"Don’t waste your money trying to upgrade your Windows XP PC"

[dcs18]

With the end of Windows XP support from Microsoft imminent, perhaps you’ve finally made the (very wise) decision to stop using the venerable operating system. I commend you. However, if you’re planning to simply install a newer operating system on your existing hardware, you should reconsider.

Sure, there's a good chance that your existing hardware meets the minimum system requirements for either OS: a 1GHz or faster processor, 1GB of RAM (2GB for 64-bit), 16GB of hard drive space (20GB for 64-bit) and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher.

But although Windows 7 or Windows 8 will technically run on a system like this, it will do so in that way that causes you to frequently threaten your PC and spew profanity laced insults at Microsoft. For either of those operating systems to run moderately well, you need at least a dual-core CPU and 4GB of RAM. And Windows itself may only need 20GB of hard drive storage, but it’s easy to fill 500GB or more with applications, photos, videos, and other content.

If you bought your current PC before 2006, you’re really just out of luck. If it’s a desktop from 2006 or later, there’s a fair chance it has an adequate CPU, and it’s not that difficult to upgrade the RAM, hard drive, and graphics capabilities. However, a lot has changed since then, and it may be difficult (and possibly more expensive) to find the correct type of RAM and/or hard drives and display adapters to fit legacy connectors in your PC.

Assuming that your processor is good, you’re still probably looking at spending a couple hundred to upgrade the other components of your PC, plus the cost of the new Windows operating system. In the end, you will have a PC that works, but on a motherboard and power supply that are years old and could die at any moment, and your resulting PC will still be lacking modern technologies like 802.11n (or 802.11ac) wireless networking, gigabit ethernet and USB 3.0. In other words, you will have spent a few hundred dollars to be frustrated and disappointed.

The better solution is to buy a new PC. You can buy a brand new Windows 8 desktop with 4GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, gigabit ethernet, 802.11n wireless, and USB 3.0 ports from BestBuy.com for just over $300. If you absolutely must have Windows 7, there are brand new desktop PCs loaded with that OS and all of the power you need available right now from BestBuy.com in the $400 range.

As we've pointed out, Windows XP users can buy a system priced $599 or higher from MicrosoftStore.com for $100 off and get free data migration services. That deal will allow you to get more for your money—but you’ll still have to spend more to take advantage of it.

The bottom line is simple: if your PC is more than a couple years old you will have to invest in more than just a new operating system in order to make it reasonably functional. You will be much happier with whichever version of Windows you choose if you just buy a new PC with the operating system pre-loaded.

If you really want to just use the hardware you have without upgrading anything, there's always Linux.

Source

Edited April 7, 2014 by dcs18

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[avmad]

True if you have to pay for an operating system, or have really low spec. If you have NO money, as many wont, get some good security on the thing.

Made me laugh when I looked at the source. A seller of PC's :lol:

[eurobyn]

you can Always wait untill 8/4/2014

[MidnightDistortions]

There's also plenty of decent machines on Ebay (long as you buy from a trusted seller). Some of them may need some work, i haven't bought any machines off of it yet but it probably will cost more to ship them then the PC itself. I wouldn't spend much on any PC that is destined to fail or isn't worth upgrading. If some of the hardware is salvageable (and will work with the latest motherboards) you could build your own PC. If you got a good case it could be used for a new one long as it has good airflow and fans to keep everything in your system cool. I never store anything on the main PC hard drive other then what's needed, though partitioning a 500GB hdd (or better yet get a SSD) so you can store data on one side so you can easily reinstall the OS without worrying about losing data. It would be better to get an internal hard drive and if you want an external, get a good enclosure so you can use that enclosure on other hard drives if needed.

Most XP machines (from 06' or earlier) will only work with Linux so if you bought a new machine you can toy with your old one with a Linux distro! :D

[Sonar]

new doesn't alway's mean better.

