this lj genie thing works decently well...so I'll try it.

[lwoodbloo]

I have a computer with a 2.8 ghz amd processor, two 40 gig hdds, and 256 mb of ram, plus a five or six year old graphics card. I want to upgrade the last three. How do I do it in the quickest and most economic way possible.

Comments

[heathere3.livejournal.com]

Hey! Something I can help with!
For RAM, I love crucial.com they've got a great little system genie that'll check your computer and tell you what you can put in it and guarantees you get the right stuff. And their prices are great!
For the harddrive, they're getting really cheap now. I like Newegg.com myself and have had great service from them, but the evil Best Buy has been having some great deals lately. Just make sure you get one that can go in your system. Likely and IDE drive and not a SATA drive. I just picked up a 100GB drive for my sister's computer for $60. And you can get better deals if you wait/watch.
For video cards, I hope someone else can help... :) Since I've gone Mac, I haven't had to buy one and don't know who'd be the best deal around.
Good luck and Happy Hanukkah!
Heather

[zrealm.livejournal.com]

Pricewatch.com isn't bad - Crucial is ok for memory - in general newegg is good for things. If you want, chat with me and I can help you find reasonable deals for things.

Andrew

OMFG!

[sevenzerosix.livejournal.com]

You cannot just walk around with a 2.8 and 256MB of ram. That's like putting 9mm rounds in a howitzer - NO!

You need AT LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAST 1GB of memory to see a nice performance boost (AND YOU WILL!!!) and a nifty new video card if and GOD only if you play hefty 3D games.

You can get 1 180GB HDD for around $100.

buy a new machine

[karmakazesal.livejournal.com]

the easiest upgrade is almost always: buy new machine and move data over.

assuming the budget doesn't allow, check http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.cfm?catid=40
for deals. And the main site for buying guides.

[ravenshrinkery.livejournal.com]

Alright. Check your specs and make sure you're getting the right type of part for your system. I'm assuming that your system needs an AGP video card (4X/8X compatibility) and still uses IDE hard drives. If you need an PCIe video card or have SATA ports for the hard drive make sure you get components to match. (In the case of the hard drive you likely aren't using them, but if you board has them you will benefit to use them.) Memory could be anything, although likely it is first generation DDR. Most systems that can handle your processor can handle dual channel memory which will mean you want to purchase a matched pair of memory - two identical sticks, and retire your existing memory.

The quickest and most economical way possible to get this done is to get a buddy who knows the price search engines to scour the Internet for a good deal to order your parts and install them for you and pay them back in the food or beverage of their choice. If you feel comfortable doing this yourself it will take a little longer but you can then choose the food/beverage and scarf it yourself :P. Other commentors mentioned Pricewatch - I personally use Anandtech's Real-time Price Engine since it is great for finding specific parts (speeds of memory, types of video cards, etc. across manufacturers). Head for www.anandtech.com and it's linked off their menu.

Catch me on IM and I can help you determine exactly what parts you need for the kind of budget you're on.