[Help] desktop pc question

nordicgod · Mar 29, 2020

i have had my desktop pc for many a year now with windows 7 , trouble is when I want to use it I have to turn it on then go make a cup of tea , go for a bike ride and then its finally ready and booted up, don't need any thing flash for gaming but would just like to get a new one, anyone recommend anything as so many out there.

I have the monitor, keyboard and mouse and a 1tb external hard drive.

just need it for occasional downloads and surfing the net and at least 4 usb 3 slots and Ethernet as I use powerline plugs to connect to downstairs router and maybe a ssd for quick boot up?

Stat Brother · Mar 29, 2020

In the past I've used these guys:-

https://www.compu-zone.co.uk/

Just buy whichever Dell is nearest your budget.

As brand loyalties go Dell is probably my longest one, granted it only covers about 3 PC Towers but that in it's is quite some plus point.

Dick Swiveller · Mar 29, 2020

Cheapest solution is to just replace the disk with an SSD. Around £90 for a 1TB one and loads of software that will transfer the old disk to the new one - as long as you are happy fitting a second disk. Does give old machines a new lease of life if you don't want gaming.

beorhthelm · Mar 29, 2020

SSD upgrade will make the machine feel like new while you dont have to install all your stuff again or upgrade Windows.

AmexRuislip · Mar 29, 2020

I'm just reading this thread, thinking there's something missing

Madafwo · Mar 29, 2020

Agree with the SSD comments. They have the ability to transform old computers, don't cost the earth anymore and can be quite simple to install

ozzygull · Mar 29, 2020

Agree it’s the ssd route

We used these for are'. They’ll tell what disk is compatible and supply the imaging software and suggest what cables you may need.

https://uk.crucial.com/

Bold Seagull · Mar 29, 2020

nordicgod said:
i have had my desktop pc for many a year now with windows 7 , trouble is when I want to use it I have to turn it on then go make a cup of tea , go for a bike ride and then its finally ready and booted up, don't need any thing flash for gaming but would just like to get a new one, anyone recommend anything as so many out there.

I have the monitor, keyboard and mouse and a 1tb external hard drive.

just need it for occasional downloads and surfing the net and at least 4 usb 3 slots and Ethernet as I use powerline plugs to connect to downstairs router and maybe a ssd for quick boot up?

Like others have said, I just stuck an SSD drive in my 9 year old Macbook Pro, and by-kerrumber, I knew it might zip it along a bit, but I wasn't expecting that mach difference. I just put a smaller one in my wife's 12 year old Macbook Pro and that is suddenly purring along! That was just a 250GB one with many of her files that she doesn't use so much put on an external drive. £41 of Amazon (using the NSC link) for a 250GB SATA SSD drive from Crucial.

Another tip, and I don't know the settings in Windows 7, but turn all the startup items off. My wife had a webbrowser, email, word all set to start on startup making the machine take ages. Turned all that off and it was a lot better.

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/performance-disable-startup-programs-windows-7-vista/

Harry Wilson's tackle · Mar 29, 2020

AmexRuislip said:
I'm just reading this thread, thinking there's something missing

As someone, commenting on my age and occasional (ahem) daffiness reminds me, when I think of him (the b'stard), resonating with your allusion, we had this thread recently and I was all set to buy an SSD for my windows 7 machine when it all got a bit complicated and I bottled it. I was even asked what machine I had but I don't recall a reply when I posted the info (apols if I missed that - I'm hardly on NSC these days).

So, windows 7 machine, what do I buy to make it swishier? Happy to spend up to £200. Happy to take the back off and insert that funny thing that looks like a shitty cat comb into 'machinery').

HWT

ps, Yes, one thing in the above is a gratuitous lie. One gratuitious lie a day is good for the soul.

Harry Wilson's tackle · Mar 29, 2020

ozzygull said:
Agree it’s the ssd route

We used these for are'. They’ll tell what disk is compatible and supply the imaging software and suggest what cables you may need.

https://uk.crucial.com/

Thanks. Rather than writing posts of low comedy, all I needed to actually do was read and learn. But there again, why change the habit of a lifetime? I will make that link live in my favourites right now. :thumbsup:

Madafwo · Mar 29, 2020

Harry Wilson's tackle said:
As someone, commenting on my age and occasional (ahem) daffiness reminds me, when I think of him (the b'stard), resonating with your allusion, we had this thread recently and I was all set to buy an SSD for my windows 7 machine when it all got a bit complicated and I bottled it. I was even asked what machine I had but I don't recall a reply when I posted the info (apols if I missed that - I'm hardly on NSC these days).

So, windows 7 machine, what do I buy to make it swishier? Happy to spend up to £200. Happy to take the back off and insert that funny thing that looks like a shitty cat comb into 'machinery').

HWT

ps, Yes, one thing in the above is a gratuitous lie. One gratuitious lie a day is good for the soul.

