My Story & Upgrade Opinions

Hi all, I'm new here and am looking for some advice.

I believe its been about 4 or so years ago I bought an HP Pavilion zv6130US computer. I purchased it at the time because it had a good size screen and was powerful enough to serve as a desktop replacement. For about 2 years I used the computer as a desktop replacement until it became unbearably slow. At that time I made the switch from XP Home to Ubuntu linux and frankly have never looked back. I have continued to use the computer as a desktop replacement since. However, as par for the course, as new versions come own, my computer gets slower, and once again it reached a point to where I knew something had to be done. So yesterday I did a fresh install of Ubuntu ... whatever the new one is. It is much faster and lots of little things now work, but I still want to upgrade more.

So, I've been pricing RAM. From what I understand the zv6000 series don't like PC3200. Thats a shame, cause its cheaper . Anyway, I'm lookin at about 90 bucks for 2GB ram, which seems fair.

So my question is, am I on the right track with RAM? Is there anything else that should be upgraded? I was thinking maybe Hard Drive, opinions? I like using the computer and intend to use it daily. Any advice or comments is appreciated.

 

See here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ubuntu-karmic-koala,2484.html

Basically, if thats the version you're using - stop!


The RAM and the HD are the two most cost effective things to upgrade.

The RAM, you've already priced and if the cost is fine with you - you should see a difference (although I'm not 100% sure of seeing a difference in Ubuntu) - from what are you upgrading from?

The HD, I would suggest the Hitachi 7K500 (see other thread), even if you don't need the capacity (500GB), you'll certainly appreciate the speed increase.

See:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145275

Although it seems expensive now, the Hitachi was available for a while at $79.99 - you may get lucky and still get it for close to that price maybe for Boxing Day?

Carefully consider the total cost of your upgrades. Almost any $500 machine currently available would be a huge upgrade - along with Win 7 and a host of other 'goodies' (more USB 2 ports, ExpressCard slot, etc.).

It may be time to buy a new machine?

 

I'm Running the 9.04 Jaunty.

I will be upgrading from 512MB. I'm pretty sure having 4x the ram will give me an upgrade.

I do like that HDD, though it may have to wait til after the RAM upgrade. I'm kinda short on cash these days hence the reason I don't just buy a new laptop. I mean $200 vs. $500, plus I'm not the biggest fan of Windows 7 to begin with and I see no reason to buy a computer with Windows 7 only to format and install ubuntu the next day.