Any computer gurus here?

tomseal6

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I think I really need to update my desk top. I was looking at the new HP's online

I have had this tower since 2001 and I cannot run many applications at once or do what I need to do. It is very slow at times and freezes up when trying to do multiple things. I have among the best virus software and no viruses, malware, or spyware on the system

It is old and has the following hardware: Could this be why?

111 GIG hard drive

512 MB RAM

Pentium 1.8 GHZ processor

Windows XP service pack 3
 

WOW tom, I thought my 4yr old laptop was old! YES thats why you are sllllllooooowwwww! LOL! You can go anywhere and spend as much as you want depending on your needs and money situation. You can go to walmart and get a nice laptop 1 million times better then that for less then $500. Then you can get a wireless router and surf ty from the couch. Or you can go to best buy and get a laptop that could run nasa from around $1000. I would never go PC again. If your just a internet surfer, saving pic's and emailing kinda person like me. A nice midrange laptop will be more then you will ever need. Takes up no room and if you go wireless (very inexpensive) you can take it anywhere. I remember my first compter i bought in 2001 ironic enough was a top of the line gateway and it was $2500. This laptop im using now was $1200 and ill never come close to using all the stuff it can do. Unreal! Also your internet provider makes a difference also. Your computer will only run as fast as the signal comming in. Cable (best), DSL, Phone, satalite, ect.... But no offense in your case its your computer. Even if you are using cable it would be like a ferrari engine in a broken down chevette. Lots of power from the engine but cant get it to the ground. Time for upgrade. Do some research on the internet and you will see how much more powerfull they are now. Worth the upgrade for sure. Got your money out of yours!!
 
HP has custom ordering on their website. Their prices are VERY reasonable. You can get anything you want. I already have a wireless router from my cable company internet for my notebook. Speaking of, I think that little HP notebook with windows 7 is much faster then this thing

They also have 6 months no payments and no interest if paid in full within 6 months. Here is what I was looking at for a custom built tower from HP ( Also comes with a premium all-in-one printer, scanner, copier, and FAX


PRICE = $1,010 (YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR)

Operating system - Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium [64-bit]

Processor - AMD A8-3850 quad-core processor [2.9GHz, 4MB L2 Cache]

Memory - 8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]

Hard drive - 500GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive

Graphics card - 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]

Primary optical drive - SuperMulti DVD Burner

Secondary optical drive - 16x max. DVD ROM (player)

Networking - Wireless-N LAN card and Bluetooth(R )

Productivity ports - 15-in-1 memory card reader, 4 USB, audio

Sound Card - Integrated sound

Keyboard and Mouse - Premium HP keyboard and optical mouse

HP Printers and All-in-ones - HP Officejet 4500 Wireless All-in-One Printer
 

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That looks like a nice one for sure, major upgrade over your old one. Looks like you already did your home work. And you cant beat the price! Im not a big computer guru but i know enough from my wife who kinda is. With computers the old adage you get what you pay for does not apply. Most of the internal parts all come from the same place, its just the case and name that change! Just my 2cents. And unfortunatly the minute you walk out the door its obsolete.
 
Wife uses the desktop most of the time for her college. She is working on her degree in science of health and medical administration. It freezes up often and is very slow during her college courses and conference sessions.
 
You're robbing that system from the grave!!!! Its dead and you're trying to bring it too life. You'd be so so much happerier with most any newer system. Desktop/Notebook just stay away from the pretend processor C.., E... & Atoms. Any newer system should be 4 thread (2 cores + hyperthreading=4 minimum).

The AMD A8 series is excellent bang for the buck. Phenom series is older but I would not go to the others they make since they're really old processors. Look at intel Sand Bridge i3 or i5.
 
I think we could get a discount for her being a college student. She is on the Deans list with a 3.7 GPA
 
tripplec said:
You're robbing that system from the grave!!!! Its dead and you're trying to bring it too life. You'd be so so much happerier with most any newer system. Desktop/Notebook just stay away from the pretend processor C.., E... & Atoms. Any newer system should be 4 thread (2 cores + hyperthreading=4 minimum).

