Will upgrading be worth it??

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 09:15

Morning OC'ers long time no see! I come here looking to pick your brains..
Right now i am running a (possibly laughable) setup! And i am wounding what i can upgrade cheaply to get another 6months or a year out of it.. (Funds are tight)

CURRENT SPEC (windows 7 32bit)
Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.1GHZ
4GB (2x2gb) PC2-6400 DDR2 800mhz
GCARD XFX Radeon HD 4830 512mb
1x 1tb OS drive
2x 1tbs backup / storage drives

I AM NOT A GAMER!!

I mainly use this machine for general day to day tasks
Office / Internet and Design tasks
PHOTOSHOP / ILLISTRATOR CS5 / DREAMWEAVER

Now, if I’m honest I am well aware that by today’s standards this is almost a dinosaur! But the only real problems I find these days is the lack of ram

SO TIME TO UPGRADE??
Here is what I am considering?
Upgrade to windows 64 / Add Extra 4gb ddr2 800mhz ram + (treat myself to SSD os Drive)
Cost.. Around £100

2 questions I have are...
1. Will a 60gb be enough for Windows 7 64 / Office / ADOBE MASTER SUITE?
2, Am I really flogging a dead horse? Is there any other way I can squeeze more like out of this old box without spending silly amounts?? Say £200 TOPS

thanks for any advice in advance, i am been looking for days and really dont no what to do.. I am well aware for 400 I could probably build new faster machine.. but thats twice what i have

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 09:19

£100 for 60GB SSD, windows 7 64bit and 4GB or DDR800? thats pretty cheap.
are you finding it is slow, or not doing something you think it should be?
a lot of people assume that poor speed is down to lack of ram, have to checked taskmanager to see if the ram is maxing out, or whether the cpu is the cause?

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 09:28

Ok £100 was a little bit of a underestimate... More like 120-130..

In general its still suprisingly quick.. Don't often see the CPU struggling its the ram i am having issues with, Photoshop telling me i dont have enough too often these days when saving LARGE print ready files..

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 09:55

bigdm said:
Ok £100 was a little bit of a underestimate... More like 120-130..

In general its still suprisingly quick.. Don't often see the CPU struggling its the ram i am having issues with, Photoshop telling me i dont have enough too often these days when saving LARGE print ready files..

depending on the speed of the hard drive have you tried increasing the pagefile? also, a lot of people have said they have gained pretty good results using a usb pendrive as a readyboost drive, again, may be an option if you have one laying around of a reasonable speed.

the only reason i suggest these alternatives is with the price of hardware dropping, it might be worth putting that money aside and saving for a new system, rather than just delaying the inevitable and spending money on old tech.

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:18

paradisiac said:
depending on the speed of the hard drive have you tried increasing the pagefile? also, a lot of people have said they have gained pretty good results using a usb pendrive as a readyboost drive, again, may be an option if you have one laying around of a reasonable speed.

the only reason i suggest these alternatives is with the price of hardware dropping, it might be worth putting that money aside and saving for a new system, rather than just delaying the inevitable and spending money on old tech.

A TRUE VOICE OF REASON!! (crys but i want a SSD!!)

I would like to think i have the system running as well as i can, I haven't tried adding a usb for ready boost.. So might be worth a shot.. I mean if i can get away with not adding the ram (because thats the one that pains me the most, and i wont use in a new system).. It would be great

thanks for the advice, will try ready boost and follow up with the results

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:21

bigdm said:
A TRUE VOICE OF REASON!! (crys but i want a SSD!!)

I would like to think i have the system running as well as i can, I haven't tried adding a usb for ready boost.. So might be worth a shot.. I mean if i can get away with not adding the ram (because thats the one that pains me the most, and i wont use in a new system).. It would be great

thanks for the advice, will try ready boost and follow up with the results

well an SSD would be transferable to a new system, so that wouldnt be a complete waste, if you are desperate. it all comes down to how long it would take to save the rest aswell. no point buying an SSD now, installing windows and setting it all up, only to upgrade in 4weeks and have to do it all over again.

