New Computer help

[Mnfisher]

I don't buy a new computer very often but need a new one because my dvd drive isn't working and need it for photos. This one is about 8-10 years old.

I am thinking intel processor, maybe i5. That might be a little more than I need but thinking of the future too. I think i7 is much more than I need and out of my budget. Hard drive? Brand? I have a dell and it has been good tho I didn't like the way Dell treated me when I bought it but after 10 years, guess I can forgive! How about other good brands with intel processor?

Also: Use it mostly for internet and photos (not videos) and normal word processing stuff.

Thanks for any help and suggestions. Not real computer literate here, but do know more than some.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I have replaced DVD drives before, save you a bunch of money. You can probably take it out see what it is and look on flea bay to find a useable one. good luck

[Nick Kuhn]

Despite DVD drives being a really easy and cheap fix ($20 yourself), at 8-10 years old, it may just be time to get a new one. HTML5 could definitely slow down an older system (few sites use it now, but it will start being more and more common).

If you choose to go a new system right now, pay careful attention to the details. Intel's branding is a little confusing right now. i3 is entry level, i5 middle road, and i7 is enthusiast level. Currently there are two batches of each out, Sandy Bridge cores and Lynnfield cores. You want the Sandy Bridge cores (same price, better performance). The old Lynnfield will be branded as i5 750. Avoid these i5's. What you want are the new ones, which will be branded i5 2500. They all will be 2xxx, where the 2 indicates 2nd generation. There's no reason to buy an i7 right now, as it offers at best 2% better performance than an i5. The i5 2500 is the sweet spot for price/performance ratio.

Branding is more of a reputation thing. I build my own systems so I can't help you there.

[Mnfisher]

Thanks guys! I think I definetely need a new computer because of the age of this one.

Nick, I have never heard of the different processors, Sandy Bridge core or Lynnfield, so I will definetely look for the Sandy bridge cores. Nick - are you any relation to Frs. Matt & Aaron? They came from my parish!

Also, does anyone have any favorite brand of intel processors and why?

Thanks

[Jim Almquist]

Also, does anyone have any favorite brand of intel processors and why?

Thanks

Not sure what you meant by brand but I will guess you are talking about I3,I5,I7 from Intel.

From what it sounds like you really don't need a real high speed processor, unless you using Photoshop for processing your pictures then it would not hurt to have a little faster processor. I would think that any Intel I3 or I5 would work great as long as you get a minimum of 2Gb of memory but 4Gb would be better. If you wanted a faster processor and wanted to keep the price down don't be afraid to go with a quad core from AMD. Something else to keep in mind is you will more then likely get Windows 7 for a Operating System. The software you are using now on your old computer may have problems working in your new one so you might want to check and see if that will be a issue

[Mnfisher]

Jim; When I say brand, I mean Dell, Sony, etc.

Yes, I will be doing photoshop.

Jim

[upnorth]

Dell or HP is probably the best plan. Sony may make a good machine but if things go wrong parts and support is a little difficult.

[Mnfisher]

I just discovered that the Sandy Bridge processors are about $100 more than the Lynfield (Dell 580 vs 8300). Might be worth it if it is a great deal better. Did the Sandy Bridge processors just come out this year?

Thanks,

Jim

[upnorth]

For most home users unless you are a high end gamer or really intense photoshopping or movie editing you really don't need the top of the line processor. I would concentrate more on getting the RAM up there to about 4 Gig. The mid level processors are faster and more powerful than we had in high end servers a couple years back.

[delcecchi]

Around Christmas I got a Dell with 6G memory, I5 with 4 cores (cheap one) 1T disk, dvd r/w for 600 bucks. If you use discover and go to the discover web site to get to dell you can (if deal still good) get extra 10% cash back from discover. And I got free shipping. There was a 50 buck coupon for dell online also somewhere.

Look around, there are some pretty good deals.

[Nick Kuhn]

I just discovered that the Sandy Bridge processors are about $100 more than the Lynfield (Dell 580 vs 8300). Might be worth it if it is a great deal better. Did the Sandy Bridge processors just come out this year?

Thanks,

Jim

They were just announced a month ago. The price direct to the consumer is the same. Dell might be trying to move all the old parts, so they will charge a premium on the new parts (for no reason other than they can). Also those come with Clarkdale parts, not even Lynnfield that I'm seeing in the Dell 580s. Clarkdale is only dual core, Sandy Bridge is quad core.

