Computer Advice

[SoonerObsession]

My computer that I now own is a Sony Vaio Pentium 4, 1.6ghz with 564mb of ram. I'm wondering if I should upgrade the ram to 1 gig or just get a new machine. My wife does not want to spend more than $500 on a new cpu. Would the upgrade be better or just get a new computer? The problem we are having with our current computer is that it needs to be reformatted every 6 months to run right. I get really tired of having to reinstall everything and then getting 2 hours worth of windows xp updates, antivirus, and all that jazz updated. Any advice? I've already been advised not to get Vista because it's such a resource hog.

[yermom]

i'd bet if you added 1GB of RAM it would run tons better

if you are reinstalling that often, i'd bet you are having either fragmentation problems or spyware

have you thought about Linux? :D

[Ike]

564MB of ram? thats a bit of a wierd number.

But yeah, you can go to a gig of ram for about 30 bucks, and will help a bit with speed. Unfortunately with most Windows distributions, they tend to slow down over time as the registry becomes cluttered up. A registry cleaninig program might do you more good as well.

If my laptop wasn't dead right now, I'd let you know what I am running, which has worked pretty well.


And yeah, I wouldn't touch vista with a 10 ft pole right now.

[Widescreen]

It kind of depends on what you do with it. I have a couple of P4 1.7Ghz boxes at work that are absolute boat anchors. It bogs down badly just playing youtube videos or flash videos. I can't recall at the moment but it has at least 1GB of RAM. If all you did was Word and email, bumping up to 1GB would likely help. Otherwise, you may be better off upgrading (note that it will not be easy to get a new machine without Vista, but that's another issue).

Your other issue is having to reformat every 6 months. I'd be curious to hear more about why you're having to do that and what it's gaining you.

[Ike]

have you thought about Linux? :D


Or a Mac? The only reason I'm not worrying about my now dead laptop is that my new employer is buying me a Macbook :)

[Ike]

It kind of depends on what you do with it. I have a couple of P4 1.7Ghz boxes at work that are absolute boat anchors. It bogs down badly just playing youtube videos or flash videos. I can't recall at the moment but it has at least 1GB of RAM. If all you did was Word and email, bumping up to 1GB would likely help. Otherwise, you may be better off upgrading (note that it will not be easy to get a new machine without Vista, but that's another issue).

Your other issue is having to reformat every 6 months. I'd be curious to hear more about why you're having to do that and what it's gaining you.
Dell still sells XP machines.

[yermom]

mmm... MacBook

[Widescreen]

Interesting. A lot of OEM's have gone Vista-only (HP/Compaq for example)

[yermom]

yeah, i remember seeing stuff about Dell allowing XP because so many people were griping about Vista

i don't really care either way, i install my own OS from scratch when i get a new machine anyway

[Ike]

yeah, i remember seeing stuff about Dell allowing XP because so many people were griping about Vista

i don't really care either way, i install my own OS from scratch when i get a new machine anyway
Have you ever tried to get "the windows refund"? I'm told it's possible, but a bit of a haggle.

[yermom]

heh, no

that would be nice :)

[SoonerObsession]

I guess I should rephrase...I don't have to reformat, but my computer runs much better when I do. I'm really careful about spyware and viruses. I keep my drives defragmented regularly. I just want to be able to start my computer and not have to wait 2 minutes for it to start up. No matter what web browser I use, I frequently have close the browser because it freezes up. I would probably go with Macintosh if they were not so expensive and if my wife's transcription software would run ok with it. I went to a local computer shop today and looked into getting 1gb of ram and he says my system's ram is hard to come by and that it would probably be more expensive than most. I looked on ebay, but I'm not sure why some ram is so cheap and the same kind (different brand) is so much more expensive. Is there a brand I should stay away from if I go with RAM?

[mdklatt]

Is there a brand I should stay away from if I go with RAM?

I don't know about any brands to avoid, but Crucial is definitely on my recommend list.

[Widescreen]

I've had good luck with Kingston ValueRam. YMMV.

[yermom]

i guess with that speed of Pentium, it probably uses RDRAM, i would have thought that stuff would have gotten cheaper, but probably not

another problem with Windows is that all the junk that you install wants to have some crap that starts up with the computer and you kinda have to turn all that crap off

i'd run msconfig.exe and see what is in the startup tab there, almost any of that stuff can be disabled

[OUinFLA]

i
another problem with Windows is that all the junk that you install wants to have some crap that starts up with the computer and you kinda have to turn all that crap off

i'd run msconfig.exe and see what is in the startup tab there, almost any of that stuff can be disabled


Not such an easy thing to do with Vista Basic.
Im about to chunk a new machine that came with Vista because of this little feature.
It appears with vista basic, you can't disable any of the startup programs you really didn't want.

Im either buying a new machine with XP, or a new drive and XP operating system for the current machine.

I *^*(**%^% Vista.

