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UPGRADE or not to UPGRADE ?
That is the question

Need more power or need an economical solution ? See index   Back

Upgrades


For prices and ordering click the   Shop here and select Upgrade packs from left menu.

PROCESSOR UPGRADES

Processor upgrade or the upgrade of the brain is the best thing you can do to bring life to your old machine.  Processor upgrade, that is installing a faster processor will improve the overall speed across the board.  Games will run faster and applications will load quicker and you can save the waiting time.  But there is a catch. If you have a brand name machine like IBM, Compaq , HP or other there is no easy way to upgrade the processor.  The motherboards and power supplies are designed only with the current processor in mind. There is no easy way to replace the motherboard as well. Why ? the mounting holes and the riser card designs does not allow to use a generic motherboard.   But if you have Pentium II or Celeron based no name brand  computer, You will most likely be able to upgrade to a faster Celeron processor.  Check with your motherboard manual for the fastest processor it can take.   Check their web site for up to date information  and  manufacturer for an updated bios, if necessary. (BIOS upgrade may void your motherboard warranty ) That is the best way to get more life out of your computer. What you need is

1. New Intel Celeron  or compatible processor (Currently available in speeds of  1000+   etc.. )

2.  Slot1 to FCPGA adaptor (if your motherboard is slot1 and you are installing a FCPGA (socket 370) processor.

3. Bios upgrade (if necessary ). Remember if bios upgrade is not done correctly it can damage your motherboard.

If you have a old Pentium machine ie. Pentium 200+ MHz machine you may consider Upgrade to Cyrix P333 or  AMD K6-2- 500 processor.  You need to get the expert advice on the suitability of this type of solution.  Have your motherboard manual handy when looking for advice.

New upgrade packs.

We have two new upgrade pack which suits everybody. It include a new ATX case (Most new motherboards are ATX style so it it time to throw away your old case) new motherboard and a new processor and fan assembled.

You need to transfer your hard disk, CD ROM and floppy drive and connect it the new motherboard which is easy. If your existing memory is 100MHz or faster DIMM (You can identify DIMM memory as they are about 14cm long) you can use that memory. Otherwise buy the memory as well.

Two options are

AMD Athlon Thunderbird / Duron upgrade packs

Intel Pentium III and Celeron upgrade packs.

For prices and ordering visit shop

 

Upgrade or not to upgrade

One major issue confronted by most old computer users is whether to upgrade or not to upgrade.  We will try to help and guide you to the proper decision. The factors you have to consider are

  • Do you have a good size hard disk, good CD ROM and most of the other things like floppy drive in good working order? If you need to upgrade the hard disk, Upgrade the memory and upgrade the speed or upgrade the processor as well it may be better to buy a new computer excluding the monitor, keyboard, mouse and software which save you up to $500

  • Is it  NOT a brand name machine like  IBM, Compaq, Packard bell, HP .. etc? Then you may incur some additional charges as those machines are not designed with the upgrade in mind. (They are designed to throw away after use .. and buy a new machine) One work around is to replace the casing of the computer which may be about $ 60.

  • Is your computer less than 3 years old?  If it is an old 386 machine or early 486 there may be nothing much you can recover form the old machine except the case, monitor and the floppy drive. We suggest you consider buying a computer excluding the monitor, keyboard and mouse.  You may be able to get up to $300 discount for excluding the above.

  • Have you already invested on the machine during the recent past, like putting a new large hard disk or installing a new CD ROM drive. In that case it may be a good idea to continue investing on the machine.

  • Do you want to spend in small steps instead of  paying $1000 or more for a new machine

If you answer yes to most of the questions may be you should consider an upgrade.

 

For prices and ordering click the   Shop here