And no relation to those 2. My last name and its variations are fairly common.

[Mnfisher]

Thanks Nick! There is so much to know but once I get a new one, I'll forget it all which is okay with me!

[pureinsanity]

Go with dell. Easy to work on!

[Nick Kuhn]

Go with dell. Easy to work on!

Is there a computer out there that's difficult to work on?

[pureinsanity]

The fact that no other manufacture gives you the disks to make it easy yes Otherwise you have to download this and download that, make a cd of this, create a partition of that. ghost this. ghost that

My preference is to have all the drivers, and OS given to me by the manufacture on a cd

[Mnfisher]

okay..I tried to order a Dell i5 8300 today but they have all been recalled (the Sandy Bridge processors). They should be back by end of February, but I'm not sure that I want one now in case more "bugs" are discovered. The tech recommended an Inspiron 580 15 - 760 processor with 2.8 ghz and 6 gb memory. It is about $150 cheaper than the 8300 (nice) and I think still more than adequate for my needs. Questions: Does anyone know if this is a dual core or quad core processor? I couldn't find the answer. And, is this the lynfield processor then or an older clarkdale? I'm guessing lynfield, but I don't know and the sales person didn't either!!! Thanks

[spearchucker]

The recall is with the chipsets, not the processors themselves.

[Nick Kuhn]

The recall is with the chipsets, not the processors themselves.

Correct. On the chipset Intel applied the wrong voltage to the 3gbps SATA ports, causing early failure of those ports. Since the computer I built for my brother only uses the 6gbps SATA ports (and has 2 more of them open), I have no intention of returning his MoBo, despite the fact that newegg would do it for free.

[blakjack23]

I agree with the others, an I3 or I5 will be plenty for the average user. Min 4GB of ram would be my recommendation for Windows 7 also. I've had good luck with Dell and recommend them to my customers, family and friends. Dell also has an outlet site where I buy most of my PC's, you can usually save 10-20 percent, and I usually get a coupon once a month for 20% more off.

Even the Intel Core 2 Duo's are still a great bang-for-your-buck proc and matched with a good amount of RAM they will be plenty fast for most users. You should be able to find a Core 2 Duo machine, with 4GB of ram, 320+GB hard drive and Windows 7 for $400 or less. With an i3 or i5 you're probaby looking at closer to $550 or $600.

Another note, if you plan on upgrading your memory in the future make sure to get a PC with Windows 7 64 bit, since the 32bit version can't handle more than 4GB of ram.

[Nick Kuhn]

I agree with the others, an I3 or I5 will be plenty for the average user. Min 4GB of ram would be my recommendation for Windows 7 also. I've had good luck with Dell and recommend them to my customers, family and friends. Dell also has an outlet site where I buy most of my PC's, you can usually save 10-20 percent, and I usually get a coupon once a month for 20% more off.

Even the Intel Core 2 Duo's are still a great bang-for-your-buck proc and matched with a good amount of RAM they will be plenty fast for most users. You should be able to find a Core 2 Duo machine, with 4GB of ram, 320+GB hard drive and Windows 7 for $400 or less. With an i3 or i5 you're probaby looking at closer to $550 or $600.

Another note, if you plan on upgrading your memory in the future make sure to get a PC with Windows 7 64 bit, since the 32bit version can't handle more than 4GB of ram.

3GB of RAM is the max for 32 bit. You can have more in the system, but it will only use the first 3 GB.

[upnorth]

This is from microsoft the x86 is the 32 bit version

Version Limit on X86 Limit on X64

Windows 7 Ultimate 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Enterprise 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Professional 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Home Premium 4 GB 16 GB

Windows 7 Home Basic 4 GB 8 GB

Windows 7 Starter 2 GB 2 GB

[Nick Kuhn]

My bad, I guess you are right. 3GB was for Vista and XP. Windows 7 must have worked out an extra bit memory addresses.

[upnorth]

I always look it up. Too many changes over the years to too many Operating systems.

[spearchucker]

My bad, I guess you are right. 3GB was for Vista and XP. Windows 7 must have worked out an extra bit memory addresses.

Vista 32-bit was 4GB as well. This is a 32-bit limitation. The maximum number that can be represented with 32-bits is 4,294,967,295 or 4GB.

Even though 4GB can be addressed you will only have a little over 3GB available for programs because the rest of the space is used to address the hardware, etc. That is where you got the 3GB from.