Improve pc or get new laptop?

[Jen Red Purple]

Hi, thanks for looking. This pc is very slow, and from threads on here I think it is because I only have 192mb RAM. My proc is AMD Sempron 2300+, proc speed 1.60Ghz. HD 74.5GB, free space 64.55. XP ver 2002 SP2.

Is it worth geting more RAM or is my processor not up to it? Should I just give up and get a laptop or new tower?



Thanks for any advice/opinions.

[WendyPusey]

My son Dave would advise adding more memory as this is quite cheap these days, compared to new PCs. Most PCs need a minimum of 512 MB by todays standards.

He advises you to go to

Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com

where you can put in your PCs details and they will find the correct memory for you.

[Rosie Knees]

Hello Jen, if you do opt for a new machine I wouldn't have a lappy, personally. We got one a couple of years ago to try to get rid of the tower and all the cables etc. Can't get on with the keyboard as it's too close to the screen so we have got a separate keyboard, ditto the mousepad. So we have got all the cables anyway, and the screen size/dimension is a pain. It is bliss at work where I have got a 17" monitor lol.

[Margaret in Burton]

I'm the opposite to Rosie, I love my laptop. I hate using OH's PC.

I do have one with a separate number pad so the screen is larger, but even when I had my old one which was a bit smaller I still prefered it.

Love the mouse pad and the keyboard. I have difficulty using a normal mouse these days.

It is so much better to be able to sit in comfort on the sofa instead of at a desk, and if I'm not feeeling well I can always use it in bed.

[Rosie Knees]

it's all personal choice I suppose. If everyone felt like me they'd never sell any lappies lol.

Can't imagine sitting with it on my lap, the screen would be too close for my eyes

[Margaret N]

Jen, I don't want to argue with Wendy's son as he is a professional in this field but this is just my personal view.
I have been down the avenue of adding memory to a PC that was only a year old and it never worked again and it cost alot of money trying to fix it. This was all done by the company that built the PC. First they told me I needed a new processor then when that do not work they told me that I needed a new motherboard and when that did not work it became a write off.If I have understood your thread it looks as if the HD is on the small size for these days if you wanted to upgrade further.
A laptop while I would like one as a 'toy' as an extra the keyboard for a typist is a nightmare and the screen size is small.
I would go for the latest that I could afford and enjoy it.
Best Wishes

[WendyPusey]

Margaret just adding extra memory should not mess up your PC if done properly. It is possible that a stick of memory can be faulty, but then you just swap it for another one.

I have just added 2GB of memory to my PC and I have a HD of 80 GB, and it is a lot faster.

I think that Jen's HD is more than enough for her needs. She is only using 10% of its capacity.

[Jen Red Purple]

Wow, loads of replies, thanks everyone.

I use OH's laptop for some stuff (mainly photos) so I am used to sitting with one on the sofa.

Haven't done proper work on it though so the typing/reading comfort is worth considering.

I am impressed with how fast it is though which is probably why I get so fed up with my PC.

Margaret N - my HD is probably ok as I don't watch clips or tv shows on it, nor do I game seriously or work with music (some of which I CAN do on OH's laptop). I just have a few photos, scans, word files and FTM files!

I will go to that site tomorrow, Wendy - thanks very much to you and Dave.

[Canadian Cousin]

I bought a Dell Pentium 4 desktop PC back in 2001 and over the years added additional RAM, a better video card, a new sound card, a Firewire card, and even a faster CPU. All of the upgrades were purchased when they were on sale or through eBay, so the cost was minimal. This machine functioned very well up until it finally died a few weeks ago. I doubt that I could have done all this with a laptop.

Just thought I'd share my experience -

Tim

[Margaret N]

Wendy, I think that I have miss read the size of Jen's HD and agree it is OK. As for the memory I agree it should be OK but that was just my experience. Will send you a PM.

[Guy]

Whether to get a laptop or a desktop really depends on whether you want to use the computer in different locations.

It is perfectly possible to use a laptop with a desktop monitor and cordless keyboard and mouse if there is a problem with everyday use of the laptop peripherals.

