Desktop PCs

grumbler

snaver said:

Obviously it's now old and slow, so I looked into replacing it

How obvious and slow for what?

My desktop is about the same age and I don't find it slow for my tasks (AMD 8150 8-core 3.6GHz, 16Gb).

I'd consider just adding RAM and, possibly, upgrading the processor if this is possible. Adding a SSD hard drive will speed up booting and loading.

Also, reinstalling all software from scratch can make it considerably faster.

facade

@snaver can you either right click on this computer and then click "properties" (if it is on the desktop) or type "about your pc" into the search bar, then click on open, and tell us what it says for processor and installed ram?

snaver

outtatune said:

What can't your computer do now that it could 7 years ago? What are the exact specs?

It just seems a lot slower, web pages keep buffering a lot more when I load them and it sometimes says program or mail not responding for what seems like ages. That said, since I posted this topic, it seems to be behaving far better... typical!

DullGreyGuy

snaver said:

Can anybody help me please? I bought my current Lenovo desktop PC from John Lewis in 2016. It was quite high spec (2TB hard drive, 16GB RAM, Intel Core i5 processor, Windows 10) and cost around £500. Obviously it's now old and slow, so I looked into replacing it, but everything I have found that's widely available and in that price range so far, is of much lower spec and anything that is roughly similar is well in excess of £1000. I thought that technology went up in spec and down in price, but this doesn't seem to be the case with desktops! Does anyone have any ideas of where I might be able to buy a good quality and high-ish spec PC for a reasonable price please?

The problem is that intel havent changed their naming conventions for years, the i5 were first introduced in 2009 and are now on the 13th generation. The i5 in 2016 (which could have been a 2015 model) is going to be a different beast to the latest generations despite the same name. Similarly RAM can now be DDR5 where as yours may have been DDR3 or DDR4

You also dont mention what graphics you have/need which will play a notable part in the price. 

googler

facade said:

googler said:

"Don't buy a 128GB drive, it will be full in hours"

I'm running Win10 on a 64Gb SSD, since Nov 21, and I have 11Gb free ....

How?????

A check on mine, win10 installed fresh a week ago

20.3 GB windows

18.7 GB Pagefile.sys

9.2 GB program Files

6.7 GB System Volume information (updates I can roll back, restore point)

20.1Gb Windows
3.83Gb Program Files

Don't know where to find the other stuff. 11.2Gb free from 55.8Gb usable space on 64Gb SSD

[Deleted User]

googler said:

facade said:

googler said:

"Don't buy a 128GB drive, it will be full in hours"

I'm running Win10 on a 64Gb SSD, since Nov 21, and I have 11Gb free ....

How?????

A check on mine, win10 installed fresh a week ago

20.3 GB windows

18.7 GB Pagefile.sys

9.2 GB program Files

6.7 GB System Volume information (updates I can roll back, restore point)

20.1Gb Windows
3.83Gb Program Files

Don't know where to find the other stuff. 11.2Gb free from 55.8Gb usable space on 64Gb SSD

It's the old horses for courses thing with C: drive size, there isn't a one size fits all, depends on your usage and needs.

I run hundreds of virtual machines for my business on 100GB C: drive Windows 11 and they only use 50GB of that.

At home, my C: drive has 250GB on it. 90GB user profile, 35GB Windows, 32GB page + hibernate file, 33 GB Program 15GB programdata are the main ones.

Better to find out how much the OP uses rather than recommendations based on what works for you.

getmore4less

Running 14 year old kit still works.

Went second hand 8th gen low power for the replacement £150, 

With memory upgrade(32GB £50) and a few other bits usb-c hub extra m2 ssd  getting close to £250 now

There are loads of 8gen or i5/i7 based systems second hand with a 500 budget can get something seriously decent.

There are quite a few systems out there that are 2-3y and in as new condition 

As said fixing the one you have Is the MSE route.

Full spec and use cases would help people on options beyond the SSD.

Afourteen

The following advice is much from memory _ I moved to Apple Mac's some ago but have retained a PC 'cause it isn't worth much but still works.
.
Firstly do a full backup of the machine to an external HDD.
How often do use the PC? My home machine get used about once a month at present, always seems to be running slow for 4 or 5 hours but it's doing the monthly security updates - once it has completed that it does 'speed' up. 

Increase the PC's memory. You may only have to install one stick but though a matched pair will be better. 

Check how much free space you have on the HDD. Experience tells me once you get under 30% free the PC will slow down.

If your machine is in that state I'd certainly be considering making the changes to put a SSD in as Drive C: - only load Windows and other programs to C:. Refit the HDD as Drive D - It will take a little while to get used to storing/saving your data to the Drive D but will become second nature.