Computer

When you buy a desktop, one of your main goals is that you want it to be upgradeable. That means the following can easily be removed and replaced:

If any of the above cannot be upgraded, you are buying into a closed system – like a laptop. All laptops are closed systems because their video, sound, and CPU generally cannot be upgraded.

Many lower priced (less than $800) Celeron/Duron desktops made by almost all computer manufacturers should be carefully investigated before purchase.
Most of these low priced desktops have no AGP video expansion slot, no onboard dedicated video RAM, no CD-RW drive, and very few empty PCI expansion slots.
These computers will be very difficult to upgrade, and they have poorer performance than other desktops that do not have integrated audio and video chips soldered onto the motherboard. Upgradeable computers have removable video cards, and sometimes, removable sound cards.

A few years ago, integrated audio chips did a very poor job of providing good stereo sound. However, these chips have really improved, and they are probably more than adequate for the average computer user. However, if you are an audiophile, you'll probably want a sound card, so make sure the computer you want to buy has a free PCI slot for a sound card (or buy the computer with the sound card installed).

A free expansion slot is a long electrical connector on the motherboard that is empty. Expansion slots are needed to plug in additional devices like modems, video cards, sound cards, ect. There are three flavors of expansion slots: ISA, PCI, and AGP.

ISA slots. The original 8 bit slots from the IBM PC. They are mostly used now for modems and older sound cards. Soon they will be extinct. Most new computers no longer have ISA slots.

PCI slots. The newer 16 bit slot (twice the transfer rate of the ISA slot), should be used for your video card (unless you have an AGP slot, see below) and any additional hard drive or SCSI controllers. Basically, any device that needs to be fast should be in a PCI slot.

AGP slot - Advanced Graphics Port. These are found on all new computers except for certain low-priced Celeron and Duron computers.
If your system has an AGP slot you should have an AGP video card. AGP cards can either be double speed (2X) or quad speed (4X). Motherboards and video cards with 8X AGP have been announced and should soon be available for purchase.

Make sure any computer system you buy has at least one or more free PCI expansion slots for future upgrades. Free ISA slots would only benefit those with older add in devices.

USB - All new computers have USB (universal serial bus) connectors. USB connectors are good for attaching printers, scanners, flash drives, cameras etc. It is possible to add additional USB ports to a desktop or laptop by buying a USB hub.

USB 2.0 - The updated version of USB. USB 2.0 is about 40 times faster than the original USB (USB 1.0). This allows high-speed devices like hard drives, fast CD-RW drives, and DVD drives to perform about as fast as an internal PCI connection.
New computers are just starting to be sold with USB 2.0 connectors. All USB 2.0 connectors are also compatible with USB 1.0 devices.

Firewire/IEEE 1394 - Invented by Apple, this port currently has about the same speed as a USB 2.0 port. These ports are very popular with digital video camera users. While all Apple computers now have Firewire ports, most PCs do not.

Hint: USB 2.0 and Firewire PCI expansion cards can be purchased to upgrade your PC.

Free drive bays are necessary to add additional hard drives, Removable Drives, CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DVD players.

The low priced slimline, integrated, compact, and spacesaver type desktop systems should be reviewed very carefully for soldered on components, free slots, and free drive bays. When in doubt, stay away from compact or spacesaver systems.
Often by spending $200-$400 more for a Pentium 4 or Athlon XP based system, you can get twice the performance and more features. You will also have an upgradeable computer that will serve you well for another 3 years.
If you choose the $700 Celeron/Duron system to save a few bucks, keep in mind that in a year or two you will probably want to replace it as it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade.

Ikon Systems (Pvt) Ltd
01 3rd Floor Deanstone House Deanstone Place Colombo 03
Tel : (011)4957373

Memory Technologies (Pvt) Ltd
No 14 Palmyrah Avenue Colombo 03
Tel : (011)5344365

John Keells Office Automation (Pvt) Ltd
320/1 Union Place Colombo 02
Tel : (011)2313000

Debug Computer Peripherals
58 42nd Lane Wellawatte Colombo 06
Tel : (011)7520000

Pan Audio (Pvt) Ltd
Nadaraja Building 3-1/1 Station Rd Colombo 03
Tel : (011)2574430

A B C Trade & Investments (Pvt) Ltd
No 03 Bandaranayakepura Rd Rajagiriya
Tel : (011)5877700

E-SYS Computer Systems
No 29 1st Floor Welikada Plaza Rajagiriya
Tel : (011)5661373

Central Impex Computers & Electronics
No 78 Front St (Malwatta Rd) Colombo 11
Tel : (011)2436313

Refresh Engineering (Pvt) Ltd
11 Shady Grove Avenue Colombo 08
Tel : (011)2670666

Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation
100 Nawam Mw Colombo 02
Tel : (011)2422341

Indigo Asia Computer Systems
21/5A Polhengoda Gardens Colombo 05
Tel : (011)5018786

Star Computer Systems (Pvt) Ltd
25 1st Floor C W W Kannangara Mw Colombo 07
Tel : (011)2667589

E-W Information Systems Ltd
Methodist Central Building No 252 Galle Rd Colombo 03
Tel : (011)4520520

E-WIS Peripherals (Pvt) Ltd
No 142 Yathama Building Galle Rd Colombo 03
Tel : (011)2496000

Mars Marketing Service
126/4 Gehan Rd Koswaththa Battaramulla
Tel : (077)3693736

Master Computer Services
440/1/1 Old Kotte Rd Rajagiriya (Tel/Fax)
Tel : (011)4641450

Advanced Terasolar Enterprises
#148 1/2 Hospital Rd Kalubowila Dehiwala
Tel : (077)7271269

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Buying an Upgradeable Computer

Upgrade Requirements