DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

Upgrade Query!

21 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/upgrade-query.77586/

2kewl
2kewl Original post #1
Jan 7, 2008 at 7:17 AM
Hey Guys,

I have a P-4 2.4Ghz - 256 MB RAm - 40 GB HDD for 4 years. Now I've run out of space on it and need to upgrade the HDD. I also want to upgrade the RAM to 1GB and get a DVD writer.

Need suggestions from you guys as you which brand to choose. thx!
nvidia
nvidia #2
Jan 7, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Whats your budget?
I recommend -
HDD - Segate 160GB or more.
Transcend 1Gb or more RAM.
DVD writer - get Sony 20x writer:)
piyush gupta
Jan 7, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Go For 1GB RAM

and some 160GB external HDD

how come u work on 40GB for past 4 years..

my laptop is 160GB and I recently bought one 500GB External HDD for 7K bucks...
nvidia
nvidia #4
Jan 7, 2008 at 12:54 PM
^^offtopic: How much space you require depends on how much you use your computer and for what you use...
2kewl
2kewl #5
Jan 7, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Thanks for the recommendations!

I use my HDD mostly for songs, and now I've filled it up. Not much of gamer, use PC mostly for internet and songs
H
Jan 7, 2008 at 11:12 PM
get a Seagate 320GB with perpendicular recording technology.
2kewl
2kewl #7
Jan 9, 2008 at 5:19 PM
Guys..DVD Writer..Sony or LG?
2kewl
2kewl #9
Jan 10, 2008 at 9:10 PM
Thanx!

What's the difference b/w Sony 20x and Sony 20x SATA?
a_tif
a_tif #10
Jan 10, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Thanx!

What's the difference b/w Sony 20x and Sony 20x SATA?

sata version has a smaller cable thats all. no performance difference
G
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Hey Guys,

I have a P-4 2.4Ghz - 256 MB RAm - 40 GB HDD for 4 years. Now I've run out of space on it and need to upgrade the HDD. I also want to upgrade the RAM to 1GB and get a DVD writer.

Need suggestions from you guys as you which brand to choose. thx!

Hey...hold on...u r missing some things here.

1) Ur Mobo wont have SATA, it'll have only IDE. So u'll need to get an IDE HDD. But future mobos (say 1 year down the line) wont have IDE interface. So if u buy a new IDE hard disk now, u wont be able to use it when u upgrade your system. (which u'll need to do pretty soon...coz ur current system is outdated already) Also IDE HDDs might be slower than SATA.

2) Same argument holds for DVD writer. If u get an IDE writer, using it in future will be troublesome.

3)Surely ur mobo supports DDR RAM only. 1 GB DDR RAM costs close more than 2000 rupees, and it's a dead investment, coz u cant use it on any of the newer mobos. Plus u can get 2 GB DDR2 RAM for a much lesser price.


My suggestion is this.

Instead of upgrading, sell off ur old system and get a new cheap system.
An AMD Sempron + Mobo + 1GB DDR2 RAM will cost u less than 4.5K, whereas ur 1GB DDR RAM alone will cost u 2.3K. But I would suggest u go for an AMD Athlon X2 atleast.
2kewl
2kewl #12
Jan 12, 2008 at 7:51 AM
gulgulu..My mobo is Intel D845GVSR
Pathik
Pathik #13
Jan 12, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Yep it ll support IDE and AGP and DDR ram only.. I have the same mobo.. i upgraded the ram and gpu 7-8 months back.. It is a dead investment now.
2kewl
2kewl #14
Jan 12, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Hmm..In that case, I guess I'll hang on with my sys for an year..then I'll get a new one, have to get an LCD as well.

Will try get an 80 GB IDE..that'll be good enough for an yr
G
Jan 13, 2008 at 12:18 AM
Hmm..In that case, I guess I'll hang on with my sys for an year..then I'll get a new one, have to get an LCD as well.

Will try get an 80 GB IDE..that'll be good enough for an yr

Yep...u can get ur LCD now itself. Get a good 19 inch widescreen one.

If u r buying ur HDD for storage space alone (movies and stuff) consider getting a SATA HDD + external casing(USB interface) . In future u can use the HDD in ur new system if u want, or else u can continue using it as external. Get a 160 or 250 GB atleast. 80 GB is not VFM
G
Jan 13, 2008 at 1:19 AM
Hey..it seems u can get a SATA to IDE or IDE to SATA converter for Rs 299. Saw it on ebay.in. If u can get it at ur place, then u can add ur HDD and DVD writer now itself.
2kewl
2kewl #17
Jan 13, 2008 at 8:22 AM
Hey..Thanks gulu for the recommendation! I'll chk it out
bikdel
bikdel #18
Jan 13, 2008 at 11:32 AM
For now, my recommendations are :

160 GB Seagate HDD with SATA... and buy an Internal SATA card that will fit to your computer's PCI slot and give it 2 or more SATA slots.. will cost ~500 but a good investment...

Get 1 GB DDR 400 MHz and sell off your 256 MB to someone...

and get a Sony DVD RW

for monitor id recommend Viewsonic 19 " for < 10000
but take a note of this " does your onboard graphics support 1440*900 resolution? if no then either dont buy the 19" or buy a cheap AGP like FX 5200 to support it....

ragards
bikalp
G
Jan 13, 2008 at 6:30 PM
For now, my recommendations are :

160 GB Seagate HDD with SATA... and buy an Internal SATA card that will fit to your computer's PCI slot and give it 2 or more SATA slots.. will cost ~500 but a good investment...

Get 1 GB DDR 400 MHz and sell off your 256 MB to someone...

and get a Sony DVD RW

for monitor id recommend Viewsonic 19 " for < 10000
but take a note of this " does your onboard graphics support 1440*900 resolution? if no then either dont buy the 19" or buy a cheap AGP like FX 5200 to support it....

ragards
bikalp

1GB DRR RAM will cost u 2300 which is a dead investment. I wud say get another 256MB DDR for Rs 650 to get ur system RAM to 512MB (u shud be able to run XP comfortably with that).

If u r ready to spend 2300 for RAM + 500 for SATA adapter, then it's better to upgrade the whole thing.
2kewl
2kewl #20
Jan 13, 2008 at 10:18 PM
That seems better. A 256 MB RAM and a used 80GB IDE could do!

Thanks Guys, You've been of great help!
skeletor
skeletor #21
Jan 14, 2008 at 1:26 AM
I would suggest LiteON 20x DVD writer instead of Sony. My friend's newly bought SONY Optiarc DVD writer makes a lot of noise.......