Do I need a better PC?

ptrichardson

bsod wrote: »

cpu speed is constant, age doesn't matter.

Buying a new machine rather than re-installing is a cyclical mugs game, there will always be processors that can kick sand in the face of others, and there will always be crap software and configuration that makes that fancy cpu appear like a POS a few months after you bought it, when it isn't.

Yes, its exactly as fast as it was about 10 years ago. i.e, totally out of date and incapable of running modern software.

And suggesting that you can compare this very large issue, with the more minor issue of ever-improving technology year by year is misleading, at best.

Its a very old machine.
Clean install will always help - but it won't make it more powerful and able to keep up with contemporary hardware.

ptrichardson

chris105 wrote: »

If you are running windows first check your windows experience index (under Computer->properties) and see what is slowing thing down. In case of my 8 year old quad core PC it was the hard disk. I just replaced it with an SSD a month ago, my PC now feels like the i7 I use at my workplace !!
SSD is worth it, even if you are still not satisfied you can install the SSD in the new system.

I also recommend SSD's to everyone. But in this case, the PC is literally worth zero (I've re-imaged and given 2 x similar machines away to people in the last year as they simply are not worth any money).

I'd honestly not waste my time and effort on such an old PC - and I'm the type of guy that would usually help someone eek out live in an old PC. Just not this one!

bsod

ptrichardson wrote: »

Yes, its exactly as fast as it was about 10 years ago. i.e, totally out of date and incapable of running modern software..

What modern software would that be then?

rizla01 wrote: »

Windows7, AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2600Mhz, 3GB ram

Used for photo's, ebay, google maps, and printing labels. No games

The user who posed the question uses a photo viewer, a browser, and a word processor.

Which processor and how many Mips does someone require to print labels nowadays?

prowla

Some web sites, especially ones with Flash and lots of ads, can eat CPU.
I wanted to check out bitcoins, so i went to a few sites, but my computers CPU (an i5) would go to 100% and the fan kick in like it was taking off if I opened a few windows.

custardy

prowla wrote: »

Some web sites, especially ones with Flash and lots of ads, can eat CPU.
I wanted to check out bitcoins, so i went to a few sites, but my computers CPU (an i5) would go to 100% and the fan kick in like it was taking off if I opened a few windows.

but isnt that the whole point that bitcoins is using your CPU?

prowla

custardy wrote: »

but isnt that the whole point that bitcoins is using your CPU?

It depends if you are mining or just getting freebies; mining needs more than an i5.

ptrichardson

bsod wrote: »

What modern software would that be then?

The user who posed the question uses a photo viewer, a browser, and a word processor.

And an operating system, with many years of updates
An antivirus system, fully updated
A modern browser
I assume, a fairly recent word processor, or at least an old one, but still with many recent updates, even if just for security

All of this requires more processing power than when the PC was first engineered ~10 years ago.

I've already said a re-image will help. But its not going to be a total cure.
As software moves on, it simply uses more resources.

ptrichardson

prowla wrote: »

Some web sites, especially ones with Flash and lots of ads, can eat CPU.
I wanted to check out bitcoins, so i went to a few sites, but my computers CPU (an i5) would go to 100% and the fan kick in like it was taking off if I opened a few windows.

Sorry, mining bitcoins is, unless you know what you are doing, essentially impossible these days.

Even if you join a syndicate (practically the only way a non-professional can do it nowadays), you need a fairly high-end discrete graphics card. The GPU component of a Core i5 processor isn't even close

(Bitcoin mining uses GPU power, not CPU)