This one is about 5 years old and getting a bit clunky. I guess I could have more memory put in, and more this and better that - but seems like it might be a lot easier just to get a new computer!
Only thing is - where on earth do I start?
When we got this one it was put together for us by a bloke who convinced us he really knew what he was doing - but various things that happened demonstrated that he didn't know as much as he thought!
And how do we get the stuff we need from this one transferred to the new one without getting duplication which is what we have on here. I have an external hard drive that I use for backing up, is it best just to use that and pull it onto the new computer from there?
And how much is it all going to cost? I guess I'd be looking at buying some new software as well as the hardware - what we have must be getting dated?
Thinking about a new computer
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BikerGran
- Gran Turismo
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Thinking about a new computer
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.
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Aladinsaneuk
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what do you want your pc to do?
play games, browse internet or??
bear in mind a new pc will be windows 7 based - a lot better than vista - but may well not be compatible with some older software
what software do you need to run?
anyone in the house a student - can get some legal software a lot cheaper if there is.....
imho - shop around once you know what you want it to do - and memory is as always - king - go for 3 or 4mb
hard drive space - these days i would go for at least 500gb....
processor wise - i prefer intel - amd chips are good but - M$ work closely with intel....
a dedicated graphics card is always better than a built in one... and can be upgraded...
do not buy an antivirus program - avg free is sufficient
look around for a full legal copy of office 2003 professional - a lot better than the more recent versions, and a lot cheaper.... that will include word, excel, powerpoint and outlook - and if you are lucky - publisher
for photo work - photoshop is and always will be king - photoshop elements is under 100 quid and well worth it
*****
oh - and i would always recommend an apple mac..... far better computers but yes, they do cost more..... go to an apple store and chat with folk there and get them to show you.....
play games, browse internet or??
bear in mind a new pc will be windows 7 based - a lot better than vista - but may well not be compatible with some older software
what software do you need to run?
anyone in the house a student - can get some legal software a lot cheaper if there is.....
imho - shop around once you know what you want it to do - and memory is as always - king - go for 3 or 4mb
hard drive space - these days i would go for at least 500gb....
processor wise - i prefer intel - amd chips are good but - M$ work closely with intel....
a dedicated graphics card is always better than a built in one... and can be upgraded...
do not buy an antivirus program - avg free is sufficient
look around for a full legal copy of office 2003 professional - a lot better than the more recent versions, and a lot cheaper.... that will include word, excel, powerpoint and outlook - and if you are lucky - publisher
for photo work - photoshop is and always will be king - photoshop elements is under 100 quid and well worth it
*****
oh - and i would always recommend an apple mac..... far better computers but yes, they do cost more..... go to an apple store and chat with folk there and get them to show you.....
Let's face it, you wouldn't go to a nurse to get good advice on a problem with a Falco - you'd choose an Engineer or a mechanic...
Crikey - only 5 yrs old and you're thinking of replacing it?
I built our desktop PC about 10 yrs ago and although I'm thinking of replacing it because it's a bit slow, I'm struggling to justify it as it's still working OK.
I tend to use my work laptop for a lot of things though - as it saves having to wander up to the study.
I think when I do upgrade my desktop I may well go for a pre-assembled one. In the past I could build a far better computer far more cheaply by buying the parts and putting it together but I think these days they are relatively cheap (compared to what they were then) and are of a pretty good specification so I will not save much (if anything) and will not need better performance than I can easily obtain.
The other thing about buying an assembled one is that if something fails, the warranty is for the whole computer - take it back and they can diagnose and replace the broken bit. If I've bought parts and made my own, then although the parts may be warrantied, I've got to sort out which of them has failed and then persuade the seller that it has failed and not been taken out as secondary damage by another part that has failed (which happened on the PC I built for my son - that's the new PC - only about 8 yrs old).
I built our desktop PC about 10 yrs ago and although I'm thinking of replacing it because it's a bit slow, I'm struggling to justify it as it's still working OK.
I tend to use my work laptop for a lot of things though - as it saves having to wander up to the study.
I think when I do upgrade my desktop I may well go for a pre-assembled one. In the past I could build a far better computer far more cheaply by buying the parts and putting it together but I think these days they are relatively cheap (compared to what they were then) and are of a pretty good specification so I will not save much (if anything) and will not need better performance than I can easily obtain.
