"I need a New PC!" 2011 Thread of reading the OP. Seriously. [Part 2]

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This seems like the best place to ask about this problem, so here goes:

I have a AX Pro Tritton Headset. It has true surround sound and comes with three in/output methods:

-Dobly optical out
-three individual channels out (center/sub, surround, and front).
-USB out (works for the mic but will also carry stereo sound)

I have onboard audio. A Realtek integrated soundchip that came with my Alienware computer. It has the following outputs:

-dobly digital out
-coaxal digital out
-individual channels out.
-HDMI ports.

Here's the problem:

I am having problems getting it to do anything other than stereo sound using Dolby optical out.

When the dobly digital out the headset works fine, but it doesn't do surround sound when I do the test the light for Dolby Digital on my headset also doesn't come on.

In fact, if I right click and go to the properties on the "Real Tek Digital Audio Drivers" and go to "Supported Formats" I have "Dolby Digital checked" but the test box is grayed out and won't even let me try it. I have tried reinstalling it. Sometimes if I fidget with it I can get the test to work and it will TEMPORARILY give me surround sound. But whenever I go to boot up any game, I'm right back where I started in stereo again (I know this because the light for "Dolby Digital" on my reciever box goes out).

Here are some things I have tried so far:

-Buy a new sound card. I bought a Soundblaster X-fi titanium only to discover when I got home I don't have an extra PCI slot (my 2 Radeon 6870s take up four slots).

-Made sure the digital out is set as your default audio output device while the usb heaset is my defaul communication device.

-Download the latest Realtek drivers.

I'm looking for ANY possible solutions at this point. It doesnt' even have to be using the digial out (although that is ideal, right?). I also have sata and USB ports if there is a soundcard solution that is not PCI I should think about.

Obviously a software solution is preferred but I'm open to ideas.
 
TheSeks said:
The "damn cheap" build is ~$500-540 on NewEgg right now. HOWEVER it doesn't match the RAM that that this has for a similar price.

Of course, I'm PC parts-stupid so maybe I'm missing something there, but the Gateways biggest failure is the subpar GPU. Everything else is decent for the price and least hassle.



Frankly, I can't hear, so audio equipment isn't important to me and can be cut from the build. I just want the eye-popping graphics at a reasonable 720p/console-level performance at a reasonable/console-level price. But looking around that doesn't seem too possible to me unless I sit around and hope BF3 is optimized better than BC2. :/

One major problem with prebuilt PCs is the power supply. A lot of people go into it thinking they only have to replace the GPU, when really it's both. If you're going to replace a PSU, then you might as well build from scratch.

If you're not willing to put one together, give ncixus.com a look. Pricing is nowhere as good as newegg or microcenter, but they do assemble and test for $50 extra bucks. It's worth checking out.

Btw, 8gb is super cheap on newegg. It goes for about $50 now. I still can't believe the pricing.
 
Running a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB SSD and occasionally, Firefox was hanging for about 40-50 secs. In one extreme case, it gave me a BSOD and then I got the dreaded "BOOTMGR is missing" message on restart.

Googled it, and it seems to be a pretty common problem with current-gen SSDs. The hangups were happening when I had Firefox open only, so I disabled disk cache and switched to memory cache instead via this thread's OP. Hopefully that will fix the problem...

EDIT: Problem is still there. Hmmm...
 
Nabs said:
One major problem with prebuilt PCs is the power supply. A lot of people go into it thinking they only have to replace the GPU, when really it's both. If you're going to replace a PSU, then you might as well build from scratch.

So, something like This then?
 
TheSeks said:
So, something like This then?
Make sure the wishlist is set to public, it's showing up as empty. Also, that's a link to a private wishlist. Public one would be

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21054547

Not sure if there is an "easy" way to get a public link, other than taking an existing one and plugging in your wishlist ID. If somebody knows a proper way to do it I'm curious to know how, it's probably something simple I've overlooked for a long time.

Edit: Now that you've fixed it, it looks fine, you don't have a case though.
 
Hey folks.

Just thought I would share the new gaming rig I just ordered. Should recieve it next week.

