Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The long awated PC upgrade

Do I ever hate life. My body is functioning from a midnight to 3 P.M. schedule, and I can't seem to break it for the life of me. Oi.... well, for those that were anticipating my Sunday update, thank you for not harming me in your wait. The event will be held this coming Saturday. Same time, same rules, the works.

But, this is only 5% of what I wanted to talk about, my other agenda is slightly more detailed. I'm going to be working on a project outside the computer realm, and I want you guys to be part of the experience. Technically, I'm not moving far away from the computer since I'll be inside the computer. Trippy, is it not?

I wrote a blog sometime back explaining or bragging that I was still an XP user. Vista damaged my testicles, and 7 while has a couple perks more than XP, is nothing more than a glorified Vista... without the bugs.

Here's the catch that keeps me away from using it 24/7; all the specs, inside and out, are still the original. While this may not sound like a hindrance at first, the specs, come this December, are nine years old. And just for quick show, let me tell you what it offers.

  • Windows XP SP3 basic edition
  • Intel Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz single core CPU
  • Two 512MB DDR400 RAM chips
  • Integrated Intel graphics 98MB of graphics memory
  • One 3.5" 150GB SATA HDD
  • Audigy 2 sound blaster
Other specs includes a motherboard with six 2.0 USB slots, a PS2 connector, Ethernet port, PCI, and a couple other trinkets I've never used. On the front has a CD/CDRW 16x speed, DVD, Floppy, at the bottom has two additional 2.0 USB slots, and a fire wire. Can't give you real measurements, but its big. Comes up to just below my legs. And its weight I want to say is roughly 15lbs.

THIS is obsolete specs. No one in their right mind could ever get away with using that now. I is not rich, therefore,  had to live with this for years. It plays most games very well, but anything pushing after 2007 is just asking for trouble. Stupid tid-bit tasks like internet and such is fine, just don't have 10 programs running at once while downloading a huge file. And Fraps can't run on most applications, and streaming is a joke.

So, how do we take care of this? Should I take care of this? I clearly have a laptop pushing specs that most low end users would love to have. It is meant for gaming, and I have not come across a game that hates me yet. So... why?

This desktop has seen hell and back. Originally was shared between my mother and I, it fell into my hands a couple years ago. I have always loved it, even during my times using two different laptops. And, its XP. I can never go against that.

This is where my project comes into play, because its going to be rivaling some PC's today, and make the XP look cool again. Here is what its going to fashion by the time it's finished.

  • Four 1GB DDR400 RAM
  • 512MB PC graphics
  • New tower, with a new overdue power supply
  • Wireless card
  • Fully functioned Japanese region support and IME
  • One 3.5" 1TB SATA HDD
This may not seem like a lot, but with a sleeker look, and more power under the hood, it may even take the computer a few seconds to realize what just happened. The three drives in the front will be replaced with one full CD/DVD drive. I can do all my writing on my laptop, since it also support BD. Their should be virtually no cords on it either.

One wireless card, a mouse and keyboard wireless dongle, along with a wireless PS3 controller dongle. All that should be exposed is a PCI cord and audio cord, along with my optional PSP USB connector to transfer games, and the same cord used for my external hard drive for my files and Wii games. And maybe an external SD reader, but that's for later.

I'm hoping to reduce the size by 35% and chip the weight off by at least 5lbs. All that would be left to get is finding a dedicated monitor to it, so I can finally use my T.V. for Netflix or something.

Overall, this should be a really great upgrade for my desktop, and a fun project to work on in the next couple of months. And, if it proves to be successful, I should think about snatching my moms e-machine. That thing is junk, and desperately needs an upgrade. Albeit, something less hardcore than mine, because she doesn't game a lot, and really only needs it for Facebook. Oi.

But that's my little project. I think I covered everything I wanted to say. I'll be sure to take some pictures later today to give you an idea of what it looks like, and how bad it needs an upgrade. I guess until then, guys, see you soon~

1 comment:

  1. post a pic of the tower >< lol and backside of it i might help find hardware -.-

    ReplyDelete