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Haven't bought a computer in quite a while, and I'd like to upgrade. The current unit I have was bought in 2007. What hardware specs in a computer should I look for that will be ok for five years? Furthermore, will most computers bought today be quieter than computers bought 5 years ago?
Currently have: Windows Vista, Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz, bought at 1GB memory, upgraded to 3GB.
Reason for upgrading: Sluggish performance, 'no recycle bin' and other funny behavior of OS for example it can't restart, the computer is LOUD--when I'm on there's a constant purring or whirring noise. That noise is a little annoying and I hope to get something quieter.
What I use a computer for--I know what operating systems are, memory, etc. However, I don't "build" computers or switch CPUs or any of that. My usage for a home desktop is lots of youtube and streaming videos, storing and editing lots of photos--as an enthusiast, not a professionl, and playing MP3s. No video games or editing, and no graphic intensive work necessary.
I'd get a 3rd generation Core i5 with 8GB of RAM. The specs beyond than are all pretty similar. Desktops will all have a DVD-RW and integrated audio and video are pretty standard. Laptops may or may not have an internal DVD-RW drive, depending on the design. If that's important to you, you'll need to make sure its included. You can always connect a USB drive when needed though. On a laptop, the screen resolution can vary widely. I prefer higher resolution screens since I like to see a lot at once. I believe the minimum for Win8 is 1366x768 which most laptops will have. For a desktop, you can just plug in your current monitor.
The loudness of a PC depends mainly on the fans used. I'm sitting next to a 6 year old case that's full of fans but I barely hear it. I've seen cheap new PCs that sound horrible because they use small, cheap fans that spin fast and make a lot of noise.
I find most OEM desktop PCs to be pretty quiet. Two fans that can get noisy on any computer are the video card fan (if you have one) and the CPU fan. Their heat sinks can get clogged with dust, trapping heat, making the fans spin faster than they really need to. For laptops, they can get pretty noisy because they pack a lot of heat generating components in a small space, then cool it with a tiny fan.
I'd get a 3rd generation Core i5 with 8GB of RAM. The specs beyond than are all pretty similar. Desktops will all have a DVD-RW and integrated audio and video are pretty standard. Laptops may or may not have an internal DVD-RW drive, depending on the design. If that's important to you, you'll need to make sure its included. You can always connect a USB drive when needed though. On a laptop, the screen resolution can vary widely. I prefer higher resolution screens since I like to see a lot at once. I believe the minimum for Win8 is 1366x768 which most laptops will have. For a desktop, you can just plug in your current monitor.
The loudness of a PC depends mainly on the fans used. I'm sitting next to a 6 year old case that's full of fans but I barely hear it. I've seen cheap new PCs that sound horrible because they use small, cheap fans that spin fast and make a lot of noise.
I find most OEM desktop PCs to be pretty quiet. Two fans that can get noisy on any computer are the video card fan (if you have one) and the CPU fan. Their heat sinks can get clogged with dust, trapping heat, making the fans spin faster than they really need to. For laptops, they can get pretty noisy because they pack a lot of heat generating components in a small space, then cool it with a tiny fan.
Thanks. Is there a performance difference in terms of my needs between AMD and Intel chips? Can I get away without a dedicated graphics card--and lastly, if I get you correctly, most OEM units sold today will be somewhat quieter than comparable OEM units sold 5 years ago?
1. What is the advantage of buying in-store at Best Buy or Micro Machines vs. buying online from eCost or New Egg?
2. For a computer, is it ok to buy refurbished?
1) No advantage for buying in-store unless you have to have it today and/or you love dealing with uninformed sales people trying to push extended warranties, worthless services and software, and overpriced cables on you.
2) Unless you can get a major discount, I personally would avoid refurbished PCs.
Everyone covered it pretty much. My 2 cents on refurbished; I have no qualms about it, as it was returned for a defect of some sort, there's a good chance it's had a thorough going over, I buy refurbished items (not PC's, I build my own) and have always had good luck.
Haven't bought a computer in quite a while, and I'd like to upgrade. The current unit I have was bought in 2007. What hardware specs in a computer should I look for that will be ok for five years? Furthermore, will most computers bought today be quieter than computers bought 5 years ago?
Currently have: Windows Vista, Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz, bought at 1GB memory, upgraded to 3GB.
Reason for upgrading: Sluggish performance, 'no recycle bin' and other funny behavior of OS for example it can't restart, the computer is LOUD--when I'm on there's a constant purring or whirring noise. That noise is a little annoying and I hope to get something quieter.
What I use a computer for--I know what operating systems are, memory, etc. However, I don't "build" computers or switch CPUs or any of that. My usage for a home desktop is lots of youtube and streaming videos, storing and editing lots of photos--as an enthusiast, not a professionl, and playing MP3s. No video games or editing, and no graphic intensive work necessary.
Honestly, your computer you have now should accomplish all of those purposes just fine.
You should consider backing up all your important files (anything you want to save) and doing a fresh re-install of Vista.
The noise could be the power supply fan - something blocking it - which was very obnoxious in my desktop for the majority of 2006 until it finally started on fire from overheating.
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