  • Sennheiser PC 350
  • Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Familial Premium 64 bits (oem)
  • Fractal Design Define R3 - Black Pearl
  • Logitech G500
  • Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.0 (Révision B3)
  • Iiyama ProLite B2409HDS-B1
  • Corsair AX - 750W
  • Noctua NH-U12P SE2
  • Creative X-Fi Titanium
  • Corsair VENGEANCE 2 x 4 Go DDR3 PC12800 CAS 8
  • Gainward GeForce GTX 580 1,5 Go Phantom
  • Intel Core i7 2600K
  • Noctua NF-S12B FLX
  • Western Digital Caviar Black SATA Revision 3.0 - 750 Go - 64 Mo
  • Crucial M4 128 Go SATA Revision 3.0
  • Asus DRW-24B3LT
  • D-Link DWA-547 - Wireless N


Only component I kind of regret is the GPU, I should have gone with EVGA right off the bat without thinking. Sure the gainward is cheaper but EVGA has a great warranty. The 2600k is overkill but I had left over cash on my budget.
 
TheSeks said:
The "damn cheap" build is ~$500-540 on NewEgg right now. HOWEVER it doesn't match the RAM that that this has for a similar price.

Of course, I'm PC parts-stupid so maybe I'm missing something there, but the Gateways biggest failure is the subpar GPU. Everything else is decent for the price and least hassle.



Frankly, I can't hear, so audio equipment isn't important to me and can be cut from the build. I just want the eye-popping graphics at a reasonable 720p/console-level performance at a reasonable/console-level price. But looking around that doesn't seem too possible to me unless I sit around and hope BF3 is optimized better than BC2. :/

That build isn't using a SB CPU so it's not the same as the one in the OP. That's about a ~$300 build.

Also, I think you misinterpreted my post since I didn't mention anything about audio ;)

But yeah if you're using intel integrated graphics you're not going to get console level performance even on lowest settings and sub-HD resolutions in BF3.
 
The_Squirrel_Menace said:
Hey folks.

Just thought I would share the new gaming rig I just ordered. Should recieve it next week.

  • Sennheiser PC 350
  • Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Familial Premium 64 bits (oem)
  • Fractal Design Define R3 - Black Pearl
  • Logitech G500
  • Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.0 (Révision B3)
  • Iiyama ProLite B2409HDS-B1
  • Corsair AX - 750W
  • Noctua NH-U12P SE2
  • Creative X-Fi Titanium
  • Corsair VENGEANCE 2 x 4 Go DDR3 PC12800 CAS 8
  • Gainward GeForce GTX 580 1,5 Go Phantom
  • Intel Core i7 2600K
  • Noctua NF-S12B FLX
  • Western Digital Caviar Black SATA Revision 3.0 - 750 Go - 64 Mo
  • Crucial M4 128 Go SATA Revision 3.0
  • Asus DRW-24B3LT
  • D-Link DWA-547 - Wireless N


Only component I kind of regret is the GPU, I should have gone with EVGA right off the bat without thinking. Sure the gainward is cheaper but EVGA has a great warranty. The 2600k is overkill but I had left over cash on my budget.
Happy gaming, top of the line rig.
 
Karmum said:
Made a post several pages back regarding advice, but I think I might accelerate my PC purchase. The 1k build has a $350 video card, how "top of the line" is that? Trying to bump ~$1000 to around ~$800, starting with the video card. I have most of the other stuff picked out so far. I'm using that 1k build as a starting point and kind of picking and choosing what I want.

Edit - As of right now going with this build. ~$900, but splitting it between Amazon and Newegg, that might keep my actual price in the $800 range. Thoughts? Does it work? Just need suggestions on a case. Nothing too fancy.

CPU: i5-2500k ($219.99)
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G45 ($132.99)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB ($49.99)
Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 ($239.99)
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB ($59.99)
DVD: ASUS DRW 24x DVD Burner ($20.99)
Power: CORSAIR TX750 ($109.99)
Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 ($27.99 on Newegg, $26 something on Amazon)

Total (on NewEgg /w shipping and tax): $932.65

Another reason why New Jersey sucks.
Sorry guys. Only re-quoting myself cause I want some feedback.
 
Karmum said:
Sorry guys. Only re-quoting myself cause I want some feedback.

Everything will work perfectly although I have to ask if you're buying a 560 or a 560 Ti because that is way too expensive for a 560. Everything else are good choices.
 