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:23

quick question... As you know i am already running 4gb on windows7 32bit

if i add a usb drive for readyboost (lets say 2 or 4gb) will windows use it?? or will i still be limtited?

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:28

paradisiac said:
well an SSD would be transferable to a new system, so that wouldnt be a complete waste, if you are desperate. it all comes down to how long it would take to save the rest aswell. no point buying an SSD now, installing windows and setting it all up, only to upgrade in 4weeks and have to do it all over again.

as i said, as much as i could do with / want to upgrade to a complete system. I just cant justify the out lay right now, the cpu / graphics etc are fine for what i need.. its only ram that im really struggling with..

the SSD was just an idea to make me feel like i actually improved the system, rather than just not getting warning messages when i try and save large photoshop files..

if i upgrade now, i wont be starting a new build until next year maybe (unless i get a sudden burst of cash)... IF i dont upgrade now, I might be lucky to build something in a few months (but will struggle to make to complete print work)

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:38

bigdm said:
quick question... As you know i am already running 4gb on windows7 32bit

if i add a usb drive for readyboost (lets say 2 or 4gb) will windows use it?? or will i still be limtited?

yes it will still be used as its not a ram replacement, just a better sort of paging file style setup from what i understand. this therefore means that you an have up to 3.5GB or ram and up to 4GB of readyboost.

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:36

*still looking at SSD's .......

just another question, didnt really see that it needs another thread...

WHEN, I do decide to do a new build, will my old GCARD XFX Radeon HD 4830 512mb be usable in a new motherboard?? I REALISE THIS MAYBE A DUMB QUESTION, but i really dont no??

more to the point, Would it be worth it???

*wondering if i should just set a max budget and start a new build thread and let the credit card worry about it hahaha

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:39

yes it will go in a new mobo (is pci-e im assuming) and unless you game will be more than ok.

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:45

thanks thats gotta save me a few quid on a new build... (sorry for bugging you)

but one more.. As you have seen what i need / use the machine for..
What you suggest for a modiest budget on a new build including an SDD drive?

could it be done for 400? I would i be kidding myself

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:52

bigdm said:
thanks thats gotta save me a few quid on a new build... (sorry for bugging you)

but one more.. As you have seen what i need / use the machine for..
What you suggest for a modiest budget on a new build including an SDD drive?

could it be done for 400? I would i be kidding myself

depends what you need for the build and what you can recycle.

£400 would possibly be doable if you were leaving the 64bit upgrade for a later date and sticking in 4GB with the aim to upgrade to 8GB if required at a later date.

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:54

soo.. (hahah been here before.. looking to spend 100, turns into for and then) 450 i might get 8gb too??

Think a new thread is in order

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:56

bigdm said:
soo.. (hahah been here before.. looking to spend 100, turns into for and then) 450 i might get 8gb too??

Think a new thread is in order

depending on everything you want, but yeh, a single pci-e mobo with a 2500k sandybridge, 8GB ram...... would be doable on £400-£450 if you shop around

bigdm · 10 Jun 2011 at 13:59

think a spec me thread is in order! thanks again for all your advice

YOUR RIGHT, a little ready boost might tied me over! but, we both know one u got an upgrade itch.. waiting seems impossible haha

paradisiac · 10 Jun 2011 at 14:04

bigdm said:
think a spec me thread is in order! thanks again for all your advice

YOUR RIGHT, a little ready boost might tied me over! but, we both know one u got an upgrade itch.. waiting seems impossible haha

i know, im in the dilema of stick with my system as it primarily does what i need it to, but i want something new. so do i stick in a phenom x6 to tide me over til bulldozer, or buy a sandy bridge, as chances are it will walk all over the bulldozer anyway.
i know i dont need to upgrade, but there are a few things that cause it to stutter, and the only real weak link is my cpu.

no harm in starting a 'spec me' thread and seeing what you can get for your money and then it gives you a better idea of whether its worth it.