[philthomas]

Originally Posted by beetee

Ah well you live and learn,
the problem now is would I be better buying a new computer or fitting a dual monitor graphics card.?
brian

Sooner or later we all have to ask ourselves that question ...... i.e. how much more money do we want to throw at our old, often outdated and well used machine.

If your machine is reasonably fast and responsive, for your needs, then a dual graphics card wont break the bank, especially if you consider fitting it yourself and not using your previous fella. You may need a new PSU though.
On the other hand, if the system lags and feels sluggish and you fancy a change to something a bit more modern, cut your losses and grab the most up-to-date spec you can get for your intended budget.

Without labouring the point and I know nobody likes being ripped off, you have already upgraded this system once and the following observations might help you decide :

The ASROCK motherboard is a very basic/cheap model and by the screenshots and other information you provided , it is supporting 1 GB of 400DDR RAM and an IDE Hard drive (HDD) and I imagine this a fairly small one, by todays standards.
We haven't discussed what Power Supply Unit (PSU) is fitted either and this may not be adequate for a modern PCI-E Graphics Card.

A new box will allow you to choose a decent brand/model motherboard, which will support faster RAM and faster SATA Hard Drives, will have a larger Power Supply Unit (PSU) and give you the choice of a faster Processor (CPU) and Graphics Card.

Personally I would suggest looking for a Custom build, rather than looking for one off-the-shelf, that way you can specify exactly what goes into it and allow for some future proofing.

Give us a budget, if you decide to go for new and we can advise you a bit better.

[beetee]

Phil thanks for that reply,
budget isnt really a problem,I am more worried about getting what I pay for,ie not being ripped off again.
I have 2 monitors which are adequate for what I work at,so If I was to spend in the region of £400-£600
could you advise some spec for me.
I am not a gamer,I do have lots of music and picture files,I use a well known sports exchange which needs to be on constantly and refreshiing ie updating constantly(which I presume tkes a good proceesor.In my spare time I frame pictures,some of which I manipulate on Photoshop,apart from that,my computer would be used for surfing the web.My broadband is 8MB of which I usually attain about 5MB.
So thats about it really,that would be my requirements.
Brian

[philthomas]

OK .... a few questions :

1. Are your monitors TFT or CRT and do they have DVI or VGA inputs ?

2. Do you intend to install your existing Windows XP Professional OS on the new box and have you got the Installation CD/Product Code ?

[beetee]

Phil,
my monitors are TFT and are VGA i think(blue connectors)
I dont have a CD for my XP.
brian

[philthomas]

OK .... give me a bit of time and I'll see what we can find for that budget.
Unfortunately the cost of an OEM version of Windows XP Pro, is going to bump the price up, by a little over a £100, so if you can find the disk it will be in your interests.

Also dont just accept my opinion, I'm sure other folk on here will make suggestions for a system too, so wait for some more responses and weigh them all up, before making a move

[beetee]

Thats no problem,just looking to be pointed in the proper direction.

[philthomas]

Have a look and see what you think of this spec. at £561.50

If you add Windows XP Pro OS, it adds £99.99 to the price.

It's personal choice, but I like ASUS Motherboards and the Customise option offers the P5N-E for an extra £24.99, which brings the total price to £686.48 or £586.49 without the OS.

As you will see this is made with quality parts (Antec, Kingston, Samsung, ASUS) no cheap designed to break stuff here.
The Graphics Card supports 2 x Monitors and is mid range, not for serious gaming, but will definitely be more than adequate for your needs.

The outputs on the Graphics Card are DVI, but a simple adaptor will allow these to drive a VGA Monitor often there will be one included with the card.
I have sourced many Custom boxes from Arbico and have found them very helpful & reliable, if you want anything changed or a specific make/model substituted, they are always pleased to help and give you a quote, but like I said wait for other posts before deciding.

Hope this helps

[serverguy]

That is a very good machine that Philthomas has posted.

I would have no hesitation in choosing it. The company is also very reputable.

[beetee]

I see you were busy phil,
cheers for all the help,I will have a look at the company and spec and taker it from there.
all the best
Brian

[philthomas]

You're welcome .... let us know how you get on.