Any suggestions for a new desktop pc?

Wammer

I am toying with the idea of replacing my 5 year old desktop with a new one as I'm fed up with how slow it is. I maintain it regularly using Ccleaner and Mbam and have followed Closed's speed up a slow pc article, but I think I need a newer, faster machine.

My current pc was from Dell and is a Dimension E520 with 4GB RAM, 250GB hard drive and Intel Core 2 6300 @ 1.86GHz processor with Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

I can't remember where I got MS Office from, but it is genuine and I have a product key. However I can't remember shelling out loads of cash for it. Can I use this on a new pc if I can find the discs? I think I can get legitimately from work as they have an agreement with MS.

The only one I have looked at so far is a Dell Vostro 260 with 6GB RAM, Intel® Core™ i5-2400 Processor (3.10GHz, 6MB), 1TB hard drive. There is currently £120 off this model.

http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/desktop-deals.aspx?~ck=mn

I only use the pc for internet browsing, storing photos and a few Word and Excel documents, no gaming or media.

Is it worth going for the Gen 3 processor to future-proof or is that more for gamers?

Should I wait until Windows 8 is released in October?

I am also going to have a look at ebuyer.

Can someone suggest the sort of spec I should be looking for?

lloydd

Something like this would suit your needs...

System Specification
- Case: OcUK IMP microATX Case
- Power Supply: OcUK 500W PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i3 2100 3.20GHz (Clarkdale)
- Motherboard: Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 microATX Motherboard
- Cooler: Intel Approved Cooler
- RAM: 4GB or 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Graphics Card: Onboard Intel GMA graphics or a choice of energy efficient graphics cards
- Sound: High Definition 7.1 Onboard Sound Card
- Optical Drive: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD+RW SATA ReWriter

Available from the value systems section on www . overclockers . co . uk

closed

that machine shouldnt be slow, post a hijackthis log, or factory restore it (after backing up)

weeowens

Have a look at some of these:
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&sort=popularity&limit=10&store=5&cat=191&filtermfr=1181

The one I bought had 8GB ram & 250 Gb HD.
It is very quick on loading but does have a bit of fan noise.For the price it is great though.I got it at the start of the year & paid about £300,including the Windows 7 disc that was about £70

aerostar

Many machines can be cured of being slow, by restoring to factory condition, and then doing all the updates before putting on the programs you want.

I recently had a Vista machine brought to me as it took 5+ minutes to get going despite it being clean of viruses and malware, and was generally slow.

After a factory re-set, doing the updates etc, then loading office etc, it would boot and be on the net in under 60 secs !!!

No new computer required.

prowla

FYI a little utility called produkey will list the keys of your installed MS products if you've lost the key.

Strictly speaking it is not allowed to acquire copies of MS disks, but my opinion is that you should be able to have backups and it is the key that controls whether you can use the software.

** If you've got the key you've paid the fee. **
(I just thought that up!)

So I would have no compunction about downloading a disk image (eg. from the official Microsoft digitalriver source).

In terms of a new PC, I'm running on a E8400 Core2Duo machine and it is plenty fast enough.

Windows 8? I've had a look at the preview release and it might be one to miss.

Figment

prowla wrote: »

Strictly speaking it is not allowed to acquire copies of MS disks.

Where does this information come from?

cookie_monster

Will need to do a factory restore on my computer as its very slow but before I do that will it be ok as I have lost all the paper work for my pc i.e will it ask me for a password or product key?

Wammer

Thanks for the suggestions.

I forgot to mention that my BB connection is also slow at 2.7MB, but that seems to be the best I can get as I've had 3 different ISPs since I left Pipex and they have all been the same. Currently on Sky LLU.

Opera is my preferred browser, but I am fast losing patience with it as the last few releases seem slower than previously. I occasionally use Firefox. Maybe I should try using that more to see if it makes a difference.

I shall revisit Closed's article as I'm sure there are more programs I could uninstall.

Doing a factory restore scares me as I would need step by step instructions. I would also need to buy an external hard drive to back up. At the moment I have my photos saved on the desktop, laptop and a netbook so that is my "back up". I have 12GB of photos. Like cookie monster, I would be worried I didn't have the right passwords or product keys to get it going again. How long would it take to reinstall everything? Would I have to reinstall all the Windows Updates in the last 5 years?

I will post a Hijackthis log once I have gone through Closed's article again.

How do I know if it's the pc that's slow or just my internet connection or even my browser?

TakeThis

cookie_monster wrote: »

Will need to do a factory restore on my computer as its very slow but before I do that will it be ok as I have lost all the paper work for my pc i.e will it ask me for a password or product key?

No key required for a Factory Restore of the Operating System. Only Product Keys for standalone products that you have purchased.

TakeThis

Wammer wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions.

I forgot to mention that my BB connection is also slow at 2.7MB, but that seems to be the best I can get as I've had 3 different ISPs since I left Pipex and they have all been the same. Currently on Sky LLU.

Opera is my preferred browser, but I am fast losing patience with it as the last few releases seem slower than previously. I occasionally use Firefox. Maybe I should try using that more to see if it makes a difference.

I shall revisit Closed's article as I'm sure there are more programs I could uninstall.

Doing a factory restore scares me as I would need step by step instructions. I would also need to buy an external hard drive to back up. At the moment I have my photos saved on the desktop, laptop and a netbook so that is my "back up". I have 12GB of photos. Like cookie monster, I would be worried I didn't have the right passwords or product keys to get it going again. How long would it take to reinstall everything? Would I have to reinstall all the Windows Updates in the last 5 years?

I will post a Hijackthis log once I have gone through Closed's article again.

How do I know if it's the pc that's slow or just my internet connection or even my browser?

A Destructive Factory Restore is a very simple process. The most difficult aspect is simply saving any data that you wish to keep.
The Updates won't take five years. They will just come at you continually(especially if you keep checking for Updates), but they all be done in a couple of hours.