It depends how much stuff you want to put on the new drive, when I built my last machine SSDs were quite expensive so you'd have one to put Windows on and an old fashioned HDD to put all your stuff on because SSDs were prohibitively expensive.

These days, if you've got the funds to do so you may as well buy one of these (through the the NSC link) and just have everything on there.

ozzygull · Mar 29, 2020

duplicate post

Harry Wilson's tackle · Mar 29, 2020

Madafwo said:
It depends how much stuff you want to put on the new drive, when I built my last machine SSDs were quite expensive so you'd have one to put Windows on and an old fashioned HDD to put all your stuff on because SSDs were prohibitively expensive.

These days, if you've got the funds to do so you may as well buy one of these (through the the NSC link) and just have everything on there.

Cheers! Just want to refresh my old PC. I only really use it for putting music onto my iTunes and iPods, but that's because... it is slow and clunky now. In these days of staying at home, Amazon and a bit of fiddling abaht with several screwdrivers are my friends :wave:

ferring seagull · Mar 29, 2020

Harry Wilson's tackle said:
Cheers! Just want to refresh my old PC. I only really use it for putting music onto my iTunes and iPods, but that's because... it is slow and clunky now. In these days of staying at home, Amazon and a bit of fiddling abaht with several screwdrivers are my friends

I had a windows 7 laptop and wanted to do that too but, after careful consideration, went for a new windows HP laptop with SSD - can't believe how much quicker it is to get up and running - seconds rather than minutes = amazing.

Regards A

Cheshire Cat · Mar 29, 2020

Does anyone still sell Windows 7 machines given that Microsoft no longer support it. Better to get a Windows 10. Much quicker and safer.

nordicgod · Mar 29, 2020

Thanks everyone. Yeah I do have some old programs on there that I don’t think I will find anymore so will look at trying an SSD then and trying to clone the original hDD over , will keep the old one in just to store junk on . Hopefully then with a new drive it should boot up much quicker .

Harry Wilson's tackle · Mar 29, 2020

Cheshire Cat said:
Does anyone still sell Windows 7 machines given that Microsoft no longer support it. Better to get a Windows 10. Much quicker and safer.

I think the point is, if you own an old machine with an old OS, is it possible to make it significantly slinkier for 50-200 quid rather than have to splurge a grand on moderately future-proofed new kit and new software (or £300 on new kit and software that will be on its arse in 2 years)? I think the answwer is, yes, yes it is. And I (and doubtless the OP also) thank you nice people what pointed out how. :bowdown:

Shropshire Seagull · Mar 29, 2020

Yes SSD is the way to go.

**assuming there is expansion space inside your desktop case**
If budget is key, go for a 128Gb size SSD and put Windows operating system on that. Then, reformat your old HDD and fit that as a second drive for data store.
Per above, go for Win 10 if your hardware supports it - if you go 64-bit then 8Gb RAM will make things swifter too.

Lat tip, when installing an SSD, to maximise the life of this technology, make sure you disable the defrag schedule [C: properties -> tools -> optimise] as this is scheduled weekly by default. SSDs access the data on the disk in a very different way to HDDs and will not benefit from a defrag like HDDs do - however, the lifetime of an SSD is governed by the number of times data is written to it and as defrag does this a lot, you really don't want to do it ....

PeterOut · Mar 29, 2020

Shropshire Seagull said:
Yes SSD is the way to go.

**assuming there is expansion space inside your desktop case**
If budget is key, go for a 128Gb size SSD and put Windows operating system on that. Then, reformat your old HDD and fit that as a second drive for data store.
Per above, go for Win 10 if your hardware supports it - if you go 64-bit then 8Gb RAM will make things swifter too.

Lat tip, when installing an SSD, to maximise the life of this technology, make sure you disable the defrag schedule [C: properties -> tools -> optimise] as this is scheduled weekly by default. SSDs access the data on the disk in a very different way to HDDs and will not benefit from a defrag like HDDs do - however, the lifetime of an SSD is governed by the number of times data is written to it and as defrag does this a lot, you really don't want to do it ....

Simply not true - especilly if you are using Win 10 (or even Win 7). See https://www.howtogeek.com/256859/dont-waste-time-optimizing-your-ssd-windows-knows-what-its-doing/ for an explanation

Mortdecai · Mar 31, 2020

You could also google how to increase the number of cores in your cpu.
Each CPU has a set number of cores depending on it’s type. However, each core has a back up core incase of damage. Therefor, you can enable the back up cores to work as the primary ones increasing precessor speed, in theory, 100%. So a 16 core processor becomes a 32 core. The back up cores were necessary way back when processors weren’t as stable but quality and technology has improved since then. As time passes you still might notice drop off in speed should a core fail but it will be still faster than before.

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[Help] desktop pc question

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