I need a little advice on the best course of action for upgrading my computer. I have a Dell Precision T7400. Specs here: http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/precision-t7400/pd. I have upgraded the video card to an nvidia quadro FX570, but that's it. I run some pretty hefty CAD software in this machine, sometimes two programs at a time (AutoCAD and Solidworks). Plus email and the other normal daily stuff.

Are there any inexpensive upgrades I can do?

Thanks!

J.D.

Add as much ram as you can afford.

If you aren't on Windows 7 64bit you will have to switch to take advantage of more than 3gig of ram.

x2. Ram is cheap right now, so it's a good time to upgrade. That said, it looks this this is an older machine. You can build a new computer that will significantly faster for less than $500. Upgrading the ram may be cost effective in the short term, but will not be as good a long term investment if you're going to continue to use it for heavy processing applications like CAD.

Boss says new computer isn't going to be easy right now. So I have to figure out what I need to do for this one. It is older. Probably 4-5yrs. I know computers can be "built" cheap, but I often hear about how unreliable they are. I can't afford that.

I am on XP 32, so I will look into RAM. I know I have never upgraded so I'll see what I can stuff in there!

J.D.

Strange system to be running as a home PC. Per the specs it has a maximum of 64GB of memory but you may have to purchase expansion cards with add'l mem slots from Dell for that if they are available. Since it's a 64-bit architechture on the proc and chipset you're best off to look into purchasing Win-7 x64 as well. You're not taking full advantage of the hardware you have by running XP 32-bit.

Homebuilt computers are plenty reliable. I built the last 3 I've owned with no problems (other than burning out parts by overclocking for long period of time-not an issue for you). You're probably going to spend a decent chunk of money upgrading RAM. If you opt to do that, let me know and I can walk you through the process of doing it yourself. You can save yourself a decent chunk of money that way.

Good thought re: 64 bit operating system. Forgot about that limitation.

I work from home, so while this computer is sitting at home, it's primarily a work station.

After chatting with Dell, they recommend more memory:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... e_irrank=0

And yet another video card upgrade:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... e_irrank=0

I'd hate to consider a new OS simply because I know my way around this one. New computers for me is a love/hate relationship. I like knowing how to navigate my machine, having the programs installed that I like etc. With a new machine, or new OS, I have to start over.

I did a defrag over the weekend and I need to do that more often. Time to add it to the monthly schedule.

If the time comes to replace this machine, I'll start a new thread and may consider a home-built (with lots of help!)

I do appreciate the help fellas!

To add to the defrag check out CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER It's a pretty amazing little utility for cleaning out crap (hence the name) Running the basic disk and registry scans and fixing the errors can really help speed things up.

Also, if you don't need to have Dell's brand name on the label of your memory you should look elsewhere. *Edit, it looks like your system will only take fully buffered ECC memory. Even so take a look here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... bdimm+ddr2

It's out of warranty, so I am looking for the best price...still not sure what I am looking for, so your link is helpful.

As far as the video card, I can find the best price on that particular card, but I don't know what else I can use that would be an upgrade. I also don't recall what changing the video card did to my settings last time. Is it typically a seamless swap after the driver is installed?

J.D.

It's seemless/painless if you stay with the same chipset mfr like swapping an Nvidia card for Nvidia, ATI for ATI etc. Graphics card will only help if you're doing really graphics intensive things like gaming. For CAD work etc the quadro cards that yours came with are the workhorses for rendering type work. Really if it's 4-5 years old I'd do a couple minor things like memory, cleaning up the OS or completely formatting/reloading it just to get you by. I wouldn't sink too much into it. Like Justin said you can buy or build a pretty decent rig for under $500.

Good info. Thanks guys!