Question about adding RAM

[favikah]

first off I don't know that much about computers.

okay now my computer just sucks!..it is slow, it crashes ALOT and it is driving me nutters.

I bought it November 1999..yes I've been told it's a fossil in the computer age..lol.

It's a Compaq Presario..52megs of ram..400Mhz..with Windows 98. I was told that my computer is acting slow because it doesn't meet the minimum requirements for some stuff like software such as Swishmax, Microsoft Office 2002 Pro, Photoshop and even my ISP says I meet the min requirement but 64megs+ is recommended for optimal speed.

Okay so I opened my PC one day to find out if I had slots to add memory (i was told to do this) and I have 2 open slots and found out that I can only put in each slot a 64meg for a total of 128 extra and it would cost me about $150.

If I do this will it speed up my internet, will I be able to add more software and will SwishMax function properly? (SwishMax takes like 25min. just to open a swf file and then another like 25 min to change..etc.. I haven't yet been able to use it because it's just to slow)

or should I just go buy another PC or have one built? If I do this I have no idea what to get, I know how to webdesign, use flash and I'm a photographer so I working with alot of high res. photos. I just want my computer to be fast..so what am I looking for? if I ask a sales person they'll probably sell me something that I don't need.

with that said I noticed I need another monitor too (working with photos my monitor is too dark even when contrast and brightness is maxed out..grr.) so if there are any photographers on here then please recommend a monitor..

Thanks,
~Farrah.

[Dan]

To tell you the truth, You should just go out and buy a new one. You would need a new processor and motherboard as well so that it runs smoothly. If you go out and buy a new one, most likely it will have XP which is also a good thing (at times :P). If you have the money just go out and buy a new one. I have one with a 2.53 GHz, 512 MB RAM, and 80 GB hard drive. It works great. I can't really recommend anything to you because I'm not really an expert and I don't know too much but you need a good processor and a good amount of RAM(random accessing memory) if you want your programs to run smoothly. As for the monitor, I would suggest getting a flat screen which saves space and is really nice. An LCD screen is very good as well. I can't really talk on this subject either cause I still have a monitor from 1998.

[Creator]

Yep, my advice is to buy a new one. I think you will get the newest AMD 64bits with in $300. including new harddrive / RAM. I think its waste of money to upgrade on an old computer like yours. I have an old one, P4 1.4Ghz with 128MB RAM. I havent done any upgrades except soundcard.

AMD PC is less expensive than P4. But performance is almost same.

[688206002]

Like Creator said, it probably is a waste to upgrade your current one (sorry :P)
I do, however, recommending getting a custom-built one instead of a prebuilt system. Custom-built systems (if well built!) can be cheaper and perform better. Also, with these you can leave out some useless junk that PC manufacturers use to advertise and market.

Btw, don't worry too much about clock speed; 2ghz should be more than sufficient for general computing purposes. RAM is probably more important than clock speed at this point; if you could get 512 then all should be fine. I doubt that your internet connection would improve too much though, but the performance of the software you listed should be better (check their websites if you're not sure of the exact specs required before you get a new system).

[favikah]

I think it is better to buy a new one or a built one, I'll look around.

Thanks guys!

~Farrah.

[starmena3]

You'll actually save yourself some money if you build it yourself. plus you can custumize it just the way you want it to be. So yeah its better to build one yourself if you know how.

[shep]

Originally posted by starmena3@Feb 9 2005, 12:07 PM
You'll actually save yourself some money if you build it yourself. plus you can custumize it just the way you want it to be. So yeah its better to build one yourself if you know how.
26363


This is true. Typically, even if you are a novice PC user, you can build / upgrade your own computer. There are a ton of resources out on the web, and some good spots to check out might be andtech and tom's hardware first ( not sure if we can post URL's here or not, so I'll just list the sites, you can do a google search for them after)

Good luck

shep