Tallshortman said:
Everything will work perfectly although I have to ask if you're buying a 560 or a 560 Ti because that is way too expensive for a 560. Everything else are good choices.
I'm a newbie when it comes to PC parts. Also, it's a 560 Ti. Sorry, forgot to mention that part. Still wouldn't trying to mark the price down about another $100, any suggestions for that?

Also not really aware what to look for when it comes to cases...

I have no problem building the computer, just have a hard time trying to find a balance between good prices and parts. But I guess we all sort of have that problem.
 
Finally got everything in order for my first build should have it in the next 2 days hopefully...

Radeon HD 6790 IceQ X Turbo Video Card - 154.99
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 600-Watt ATX Power Supply - 59.99
Cooler Master NV-692A-KWN2 CM 690 II Nvidia Edition ATX Mid-Tower Case - 99.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT - 99.99
LG 24X DVDRW SATA - 18.99
ASUS F1A75-M LE AMD A Series Motherboard - 99.99
AMD A6-Series AD3650WNGXBOX Quad-Core A6-3650 APU - 119.99
Kingston HyperX Desktop Memory Kit - 8GB (2 x 4GB) - 79.99 (w/$30 mail-in rebate)
Logitech Wired Keyboard - 19.99

I was aiming for under 900 which I felt I made out pretty good will feel good to jump back into MMOs and PC games again
 
The_Squirrel_Menace said:
Hey folks.

Just thought I would share the new gaming rig I just ordered. Should recieve it next week.

  • Sennheiser PC 350
  • Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Familial Premium 64 bits (oem)
  • Fractal Design Define R3 - Black Pearl
  • Logitech G500
  • Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.0 (Révision B3)
  • Iiyama ProLite B2409HDS-B1
  • Corsair AX - 750W
  • Noctua NH-U12P SE2
  • Creative X-Fi Titanium
  • Corsair VENGEANCE 2 x 4 Go DDR3 PC12800 CAS 8
  • Gainward GeForce GTX 580 1,5 Go Phantom
  • Intel Core i7 2600K
  • Noctua NF-S12B FLX
  • Western Digital Caviar Black SATA Revision 3.0 - 750 Go - 64 Mo
  • Crucial M4 128 Go SATA Revision 3.0
  • Asus DRW-24B3LT
  • D-Link DWA-547 - Wireless N


Only component I kind of regret is the GPU, I should have gone with EVGA right off the bat without thinking. Sure the gainward is cheaper but EVGA has a great warranty. The 2600k is overkill but I had left over cash on my budget.

How much was that?
 
sup PC GAF. Looking to buy a new GPU that supports 3D to replace my 5770. My budget is around $200 give or take whatever necessary to not skimp on quality. Any suggestions? Are there any beastly GPUs I can get for around that budget?
 
DennisK4 said:
Happy gaming, top of the line rig.

Thanks! It is the first time I manage to save enough cash to build myself a serious computer! Battlefield 3 is the main reason. I was tempted to buy a bigger PSU to go dual 580's but my wife was not so happy about it haha.
 
Gamble said:
Finally got everything in order for my first build should have it in the next 2 days hopefully...

Radeon HD 6790 IceQ X Turbo Video Card - 154.99
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 600-Watt ATX Power Supply - 59.99
Cooler Master NV-692A-KWN2 CM 690 II Nvidia Edition ATX Mid-Tower Case - 99.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT - 99.99
LG 24X DVDRW SATA - 18.99
ASUS F1A75-M LE AMD A Series Motherboard - 99.99
AMD A6-Series AD3650WNGXBOX Quad-Core A6-3650 APU - 119.99
Kingston HyperX Desktop Memory Kit - 8GB (2 x 4GB) - 79.99 (w/$30 mail-in rebate)
Logitech Wired Keyboard - 19.99

I was aiming for under 900 which I felt I made out pretty good will feel good to jump back into MMOs and PC games again
Eh. That CPU(/APU) isn't really well suited for a gaming build, good for general use without a discrete GPU. And the GPU you picked is a poor value, you can get a 460 1GB for the same price (or less after rebate) and that will outperform it.

