[TechyMom5]

Hi There!

Its been a while since I've been to the geeks to go forum but I always know this is the best place to come for help and advise. Anyhow, Im not extremely tech savvy but certainly not afraid to get my hands dirty per se. I am interested in building a computer and will need to know if its gonna cost me the same price as pruchasing a new one from a computer seller.

I only need this computer for work purposes as I work from home doing call center/customer service work and most of the companies only take Windows XP or Vista. Im looking to have this computer run Windows XP. I would like a motherboard that can upgrade to 6gb ram if not more and would like a pretty high capcity hard drive. I really want something that I can still use for a few years and not worry about running out of space so quickly. A cd/dvd driver and enough usb ports to cover the necessary accessories I need and a n extra just in case. The rest I guess I would reply on you the experts. As i stated im not really tech savvy but not afraid to go at it as Im really looking forward to such a project.

I currently have a Dell Dimension 2400 that has only 80gb hard drive and 1.5gb ram...it runs windows XP, mainly used for kids to do homework or my husband to just browse the internet very basic stuff. Anything I can do to use that and upgrade it, even if it means replacing the necessary items?

I also have a Dell inspiron 1525 laptop runs Vista home basics, 250gb hard drive and 2gb ram. This computer is what I mainly use for work and it does serve its purpose right now as I use and external hard drive to save alot of files to preserve space on the laptop. Wouldnt mind upgrading this computer either.

I would appreciate any and all suggestions and advise...please let me know about how much I may be looking at cost here. Thanks!


Techymom5

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IMHO, sinking much money into an old Dell Dimension 2400 probably isn't worth it. It runs on an Intel Pentium 4 or Celeron and maxes out at 2GB of RAM. You could upgrade to a larger hard drive for a few bucks and probably make it last another year or two.

The Dell Inspiron 1525 could be upgraded to 4GB of RAM and, you could at least double the size of the SATA hard drive if you like.

As far as building one, here's three good starting points:

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $500 PC
http://www.tomshardw...ii-x3,2811.html

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $1000 PC
http://www.tomshardw...ilder,2809.html

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PC
http://www.tomshardw...k-ssd,2792.html

(The $1,000 model is probably the best 'bang for the buck').

[SpywareDr]

IMHO, sinking much money into an old Dell Dimension 2400 probably isn't worth it. It runs on an Intel Pentium 4 or Celeron and maxes out at 2GB of RAM. You could upgrade to a larger hard drive for a few bucks and probably make it last another year or two.

The Dell Inspiron 1525 could be upgraded to 4GB of RAM and, you could at least double the size of the SATA hard drive if you like.

As far as building one, here's three good starting points:

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $500 PC
http://www.tomshardw...ii-x3,2811.html

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $1000 PC
http://www.tomshardw...ilder,2809.html

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PC
http://www.tomshardw...k-ssd,2792.html

(The $1,000 model is probably the best 'bang for the buck').

[TechyMom5]

thanks for the information...looks like loads of information to sift thru.

[SpywareDr]

You're welcome.

And yes, Tom's Hardware is a very informative site.

[Corey]

Hey I cam across you posting and thought I might be able to help. Come check me out at http://newbcomputerb...asic-pc-builds/ where I have posted some "basic PC' configurations. As you stated you ar enot looking for too much so I believe these would be best. Its almost always cheaper to build your own. Like for example the PC listed here: http://newbcomputerb...level-basic-pc/ would only cost you around $333 US. Thats for 4Gb ram, 500GB HD, and AMD Athlon X2 255 3.2GHz processor. So you can play with the parts if you were needing more ram HD space etc. Hope this helped some, could also send me a message there and I would be more than welcome to help you out.

Corey

[TechyMom5]

Thanks Much Corey saved your info in my favorites and will read through as well. Thanks again