Here at Anguline we use a laptop which was purchased for use away from the office for general OCR work which requires a fast processor and large memory. The laptop handles the work quicker than our desktops.

In much the same way upgrading an existing computer may be as effective as purchasing a new one depending on what use is made of the computer.
If you multitask with a number of programs open at the same time a dual or quad core processor will improve the situation as would extra memory. In such cases a new computer would be the best bet.
If you simply use your computer for the internet plus a bit of wordprocessing adding more memory to the old computer would bring an improvement. It may even be possible to speed everything up by wiping the hard drive and freshly installing the operating system and programs you use.
Computers tend to slow with age as deleted programs and files often leave bits and pieces behind which gradually accumulate and slow everything down.
Cheers
Guy

[KiteRunner]

Have you tried looking at the task manager to see what programs are running and how much of the CPU they are using in case there is something in there that is causing the computer to run slow, Jen?

[Canadian Cousin]

I think that Guy's post very clearly lays out the pro's and cons of 'buying new' vs. 'upgrading old' computers, as well as clarifying the laptop vs. desktop question. Well done Guy!

There was one sentence, however, which taken on its own might possibly confuse those people for whom computers remain mysterious "black boxes".

Here at Anguline we use a laptop which was purchased for use away from the office for general OCR work which requires a fast processor and large memory. The laptop handles the work quicker than our desktops.

The reason that Guy's laptop handles the work more quickly is because he chose a laptop with a faster processor and larger memory than the desktop computers. A desktop with the same processor, memory size, operating system, etc... should be as fast as a laptop, all other things being equal (e.g., disc fragmentation or other programs running in the background).

I hope I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence by pointing this out, but I know some people (such as my wife) who would read this and conclude that laptops were generally faster than desktops.

I hope this helps someone -

Tim

P.S. One reason that I like desktop computers is that I hear more about stolen laptops than desktops, so I imagine that they are less of a temptation to thieves.

[Jen Red Purple]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your contributions. I am on OH's laptop now (sofa, tv in room!) and haven't been on the PC today.

Kiterunner - I will look at the task manager tomorrow & post here.

I am leaning towards getting more RAM; if so I will get the bloke who built the tower to do it for me though.

:o

[TrevorFranklin]

Answer is upgrade the RAM

As for the laptop Desktop argument
It depends on future upgrades
Desktops can be upgraded easily
Laptops are a whole new ball game.

I have both, but hardly ever use the Desktop, as I find a laptop with WiFi so convenient.

If you are going to be doing a lot of typing, you MUST get a seperate keyboard, as laptop ones will cause wrist pain, because of the lack of a natural angle of slope for your wrists

[Jen Red Purple]

Have you tried looking at the task manager to see what programs are running and how much of the CPU they are using in case there is something in there that is causing the computer to run slow, Jen?

The biggest program is firefox 101,352, then avgrsx 9580, MsMpEng 9560 and taskmgr 4004.

I couldn't c & P them so I just noted the top 4.

Also, that Crucial site doesn't have AMD or Sempron as manufacturers; and I don't know what other brand it may be.

I am going to contact the guy who built it for me and ask him but I thought I would post the above in case it is of use.

[WendyPusey]

AMD or Sempron are product/manufacturers names. You need the brand name of your PC itself. Packard Bell, Dell HP etc.

[Jen Red Purple]

Thanks Wendy. Erm, how do I find that out, please?

A small, now bust, firm built me it; then that drive burnt out so my current guy used the same tower and put a new drive in. Can't see a brand on the front of the tower.

[dave pusey]

Ok, if you download this http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz_148.zip unzip it and run the program within.

Go to the Mainboard tab at the top and it will tell you what make and model motherboard your computer has. You can then use that information on the Cruical website.

If your not sure, post back a screenshot like mine below and i'll try to help.

For example, my computer shows an ASUS P5ND2 SE motherboard which i can enter into crucial for finding my memory.

[Cloggie]

Your computer may not be any particular brand Jen. Mine isn't either as it was built by a friend of mine. I told him what I wanted to be able to with the computer, he told me which components to order, and then he put it all together for me.