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Users who Dugg This
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shivachettriJun 30, 2010
Wish I could be there, Where this babies come at that price :(
benroyJun 30, 2010
huh?
smedrickJun 30, 2010
I hear ya, man.
quietsykoJun 30, 2010
I heard you can get cheap babies from some couple standing outside Walmart...
fozefyJun 30, 2010
He's just saying that where he lives these components are far more than what is listed in the article ("male from Delhi (IN)"). While I'm only in Canada I know exactly where he's coming from, the prices here are 10-20% more than what is listed in this article. :(
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
"While I'm only in Canada I know exactly where he's coming from..."
Good job you're not in the US, we know what they're like with geography.
toksterjoksterJun 30, 2010
Cheap sounds good to me.
omniatlasJun 30, 2010
I installed Snow Leopard on my PC. Hackintosh was one of my cheapest and best upgrade option.
gamerxr72Jun 30, 2010
You'd have been better off with widows 7
omniatlasJul 1, 2010
I also have Windows 7 installed. So tell me again the benefits? I find my workflow much better under Mac OSX.
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ omniatlas, RE: ".. I also have Windows 7 installed. So tell me again the benefits? I find my workflow much better under Mac OSX."
I think the reply from GamerXR72 will be "games."
picaloJun 30, 2010
...yes "upgrading" to a system that is not capable of HALF of what linux or windows can do...yep you really upgraded.
omniatlasJul 1, 2010
Would you like to list what its not capable of doing, because I'm finding Mac OSX quite capable of everything I need it to do.
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ omniatlas, RE: ".. Would you like to list what its not capable of doing, because I'm finding Mac OSX quite capable of everything I need it to do."
You have to understand that guys like picalo can't answer that kind of question because they're making posts on something they know very little about.
casusevJun 30, 2010
Do you guys know of any good sites that I can download ram from?
theinformerJun 30, 2010
No, but I have a few sites that I can download ROM via bittorrent.
yoofthenessJun 30, 2010
This account has been closed by the user
faizal5kJun 30, 2010
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081022072503AA3jLan
samgabJul 1, 2010
You need more of the Gigabites...
matagascarJun 30, 2010
How to upgrade your PC = buy a Mac.
vmistry94Jun 30, 2010
Besides the fact these are supposed to "cheap" upgrades...buying a Mac would be a downgrade.
factorof13Jun 30, 2010
Funniest thing I've read all week.
mkriss5681Jun 30, 2010
How to upgrade your Mac. Buy a new Mac.
wolfingJun 30, 2010
every 6 months or whenever Steve Jobs says you have to
czarcasmJun 30, 2010
That would be a downgrade if you think about it.Seriously,same hardware on a Mac=higher prices for no reason.
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
But I don't WANT to wear a berret!
scotty87Jun 30, 2010
How about just releasing affordable SSDs
danielphermousJun 30, 2010
This account has been closed by the user
winston84Jun 30, 2010
Come on man, you can hardly buy a pair of genuine Nike's for the asking price
of a decent SSD ..
It ain't SSD's that are expensive, it's electro-mechanical HDD's
that are beyond dirt-cheap .
lartonesJun 30, 2010
Pretty soon I'm going to need a new computer because this one is just not downloading Pron fast enough.
ptearJun 30, 2010
Just don't buy a Mac, they don't run porn.
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ ptear, RE: ".. Just don't buy a Mac, they don't run porn."
You better let the online porn industry know about that, since they seem to be gearing up to target all sorts of Apple devices :
http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-4-video-sex-chat-services-already-staffing-up-2010-6#ixzz0sArNDwGy
".. Just a few days after Apple's iPhone 4 went on sale -- featuring video chat capabilities -- the "FaceTime" sex chat services are already starting up."