You could have done better for what you spent, but it should meet your needs depending on what you're looking to play.

sup PC GAF. Looking to buy a new GPU that supports 3D to replace my 5770. My budget is around $200 give or take whatever necessary to not skimp on quality. Any suggestions? Are there any beastly GPUs I can get for around that budget?
460 1GB. Not sure how AMD cards are with 3D. 560 is a rip off since it's the same card as the 460 but with faster clock speeds. Most 460s OC pretty well anyway. You could probably get a 560 Ti for a little over $200 (probably $220 after rebate, haven't looked) and that would be a nice step up though.
 
chaosblade said:
Edit: Now that you've fixed it, it looks fine, you don't have a case though.

Because I'm not sure what case/heat issues to avoid and go for.
 
Looking to buy a semi decent pc for my little brother for 5000 sek which roughly, taxes etc, translates to 600 usd. Checked the build in the OP and I was wondering if an i3 2100 really is a better buy than a x4 965 BE for someone who isn't going to upgrade cpu anytime soon?
 
TheSeks said:
Because I'm not sure what case/heat issues to avoid and go for.
I'd say the HAF 912, if that fits in your budget. Not sure about other cases in that price range, that one seems to offer the most for the price.

Corky said:
Looking to buy a semi decent pc for my little brother for 5000 sek which roughly, taxes etc, translates to 600 usd. Checked the build in the OP and I was wondering if an i3 2100 really is a better buy than a x4 965 BE for someone who isn't going to upgrade cpu anytime soon?
I think that depends on what games he wants to play or what he needs to run. Kind of a lose lose situation looking at the long term, the 2100 is going to be weak when everything is getting optimized for more cores, but the 965 is weaker for anything optimized for general CPU speed.

If upgrading the CPU down the road is totally out of the question, I'd say 965 and OC it. If there is a slight chance you could do a cheap upgrade down the road when they are cutting prices on 2300s when new stuff comes out, then the 2100 would be the better bet.
 
chaosblade said:
You could probably get a 560 Ti for a little over $200 (probably $220 after rebate, haven't looked) and that would be a nice step up though.
$240 before rebate, $215 after mail-in.
 
Geez, 658/659 before even thinking of the graphics card. :/
 
Corky said:
Looking to buy a semi decent pc for my little brother for 5000 sek which roughly, taxes etc, translates to 600 usd. Checked the build in the OP and I was wondering if an i3 2100 really is a better buy than a x4 965 BE for someone who isn't going to upgrade cpu anytime soon?
In most gaming areas it is.

For BF3 I don't know.
 
OK guys I hope you can bear me with my stupid questions since I'm a noob when it comes to PC.

First my current specs:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2 GHz
GPU: Geforce 9500GT
Motherboard: msi G41M4-F (link: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/G41M4-F.html )
RAM: 3 GB DDR2 (2 GB RAM chip from Kingston, 1 GB chip from unknown manufacturer)
Soundcard: Apparently it is from RealTec and it comes with the motherboard

Now what I want:
I bought an Onkyo 5.1 receiver couple days ago and I can't link my PC to it since there is only a VGA and a DVI outputs (I link it to my TV via VGA) and the only way to get audio from my PC is by a RCA cable linked to the receiver. I want to get rid of all the inconvenience by upgrading my GPU card to a one that has an HDMI port.

So what is the best and most affordable GPU that goes with the specs listed above, I'm looking for something under 150$ or even under 100$, please list couple of options that I can choose from depending on my budget and like I said my priority is the HDMI port, Graphics capability comes second place (but it would be nice to have powerful card nonetheless).

OH and something important, is just having an HDMI port in the card does the trick of getting the video and 5.1 audio feed ? no extra things required ?

I have more questions but I will leave them to another post later.
 
TheSeks said:
Geez, 658/659 before even thinking of the graphics card. :/
You already have a 460 1GB in that wishlist, all the necessary hardware is accounted for. Unless of course you want something better.
 
Karmum said:
How much of a difference is the 560 Ti from the GTX 460? Is it really worth $65 more? I'm not a hardcore PC gamer, but would the latter get the job done as well?
560 Ti is like 25-30% better or so, I think? That's a substantial upgrade. Even if you OC a 460 to the same speed as a 560 Ti it's a 10% difference or so (which is good for the 460), but that's not factoring in the fact you could OC the 560 Ti.
 
chaosblade said:
Eh. That CPU(/APU) isn't really well suited for a gaming build, good for general use without a discrete GPU. And the GPU you picked is a poor value, you can get a 460 1GB for the same price (or less after rebate) and that will outperform it.

