Quizzes & Puzzles7 mins ago
Buying a new PC
6 Answers
My present tower is now 4 years old and is, of course, rather slow now , so its time to get the plastic out and buy a new one. I've got 2 lined up, one from Mesh with a Core 2 duo E7400 and one from Dell with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core 7550. The Dell machine is 30 quid cheaper (until tomorrow) but is it worth the extra for a Core 2 duo? And are Mesh a decent company. I've been reading a lot of horror stories in various forums! But thats probably because the satisfied customers don't write in.
Geoff.
Geoff.
Answers
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I would not even think of buying a PC at the moment.
Windows 7 is coming out on October 22nd, and everything I have read says it is far better than Windows Vista.
Keep your plastic in your pocket till after October 22nd.
I also have to agree with deggers316, I have a PC I built about 5 years ago and it runs XP and it is fine. I reinstall Windows every 6 months.
Why not consider a complete re-install of Windows?
Windows 7 is coming out on October 22nd, and everything I have read says it is far better than Windows Vista.
Keep your plastic in your pocket till after October 22nd.
I also have to agree with deggers316, I have a PC I built about 5 years ago and it runs XP and it is fine. I reinstall Windows every 6 months.
Why not consider a complete re-install of Windows?
I would agree with the two previous posts in relation to NOT buying a new PC.
Unless you have identified a particular application you are running that is limited by the performance/specification of your current PC – you are likely to be disappointed with such a purchase.
Access to the net is likely to be limited by whatever components are between your PC & the server. Should you be a gamer, wanting to play the latest/fastest games, then you might see some incremental improvement in performance.
I dread having to ‘downgrade’ from XP, and having to find new drivers or give up on any hardware not compatible with a new operating system.
Anyone re-installing any operating system should ensure everything is backed-up before attempting such a drastic step – or be prepared to loose everything.
My ‘best upgrade’ was from a 17 inch CRT to 22 inch LCD – this can be done for around £100. At the time I did this, it was the best £130 I spent on my system.
Unless you have identified a particular application you are running that is limited by the performance/specification of your current PC – you are likely to be disappointed with such a purchase.
Access to the net is likely to be limited by whatever components are between your PC & the server. Should you be a gamer, wanting to play the latest/fastest games, then you might see some incremental improvement in performance.
I dread having to ‘downgrade’ from XP, and having to find new drivers or give up on any hardware not compatible with a new operating system.
Anyone re-installing any operating system should ensure everything is backed-up before attempting such a drastic step – or be prepared to loose everything.
My ‘best upgrade’ was from a 17 inch CRT to 22 inch LCD – this can be done for around £100. At the time I did this, it was the best £130 I spent on my system.
I wouldn`t buy a new one if all you`re worried about is speed, do as someone else suggested, format and reinstall, you will be amazed at the difference.
I too reinstall about every six months, I back up regularly, so it`s no problem.
If you decide to do this, make a driver disc first (unless one came with your pc)
To do this, download drivermax, export your drivers and copy to cd.
http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/
You could probably also upgrade your ram, very cheap and easy to do. Scan with crucial, which will tell you exactly what you need. Write it down and buy from somewhere cheaper, I`ve had some very cheap ram from ebay.
http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.aspx?click=true
I too reinstall about every six months, I back up regularly, so it`s no problem.
If you decide to do this, make a driver disc first (unless one came with your pc)
To do this, download drivermax, export your drivers and copy to cd.
http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/
You could probably also upgrade your ram, very cheap and easy to do. Scan with crucial, which will tell you exactly what you need. Write it down and buy from somewhere cheaper, I`ve had some very cheap ram from ebay.
http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.aspx?click=true
Core 2 Duo is better than the A64 X2. I assume they're similar clock speeds?
I also assume they have same RAM, graphics cards, etc.?
I would also suggest waiting for Windows 7, since it's so close now. I agree with VHG above, everything I've heard about it is that it's an improvement over the mistake of Vista.
I also assume they have same RAM, graphics cards, etc.?
I would also suggest waiting for Windows 7, since it's so close now. I agree with VHG above, everything I've heard about it is that it's an improvement over the mistake of Vista.
Thank you all for your replies, I shall take everything you say into consideration. Special thanks to Fo3nix as he actually answered the question I asked. The systems I reviewed were the same in every aspect except the cpu, and you have now told me the core 2 duo is better than the Athlon dual core. Thats what I needed to make a sensible decision. Which may be to simply reinstall XP.
By the way, almost all retailers on the web are offering a free update to Windows 7 when it comes out (which is incidentally my birthday). I certainly do not like the Vista thats on my recently aquired laptop.
By the way, almost all retailers on the web are offering a free update to Windows 7 when it comes out (which is incidentally my birthday). I certainly do not like the Vista thats on my recently aquired laptop.
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