreamer II case (pretty new)
-Memorex 52x32x52 CD RW drive
-Lite On 16x DVD drive (48x CD ROM)
-IDE Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM 2MB cache hard drive
-IDE Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM 8MB cache hard drive
-3 /12" floppy drive
-Asus A7V333 motherboard version 1.xx BIOS 1017 (oldest component in my
computer)
-AMD Athlon XP 2400+ overclocked to 2.26GHz (274MHz FSB)
-Kingston PC-3000 512MB DDR RAM
-NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti200 128MB DDR with TV out (manufactured by Chaintech)
-Creative Soundblaster Live! 5.1 speakers
-Linksys 10/100 network card for Cable Internet
-Logitech Z-560 speakers 4.1 400W maximum power
-Logitech optical mouse (corded) blue
-Logitech multimedia keyboard (black)
-Proview 19" CRT monitor
-$10 microphone
-Visioneer 5800 USB scanner
-Canon i560 printer (Brand new)
-Logitech Wingman controller

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Three parts you could replace.

Power supply: 450 watts or better
Need extra power for next generation
video cards

Memory: Put in more. 512 MB is the "minimum" now

Video card: Replace the GeForce 3 with a Geforce FX (5700 or
5950)
If you want got og with the Geforce
6800, replace the power supply. 400 watts is too small
for a stable system with your current
motherboard.

Longhorn is supposed to have a 3D interface. This requires memory and
graphic card that can handle this.


Also, Longhorn is @ 2 years away (2006???) and there are rumors that MS with
have another release of Xp (XP Reloaded??). Since it is in earily 2006
that Longhorn may be release, you might consider a revamp the complete
system. (Revamp == replace everything!)

 

[Travis King]

Yeah, I've been thinking about seeing if I can SURVIVE with this computer
another two more years, and then wait until Longhorn comes out. After it
comes out, I would then wait a while longer to make sure that it's not
another Windows ME all over again if you know what I mean. (I am one of
those people that didn't care for it.) I also heard that Longhorn is
supposed to be almost a whole new interface and the design will be
drastically different. The only thing that I don't think I'll replace until
they actually HAVE to be replaced would be the speakers because they're
great, in my opinion, and they're hard to find anymore. I really don't have
the setup for surround sound, so 5.1 is almost useless for me. (Actually
4.1 is too, but it's hard to find speakers as good as these.) Thanks for
the opinions... by the way, if you thought that my 400W PSU was bad, my case
originally came with a 350W PSU, and I heard rumors that the 350W PSU that
came with the case was flakey, so I got that replaced in a hurry.

 

[Al Smith]

I know that this isn't exactly Windows XP related, but I was curious if it

was time for a better computer because a few games have been a little on the
slow side.

Based on your specs, unless you're a gaming nut, you don't need
another computer for at least three years.

 

[J. S. Pack]

Based on your specs, unless you're a gaming nut, you don't need
another computer for at least three years.

Agreed. You might upgrade your graphics card for the latest games. But what
your system needs is probably just a good cleaning out and optimization.
You can also switch to a faster shell like Aston or bb4win.