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/212914.asp?from=blog_last3
" .. sex sites are leading the way with HTML5. Ali Joone, founder and director of porn giant Digital Playground (DP), told ConceivablyTech he agrees with Apple CEO Steve Jobs that Adobe Flash is on the way out as a multimedia platform."
ptearJul 1, 2010
I sent them an e-mail this morning.
mrbitchJul 8, 2010
@ ptear, good to know that you're "on top" of this situation...
mkriss5681Jun 30, 2010
Article never mentioned in the 4GB or 6GB section that you require a x64 bit version of Windows to go past 4GB. Early Win 7ers who upgraded from Vista were forced to go the x32 route.
myztryJun 30, 2010
The win7 serial works for either 32bit or 64bit. Just lend/obtain the 64bit media. I haven't tried upgrading win7 32bit to win7 64bit so it may require a fresh install. Activating 32bit then reinstalling as 64bit still activates so they must produce compatible UID's for the hardware.
scuba7183Jun 30, 2010
It does need a clean install
mkriss5681Jun 30, 2010
That;s very cool. I always wanted to run 7x64 but I have x32. Next time I do a clean install I'll try x64.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
@mkriss5681
Unless you are going to get an advantage from an application using more than 4GB of RAM, then it's not worth the upgrade at the moment. Why would you want to use twice the RAM to do the same job? Unless you're running Pixar or something like that, stick to 32 bit for the time being, as most software will see no benefit from 64 bit. 2GB is enough RAM for most duties on a 32 bit system, so there's no need to jump on some silly bandwagon. Instead, just laugh at the idiots who are running a 64 bit system with 8GB of RAM in order to play a game that requires 1GB of RAM.
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ mkriss5681, RE: ".. That's very cool. I always wanted to run 7x64 but I have x32. Next time I do a clean install I'll try x64."
Nothing says "fun" like good old Windows clean installs...
timsaucemnJun 30, 2010
I upgraded from Vista x64 to 7 x64 with no issues.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
And what specific benefit's have you seen?
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ mabsark, RE: ".. And what specific benefit's have you seen?"
No 64 bit Flash version? Is that a benefit?
timsaucemnJul 2, 2010
The only 64 bit browser installed on my computer is IE and lord knows I never use it. As for benefits, I can actually USE my 4gb of ram. I should put in more, but what I have is fine for me. Flash will probably take about another couple years to be x64 compliant, probably the same with Chrome, my default browser.
torikanJun 30, 2010
newegg.com ftw. I've built some awesome machines with parts from here for under $600.
jbmcbJun 30, 2010
Newegg is fantastic. They don't have the lowest prices on everything, but they have good prices on so much stuff that it's not worth buying from other places and jacking up the price of shipping.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
For those in the UK, the equivalent is eBuyer.com
martinvivesJun 30, 2010
http://www.downloadmoreram.com
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
Awesome! I just downloaded 32 gigs of ram for my new computer and it's wicked fast now!
simplyfungusJun 30, 2010
Mine didn't work, it just downloaded somewhere :( can someone tell me how to work this?
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
Buried. This is not a cheap way to upgrade.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
Could the retards burying this guy explain how SSDs and 5850s are cheap upgrades? I didn't even get to page 2 because the first one was so rediculous.
genmaJun 30, 2010
some people with the money to spend on premium parts just think that buying top-mid to high end automatically makes them experts on the market, especially those with no practical frame of reference. they don't realise that most of their knowledge is actually marketing hype that has little to do with intended application, this is also known as "future proofing" or "fools and their money".
most of this article has absolutely nothing to do with the title whatsoever, "best" and "cheapest" = highest $ to performace ratio, which basically none of these picks fall under. it's called product placement under the guise of tech advice, where writers plug affiliates for the first couple pages, then wrap it up with some random details for relevance.
most (not) random pick of the day here goes to belkin though, it's pretty damn obvious when you could pull at least a dozen other routers on the market out of a hat, in the exact same price range at least twice as good in every way.
twwixJun 30, 2010
Here you go http://www.overclock.net/online-deals
You can find great daily deals on that forum, plus links to various online retailers.
koirakuenJun 30, 2010
macs are so good they dont need upgrade ahaha
gamerxr72Jun 30, 2010
lol que?
