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#1 (permalink) |
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Senior Citizen
Join Date: May 2007
Type:
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,783
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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.)
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*You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body. *Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason once accepted, despite your changing moods. C.S. Lewis |
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#2 (permalink) | |
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Retired Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Type:
Posts: 8,128
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Quote:
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. |
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#3 (permalink) |
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only bites when provoked
Join Date: Apr 2007
Type: HPLS
Location: Plant Hardiness Zone 10 or 11
Posts: 2,181
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How old is your laptop?
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I 100%, N 88%, T 88%, J 75% Disclaimer: The above is my opinion and mine alone, it does not mean I cannot change my mind, nor does it guarantee that my comments are related to any deep-seated convictions. Take everything I say with a whole snowplow worth of salt and call me in the morning, if you can. |
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#4 (permalink) | |
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Lallygag Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Type: INXP
Location: Southern England
Posts: 5,244
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#5 (permalink) | |
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Retired Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Type:
Posts: 8,128
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Quote:
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... |
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#7 (permalink) | |
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Retired Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Type:
Posts: 8,128
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Quote:
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. |
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#8 (permalink) | |
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Lallygag Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Type: INXP
Location: Southern England
Posts: 5,244
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Quote:
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
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#9 (permalink) |
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only bites when provoked
Join Date: Apr 2007
Type: HPLS
Location: Plant Hardiness Zone 10 or 11
Posts: 2,181
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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.
__________________
I 100%, N 88%, T 88%, J 75% Disclaimer: The above is my opinion and mine alone, it does not mean I cannot change my mind, nor does it guarantee that my comments are related to any deep-seated convictions. Take everything I say with a whole snowplow worth of salt and call me in the morning, if you can. |
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