Our old computer is getting slow... time for a new PC?
Yes… I believe the time has come to replaced ‘ye ol shared pc’ in the house. Our little DELL has been great! Other than a dead power supply during the first year (replaced under warranty) - it still runs ‘ok’ - I can hear the fans spinning in the other room. I have to remind myself that I bought this machine a little over 6 years ago in 2003 for about $1,200 (including monitor!)
Here’s the configuration:
Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I installed a faster 3GHz processor, increased memory from 512MB to 1.5GB, removed the MODEM, added a CD Writer drive, and replaced the original 40GB hard drive with a 160GB PATA model. Even with the mods, it’s now our slowest machine in the house…
Overall - the Pentium 4 has been good to our family. It checks email just fine, you can surf the web, even play some older games (new ones just don’t run due to video card requirements). But the experience is lackluster in the world of Web 2.0+. Sites like Facebook come to a crawl when you push all the flash content, YouTube as well… and Hulu? sure it works, but the experience has become rather flat and choppy.
At home, we’ll most likely go with a newer desktop model since this machine is always stationary in a corner of our home where anyone in the family can go to do homework, check e-mail, surf the web, and as my kids get older - their friends will be able to play games when they visit as well. Sure a nettop would be great at ~$300 but With our computing requirements, we need more than just an ‘Internet Device’ - we need a full desktop computer! And if I expect this next PC to last me 6 more years, something that is mid-top of the line will have to be our pick!
My recommendations for this type of scenario (yours may vary) would be a new Core i5 system. You get the benefits from multi-core processing, the ability to upgrade components in the future (i.e. video cards, memory, etc) and you can get excellent prices!
So looking at the current holiday pricing - new computers and laptops are begging to look pretty appealing! If you check some recent recommendations from @Intel_Inside, you’ll notice a big trend in ultra-thin laptops, and also some Buying Guides that match your personality with your computing model.
During your holiday shopping season - when you’re checking out the deals in the stores - check for those Intel stickers to ensure you get the best “Bang for your Buck!”
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tagged: atom, core_i5, core_i7, dell, holiday, internet_device, laptop, nehalem, pc, toadster, todd_christ, x25