[crawfish]

Buy a new computer. The 90's wants their's back. :)

[yermom]

you can ship it to me :)

do you not have an XP CD laying around somewhere?

i'd think you could just buy XP somewhere and boot off the install CD, you shouldn't need to buy a new machine or hard drive

[yermom]

Buy a new computer. The 90's wants their's back. :)

that should be from the 2000's

barely

[OUinFLA]

you can ship it to me :)

do you not have an XP CD laying around somewhere?

i'd think you could just buy XP somewhere and boot off the install CD, you shouldn't need to buy a new machine or hard drive


heck no, all my new machines came with xp installed, and no CD. Just a recovery disc.

[yermom]

http://www.pricewatch.com/m-182.htm

[RacerX]

Dell sells Ubuntu machines.

Try Unbuntu or Xubuntu. That machine will be more than useable and you can get a new desktop for about $500 if you watch the ads. But most of those have Vista and 512 to 1gb of ram. You'll want 2gb.

Dell won't solve your $500 problem though since they typically charge $80 in handling or something.

[OUinFLA]

Dell won't solve your $500 problem though since they typically charge $80 in handling or something.


heh, I was about to pull the trigger on a new Dell with XP for a total of $445, then when I went to check out, they zapped me with $110 shipping charge :eek:

Heck, I shipped in a 800 pound mortar mixer this week for less than $100.
I canceled the deal with Dell.

That was probably what led to the 8000 person layoff. Im sorry guys.

[yermom]

they should be selling in Wal-Mart soon... that should be interesting

sometimes they will have deals with free shipping

[SoonerObsession]

Anyone know how to save custom dictionaries and auto corrects in Word 2000 so I can install it on a reformatted system? My wife will kill me if she has to re-enter all her transcription terminology.

[yermom]

yikes

[sooneron]

Compared to a sony, I don't think there is much of a diff price-wise with a mac. It's weird hearing that argument when you can now get a loaded macbook 2.16 gHz for 1100 with an 80g HD. Not to mention the little ilife extras and whatnot that you get.

[soonerboomer93]

I guess I should rephrase...I don't have to reformat, but my computer runs much better when I do. I'm really careful about spyware and viruses. I keep my drives defragmented regularly. I just want to be able to start my computer and not have to wait 2 minutes for it to start up. No matter what web browser I use, I frequently have close the browser because it freezes up. I would probably go with Macintosh if they were not so expensive and if my wife's transcription software would run ok with it. I went to a local computer shop today and looked into getting 1gb of ram and he says my system's ram is hard to come by and that it would probably be more expensive than most. I looked on ebay, but I'm not sure why some ram is so cheap and the same kind (different brand) is so much more expensive. Is there a brand I should stay away from if I go with RAM?


www.newegg.com


if you have rdram, then it's a problem, if you have sdram, then it's ok


http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=17&name=Memory
(memory configurator on the lower left , will help you find the right memory based on what you own)

[soonerboomer93]

you might also try system mechanic
http://www.iolo.com/sm/7/std/default.aspx
there's a free 30 day trial you can use



I seriously considered getting a macbook for about 30 seconds, until I discovered I couldn't get nVidia graphics in it

[SoonerObsession]

www.newegg.com


if you have rdram, then it's a problem, if you have sdram, then it's ok


http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=17&name=Memory
(memory configurator on the lower left , will help you find the right memory based on what you own)


Thanks for the info. $60.00 seems reasonable enough to me. All the reviews seemed positive. I'm gonna give it a shot. Thanks to everyone for their input. If this upgrade does not improve it much, then at least it wasn't too expensive to try.

[RacerX]

they should be selling in Wal-Mart soon... that should be interesting

sometimes they will have deals with free shipping

Even with free shipping, they have a handling charge.

[SoonerObsession]

I just wanted to give you all an update. I received my memory today and installed. Everything is running much better. I can't say I see a huge difference from 512 to 1 Gig, but I'm sure it helps. Now I've got my eye on the Dell at Walmart.

[BajaOklahoma]

Before you do that, go to the Dell site and look at what they offer. They seem to offer different things on a 3-4 week cycle.
Also, google for Dell coupons. They also offer some extra discounts (sometimes) when you use their financing.

[Spray]

At the risk of being completely rididuled by an online mob, I just bought a new HP laptop that has Vista. I do very little on my personal laptop other than browse the internet, use Quicken, and download pictures from my camera. How is Vista going to affect my day-to-day usage? I have to plead ignorance on the whole OS argument.

[yermom]

Vista just uses a lot more resources than XP, if you have a new high power laptop with lots of RAM you are probably fine

[Spray]

Cool. You techno-geeks scare us online peasants every now and then.

[RacerX]

XP desktops are bearable, but not quick with 512MB.
Vista requires 1gb for that.

Get 2gb.

HP is the #1 seller, ahead of Dell.

But it doesn't matter. They are all pretty much the same.