I'm Confused While Searching For A New Desktop

[Usehername]

My laptop monitor keeps dying. It's time to get rid of it and get a desktop (yes, I'm sure I want a desktop). I'm a PC user who will not be swayed to Apple. Any advice for purchasing a new desktop?

My purposes for the computer involve:
*Writing a whole heck of a lot of papers for my new Humanities degree (but good-bye lab reports!)
*Storing music
*interacting online

Thoughts:
*I HATE slow. I'm assuming a new PC will come equipped with Vista and I don't want to be dragged down. Enough processor power to not bow to Vista. I don't need enough to kick Vista's rear end to Mars and back, but enough to hold ground and not frustrate me while I'm researching for a paper/writing a paper/watching Youtube/listening to iTunes/IMing/reading forums/going through multiple brower tabs. I usually have 30 tabs open on two windows of Firefox.
*Ideally buy a computer that will last a long time. (i.e. will not be so obselete that it won't be able to keep up with typical functions in a decade from now)


How much computer do I need? I vaguely recall there being a difference between "Core 2 Duo" and "Dual-Core"... is there one? (Is Core 2 Duo the name? Please explain.)

[Athenian200]

Originally Posted by Usehername

My laptop monitor keeps dying. It's time to get rid of it and get a desktop (yes, I'm sure I want a desktop). I'm a PC user who will not be swayed to Apple. Any advice for purchasing a new desktop?

My purposes for the computer involve:
*Writing a whole heck of a lot of papers for my new Humanities degree (but good-bye lab reports!)
*Storing music
*interacting online

Thoughts:
*I HATE slow. I'm assuming a new PC will come equipped with Vista and I don't want to be dragged down. Enough processor power to not bow to Vista. I don't need enough to kick Vista's rear end to Mars and back, but enough to hold ground and not frustrate me while I'm researching for a paper/writing a paper/watching Youtube/listening to iTunes/IMing/reading forums/going through multiple brower tabs. I usually have 30 tabs open on two windows of Firefox.
*Ideally buy a computer that will last a long time. (i.e. will not be so obselete that it won't be able to keep up with typical functions in a decade from now)


How much computer do I need? I vaguely recall there being a difference between "Core 2 Duo" and "Dual-Core"... is there one? (Is Core 2 Duo the name? Please explain.)

2-4GB RAM, E6800+ processor is my guess. A GeForce 8800GT series would probably be good enough for graphics.

No, they're all dual-core. The single-core ones are Core 2 solo. They also have quad-core, but that's expensive, uses more energy, is slower per processor. But may be better at multithreading when more applications start taking advantage of it.

Since you're not demanding much, you may want to get something preconfigured rather than try to build, which is really only worthwhile if you want the best performance.

[Wolf]

How old is your laptop?

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by Athenian200

2-4GB RAM, E6800+ processor is my guess. A GeForce 8800GT series would probably be good enough for graphics.

No, they're all dual-core. The single-core ones are Core 2 solo. They also have quad-core, but that's expensive, uses more energy, is slower per processor. But may be better at multithreading when more applications start taking advantage of it.

Since you're not demanding much, you may want to get something preconfigured rather than try to build, which is really only worthwhile if you want the best performance.

Why would she need to buy a gaming machine? 8800GT is a lot of power for browsing the web and all. I'd say she could spend half what you are suggesting she needs for a machine, and still do all she wants, and quickly.

[Athenian200]

Originally Posted by Geoff

Why would she need to buy a gaming machine? 8800GT is a lot of power for browsing the web and all. I'd say she could spend half what you are suggesting she needs for a machine, and still do all she wants, and quickly.

Mainly Vista... and any OS's that come after it. If Aero takes this much power, how much will the next version of Windows need, for it's most basic interface? I don't trust Vista on anything resembling low-end graphics hardware, not with all those hooks... not even for web-browsing or word processing (Office 2007 has a bit more graphical demand than earlier versions, too). I suppose a lower one might work for the next few years, but my other recommendations still stand.

Also, in a few years, it won't be that much power... it's nowhere near being a top-end card anymore, not incredibly expensive.

The other thing is, I think she'd rather have it a little bit over than under, since she said can't stand slow loading at all. If speed isn't a concern, and she's willing to deal with reasonable wait times in applications, then there's less need to be choosy.

A "Gaming Machine" would need much more power, I think.

If she's willing to stick with XP SP3 and Office 2003 for now, though... could get away with a lot less hardware. Although I don't think that would be a good idea...

[Geoff]

I just think you are encouraging her to throw double the money she needs to, for a "cutting edge" web browsing machine!

[Athenian200]

Originally Posted by Geoff

I just think you are encouraging her to throw double the money she needs to, for a "cutting edge" web browsing machine!

Can you explain how you're coming to that figure, that I'm "doubling" it? If you think so, go ahead and explain why. What are your counter-suggestions? I'm that curious.

Also, remember that she wants it to be good for browsing the web and writing documents with the software we'll have in 2-5 years, not just this year.

I definitely think you know what you're talking about in technical terms, FWIW, I'm just not sure you understand how disinclined she is to upgrade.

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by Athenian200

Can you explain how you're coming to that figure, that I'm "doubling" it? If you think so, go ahead and explain why. What are your counter-suggestions? I'm that curious.

Also, remember that she wants it to be good for browsing the web and writing documents with the software we'll have in 2-5 years, not just this year.

I definitely think you know what you're talking about in technical terms, FWIW, I'm just not sure you understand how disinclined she is to upgrade.

A $400 box would be quite sufficient here. 2mb of Ram, whatever the slowest dual-core you can get for next to nothing is, and a modern, but not super fast graphics card. Something like the $50 Ati 2400. Why would you want a $200 card that drinks power and is noisy, for browsing the web?

I have a desktop with a slower processor than that, an X1950 and 2mb of ram. As a barebones kit it cost me $250. It flies the above tasks, because I'm not gaming.

Edit : also good advice is not to spend double now to be good to go for 5 years.. a cheap box will mean she has money in hand for those 5 years

[Wolf]

A decade is a comically-long time in technology. You would have to get something totally cutting edge and buy a lot of spare parts as everything will be completely obsolete by then and many parts will have needed replacement at least twice.

My method is to just budget for them like you might anything else that needs regular repair or replacement (ex: cars). $75-100 a month should be enough to replace your laptop every 1-2 years, which is about when it'll be due each time. If you can deal with a desktop, you could probably figure on a display every 2-3 years and a new computer every 1-2, which will probably run you about half the price of a laptop.

[scantilyclad]

i can build you one for about 350 dollars.