Need advice on buying a new PC.

dragoon99

dragoon99

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My PC is 6 years old and sorely in need of replacement I'm not sure what compatibility issues I'm going to face going from 32bit XP to 64bit Windows 7. Do I have to update all my programs to 64bit versions? I heard of the Windows XP mode that comes in certain versions of Windows 7. But I'm not sure if that will make my old programs and hardware work without issue. For instance I have a scanner but it's older so they only have 32bit drivers for it. Would Windows XP mode let me be able to still use it? Is there any cons to running Windows XP mode?

What processor should I go for? I was thinking of a Intel i3 or i5. Is there anything else I should consider? (i7 is too expensive) I want to be able to multitask and everything to run smoothly.

Also how much ram do I need, do you think 4 would be good? The most demanding program I'd use is photoshop. Is DDR3 that best type? Is faster processor with less ram better than a slower one with more ram?

If there's any other suggestions you have please feel free to mention them. I'm just overwhelmed with all the choices. Thanks!
 
[quote name='dragoon99']My PC is 6 years old and sorely in need of replacement I'm not sure what compatibility issues I'm going to face going from 32bit XP to 64bit Windows 7. Do I have to update all my programs to 64bit versions? I heard of the Windows XP mode that comes in certain versions of Windows 7. But I'm not sure if that will make my old programs and hardware work without issue. For instance I have a scanner but it's older so they only have 32bit drivers for it. Would Windows XP mode let me be able to still use it? Is there any cons to running Windows XP mode?

What processor should I go for? I was thinking of a Intel i3 or i5. Is there anything else I should consider? (i7 is too expensive) I want to be able to multitask and everything to run smoothly.

Also how much ram do I need, do you think 4 would be good? The most demanding program I'd use is photoshop. Is DDR3 that best type? Is faster processor with less ram better than a slower one with more ram?

If there's any other suggestions you have please feel free to mention them. I'm just overwhelmed with all the choices. Thanks! [/QUOTE]

I'd suggest to upgrade everything no holds barred because if you don't you will be out of date in a couple of months....
 
Just a few suggestions:

Bang/buck ratio, go AMD. A Phenom II quad core will only run you about $150 and will outperform similarly priced Intel chips.

Any amount of RAM above 4 gigs is overkill unless you're doing some commercial stuff. For at home use, 3-4 gigs should be fine. Any decent motherboard should be DDR3 compatible, definitely go for DDR3.

Windows 7 is awesome!
 
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