[mastershake]

lol i have clients almost every day who have me upgrade their old pc's i try to talk them out of it all the time but they are set for some reason on upgrading their old hardware im actually working on one right now even has old ddr ram. i tried very much to talk them out of it even offered them a really GOOD deal (and yes it was honestly a freaking awesome deal) on a brand new one. so for about 150$ more than they are paying to upgrade they could have had a brand new system with WAY BETTER hardware then they are upgrading to and a new os. ive been in this / retail / computer field for a really long time and i just get people sometimes.

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[cyberber]

There are always cheap bastards in this world, who think they know more than others, but sooner or latter they pay price for being so cheap..

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[cyberber]

The time has come and Microsoft finally decided to pull the plug on Windows XP and despite the fact that so many users are still running it, the company will no longer release any other updates or security patches.

This means that despite the 28 percent market share of Windows XP right now, the Redmond-based software giant will completely abandon it, so you basically have no other option than to upgrade or become vulnerable to attacks.

Windows XP, however, gets retired after no less than 12 years on the market, even though Microsoft usually retires its operating system after only 10 years. The company was more or less forced to extend Windows XP support because of the big market share of the operating system, but despite this, it now seems ready to kill the platform once and for ever.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

We’re not going to present you the full history of Windows XP, because it’s fairly easy to find this on Wikipedia or even on Microsoft’s website, but we do need to mention that work on this very successful project started during the 1990s, as Microsoft wanted to develop an operating system for the consumer market. An improved version of Windows 2000 was supposed to tackle the business side of the industry, so Windows XP was only supposed to be aimed at the consumer.

The Redmond-based software giant, however, changed its mind in January 2000 and discontinued plans for the two separate platforms and instead started work on the so-called “Whistler,” a single operating system aimed at every industry sector, including consumers and businesses.

Windows XP reached RTM on August 24, 2001 and quickly received positive feedback, as most users were impressed with the interface, the stability and performance of the new operating system. The public launch took place on October 25 during the same year.

Both Windows XP Home and Professional versions experienced record sales, even though several other editions have been launched after that. In January 2006, Microsoft confirmed that it sold over 400 million Windows XP licenses, which was the clear indication that it was the most popular Windows version ever.

Still, the arrival of newer Windows versions moved people off Windows XP and on June 30, 2008, the company decided to stop selling the operating system it launched in 2001.

Read more: Windows XP news, comments, and expert advices

Microsoft also rolled out several service packs for Windows XP, all of them comprising critical updates that were supposed to improve the overall performance of the operating system and fix a number of issues. They also brought new features, such as USB 2.0 and .NET Framework support.

Windows XP Service pack 1 was launched on September 9, 2002, while the second service pack arrived on August 25, 2004. The third and the final Windows XP service pack was launch to users on May 6, 2008.

Microsoft launched Windows XP with much fanfare and Bill Gates himself, at that point chairman and chief software architect, praised the operating system for bringing so many great features and an eye-candy interface. It was promoted as “the new Windows for home and work,” with a design that “will bring a simple, colorful and clean look to the desktop” (you can find the original press release launched by Microsoft in 2001 right after the jump).

[plupy]

I upgrade my 2003 pc with P4 CPU 2.8Ghz Socket 478/1GB DDR1 RAM/160 GB HD and it runs perfect with Win7 Perfectly in less than 30 $.

All thanks to ebay.

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[Brandon80]

Nowadays I think that a system with Win7 is quite affordable, often even without any hardware upgrade,

and for the cost is best buy the original cd and make a fresh new install!

[Kalju]

Nowadays I think that a system with Win7 is quite affordable, often even without any hardware upgrade,

and for the cost is best buy the original cd and make a fresh new install!

I want to remind you that Digital River works again and also Daz works perfectly.

[plupy]

I upgrade my 2003 pc with P4 CPU 2.8Ghz Socket 478/1GB DDR1 RAM/160 GB HD and it runs perfect with Win7 Perfectly in less than 30 $.

All thanks to ebay.

Probably slow as a dead dog though, right?

no actually its quite fast. i have tweaked the os and it runs just like xp. i can watch 720p movies on my dinosaur.

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[banned]

The better solution is to buy a new PC.

That might be a solution for your Grandma... but I will build my own PC and install Windows XP on it.