Just asking for suggestions

[GCameron]

EDIT#1:
I just realized that most of the PCs I was looking at are Vista, can Vista be upgraded to windows 7, and how much would that cost?

I just registered on this forum a minute ago because I'm seriously starting to get pissed off by my ancient PC and don't know what to look for in modern ones. I also am thinking about selling my PC which actually is decent (besides for gaming) and it has some decent parts on it that are pretty new.


First off, if anyone could help me look for a new PC, it would be great. I'm not completely clueless, but a lot of newer stuff I just can't figure out.
1- Most good PCs I find in my search are Vista, and I haven't heard one good thing from anyone I know who has a Vista. From what I hear, they aren't compatible with a whole lot either. What's good and bad about them?
2- (I might be completely wrong here, don't luagh) Is Windows 7 an OS? How good is compatibility with it?
3- Where could I get a decent PC for making videos and gaming (mostly FPS stuff like Killing Floor and CS:S) for under $30 per month with credit that is a bit below average? Keep in mind I can't even get approved at all at Best Buy, the only place I was able to so far is Dell. don't really like Dell either, the last time I had one, they shipped the wrong package... twice, and customer service sucked, no one spoke half decent english! I don't really care about a good video card, I can get a better one later. I care most about RAM size/speed, max RAM, and the processor. Any processor would be ebtter than mien though... its only 2.00GHz (single core).
4- Is Windows XP even still around (its what I have now)?
5- Can I even get a decent gaming computer for under $1000, or one that doesn't scream "nerd" at anyone who sees it?
6- Other than all that, I would like any suggestions on what I should look into. I've noticed that with most computers, the reviews suck. IE; half are 5 stars, half are 0.5, few in between.


Second, I was thinking about selling my PC, it isn't that good, but it runs decently and I have a lot of stuff with it.

It is a 2002 Compaq Presario 6330us with a 2002 Proview Pro558 LCD monitor.
1GB DDR RAM (and 1GB is the max)
the master hard drive is still the stock Western Digital 60GB
The slave is a <3 month old Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM
Nvidia GeForce 8400GS, less than 6 months old
Has the manufacturer's DVD, CD, and floppy drives.
Pentium 4 CPU 2GHz (will probably be a Pentium 4 2.66GHz soon)
Manufacturer's power, sound, and keyboard.
iHome FastTrack Laser mouse.
EIDE whatever-you-call-the-slots-the-drives-are-in-slots.
2RAM slots (1GB max, has a 1GB card in slot1, other is empty)
I think 3PCI Bus slots (Graphics card in one, manufacturer sound card in ext, 3rd empty)
I have all the original manuels, the recovery disks, installation CDs, manuels and boxes for the RAM, Hard drive, and graphics card.
It's very well taken care of.



Thats about it but if anyone needs to know anything else let me know.
I wanted to know what I might be able to get for this, although I was thinking only like, $150 max], i'ts OLD. I really have no idea though. I don't know how much it cost when it was new, but I know even then it was no cadillac.
I didn't post this in the trading fourm because I'm 80% sure I won't sell it because anything I can sell it for wouldn't be worth it.

My last question is if I can swap out my Pentium 4 2.00GHz processor for a Pentium 4 2.66GHz processor (both used) without any problems. Im 90% sure both have a 478 pin connection, but I'm not sure.





Suggestions on any or all of that would be great, thanks.

 

[berry120]

1- Most good PCs I find in my search are Vista, and I haven't heard one good thing from anyone I know who has a Vista. From what I hear, they aren't compatible with a whole lot either. What's good and bad about them?

Vista's really not the best OS around and these days it's really not worth having. 7 is the version of windows that came after Vista, and is widely accepted as being the OS that Vista should've been all along. So it's worth going for a computer that has 7 over one that has Vista.

2- (I might be completely wrong here, don't luagh) Is Windows 7 an OS? How good is compatibility with it?

Yes, it's an OS. Compatability is generally pretty good - most Vista drivers will work with 7 anyway, but all popular hardware / software works with 7. Unless you're running something old or obsolete you shouldn't have an issue.

