hardware update - seeking advice
While philisophically (read emotionally) I am without doubt an early adopter, economic reality drives me to be WAAYY behind the curve. My current machine is vintage 2002, and until recently met my computing needs fairly well.
Lately though, I have actually managed to fill up the 32 GB harddrive I thought would never come close to full utilization. In light of all of this, I have been considering upgrading the chip, motherboard, and RAM; I put in a new power supply last year, and since the hard drive is full, it's pretty much certain that should be upgraded as well. Of course - with all of this, it pretty much amounts to a new machine.
This of course leaves me with the question - buy a whole new machine, or upgrade all the components.
Either way - my knowledge of current technology is way out of date (as noted above, the last time I researched any of this seriously was circa 2002), and I need to get up to speed.
My preliminary impression is that the best way to proceed is to figure out which processor is most suitable, and match a mother board and RAM accordingly. However, my knowledge of processors is still back in 2002 P4 technology and I need a primer on what's come along since then and what's currently available - something with enough detail to be useful, yet still comprehensive and succinct enough to cover all the basis without confusing the #*%! out of me.
Additionally, if I do choose to upgrade components, how should I proceed, and what questions should I be asking to match a motherboard to the processor. Any info about current RAM technology would also be beneficial.
I'd like to budget about $1000 to $1200, although I'm somewhat flexible on the upside if the longterm value is there: as you might surmise, once I get a machine, I tend to make it work for as long as possible. My general philosphy is that being on the leading edge of the curve is not economically optimal, yet I like to be close enough to the front of the envelope so as to get some performance and longevity; although most of my work is spreadsheet crunching and a little word processing, I have a moderate requirement for some fairly intensive engineering applications, and occasionally like to play a game of CIV, so I need something reasonably robust in the processing arena.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Lately though, I have actually managed to fill up the 32 GB harddrive I thought would never come close to full utilization. In light of all of this, I have been considering upgrading the chip, motherboard, and RAM; I put in a new power supply last year, and since the hard drive is full, it's pretty much certain that should be upgraded as well. Of course - with all of this, it pretty much amounts to a new machine.
This of course leaves me with the question - buy a whole new machine, or upgrade all the components.
Either way - my knowledge of current technology is way out of date (as noted above, the last time I researched any of this seriously was circa 2002), and I need to get up to speed.
My preliminary impression is that the best way to proceed is to figure out which processor is most suitable, and match a mother board and RAM accordingly. However, my knowledge of processors is still back in 2002 P4 technology and I need a primer on what's come along since then and what's currently available - something with enough detail to be useful, yet still comprehensive and succinct enough to cover all the basis without confusing the #*%! out of me.
Additionally, if I do choose to upgrade components, how should I proceed, and what questions should I be asking to match a motherboard to the processor. Any info about current RAM technology would also be beneficial.
I'd like to budget about $1000 to $1200, although I'm somewhat flexible on the upside if the longterm value is there: as you might surmise, once I get a machine, I tend to make it work for as long as possible. My general philosphy is that being on the leading edge of the curve is not economically optimal, yet I like to be close enough to the front of the envelope so as to get some performance and longevity; although most of my work is spreadsheet crunching and a little word processing, I have a moderate requirement for some fairly intensive engineering applications, and occasionally like to play a game of CIV, so I need something reasonably robust in the processing arena.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Preliminary questions that must be answered before we go anywhere:
1. How will you employ the computer? What will be the main usage? Looking ahead, what might you use the computer for 12 months or so in the future?
2. How long do you wish to keep this computer before you wish to be bothered over major upgrades or complete replacement?
3. Are there any things now you'd like to do with your present machine but cannot?
4. And last, but not least - Whattt is your favorite color! (Answer truthfully or it's the Pit of Doom.)