Second Hand Desktop....Dual Core, Quad Core, AMD....???

wackojackouk

Hi guys

I used to understand what was happening with Desktop PC's and processors back in the day of a standard Intel P4 2.4ghz processor etc. Now I see Dual Core, Quad Core etc and am totally lost.

Basically I have a 2.2ghz processor with 1gb ram which runs ok (take ages to boot mind you) on Windows XP but want a bit more speed and need some more HDD space anyway.

Been looking on ebay and seen some local pc's but wondered if anyone can shed some light on what I should be looking for sub £150? - Should I look at Intel, AMD (pro's/cons etc)....

Generally will be for surfing, MS office, bit of photoshop here and there but not really gaming or anything.

Here's a couple on ebay I'm watching - thoughts?

ebay 1
ebay 2
ebay 3

Cheers

WJUK

closed

Surfing/office hardly stress the processor, so you are unlikely to notice much difference.

Either backup your data and reinstall xp, or tidy your startup/AV software up, then post a hijackthis log and commit charge figures, it shouldn't be slow, or slow to boot.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849

Lil306

closed wrote: »

shouldn't be slow, or slow to boot.

It will be if the hard drive is a POS

Sub 150 I'd look at AMD, you get more bang for buck

I agree with closed, try and tune up your existing pc first

gonzo127

agreed with the above, a good clean of your old system is all thats probably needed

other than that the second system you have posted is the best due to the 'core' CPU compared to the pentium 4 CPU's on the other two

this being said my advice if you 'must' spend some money would be look at what you have already and consider the bundle deals and build/upgrade it yourself

clinteestwood

I dont think you need to get a new computer... seems like a waste of cash IMO. Can you not just reinstall XP and start from scratch! it doesnt make sense to upgrade to something thats only marginally better when you are probably going to be faced with the same issues in the future anyway. The best thing to do is learn how to reformat the HDD and save yourself the money

wackojackouk

Hi guys

Going to finally get around to reinstalling XP on my desktop but had a couple more questions related.

I run Spybot Search & Destroy and noticed that "Teatimer.exe" often seems to be running overkill when I first boot up hence causing the machine to run so slowly.

Am now tempted to not re-install Spybot but perhaps something else instead? - Have recently installed Malware Bytes (FREE version) - is this an adequate replacement or should I keep Spybot installed.

Alternatively anything else as good as Spybot out there?

Cheers

WJUK

I_luv_cats

You could possibly add some memory:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.aspx?gclid=CM3YrqG6rKoCFZRc4Qod6Fzg7w&cpe=pd_google_uk&ef_id=rh5ONb@wdnsAAACi:20110731204848:s

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

Do a clean up of old files / registry / uninstall some junk progs.

Buy an additional / new hard drive. (inside or out)

I_luv_cats

wackojackouk wrote: »

Hi guys

Going to finally get around to reinstalling XP on my desktop but had a couple more questions related.

I run Spybot Search & Destroy and noticed that "Teatimer.exe" often seems to be running overkill when I first boot up hence causing the machine to run so slowly.

Am now tempted to not re-install Spybot but perhaps something else instead? - Have recently installed Malware Bytes (FREE version) - is this an adequate replacement or should I keep Spybot installed.

Alternatively anything else as good as Spybot out there?




Cheers

WJUK

http://www.filehippo.com/download_superantispyware/

This comes recommended on another forum, I use it along with Malwarebytes

closed

avast 6 free and malwarebytes free (non resident version), additional resident scanners will slow things down and use ram

GunJack

other bits of spybot still have their uses, but teatimer should have been binned off right from the start. If you continue with it, switch off teatimer

Hammyman

closed wrote: »

Surfing/office hardly stress the processor, so you are unlikely to notice much difference.

Either backup your data and reinstall xp, or tidy your startup/AV software up, then post a hijackthis log and commit charge figures, it shouldn't be slow, or slow to boot.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849

Seconded. My parents wanted a desktop PC as theirs was an old 1.3GHz Pentium M. I wanted to move them from XP to Vista. So I bought them a Pentium 4 desktop and shoved 2GB of RAM in it. I swear my Quad core, 6GB Win7 machine doesn't feel any quicker most of the time. Sure it will be in gaming, video editing/rippping but not in normal web/mail/office/msn use.