Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.llnl.gov!ncis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!cadre!pitt!amanue!oglvee!norm From: norm@oglvee.UUCP (Norman Joseph) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: PC Neophyte Seeks Hardware Upgrade Advice Keywords: upgrade pc hardware Message-ID: <452@oglvee.UUCP> Date: 17 Jan 89 21:21:33 GMT Distribution: na Organization: Oglevee Computer Systems, Connellsville, Pa Lines: 104 I've decided to take the plunge and upgrade my old PC XT, and I would hope to solicit suggestions and advice from those of you who have gone through this experience. Those without the patience for such postings should hit 'n' now... Thanks for listening... While I nearly always get to scan this group, I would hope to elicit e-mail responses rather than clutter the net. Others who are curious about what I find out can send me mail and I'll reply. I design and code for a living, but I'm certainly a neophyte as far as PC hardware is concerned, and feel pretty much helpless when wading through issues of _Computer Shopper_, trying to decide which upgrade path I should take. I know there have been similar postings of the form "whats the best ", but none of those seemed to help me decide which way I should go or what to watch out for. Let me start by describing my current system, enumerating my "wish list", and posing some questions: MY SYSTEM: ---------- IBM PC/XT (true blue) w/640k memory. Some of this memory is on the - motherboard, and some is on a plug-in card. (Maybe this goes - without saying, I -told- you I was a neophyte :^). - The display uses a CGA card (IBM's, I think). - The monitor is a Sears special (stop laughing), with a built-in - TV tuner, VCR and RGB inputs (I'm hoping to retire this baby - to the family room soon an get a -real- monitor). - One 5 1/4" 360k full height floppy drive (probably standard IBM). - One 20M hard drive (heritage unknown). I didn't buy this system -- I got it in lieu of pay when the company I used to work for went belly-up -- so I don't have anything like a service contract. If you want or need to know more specifics, just ask. I can always open 'er up and poke around inside (although I'm not sure I'll know what I'm looking for ;-). MY WISH LIST: in descending order of (subjective) importance ------------- * Better color graphics: EGA at least (VGA if its feasible ($$$)). * An appropriate color monitor for the new card. * A faster CPU (can you say "Bow-Wow"? I knew you could). * A reliable, fast 20-30 meg hard drive for when -this- one goes south (I know it will, and at the -worst- possible time I'm sure). * And (of course) maximum bang from minimum bucks! In other words, a -brand new system-! If I were doing a system from scratch, I might go a different route; but I have this system and I don't have a big budget (hell, I don't even know -what- to budget for yet! That's why I'm posting!). So, I'd like to be able to keep as much of the present system as is feasible/usable/bearable. Also, it would be easier on the pocketbook if the upgrade could be done piecemeal -- a bit at a time. I could probably afford a few more $$$s if I could s-t-r-e-c-h out the outlays. MY QUESTIONS: ------------- 1) XTs can be such DOGS!! Whats a good way to speed them up? Accelerator cards, new motherboards, a new -box-? 2) What would this imply for the cards I currently have in my box? (i.e. disk controller, extra memory, CGA...) Would they still be usable with a new motherboard, for instance? 3) Will the applications that run ok under CGA still work properly under EGA or VGA? 4) I see EGA monitors/cards in ads that say 640x350 & 640x480. Whats the significance? Will the same applications run just as correctly on both? 5) Should I worry about my power supply (if I keep my box)? 6) All my software is on 5 1/4" 360k floppies. I would like the added flexibility of a high density (1.2 meg) floppy drive, or possibly a 3 1/2" drive. Are these equally feasible choices? 7) Of the skads and skads of hardware ads out there, how do I know what I should be looking for for -my- system. How do I know if a certain hard disk, for example, will work with the disk controller card I have now without buying it, plugging it in and trying it (similar questions for the other things I'm interested in)? There are others that I know I'll think of as soon as I post this. I know I may be asking a lot all at once, but I would appreciate any suggestions/advice from anyone with experience about any of these topics I've hit on. This is really an area where I could stand to learn a -lot-. I simply don't know where to begin. I throw myself to the mercy of the Net! P.S. Thanks in advance to all who reply. -- Norm Joseph - Oglevee Computer System, Inc. UUCP: ...!{pitt,cgh}!amanue!oglvee!norm "Mate, that parrot wouldn't *VROOM* if you put four million volts through it!"