New Computer?
Posted by Phil Ferguson on October 24th, 2012 – 8 Comments – Posted in Uncategorized
I have been having a rough week with computers. My Hewlett-Packard desktop which is less than 2 years old started acting strange. It started with a random “No Signal” notice on the monitor. I took this as a warning sign and made sure everything was backed up.
I’m sure you can get a program that backs up your computer – I just never have. If you know which program I should start to use please let me know. I have heard about Carbonite but I don’t know if it is any good and I’m not sure If I want an annual fee. The other one I have heard of is mypcbackup. I think it is free but is it OK?
Thankfully, I was able to save everything – this time. Now the PC has stopped working completely.
I hooked my old Laptop up to the monitor and I am back on-line. However, Monday we had lightning strike near the house and it killed my cable modem. I had to rush over to Wal-Mart and buy a new one. Several hours of playing with the modem, router and the laptop and I am back again.
Sadly, the old laptop is kind of slow. Now I am thinking maybe I should just get a new computer.
So my question to you is… If I get a new computer – what kind should I get? HP? ASUS? Dell? Acer?
Keep in mind I have problems with Apple and will not buy one. So please don’t suggest it – thanks!
I have not bought a PC for a couple of years and I am not sure what to look for. My time is very tight so, I’m hoping one of my readers can help. Do I need Quad core or will dual core be OK?. 4GB of RAM is plenty right? I’m thinking that a 1 Terra bite drive would be nice to hold all of the photos but, maybe one half of that is good.
I am open to your suggestions and ideas about the new computer and back up options.
Thanks.
Carbonite is a good service, but you’re right about the fee. CrashPlan is a good alternative that allows you to backup to friends’ computers for free. I’ve been using it for a few years and am happy with it. Your backups are encrypted on the other systems.
I converted to Apple about 8 years ago, so I won’t comment on the manufacturers you mentioned. You never really said what applications and uses you have for the computer. Assuming you aren’t playing 3D games, you could start with 4GB of RAM and always upgrade later when you notice things are slowing down. For storage, a 500GB hard drive is fine for the average user, it just depends how much data you have and how much new data you think you’ll accumulate. I always tell people to get at least a 7200 RPM hard drive so it’s not too slow.
Good luck!
I hope that you won’t make any decisions based on advice from others without telling them what you will do with your computer, how much and how often you will do this activity and what sort of budget you will have.
With that said, I mostly love my latest and greatest Dell laptop, but their are a few things I really dislike.
1. The power cord has two major flaws: it practically jumps out of the socket on the computer and it is disintegrating where it connects to the power convertor.
2. The keyboard is so “special” that I can’t stand it. It does things on its own if you barely touch the front part of it. I love touch pads but this is the whole front of the laptop. It is as if they have extended the touch pad across the front but one has no idea what is going to happen when a particular area is touched.
Good lu (it just happened again!!!!!) ck with your search!
oops “there, instead of their”
BTW – depending on your OS, the backup program my be included. This is so with Windows 7.
For backups, go to http://www.dropbox.com. Sign up, take the tour and you get a free 2.250GB of storage that you can synch up on your PC. You can do this now. Arconis is cheap and awesome and fairly simple to use. It works well for doing a full drive backup. If you are getting a new PC, however, you probably do not need to do this. Just back up all your documents, videos, music, pictures, etc. A 1TB external hard drive is roughly $120 and works perfect for this. And you can connect that external drive to any PC in the house to get multiple backups off of multiple machines.
As for PCs, I use HP machines exclusively at work and swear by them, but ASUS is a solid brand and the Dell consumer level stuff is not bad from what I have seen of them lately.
Now, for the Dual versus Quad core debate. Are you going to edit video and pictures? Render graphics? Anything like that? If so, get the quad core and extra RAM. Otherwise, a faster dual core will probably be better for you. Stick with the Intel i5 and i7 CPUs. The i3′s are sort of like the old Celerons and are slower.
Memory is cheap, so get at least 6GB, but more will not hurt you (I tell people to aim for 8GB of RAM). Anything more than 8-10GB won’t help you unless you do 3D gaming, or higher end content creation. Then again if you always seem to have a lot of windows open, or a ton of browser tabs, go for 12GB. Any machine that you buy, ask if you can add RAM to it later if needed.
Don’t bother getting less than a 1TB hard drive for storage inside the PC as Hard Drives are inexpensive anymore and won’t be that much of the cost of the machine. Unless you get a laptop or a mini PC, you can add hard drive storage later fairly easy if you cannot find something that you like with a 1TB drive. And if all else is unavailable, you can use external drives.
If you are not editing pictures and video or playing 3D games, don’t worry about the graphics card. The onboard stuff nowadays is fine for about 75% of what people do. As for ATI vs Nvidia, honestly, unless you want bleeding edge you won’t notice the difference at the same price point. If you have a game or software that runs better on one or the other, go that route. Otherwise, ask if you can add a graphics card later if your needs change.
Windows7 will come with just about any PC you buy. And if you eventually want to go to Windows8 later, the upgrade is $15 until January.
And finally, once you get the new PC, don’t look at PC adds for 3-5 months
I forgot to add, get a “Business Class” machine if possible. They cost more, but have better warranties, a separate support number in the case of HP and Dell and will usually have better specs inside the case. Good Luck!
ASUS… ASUS… ASUS!
I have fallen in love with this company. I recently bought one of their tablets (the infinity). Wow. Optional keyboard has additional 5 hours of battery for the tablet, USB input and SD Card (up to 64GB) slots. Had one question for them and the tech was incredible!
ASUS is making a lot (don’t want to say majority, but it seems like it) of the motherboards, video cards, etc. that are going into other systems. Why not just get the system from the guys making the specs.
Good luck!
Chuck
“HP? ASUS? Dell? Acer?”
None of those, find a computer savy frien and ask him to build you a nice PC according to your citeria.
I agree that building a computer is probably the cheapest/best way to go, that way you can customize what you need in terms of processor/GPU/RAM.
In general though, most computers last longer these days without needing upgrades than they used to. Some things I would recommend in general:
Dual Core CPU (Quad core is nice, but probably not necessary)
8GM of RAM (4GB is probably good enough for now, but RAM is cheap, so just get 8 and not worry about upgrading later)
Video Card, unless you’re gaming or doing video work, you shouldn’t really need anything beyond the basics
Also, look for USB 3 for compatibility with the next 5 years of devices.
Hard drives are cheap, buy two and have one backup to the other, then you won’t lose anything when one of them dies.