Include a GPU?

[Oscar_33]

I plan to build a computer with an i7 2600 cpu (NOT a 2600k). The computer will not be used for gaming. I'm hoping that this computer will make internet sites come up more quickly than my old computer and just make everything happen very quickly. Will adding a GPU card help with this?

Thanks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yes GRAPHICS CARD is a great idea!

 

[4745454b]

I disagree. The GPU found in the 2600 is fine for non gaming tasks. You don't need a GPU.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

My error, the post above is right ,i thought it said you were going to use it for gaming!

4745454b is correct you will not need the GPU!

 

[buzznut]

You don't need an i7 either. Its overkill, an i5 will be sufficient for your needs.

 

[k1114]

I don't think it will make a difference, even the integrated can handle web browsing with ease, even flash intensive sites. Also if you're buying an i7 just to surf than the same goes for that, a pentium g has plenty of power for just browsing.

 

[4745454b]

Drats, I missed that.

What do you have now?

 

[Oscar_33]

I have an 8 year old Dell with a Pentium 4 (3 Ghz) cpu and 1 Gig of RAM. OS is Win XP SP3. It seems to take forever for IE8 to come up when I go to my home page, and then things in general just don't move fast.

 

[4745454b]

Might be connection speed.

I doubt you need the 2600. If this is just for surfing then any of the other chips are fine. 2400?

 

[Oscar_33]

Connection speed per Speedtest is 22 Mbps.

Thank you all for your speedy replies.

 

[hang-the-9]

You do not need to upgrade anything on that PC except the RAM and a new Windows installation. A new system will be quite a bit peppier, and will boot up faster, but a 3 gig P4 system with a couple of gig of RAM will be just fine for web browsing, and will even run HD movies with a cheap $30-40 video card. I've got a 1.9 gig Pentium M system with 1.5 gig of RAM running HD streaming from Netflix with just a bit of slowness at times, usually it's perfect.

My advice would be to buy 1-2 gig of RAM, and since I'm betting your 3 gig P4 system has a PCIe slot, get a cheap Radeon 3450 to accelerate video. Should be a $100 or so for hardware. Then re-install Windows. You may want to replace the hard-drive, that will keep you from an extra step of backing up and restoring your files, just use the original drive as a secondary and copy your files, favorites back over to the new setup.

$150 with the drive, and you are set. I'm guessing you have not re-installed windows in several years if ever, and are running god knows how many add-ons and spyware in there.

 

[k1114]

Well ie8 is known to be slow, I loaded chrome on my parents' old laptop with xp. A new hdd can also speed things up quite a bit if it's really old/worn.

Though if you do want a new computer it would help to know budget and uses.

 

[Oscar_33]

Best answer selected by Oscar_33.