Rant Stuck with P4, Advice Needed!

Have you tried showing him how unstable the pc is Pliqu3011?

Does he know that entered text disappears soon after entering it? That's some pretty serious instability right there So maybe you should tell him what needs to be done

I'd tell him that the reason for the instability is the old mobo, and that even the cheapest new mobo's will require new cpu, ram & gpu, a new psu would be wise and cheap insurance, and how a decently sized and much bigger hdd is so cheap aswell. Maybe finish it all off with a new kb and mouse... don't tell me you're using a ball mouse The whole thing could be built for $300-400 and even handle the latest games, at low res settings anyway.

You could whack it all in your existing case, perhaps give it a makeover? Stuff like improoved venting, some lighting, paintjob, graphics, etc?

 

Get parts sent to a friends house. Build it there and build that into your case.

 

Brilliant idea, as also suggested by Bumsrush.
But keep the old fans plug-ins, and old HDD power only, so that it replicates the noise, and not turn into this super quiet system in comparison

Just make sure he doesn't check the system specs or system properties... EVER!
(But it also means staying with XP).

 

Well, if he's a technophobe. Will he check System Specs?

 

I would also be inclined to point out how unstable and out-dated your PC is to your dad; his PC may be fine at 9 years old, but for the kind of work you need & want to do, your system isnt able to keep up. Just show him the specs of some low-end to mid-range PCs that you can buy from system builders and show him your specs; 10 GB HDD is appalling, as is an old 2Ghz P4. Point out that if you build or buy a fairly decent system now, it'll last for another 5-10 years ( I made my old HP system -2.6ghz Celeron D, 40 GB HDD- last for 8 years before it was pretty much hopeless for any kind of graphics or conversion work ). It is your money afterall, I wonder what your dad would say if you pointed out you dont tell him how to spend his money...

 

My first actual computer i could call my own was a 2nd hand Compaq from a computer fare, £50 for a mentally fast pentium 2, 333MHz at the point when P4's were released.

I put up with that POS for 2 years, until my dad very kindly bought me up to speed with a Athlon XP 2500+ and a Geforce.

That was the last item of computer equipment which was bought for me, I got a job and since then bought everything, over the last 7 years, which has been 10 builds and a laptop.

Also, try freeing up some HDD space and run defrag to make sure its as best as possible performance wise. A HDD shouldn't be filled more than 60-70% of its total space, over that I expect it to slow right down to a crawl.

 

The max lifespan (this mean 0 problem) build with high quality parts will last you a max of 7 years. After 7 years, you start having minor problems, which you can actually live with.. and after 9 years it's finished. Anything above is just luck, you it's because you barely used the system before.

 

Absolutely true. However, if the father in question deems it inapropriate for his son to own a fast computer, it's not up to us to second-guess that. If my (fictional) 13 year old son started doing heroin, i'd take it away from him, even if he paid for it with his own money. Now as a hardware enthousiast myself, you will never hear me say that PC == heroin, but the father might feel that way, and that is HIS decision to make. Hence my plea towards the OP to try and reason with him and maybe take a stand, but never ever simply do something as undermining as simply doing what was strictly forbidden.

In fact, if they are the parents, they have EVERY right to do so. Unjust, stupid and counterproductive as it may be, as long as you are underage, it is your parents that get to decide what you can and cannot have, do, eat, etc. On top of that, there's hardly any kids at all in the (western) world that don't depend on their parents for food, shelter, school, medical, phone, and everything else. There's a whole generation of children growing up on the false sense of entitlement that you so effectively demonstrate here, and to be honest, i am really afraid that in 25 years time, society will become one big sh!tpile of whining f*ckwads as a result. Pardon my french, but i feel strongly about this.

 

[Steps on soapbox]

Ok I agree crappy computer, but you need to realize there are children that have nothing sometimes you need to be grateful that you have certain things.

[Steps off soapbox]

Very good advice

Also a good Idea

QFT!!!

Bad Idea if I were your dad I would make you use the same one I did so no more of your own computer.

Also a bad idea think of the consequences if he finds out

QFT!!!

TBH We are only hearing at best half the story here. I have a 14 year old son and at best i get half the story if that much, I do have every right to take things from him as necessary/appropriate(as well as giving them back/rewarding) due to his actions or inaction's. The only thing I owe my child is Safety, a place for him to sleep, healthy food for him to eat, medical care, the best education i can get for him, LOVE, AND all the guidance I can give him to be able to succeed in life after he leaves my house(the necessities for decent living). I limit my son's computer(including games/content by parental controls), telephone, music, and his TV, because I decide what is appropriate for him until he is 18 and able to make his own (informed/educated) decisions. I would advise you not to do anything behind your parents back but instead sit down write out all the pros and cons of you current system VS the system you want, go to him and ask him what would be a good time to sit and talk to him ( tell him what you want to talk about dont ambush him) about maybe updating your computer. Show him the PRO/CON list and be prepared to show him what your talking about with the old computer. I think he will be more responsive to you if you approach him in this manner I know I am when my son sits down to talk and reason with me.

Sorry if this ran on a bit but I am trying to give you some incite of how parents view things. Im sure your dad can be reasonable if you just sit down and talk to him on a mature level.