3- Where could I get a decent PC for making videos and gaming (mostly FPS stuff like Killing Floor and CS:S) for under $30 per month with credit that is a bit below average? Keep in mind I can't even get approved at all at Best Buy, the only place I was able to so far is Dell. don't really like Dell either, the last time I had one, they shipped the wrong package... twice, and customer service sucked, no one spoke half decent english! I don't really care about a good video card, I can get a better one later. I care most about RAM size/speed, max RAM, and the processor. Any processor would be ebtter than mien though... its only 2.00GHz (single core).

I can't really answer that, I'm in the UK so me recommending any specific places would be worthless. However, one thing to watch out for - you say you don't want a good graphics card and you can get one later, but bear in mind that this is a pretty essential element for gaming and you won't be able to play many (or any) decent games without a decent card!

4- Is Windows XP even still around (its what I have now)?

It's still being used, but Microsoft aren't selling it anymore and they're cutting off support as well. If you're going with a new PC 7 is your best bet.

5- Can I even get a decent gaming computer for under $1000, or one that doesn't scream "nerd" at anyone who sees it?

What screams "nerd"?! Not really sure what you mean by that! But yes - you can EASILY get a gaming computer for under that. If you're careful, much less.

 

[GCameron]

Vista's really not the best OS around and these days it's really not worth having. 7 is the version of windows that came after Vista, and is widely accepted as being the OS that Vista should've been all along. So it's worth going for a computer that has 7 over one that has Vista.

Yes, it's an OS. Compatability is generally pretty good - most Vista drivers will work with 7 anyway, but all popular hardware / software works with 7. Unless you're running something old or obsolete you shouldn't have an issue.

I can't really answer that, I'm in the UK so me recommending any specific places would be worthless. However, one thing to watch out for - you say you don't want a good graphics card and you can get one later, but bear in mind that this is a pretty essential element for gaming and you won't be able to play many (or any) decent games without a decent card!

It's still being used, but Microsoft aren't selling it anymore and they're cutting off support as well. If you're going with a new PC 7 is your best bet.

What screams "nerd"?! Not really sure what you mean by that! But yes - you can EASILY get a gaming computer for under that. If you're careful, much less.

Thanks, until I have everything figured out Im gonna be waiting in hell for replies to this.

All of that is very helpful.

And a graphics card not being important... what I meant is, you can get one that will at least make gaming possible for cheap enough. my video card isn't great, but it was around $100 and I havent come across a game I cant play because of it.

What I meant by gaming computers screaming "nerd" is stuff that looks like it should be in star wars or something, like this: http://www.tcmagazine.com/images/news/Hardware/Asus_Ares_CG6155_gaming_PC_01.jpg

Some of them are okay, but I wat a computer that looks like a computer, not a laser.

And I'm looking for a decent computer for under $500, but actually expect to pay about $800. So far I've found a Dell and an HP at $900 and $800, both seem decent, but the reviews pretty much say it is a good budgest computer but not as fast as it could be. The HP has slightly better reviews and it's $100 cheaper, I just don't know if I can get approved for it.

I also found something called a "CyberPower Gamer Ultra 7209" that people say you can get for under $500 and specs are decent, but I'm having trouble finding a place where you can actually get it.


Something that kind of scared me is when I went on to cyber power's website and checked it out, I started messing around with the build your own pc function, and it was bad. I started off making an average one that came out to $780, then tried doing one off the cheapest base they had, and selecting "none" for everything I could and the cheapest option for the rest, and it always came out sucking and still costing about $550. Then I tried off the most expensive and chose the most expensive options and it came to $16000! And its specs seemed good enough to hack the FBI with!

It really starting to look like I'm going to have to sell my computer for whatever I can get, like $150 if Im lucky, and put that towards a new PC. Right now, though, I only have about $200, and I can't afford anything over $40 a month.

 

[tom-knox]

With regards to the upgrade to Win7, in most cases, the upgrade itself is free and is processed through your PC manufacturer who won't charge you on any PC purchased with Vista before the end of January.

The only charge may be in handling, admin and delivery. With my Acer laptop, they want £12 to deliver the upgrade package to me, which is well worth it, but i don't have to have to deal with that for a couple of weeks.