929yellowjacketJun 30, 2010
"In 2007, Apple surpassed Microsoft in the number of reported vulnerabilities."
-SANS Security 301.3 pg. 164
Where is your Apple God now?
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ 929Yellowjacket, RE: ".. In 2007, Apple surpassed Microsoft in the number of reported vulnerabilities."
Interesting clain, Do you have a web address link to back that up?
929yellowjacketJul 1, 2010
@mrBitch
It's in the SANS training material for the GIAC certification course (SANS Security 301.3 pg. 164)
I have the material in hard copy and in online On-Demand form; if you're really curious, I can take a screen shot.
mrbitchJul 8, 2010
RE: " .. I have the material in hard copy and in online On-Demand form; if you're really curious, I can take a screen shot."
The only online source for this info only exists on an online On-Demand form?
Are there really no other online sources to back this up?
myztryJun 30, 2010
This should be read as a system building guide. PC parts are so cheap now that it rarely makes sense to upgrade except for specific purposes such as a game specific gfx card and a really constrained budget, and you don't get left with spare parts that you never get around to selling.
Generally you will find that current generation budget machine will eat your 3 year old screamer for breakfast. Slots change. RAM changes and hikes in price once mainstream production ends. Save yourself the hassle. Give the old PC to someone and get someone to build you a new one.
Parts pricing works on a kind of exponential curve where you can get much better performance for a little extra money until it switches over to little extra performance for your dollar. Look at the pricing of what is available and pick the sweet spot right in the middle.
http://www.infernalramblings.com/images/articles/thinking_blogs_exponential.PNG
Another factor not mentioned is the OS. If you are fond of Windows XP then you can likely dig up a copy from a dead box for free. They can be reinstalled on completely new hardware every 3 months and despite what the EULA may say, those terms are whims unless a judge issues a court order after vetting against contract law.
Also for those who may prefer simply to upgrade to Windows 7, get an OEM copy from a system builder. They can only be purchased with a system. No big issue. Find a friend who is buying a system with Windows 7 and have them tack on an extra copy for yourself. Thanks to the advent of visualization and multi-boot, there is no limit on how many copies of an OS can be reasonably associated with a computer.
liuiteJun 30, 2010
visualization or virtualization? that aside, sometimes it can be worthwhile to build a quality budget system if you have more time/patience that money...with black friday deals and sometimes really good combo deals from outfits like Fry's, but this is only worthwhile if you can get student pricing on windows or install linux.
myztryJun 30, 2010
Actually, it's virtualisation for us Commonwealth spelling folk. The spelling checker caught me out by marking a correct word as wrong and then offering a wrong correction.
Guess I had better change the default language to English English...
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
Regarding getting an OEM copy of Windows, most small computer shops will sell these to you without requiring any other purchase. It's how i've always gotten my legal Windows copies. But I mostly use Linux anyway.
myztryJun 30, 2010
It is getting rarer. Now that the antitrust ruling is receding into the past, Microsoft is reverting back to the enforcing leveraging terms lest the distributors get black banned.
With or without a system shouldn't matter except to drive hardware sales which likely has reciprocal benefits for Microsoft. Especially since Windows 7 has actually lowered hardware requirements over it's predecessors meaning new hardware is often not even necessary.
I can't imagine the hardware OEMs being happy about Windows being an increasing share of the cost (and profits) of computers let alone it decreasing hardware sales with lesser requirements. A new release of Windows is meant to mean more shipments to the shops and to landfill. Not reuse of existing hardware.
timthetaxmanJun 30, 2010
Dugg for the ATI 5850. Great card for the money. Reminds me of the Nvidia 8800GT in its heyday.