The AMD A8 series is excellent bang for the buck. Phenom series is older but I would not go to the others they make since they're really old processors. Look at intel Sand Bridge i3 or i5.
The one I am looking at has a quad core processor and the best one they offer in the particular model
 
Some institutions have a student purchase program and usually well priced configurations. Check with them as get the details for assessment and comparison.
 
You may also want to look at newegg.com or TigerDirect.com. I upgraded from an "old" 933mhz pentium HP to the quad core HP that I have now and WOW tons of a difference, click and your there no waiting. plus it has a blue ray player/dvd burner and a storage bay for and external hard drive so you can back up improtant documents or pictures. Although I went with a pc version and not a laptop. I bought a Toshiba laptop at Office Depot(the manager cut a heck of a deal on it- under $700) for my wife earlier this spring and it is almost as fast as my pc if not faster. I bought her the Toshiba a665-s5173 laptop, it came with the intel I5-480 processor and 4 gig ram(upgraded to the max- 8 gig I think) and a either a 500 gig hard drive or a 640 gig(cant remember), and a built in dvd player, Harmon Kardon speakers, no complaints here except for battery life, but I did not opt for the upgraded battery(yet). Good Luck in your search!

Oh and I get e-mails from HP and they seem to be pricier that other outlets and claim that you are getting a deal, becareful of their sales scams.

For some reason (I don't know why) I dont really care for the AMD processor...
 
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don't buy a HP.I had one and the motherboard went on it a touch after a year,no warranty.HP use their own mother boards and they are expensive,and not compatible with other units on the market which can be bought cheaper.smart @ss's.Since my brother in law has his own wholesale computer company.he deals with repairs also on many brands of computers.Was told to stay away from HP by my Nephew who is in sales their.He sold me a Toshiba Laptop for $800 a few years back..just love it.He also has one of most knowledgeable Tech Repair guys here.pays him big bucks to.They do a lot of Warranty work for many brands here in Western Canada and know which ones are crap.My Brother in law now has 4 locations in Canada and done well for himself.

My other brother in law in Calgary is the buyer for their products..he fly's to Hong Kong,Japan..or wherever they purchase their parts and purchase direct with them..no middle man.
 
I just got off the phone with HP and I ordered everything that I posted. Price came out to $1,036.45 total with sales tax.

That REP on the phone kept telling me how amazed I was going to be after I replace my old dinosaur with this new system I am ordering. He mentioned I have selected some serious upgrades.
 
super1c said:
You can go to walmart and get a nice laptop 1 million times better then that for less then $500. Then you can get a wireless router and surf ty from the couch.
I prefer to surf the web and TY Bischof style at my desk with nothing on.
 
I would have stayed away from HP personally. They have the number 1 failure rate in the industry. Dell is a close second. I know this because I am a full-time A+, MCSE and DELL certified repair technician. Just make sure you plug it into a NEW surge protector and replace the surge protector every 2 years. May even want to get a battery backup device as they act as a power smoother with the capacitors/batteries. And make sure if it's a desktop, every 2 months or so pull the side cover off and blow it out. If it's a laptop, blow out the vents once a month with canned air/compressor. Don't rest it on your lap without a board or cooler under it. Your clothing/bedsheets/blankets get up against the vents and plug it so no cool air gets to it and it will overheat. Just my 2 cents. And HP laptops get SUPER hot on the bottom. I wonder how they don't overheat anyways lol
 
tomseal6 said:
I prefer to surf the web and TY Bischof style at my desk with nothing on.


now that is not a image i wanted.

i am running an hp tower with a dual core processor. bought it at costco 8 years ago. now my brother (head geek in the family) has upgraded it with a better video card, more ram, oversize power supply and a raid array with twin 550 drives. motherboard has not given us a lick of trouble but he has started warning me it is time to build a new one as the drives are starting to get wiggy when it is shut down. i do run the battery back-up (on my 2nd) as the power dips at times in my area.

do not worry. it will last ;)! .
 


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