 

To say the truth, Mechh69 and Xtrafresh has excellent points you should consider. The idea of hiding a computer, and me suggesting in how to hide it well, is not a good idea. In fact, i was just kidding with the idea, obviously he will know. The simple sudden disappearing of you complaining on the computer will show signs to any parents that something happened, and suggest investigating. Remember that your parents (well good ones) knows more about you, than yourself. They know when you lie, and when you say the truth. The simple fact of their experience in hearing their share of lies, they know that your lies don't connect together.

Doing thing on the back of your parents is never a good idea. Trust is something that you need to earn. But you must also understand maturity is also in play for kids... you don't know as you don't feel it, but if you record what your logic and what you say today, and watch it again after you are in you 20's.. you'll do a facepalm gesture, and you'll like "What was I thinking!". Yea screwed up, but that is life.

The reality of things, and I think we all know this, is that everyone reaches peak maturity at different ages. The government puts a date of 18 years old as a safe bet that everyone reaches that stage. Some people reaches it at 16, 17 for some, and less often 15. That is the decision of your parents to decide, of course. I know as a kid you can feel like a prison a bit, but you must understand that it's the job and HUGE FREAKING responsibility to take care of you, to ensure that when you reach you higher studies that you have 0 doors closed, and that you can do anything. The suckiest thing in life is that you want to be somethings, I don't know engineer of something, or what not, and you can't go in, because a few marks too low. This is very depressing for anyone. Even though you already know a lot about the field of you, you have experience, you know you can beat everyone.. but just because everyone looks at those stupid grades, for wtv reason (bad prof, you did not study hard enough, or wtv) they judge you on grades.. and that is all. You don't have it, it's a no go. And as you reach higher studies it gets more and more hard and more and more competitive. Baiscally University is actually easy.. but made complicated to restrict people and only allow the best to come out. You will notice something clear.. every year your classes will be smaller and smaller. My first semester all my classes was in big auditorium, the prof had a mic and everything... now at my 2 second yea, taking some classes of what a normal 3rd year student would take (some program and University they don't enforce a course model, you take what you want (in your program, obviously), as long as you reach the course pre-requisites).) and the size of the course is the same as just the size of the class in high-school.

 

Point taken. To be fair, you never actually stated that. Your original post just complained that your dad would let you get a new PC, not that you already had the money to buy it yourself.

Just so we're all on the same page, how old are you, and to what extent do your parents allow you to express your independence?

 

Actually, although unclear I must admit, I did.

...But that's besides the question.

Again, thanks everybody! There are lots of good ideas here.
BT has proven again to be the UK's leading source in Serious and Valuable comments.

 

That's exactly what I was planning to do!
Thanks for your comment!

*blushes*

 

I use a ball mouse on everything that's not my laptop, what's wrong with that?

Spoiler

*Disclaimer* One's a download box, one's the family PC (see also: Firefox and MS Word) and one's the spare, so they work for what's needed

My advice: Suck it up and list all the reasons why you need this new computer to him and challenge him to think of a con to outweigh each, in a sort of showdown battle

 

I just bought the bits and built it. I never told anyone till the parts started arriving.

*edit* couldn't you just find some parts that would fit in your current case and upgrade it without him knowing> ? The only tell tale sign would be you squealing with joy from bioshock

doh, already mentioned.

 

If you're a mature honest working guy then you're dad should'nt be telling you no...
Unless its something he feels is going to effect your life e.g education but even then i guess its your choice

If you spend 8 hours a day browsing porn downloading illegally and playing world of warcraft he might be thinking its best you don't get a better pc

You should'nt have to work out a list of pros and cons either luckily my dad appreciates a fast computer as much as i do and when i came up and said "I want to build a new pc for gaming" my mum said "Why do you want another computer!?" if you're working hard earning your own money and buying things that make you happy then your parents should'nt stop you unless its going to effect your well being.

I agree not to do anything behind his back you're not going to do anything good for the trust between you

 

overclock the **** out of it burn the cpu through the motherboard and have no recollection of using it in the 1st place.

 

I've got a dad like that, its annoying at times.

Simply, use your study as a barganing tool. I.e a reward. Say, if I get a grade or two higher than I'm getting at the moment, I get to buy myself a PC for working hard.

 

Sabotage your computer so it dies by itself....

 

I totally agree with all the posts that don't involve lying to your father. I would go mental if my son did something as underhand as that. This would lose you the new computer and mean you'd never get anything again, ever.

+1 for the parent side of things too, it's perfectly within his rights to revoke/veto as a parent, people who think otherwise are clearly not thinking sensibly.

I know my dad, not your unfortunately, my dad would be won around with reason. Try to put it in terms that he understands. For example, while he is of a mind "if it isn't broke don't fix it", it is not a sweeping brush. You could compare it to (for example) a tractor, while the old tractor certainly still works, it will NOT be able to pull today's tools, which you will need to compete. To carry on using the old tractor would put you out of business.

Or for my dad, I would use an engineering comparison. Computers were previously only used as a typewriter replacement, you would be fine with an old computer. Nowadays with CAD/CAM much better computers are needed. You wouldn't try to use your old office computer to run a CAD program, it simply isn't built for it. Without CAD your productivity would suffer. Computers are no longer a type-writer replacement, they are THE tool in some fields. If you were of a mind to become a carpenter you wouldn't attempt it without the tools for the job.

Just some thoughts, hope that helps. Please bear in mind though, that it does sound like you want a new computer only for games. I only suggest that you go this route if you really do want it to do work!