I answered a post on upgrading computers in the Lounge

[Maestro]

I thought it might be useful here. Scroll down a bit in the thread.

Upgrade advice

[bemildred]

1. Thanks.

I'm plannnig to build a new box after the first of the year,
and I've been looking for clues.

[Deja Q]

2. I second those!

Athlon64 is the way to go. 64-bit native with excellent 32-bit performance, and doesn't cost the purchaser any number of body parts.

Asus or Abit are the best, as is the Nforce chipset they use. VIA is touch'n'go.

ATi video cards are good in terms of pure hardware performance, but ATi is known for a history of lax drivers. Nvidia's cards, while not always as powerful and feature-packed, still work impressively and have infinitely better drivers. (And as for Linux support? Only Nvidia is the way to go.)

LCD monitors are okay, but I prefer old school glass CRT. The images seem sharper and you NEVER have to worry about dead or stuck pixels on a glass CRT. (look at a computer screen with a solid black pixel all the doo-dah-day and cringe. Look at a computer screen with a solid bright red or blue pixel and go completely crackers. No thanks.)

I'd rather homebuild than use a brand. I used to recommend IBM, especially for their laptops, but not anymore. Dells feel flimsy and include a lower rated power supply - so upgradeabiliy is not only more propriatery (a typical repuke venue), you might overload the power supply by adding a top-of-the-line video card (e.g. Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra with 256MB of delicious DDR3 RAM.)

[RoyGBiv]

3. ATI and Drivers ...

Just an additional comment.

ATI stock drivers do have issues. I'll give them credit for trying and handing out ample updates, but one would think one of the updates would eventually be a bit more stable.

That said, some of the optimized drivers of third parties are pretty good. I use Omega drivers (omegadrivers.net), which are quite nifty. This person also puts out optimized versions of nVIDIA drivers as well.

One of the basic differences between ATI and NVIDIA involves whether you'll be using DirectX or Open-GL more often. ATI and DirectX go together well. Open-GL performance is not as good, which is one reason why some people using ATI cards are having trouble with the new DOOM3 game FWIW.

Ditto on the ASUS and Abit motherboards. I'm using the A7N8X-X at the moment and am building a system for my daughter using the better A7N8X-E (deluxe). When I first got the one I'm using, I took all my old parts out of a cheapo ECS motherboard, changed nothing else, and just that increased performance dramatically. I can't wait until I get my daughter's computer together. It'll be a better base system than I have. The *built-in* sound system is better than my Soundblaster card. I may have to steal it. :-)

[RoyGBiv]

4. Good advice ...

One thing about pricewatch that I'd like to mention ...

Some of the best prices point you to some companies that are not reputable, and so a warning sign needs to be added to them. BZBOYZ comes up a lot, as does Compu-Terra. I've heard horror stories about both these companies and have one myself on one of them. If you get your stuff, everything is great. But, if there is one problem, you will be lost in a nightmare of horrid customer service.

Newegg, in my opinion, is the way to go. The prices are very reasonable, and the customer service is exceptional. One brief account: I ordered a new motherboard and process from them for the system I'm building my daughter for Christmas. They shipped the motherboard, but for some reason the processor did not ship with it. Without any prompting from me and at no additional cost, Newegg packaged the processor the next day and sent it out 2nd day air so that it would catch up with the motherboard and arrive at the same time. That tells me everything I need to know about their customer service ethic.

I spent about $20 more overall, shipping included, than I would have had I bought the items separately at cheaper places. (The shipping at these other places was higher, btw. Some "discount" companies advertise low prices and then jack up the "handling" costs to make up for it.) But, I wouldn't have received them at the same time, if I received them at all. Also, with the other companies, if the CPU had arrived dead, the company had no easy process for a return. Details are what matter. The extra $20 was well spent, I think.

[Maestro]

5. Good point on the low prices

through Price Watch. They are some scummy business out there. Newegg is the way to go for additional; however, I have dealt with Monarch Computers and they are good as well with very good prices that sometimes even beat Newegg.