Upgrading specific parts on slowing computer

[heisindc]

Hi there. I build my own cpu a few years back and am looking to upgrade specific parts or just buy a new machine.
When I load itunes, firefox and any other program, the whole thing comes to a crawl. I use adaware/anti-spyware/diskeeper pro, etc to keep it clean, but I think it just may be old.
I notice this A LOT when loading games. The load time takes longer than ever, but once the game starts up it looks beautiful on advanced settings. Just takes a long time to load.


My hardware is:

HDD = Western digital 80gig wd800jd - running slow possibly
video = nvidia geforce 8800gt
cpu = intel core2 6300@1.8GHz
2gb ram
windows xp


Should I upgrade specific components? or just buy a new computer like:

Buy.com has a Refurbished Gateway DX4200-09 Desktop PC for $280 with free shipping.

Specs
AMD Phenom X4 9100e 1.8 GHz
4GB DDR2 (2x2GB)
640GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA HDD
18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash Technology
ATI Radeon HD 3200 Integrated Graphics
Provides HDMI port
8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
56Kbps Modem
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Some games loaded fast (on low settings) on parents computer with onboard graphics and mine is just SLOW

thanks for all your help

 

[Trotter]

The Gateway will be faster, no doubt. You could transfer your PSU and GFX card into it and be in decent shape. Too bad it doesn't have Win 7, though.

Your hard drive is old, true. WD has a new line, Black, that are crazy fast. You could replace it and Ghost your install over to the new drive.

Without knowing your motherboard's make and model I can't offer too much more than that. Your PSU info would help, too.

 

[JeffO]

Your old PC doesn't look "slow" to me, except your CPU has a slow clock-speed. Otherwise it looks "good" - not fantastic. It seems it should run any game on medium settings.
I've upgraded old machines. Adding faster CPUs, more memory has had very little improvement to my games. Adding a much faster graphics card had a very substantial improvement.
If your older PC has PCIe video slot, I would suggest spending your money on a really hot new card. Just make sure your PSU can provide adequate power to avoid crashing and spontaneous reboots.

The Gateway you mention looks just as fast as your older PC.
Definitely x64 is the way to go. Ditto about "too bad it doesn't have Win 7.

As a PC tech, one of the things I habitually do is clean up junk files that collect on the hard drive. It would be too long of a reply to list all I clean up, but I would guess that's why your older PC has slowed down. Too many start-up items, too many temp files, too many uninstall files/folders, etc. Clean the Registry and defrag your Pagefile and defrag your Registry, etc. Any one thing has little affect but all together makes a very noticeable difference in speed.

 

[heisindc]

thanks for your help

i'll look into a faster processor and also possible HDD replacement or reformat (this will take care of the junk files correct?)
I have an external HDD that I can keep my important files on, so wouldn't need to ghost, just install new OS and reinstall all programs

maybe windows 7 upgrade once I do this


thanks again!