Computer Help Request

I'm no computer expert (I know enough to upgrade all my parts, and might be brave enough to build my next one, but that's the extent of it), so take this with a grain of salt.

I still am using my Dell Dimension 8250 that I got in December 2002 as my playing machine, although I've upgraded just about everything in it (probably will get or build a new rig in January). Dell has proprietary cases, so do a search in the Dell forums for recommended power supplies. A standard power supply won't fit. I got my upgraded power supply through a company that makes some specifically for Dell cases, and I think it was around $100.

Whether to pour money into your current rig probably depends on what you are using it for, and how long your were planning to keep it. If NWN2 is the most intensive thing you will use it for for the foreseeable future, and you're happy with your performance, then $100 isn't so bad if in fact it is only the power supply. If I were in your shoes and was thinking about getting a new machine in the next 6-8 months, I'd be thinking hard about whether to pull the trigger now.

I don't know for sure (so read up on it), but I'd be worried about just dropping a new drive in, as you might run into problems with registry settings. That said, there are probably transfer programs out there to move stuff to a new PC. I've always started fresh, and just moved my data files (documents, saved game files, etc.) over my network from the old PC to the new one. With respect to at least the data, I bet you could drop your current hard drive into a new machine as a second drive, as long as the jumper settings were set OK, and it was set to boot off of the proper drive. That would just be for data though, not programs.

I did once take the old drive out of my really old PC (Windows 98 . . .), and put it in a drive kit that connected via USB or firewire. The plan was just to use it for storage, but I did poke around and not erase it first. I could see everything, and even run some of the programs on it. I'm not sure how much you know about registry settings, but when you install most programs, they install certain settings in your system registry, such as the letter of the drive it is installed on.

Good luck with the upgrade. Make sure the power supply fits Dell's proprietary case.

So how'd it go?