Is this a good computer it's my sons does it need any upgrades? please let me know if any?

Question

System Information report written at: 11/09/08 19:13:51
System Name: YOUR-27E1513D96
[System Summary]

Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name YOUR-27E1513D96
System Manufacturer HP Pavilion 061
System Model ED898AA-ABA a1213w
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 28 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~1808 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD 3.15, 10/19/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name YOUR-27E1513D96\HP_Owner
Time Zone Central Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.22 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.94 GB
Page File Space 4.72 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Answer 1

For school work & internet it is a fine PC.



If your son intends to play any newer games on it then he will be very disappointed.

The unit is over 3 years old (released 15-Sep-2005), & you should not pay more than $250 for it.



Full specs:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00497087&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&softwareitem=pv-35826-1&os=228&product=1152515



regards,

Philip T

Answer 2

It's a perfectly fine set of hardware, the main concern would be how it's all configged, and what he needs to do with it.



It won't have any problems running the latest versions of MS Office, a more updated version of Win XP ( professional is better for most older systsmes like this one to run smoothly), and most decent games from about a year ago.



The motherboard will most likely support a faster cpu also, so it may be a good place to look for the next potrential upgrade if he wanted to run higher-quality games, or work with larger files faster for say video editing from a cellphone or other portable devices.



Otherwise, up to say a high-school Senior it should have him covered pretty well.





Good Luck!.

Answer 3

Its a descent computer. I would give it a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the best.



Judging by the size of the page file, windows could use a little cleanup.



If you are going to be using this as a general computer, such as surfing the web, checking email and playing some flash games, this computer will do just fine. But if it is for major gaming and intense graphic editing, this will not be so good.

Answer 4

1 Gb of RAM on an XP system is plenty to run BF2142 successfully. The only problem I can foresee is that you AGP slot is only 4x speed. Your mobo is likely old enough that you can literally use any (AGP) video card, but most AGP cards available now need 8x, so that will be a bottleneck. As to how bad it is...that depends on whether your son is willing to tolerate lower settings (and the kills lost because he couldn't see the targets on his monitor). In any case, ATi is supporting AGP with (that I am aware of) up to their HD3x series, but that would likely be a little too powerful for your system. nVidia stopped supporting AGP around the 7x or 6x generations. So...you'll probably have to bite the bullet and buy a new system. You can find a system that WILL run the game comfortably for about $400-$600 range. But, if you're willing to go into the $800-$1000 range, you can likely find an excellent system that will do everything you need it to do, and keep your son happy. (Just remember the High Speed internet connetion so he can play on-line.) Personal preference would be for a system with an ATi HD graphics card (2600, 3850 or 3870), and AMD dual core CPU (2.4 or higher). However, you can go with nVidia (8x card) and Intel processor (again, 2.4 dual core or higher). For the RAM...stick with the 1Gb strips for now...they're more efficient than the 2Gb ones, and data retrieval is faster. Would YOU have noticed a difference? Unlikely...your system most definately would have. (Incidentally...your system probably wouldn't have noticed the speed difference in the RAM sticks...it's old enough that it likely can't use the "speed" of the PC3200.) What you WILL notice is that everything seems so much faster...XP needs 512meg minimum to run "flawlessly" (I use the word guardedly). Anything less than that means that the OS and all other programs are quite literally fighting for system resources. (Think about a family of eight with only one bathroom, and they all have the stomach flu!) Good Luck! PS: save some bucks...avoid the big names like DELL and IBM/Lenovo. Save some REAL bucks...avoid names like Alienware (or other "custom" Gaming PC makers).

Answer 5

This is the same computer I'm typing on (Compaq 1730z). Yes, your son would benefit from a Thermaltake 430watt power supply, Ati Technologies HD3850 Pcie 512MB video card, and usb HP keyboard sold seperately (very good). A pair of headphones foam style. He does not need a sound card they can be trouble. Total cost in their order here: $69/ $130/ $14-$40/$30. Merry Christmas.

Answer 6

Actually, it sounds like your son's computer has a fairly solid build. As long as you aren't planning on changing your operating system to Windows Vista the RAM is sufficient. The only thing I may suggest is either a bigger hard drive to either replace or work with the existing hard drive. Other than that, just make sure to go to the start menu, then control panel, then on the security tab click on the check for updates tab while the computer is connected to the internet. This process will allow Microsoft to make sure his computer has all the most recent updates and patches for optimal performance. I hope this helps. :)

Answer 7

It's definitely not bad, but consider getting a duo core processor or something. It'll really speed your computer up. The RAM is fine at 2GB, which should be more than enough for Windows XP. Overall a fine computer, with a processor that could be upgraded.

Answer 8

I really wouldn't use the system information found under the Accessories menu for reference, it is really to complicated to figure out your model of Pavilion, and what upgrades it needs. I would just look on the front of the case for the model name, e.g Pavilion.

Have a nice day

Ken

Answer 9

its not a very good computer. But it works. Depends on what you are trying to do with it. If it is just for web browsing, writing documents, and email. That should be fine. If you want to do more than that (eg photoshop, gaming, video editing, etc.), then you would need an upgrade.

Answer 10

Its horrible!!!! WINDOWS SUCKS GET A LINUX!!!!!!