Buying the bleeding edge almost never pays off, You pay a huge premium for an extra 5-8 fps.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
The ATI 5850 (and SSDs) are the reasons I'm not digging the article, as they are anything but cheap upgrades.
timthetaxmanJun 30, 2010
. Depends on "cheap" I guess. Computer gaming has never been a great place for inexpensive gaming if you like to play the latest games. Stick to consoles, if you want the smallest price possible.
In terms of price vs performance though, the 5850 is a good value.
Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
'Depends on what you consider "cheap" I guess.'
Anyone who considers $300 to be cheap, obviously has more money than sense. They should have listed the 5770 which costs $150, that's still not exactly cheap but it does provide the best bang for your buck at the moment, and will let you play any game with far greater quality than a console.
The 5850 is a good component for computer gaming, but it is not a good valued one.
otrosJul 1, 2010
This is why video cards naming conventions f**king sucks. a 70 is better than a 50, but is 5770 better than a 5850?
/performance-wise and performance/money-wise
Closed AccountJul 1, 2010
@otros - a 5850 is a better performing card... so, remember that 85 is better than 77, I guess :p
Also, I totally agree with you; they're absolutely ridiculous.
superherofiveJun 30, 2010
I guess cheap is relative...
Dropping $300 for a graphics card in an article about cheap just doesn't work for me.
tgc1Jun 30, 2010
I was looking at 100 dollar video cards and thought that springing for the good stuff meant spending 200. LOL i'm a f**king noob.
laneJul 1, 2010
if you don't mind refurbs you can find 5770's for around $110. I bought two for myself and I'm seeing marked improvements on my FPS over what a 5850 can do. Don't buy into the I can pick a second one up later hype, by the time the 5850 needs to be in crossfire to get decent FPS the drivers will be optimized to a next gen platform.
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
Buying an SSD hard drive is cheap? uh no. I'll stick with my satas.
luciferxeJul 2, 2010
SCSI here. of course i get them free.
hell im selling a u320 storageworks with at least 1.5tb of space and HBA. drives range from 10k 9.2gb to 146 15k
hell ill sell it to anyone who wants it for $400 for everything.
now thats cheap.
picaloJun 30, 2010
system:
phenom 2 945 x4
ddr3 1600mhz 4gigs (2 slots left)
hd5750 (with an extra x16 slot) 1gig ddr5
250gig 7200.12 seagate (dual read/write instantly...fast for gaming)
600w psu from coolermaster
coolermaster atx case
790x northbridge
all for less than 500 dollars.
SSD's and supporting intel like its god is NOT cheap.
thanks.
picaloJun 30, 2010
hahah dig me down for not being ripped off.
ssd's are still unstable. dont be fooled, run an install/erase test about 15 times and you will start to see lags and glitches that dont occur on a regular HDD.
and sorry i dont get ripped off. frys and newegg.
timsaucemnJun 30, 2010
I can't digg you hard enough. Too many Intel fanboys on here, people really need to lighten up. AMD has a lot of good hardware, people just don't understand the value of budget components anymore.
guyincognitooJun 30, 2010
No one cares.
mabsarkJun 30, 2010
Well these Intel (should that be lack of intel) idiots think they need an i7 and 8GB of RAM to play Modern Warface 2, so their opinions are worthless. Fools being easily parted from their cash, and all that.
Closed AccountJul 1, 2010
Consider me impressed; that's a wicked system for under $500. I might have sprung for a 5770, possibly a more durable case, and maybe another harddrive to RAID, but then one starts to miss the point of a "budget" system :p . Nicely done, though.
wolfingJun 30, 2010
To me it's simple:
RAM if you have less than 4GB, that is a *must* (and cheapest way to upgrade): about $50
SSD and put the OS and most frequently used software there, data and the rest in normal HDs: about $100
Second/third generation video card if you're a gamer (example, Nvidia GeForce GTX260): about $180
SSD and video card are optional, but at least 4GB RAM is a must
picaloJun 30, 2010
SSD's are still at a stage of failing after major usage like an OS would use it as. the companies and market say different but run your os on a brand new flash drive (same tech) and watch it start to lag out, even via sata, it takes a while but it does occur unlike a regular non-ssd hdd.
and spending 180 dollars on a card that is lesser than a 120 dollar card is assinine.
