I`m thinking of buying a new computer with greater capabilities than the current one, that is a Dell GX 520. It has op system XP with pentium 4CPU, 2.8 GHz,2.79 GHz , .99 of Ram. Am I better buying anew computer (max about £400) or installing greater memory etc in my present one? If installing new bits, what do you suggest, and do all `bits` fit all machines? I`m not an experienced user as you can probably tell. I don`t play games or download any films.
Installing extra memory speeds up your computer no end. I have a Dell Inspiron 530 which I upgraded with an extra 2 gig of memory. You'll need to know what type of memory is installed as not all memory is the same. It will cost you around £30 - £40 but is pretty simple to install.
It is cheaper to try the memory first, if you have the space in the PC to upgrade it.
Some sites, such as http://www.crucial.com/uk/, have a scanner "tool" you can run (download) to let you know what you can do with your present machine. Might help.
Don't forget to earth yourself when you install anything though. Don't want to damage it with static.
If you have the manual for your machine it should tell you the type of memory needed. You can run the Crucial analyser as suggested or download, install and run the SIW software from here. You want the freeware version from near the bottom the page.