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[Help] desktop pc question



PeterOut

Well-known member
Aug 16, 2016
1,238
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.

Are you sure you are not confusing physical cores with hyper-threading?
See https://www.howtogeek.com/194756/cpu-basics-multiple-cpus-cores-and-hyper-threading-explained/ and look at the Multiple Cores section...
 




Coldeanseagull

Opinionated
Mar 13, 2013
7,784
Coldean
Bin off windows, install linux
Better speed, security, apps and best bit, it's all for free! If you only need an operating system for internet, email, docs, music, etc, there is a distro for you. The hardest bit is learning the terminology.
 






nordicgod

Top banana
Jul 21, 2011
888
polegate
Not sure if I have messed up or not , got a cheap SSD coming today but only got a 120gig one , have been cleaning up my current HDD of 500 gig and move all my documents/videos/pics to my external hard drive and manage to remove some programs but still have 128g used so obviously that won’t clone over to new SSD as too big , is there a way of just cloning over the operating system as I don’t really no what else I can delete to get it down , surely Windows doesn’t have that much to start up?
 






Shropshire Seagull

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2004
8,503
Telford
You will get better performance with a fresh / clean install of Windows on to the SSD
If you have space in the case [desktop] you can keep the 500Gb HDD as your data drive.

Will be a bit of a pain to reinstall all your applications onto the SSD but that would be the way.

The alternative is to partition up your 500Gb but that could be quite tricky if its already quite full - needs a reasonable competence in the subject too .... aka like all things: easy when you know how ....
 


Shropshire Seagull

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2004
8,503
Telford
Not sure if I have messed up or not , got a cheap SSD coming today but only got a 120gig one , have been cleaning up my current HDD of 500 gig and move all my documents/videos/pics to my external hard drive and manage to remove some programs but still have 128g used so obviously that won’t clone over to new SSD as too big , is there a way of just cloning over the operating system as I don’t really no what else I can delete to get it down , surely Windows doesn’t have that much to start up?

Windows 10 will install into less than 50Gb - I often partition drives with the O/S [and apps] on its own separate partition and all the data on another partition on the same drive
 




Saunders

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2017
2,292
Brighton
Not sure if I have messed up or not , got a cheap SSD coming today but only got a 120gig one , have been cleaning up my current HDD of 500 gig and move all my documents/videos/pics to my external hard drive and manage to remove some programs but still have 128g used so obviously that won’t clone over to new SSD as too big , is there a way of just cloning over the operating system as I don’t really no what else I can delete to get it down , surely Windows doesn’t have that much to start up?

I would do a clean install to your new SSD and make it your primary drive. Make sure any installs of apps and games etc go to your larger HDD drive(software usually defaults to your main drive but easy to override). Then only use your SSD for anything that you want to start quickly. You should be fine.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,937
Uckfield
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?

How much RAM do you have in that desktop? And can it take anything bigger? Given you say you don't need anything "flash for gaming" you may be able to extend it's life through a far cheaper (than a whole new PC) upgrade of the RAM. I did that on my old 2007-built desktop earlier this year. When bought, it was near top-of-the-line, but it's aged a lot. Ended up with Win 10 on it (for reasons), and it was running really, really slow. To the point I'd stopped using it at all for anything, until my laptop died a permanent death recently. Old desktop brought back into service, discovered it was so slow it was pretty horrid even for general surfing. Did a little research, discovered that Win 10 (it'll be similar, to a lesser extent, for Win 7) is a RAM hungry beast. Upgraded the RAM (from 2GB to 8GB) and it's been given a new lease on life.

RAM upgrade is a pretty simple thing to do - just make sure you know what your PC's motherboard can handle before you do it.
 


nordicgod

Top banana
Jul 21, 2011
888
polegate
I have cleaned so much crap off of it to try and get it down to the 120g for the ssd and have got it down to 123gig , to be honest it turns on and boots up much quicker now I might just send the ssd back to amazon , it’s only used if I want to do a word document and to mainly download bits and bobs . Everything else is done on the iPhone nowadays . Thanks for the replies though
 




Shropshire Seagull

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2004
8,503
Telford
How much RAM do you have in that desktop? And can it take anything bigger? Given you say you don't need anything "flash for gaming" you may be able to extend it's life through a far cheaper (than a whole new PC) upgrade of the RAM. I did that on my old 2007-built desktop earlier this year. When bought, it was near top-of-the-line, but it's aged a lot. Ended up with Win 10 on it (for reasons), and it was running really, really slow. To the point I'd stopped using it at all for anything, until my laptop died a permanent death recently. Old desktop brought back into service, discovered it was so slow it was pretty horrid even for general surfing. Did a little research, discovered that Win 10 (it'll be similar, to a lesser extent, for Win 7) is a RAM hungry beast. Upgraded the RAM (from 2GB to 8GB) and it's been given a new lease on life.

RAM upgrade is a pretty simple thing to do - just make sure you know what your PC's motherboard can handle before you do it.

Indeed, but before going above 4Gb RAM make sure you are using 64-bit version [not 32-bit] of Windows operating system. 32-bit O/S can only address the first 4Gb of RAM so anything above this is unusable.
Whilst considering this, if you have 32-bit O/S don't just assume okay to reinstall 64-bit. Some older hardware architecture won't run 64-bit and neither will old 8-bit [DOS-based] software [if you have any].
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,714
West west west Sussex
Hi all.

Jnrs laptop has finally died under the weight of home schooling and God knows how much filth.

The refurb place I recommend above (and thought at the time 'that might come in handy'!! ) seems to only do towers.

Therefore can anyone recommend a cheap laptop for school work (and filth).

I was thinking refurb as his old laptop was very old so any £100 :shrug: 'old' device will still actually seem state of the art to him.


Ta muchly.
 




Pierre the Painter

New member
May 20, 2020
311
Looking for a new laptop primarily for my daughter for studying but also will probably use it personally to play football manager. After some good reviews on here I'm inclined to get a chromebook, I've found one with basic spec with touch screen that essentially doubles up as a tablet for £270.
 


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