4gigs cost more like 120 for any ddr3 maybe 99 or a bit cheaper that comes with issues or a shotty company.
thanks for failing.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
wolfingJun 30, 2010
I bought a 64GB SDD about a year ago for $130 (they're very probably cheaper now). I put Windows 7 there, and left the page file and all the data on my standard hard drives. Startup speed improved like 80% for Windows startup (starts in 20 seconds now) and any application I use frequently I install there, it's like night and day
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
@ picalo, RE: ".. SSD's are still at a stage of failing after major usage like an OS would use it as."
That's strange, a guy at work installed a 128 GB SSD into his quad-core i7 iMac over 8 months ago, and he hasn't had any issues so far.
Can you give me a web link to back up your claim that SSD drives fail after "major usage" ?
rowlodgeJun 30, 2010
got one of those intel E6600 chips ,supposed to be 2.4 GHz but it clocks out as 3.6 GHz, didnt know they upgraded them in january, heheh.
myztryJun 30, 2010
Processor speeds are artificial. There is a true minor variance but just because a new processor yields on average 1Ghz better then the old design doesn't mean they are going to set them all at their optimum speed.
They will progressively sell them in small speed increments to drive the upgrade cycle and maximum return for the higher speeds. The same applied to things like optical drives. Advances comes in leaps and it is drip fed to the consumer.
Microsoft had a scheme in mind at one stage where processors would be crippled and the end user would pay to have them crippled up to their maximum speed. Instead of hard crippling as had been used in the past, they would be soft crippled.
That never took off. Maybe the financially able overclock brigade short circuited it, or maybe the processor manufacturers decided it was better to sell new rather than unlocking upgrades with yet another middleman.
Either way, your 2.4Ghz part if quite likely identical as a 3.4Ghz part sold at a much higher price. Possibly even off the same piece of silicone. It's just got different default speeds assigned to it.
mrbitchJul 1, 2010
RE: ".. Microsoft had a scheme in mind at one stage where processors would be crippled and the end user would pay to have them un-crippled up to their maximum speed."
Good old Microsoft, they're always "thinking".
compgeekJun 30, 2010
I'll agree with another poster here. This reads more like a what to pick to build a new system guide rather than an upgrade guide. The days of being able to upgrade your system with a new graphics card and maybe some RAM and then be good for another year or so to stretch the life of an otherwise obsolete system are long gone. Now it's build one and use it until it won't do what you want it to do (usually about 2-3 years) then build a new one. Only upgrades I even consider on older systems are hard drive and maybe RAM since they are behind dirt cheap. Otherwise just save the cash and build new. Good picks in the article though on a lot of fronts
shutthefrntdoorJun 30, 2010
$300.00 for video card is not a budget upgrade. There are quite a few cards at half the price that do just as well.
dayal911Jun 30, 2010
I ordered the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus on Amazon yesterday actually. Cheaper there ($25) tha on new egg ($49).
linuxbeatswin7Jun 30, 2010
Just install Linux :)
shozikuJun 30, 2010
the guy that wrote the article was high. or delirious.
and I agree with shutthefrntdoor above... found a 1Gig radeon for $69 that performs awesome (from best buy) and wasn't $300.
It sounded more like the guy wrote the article after thumbing through a PC magazine while drunk.
Closed AccountJun 30, 2010
This lists all common/possible ways to upgrade your computer and suggests some options. The title read "Best, Cheapest" but the first item is an SSD! RAM isn't even on the first page. Mouse and keyboard? Really?
Closed AccountJul 1, 2010
I got another nose bleed this morning. I could not get it to stop and I'll tell you I tried. The penny method only made it worse. I'll never try to stop a leak like that again.
NOTE: pennys are not used to stop nose leaks.