The other thing about buying an assembled one is that if something fails, the warranty is for the whole computer - take it back and they can diagnose and replace the broken bit. If I've bought parts and made my own, then although the parts may be warrantied, I've got to sort out which of them has failed and then persuade the seller that it has failed and not been taken out as secondary damage by another part that has failed (which happened on the PC I built for my son - that's the new PC - only about 8 yrs old).
“Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been.”
-- Albert Einstein
-- Albert Einstein
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BikerGran
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Thing is, altho it's 5 years old it was very basic when it was put together for us and I guess my photography interest growing means I want something better.
We also need to replace the monitor which is old and very difficult to balance colours/brighness etc. And tho our 10 year old printer works very well now I guess it probably wouldn't be happy if everything else was new. And the seperate scanner we currently have works sometimes.
We use the computer for forums and Facebook and Ebay and generally browsing the internet - it's our encyclopedia and shopping tool and contact with the rest of the world - email of course. And my growing interest in photography means I want something that will enable me to see my pix in as true colour as possible, and run something like Photoshop Elements for handling them.
We don't play games so that's not an issue. As to what programs we need - I spose I'd need to look at what we have on here and whether we actually use it.
Another question - if we have a new computer do we have to have a wireless connection? We're currently plugged into the phone line and I know nothing about wireless except that people always seem to be complaining about it!
We also need to replace the monitor which is old and very difficult to balance colours/brighness etc. And tho our 10 year old printer works very well now I guess it probably wouldn't be happy if everything else was new. And the seperate scanner we currently have works sometimes.
We use the computer for forums and Facebook and Ebay and generally browsing the internet - it's our encyclopedia and shopping tool and contact with the rest of the world - email of course. And my growing interest in photography means I want something that will enable me to see my pix in as true colour as possible, and run something like Photoshop Elements for handling them.
We don't play games so that's not an issue. As to what programs we need - I spose I'd need to look at what we have on here and whether we actually use it.
Another question - if we have a new computer do we have to have a wireless connection? We're currently plugged into the phone line and I know nothing about wireless except that people always seem to be complaining about it!
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.
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BikerGran
- Gran Turismo
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- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:12 pm
- Location: Any further south and I'd fall off!
Oh and another reason for getting an all new computer now is that it will have to last! We're both retired but still working part time but that could change at any time according to health (ours, and that of our jobs) and when we're fully retired there won't be any spare cash for frivolities like computers!
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.
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Aladinsaneuk
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if you are playing with photos, seriously, go look at a mac
my imac is now 4 years old - and runs everything current... and the screen remains excellent
i would strongly suggest that you go make the time to go to an apple store and ask for some one to show you why to choae a mac for image work
(And i would go for elements over aperture btw.... it is more powerful. MobileMe may be worth it to you for the free webspace and image hosting..... )
as for screen size - a 22 is nice.... i do get all hot and steamy over the 27 screens....
as for wifi - depends on if you have a wifi router or not - a decent modern machine will have both wifi and wired rj45 for web access as standard....
my imac is now 4 years old - and runs everything current... and the screen remains excellent
i would strongly suggest that you go make the time to go to an apple store and ask for some one to show you why to choae a mac for image work
(And i would go for elements over aperture btw.... it is more powerful. MobileMe may be worth it to you for the free webspace and image hosting..... )
as for screen size - a 22 is nice.... i do get all hot and steamy over the 27 screens....
as for wifi - depends on if you have a wifi router or not - a decent modern machine will have both wifi and wired rj45 for web access as standard....
Let's face it, you wouldn't go to a nurse to get good advice on a problem with a Falco - you'd choose an Engineer or a mechanic...
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FlyingKiwi
- SuperSport Racer
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ALDI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
come with 3 year warranty and good spec.BUT no monitor, just the tower There was one on sale last week so may be some left about?
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _17502.htm
come with 3 year warranty and good spec.BUT no monitor, just the tower There was one on sale last week so may be some left about?
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _17502.htm
Yep - that's one I'm thinking about too (upgraded the monitor a year or 2 back for a 22" LCD so the base unit alone will suit me fine)
BTW I bought one from Aldi a few years back to use in the video projection desk at church. It's been a good buy.
BTW I bought one from Aldi a few years back to use in the video projection desk at church. It's been a good buy.
“Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been.”
-- Albert Einstein
-- Albert Einstein