You could have done better for what you spent, but it should meet your needs depending on what you're looking to play.

What else would you recommend? as far as CPU/APU and build wise for what I spent
 
Hazaro said:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/313?vs=330
An overclocked 460 is a very capable card.
That's good to see, because I'm probably never going to play any of the Crysis games (old or perhaps upcoming), which are clearly very demanding. The 560 Ti does clearly outperform it, though. I could always go in between and just cough up a few more dollars for the regular 560.

Battlefield 3 on the otherhand...

Edit - I see you added more links, thanks for the original and additional links. Wow, just realized I linked the superclocked one. Doh.

chaosblade said:
560 Ti is like 25-30% better or so, I think? That's a substantial upgrade. Even if you OC a 460 to the same speed as a 560 Ti it's a 10% difference or so (which is good for the 460), but that's not factoring in the fact you could OC the 560 Ti.
Thank you as well.
 
Karmum said:
I'm a newbie when it comes to PC parts. Also, it's a 560 Ti. Sorry, forgot to mention that part. Still wouldn't trying to mark the price down about another $100, any suggestions for that?

Also not really aware what to look for when it comes to cases...

I have no problem building the computer, just have a hard time trying to find a balance between good prices and parts. But I guess we all sort of have that problem.

Well unless you want noticeable downgrades in performance I can't really see anywhere where you can cut $100. i5 2500k and 560 Ti are both champs in terms of price-performance. So is the ripjaw RAM and the F3. I suppose you could downgrade to a cheaper $100 mobo though I tend to stay on the safe side in terms of mobo quality, especially if you plan on overclocking your 2500k.

I will say you can definitely save a little money be downgrading to a smaller PSU. There's really no need to get a 750w unless you plan on adding another 560 Ti in SLI and heavily overclocking your 2500k at the same time. A solid 550w or 600w will be perfectly fine.

For cases, I generally recommend CM cases. I haven't bought a new one in 2 years though so I'm not up to date enough to recommend a specific one.
 
Gamble said:
What else would you recommend? as far as CPU/APU and build wise for what I spent
I'd have changed a number of things, where did you order it? You could have gotten rebates on more components and put those savings elsewhere. Notably GPUs and PSUs often have rebates.

For an $800 build (after rebates, and cutting $100 for Windows) you should be able to include at least a i5 2300. I'd have gone with a HAF 912 case instead at that price and put the savings toward that. CPU is more important than the case, and without installing extra fans the 690 IIa isn't going to be significantly better.

Without changing anything else, for a gaming build a 2100 or 955/965 would be better options for the same price, the A-series are basically Athlon II CPUs with integrated GPUs that aren't going to serve you any purpose.
 
Karmum said:
That's good to see, because I'm probably never going to play any of the Crysis games (old or perhaps upcoming), which are clearly very demanding. The 560 Ti does clearly outperform it, though. I could always go in between and just cough up a few more dollars for the regular 560.

Battlefield 3 on the otherhand...

Edit - I see you added more links, thanks for the original and additional links. Wow, just realized I linked the superclocked one. Doh.


Thank you as well.

I'd go with 460 or 560Ti instead of going in between. The 560 is just a heavily overclocked 460 while the 560Ti is one of the better overclocking cards out there.
 
Tallshortman said:
I'd go with 460 or 560Ti instead of going in between. The 560 is just a heavily overclocked 460 while the 560Ti is one of the better overclocking cards out there.
Yuuuuuuuuuuup
 
Tallshortman said:
Well unless you want noticeable downgrades in performance I can't really see anywhere where you can cut $100. i5 2500k and 560 Ti are both champs in terms of price-performance. So is the ripjaw RAM and the F3. I suppose you could downgrade to a cheaper $100 mobo though I tend to stay on the safe side in terms of mobo quality, especially if you plan on overclocking your 2500k.

I will say you can definitely save a little money be downgrading to a smaller PSU. There's really no need to get a 750w unless you plan on adding another 560 Ti in SLI and heavily overclocking your 2500k at the same time. A solid 550w or 600w will be perfectly fine.

