Well, I can't spring for a new Apple product, ( damn these black rifles!) so here I sit, trying to decide which course is going to be taken to replace my aging pc at home.
I have to get the XP machine offline, and am stuck between just ordering the WIN7 OS disc or going ahead and mildly upgrading to a newer system. The computer technology is passing me by,
and I would rather build more rifles these days than study cpu catalogs!

What I'm running now-
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual core 3600+   2.0 Ghz cpu
2 GB ram   DDR ?  ( that may be maxed, I did not look up motherboard)
160 Gb HD
This system is at least 6 yrs old and still operates just fine for our uses.

And I am looking at this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8986445
HP 6000  ( refurb- the old comp too, have had great luck with TD refurbs)
3 Ghz Intel core 2 Duo cpu
4 GB  DDR3  ram -  supports up to 16GB
a 1 TB HD and dual DVI  video, all for under $300

since the OS upgrade for the current comp is $100 at least, would it be silly to go for this hardware change?  is this a minimal step to take to still older components?
Looks like the HD capacity may be a good + but is the CPU and ram upgrade worth it?
I also need to investigate the SS drives more, I hear that they are a good upgrade to do?
All of this is just for basic pc work- e-mail/web, storing documents and photos, videos, etc. no gaming or high system demand stuff.
And I am so tight I can make Lincoln squeal! That's why i started on these refurbs. ( someday I will cuss that choice)
I just walk out of the Apple store every time, shaking my head NO.

So do I FO on the new(er) box?
Buy the OS upgrade and stick with what I have?
Or  ???

I'd say newer refurb.

you would be close in cost on upgrades plus os to make your older box perform better.

if you just want to run windows 7 instead of xp, you might be ok with just the os upgrade. but 2 gb ram is a bit low. check your mb and see if it will go to 4.
64 bit would let you go higher, but based on your needs probably not a big deal.

a single drive always bothers me either way you are going. but ssd isn't needed for what you are doing.

generally they are needed for gamers or fast boot times. neither of which seems to apply to you.
for the same price you can get more storage on a standard drive if you need it. which if a 160 gb drive has worked for 6 years, I doubt.

I would price out just memory and the win 7 upgrade if you want the cheapest route.
otherwise 300 bucks for a complete system is a pretty good deal. you aren;t going to be able to upgrade to match specs for that.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/432961/Inspiron_3000s_Desktop_Computer

i have very similar systems. parents use the amd one and the intel was my old computer now my server. the intel is without a doubt faster then the amd but they are both from about the same year range so it isn't that big of a difference. imo i wouldn't go for anything less then a i3 or amd fx computer.

for $100 more you could jump from 2007 to 2012 in technology

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883280233

for ssd they are a nice upgrade. makes everything more snappy and quick. have them in both my desktop and laptop. makes things a lot faster to start but thats about it.

Thanks for the links,  I went ahead and went the predicted route but found the same HP at Newegg.
They had it with a 3 yr warr.there, and about $100 cheaper when it was all done. ( love rebate cards sometimes)
Think I will see about an SSD for it a little further down the line, after the new wears off some.
But you are saying the speed increase is mostly seen on boot up with ssd's?

that is correct. mostly on boot up for most users.

only if you use serious disk swap processes or access processes will you notice any speed changes.
mostly gamers and video editors will notice improvment.

a general office use would pretty much be a worthless upgrade unless you shut down every night and only get there just intime to boot up in the morning.
but most office use they leave it running 24/7 so you won't see much difference.

Got the new box delivered today.
I guess this is what I get for being so tight.
Got the box unpacked, cpu in it's case, a nice keyboard & a basic mouse, and a 2x DVI cable.
Since I don't have a grip o' parts/pieces laying around, I completely disassemble the current office pc.
Make note of locations on the new box, and hook up 1-monitor, 2- speaker plug, 3- USB plug ( goes to USB hub where I have multiple items plugged into)
4- Network cable, 5- power.
Power on new pc-  HDD spins up, and.....
NOTHING!
No display, no input apparent from KB or mouse,  DEAD.
Even did the umpteen different possible combos of what plugs in, where,, etc.  NADA-   ( use usb hub/ not,  serial mouse/kb or usb units, etc.  network in or not.-)

Now I get to play tag with CS,  
wonder if my head will explode if I get into phone troubleshooting this time?  Maybe should just do an RMA first and roll the dice again. GRRRRR

Why am I such a tightass?

eta:  Wait a minute-  With this DVI out setup on the pc,  Is it possible that there may be a setup on this that I need to use that for a display right off the bat? I just
plugged in the normal monitor serial cable thats being used on the screen now?  Think they might have had it set to run on the DVI and didn't default the settings?  
( never had a DVI out option on a pc before-  got to go find a tv to plug into now- Fudge)  And yes, I did put everything back on the old pc to get back on here and rant!

Pop and reset ram modules into their slots, one may have popped out during shipping. I'd pop out and reseat any boards as well.  Check cable from drive to motherboard, same thing. Does it beep or a series of beeps on powerup?

If the VGA plug is toward the top surrounded by the USB ports and the DVI ports are down lower below the USB/Sound etc ports then yes, you have a video card and need to use the lower DVI ports. Basically a add on video card trumps the built in video that comes on the motherboard.



 

That looks to be the case, I'll have to try again later. DVI port is lowest on back panel, video card in expansion slot.
Got to go put on some more miles.

( Didn't hear any beeps when booting up that I recall.)

Bad cable to the HDD, video card worked after re-seating it (twice)
And no answer back from CS e-mails or call.  
For a factory refurb, they didn't wipe the drive very well, pretty slow, spotty performance
with quite a few issues in the log files already.
Think I might have see the end of my good luck with refurbs, may be sending this one back.