For cases, I generally recommend CM cases. I haven't bought a new one in 2 years though so I'm not up to date enough to recommend a specific one.
Yeah, I think I'm going to go with the 460. I just don't know the different between this one and this one, and they're both $159.99. And a whole egg difference in reviews.

The only place(s) I was looking to cut down in were in the video card and power supply sections. And you suggested both of those, right on!
 
Here is what I have right now, and probably what I'm going to stick with, went from $920 something (including taxes and shipping) to $779.92. The second price is with the combo of Amazon and Newegg prices.

2hyuw48.jpg
 
The 460 with the fan in the middle should run cooler as it has a better fan and heatsink.
The other blows more hot air out to the back of the case, but the card itself should run hotter and louder.

I'd get the one with the fan in the middle.
 
Karmum said:
Here is what I have right now, and probably what I'm going to stick with, went from $920 something (including taxes and shipping) to $779.92. The second price is with the combo of Amazon and Newegg prices.

2hyuw48.jpg

Looks good. BTW if you have a microcenter near you you can save $40 on the 2500k. It's $180 there.
 
Tallshortman said:
Looks good. BTW if you have a microcenter near you you can save $40 on the 2500k. It's $180 there.
Unfortunately Paterson is two hours away from me. Make sure you never move to South Jersey. Trust me, I was kind of irritated when I saw it that much cheaper and it's an in-store pickup only.

Hazaro said:
The 460 with the fan in the middle should run cooler as it has a better fan and heatsink.
The other blows more hot air out to the back of the case, but the card itself should run hotter and louder.

I'd get the one with the fan in the middle.
Which one is that? I went with the one with the overall better reviews.

Just have to pick out my case. My new monitor, keyboard and mouse can wait a bit longer. I just hope these prices stay the same for about another two weeks, I'm just not ready yet to throw down this money.
 
Hazaro said:
The other 460

The fan on the right is external exhaust
middle is all over, but runs cooler
Thanks, updated. Appreciate all of the help I got from everyone.

Also thought this might be worth sharing, what I'm currently using as a computer. Enjoy. Some things I don't know specifically.

CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+, ~2.2GHz
RAM: 2.50GB
HDD: 200GB
Video Card: Radeon X1600 Series
 
Hey guys, just have a quick question. How do you replace a HDD that has literally everything saved on it. How do I move everything on it to a new, larger hard drive? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I seriously have no idea.
 
Would it be worth it for me to upgrade my ram from 4gb to 8gb? I can get another 4gb pretty cheap and was wondering if it would be worth it since I don't plan on building a new computer for at least another 3-4 years. I mostly just browse the web and game but I'm worried that games might start needing more ram in a year or two.
 
Piercedveil said:
Hey guys, just have a quick question. How do you replace a HDD that has literally everything saved on it. How do I move everything on it to a new, larger hard drive? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I seriously have no idea.

Hook up the old drive to the new computer via a SATA cable, and SATA power cable (unless it's an older IDE drive with a ribbon cable). It will show up in windows, under my computer. From there, find your files, and copy them over to the new drive.

If you're going laptop drive to new laptop, you'd need a sata dock.

If you're asking if you can transfer over programs, the answer is likely no in most cases.

ShyGuy0504 said:
Would it be worth it for me to upgrade my ram from 4gb to 8gb? I can get another 4gb pretty cheap and was wondering if it would be worth it since I don't plan on building a new computer for at least another 3-4 years. I mostly just browse the web and game but I'm worried that games might start needing more ram in a year or two.

If we're talking an additional $20-$30 or so, go for it. I use a constant 6gb or so just for my OS, media player, and web browser. I'm not sure if games will ever need 8gb, but who can be sure, and RAM is as cheap as it is likely ever going to get right now.

Oh, and be aware that you need the exact same RAM (same brand, same model number, etc). You can't mix and match pairs of RAM.
 
LordCanti said:
Hook up the old drive to the new computer via a SATA cable, and SATA power cable (unless it's an older IDE drive with a ribbon cable). It will show up in windows, under my computer. From there, find your files, and copy them over to the new drive.

If you're going laptop drive to new laptop, you'd need a sata dock.

If you're asking if you can transfer over programs, the answer is likely no in most cases.

Thanks. That doesn't sound as difficult as I thought. But I wouldn't be able to keep programs (including Windows)?
 
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