Prebuilt Computer Advice

S

sshamilton

New Member
My mother is interested in buying a new computer. She primarily uses the computer for surfing the internet (DSL with AT&T), downloading and sharing pictures, playing solitare, used by grandchildren for online games and simple word and excel documents. She is currently using an older Dell (bought new in 2003) and never maintained. She has a link to everything on the desktop. The computer is slow (yeah that is an understatement) and she would like to purchase a new system. Unfortunately I am not a computer-friendly person and any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
There is no sense in buying a new machine just because its slow unless she has the money to spend. Basically what needs to be done is clean it out by doing the following. However, if there has never been a fresh install of windows done since the day she got it, then its time for one.

1. Download and run ccleaner
2. Put all the links to the websites in favorites, not on the desktop.
3. Remove any unneeded programs and desktop shortcuts.
4. Download and run malwarebytes so it removes any malware/adaware.
5. Defrag the hard drive.
6. Use the msconfig utility to stop any unnecessary programs from running at bootup.
7. If the machine has less then 512 mb of memory then add another 512 to gain performance. It will do wonders.

If you need help with this then let me know and I can give more specific instructions with download links.
 
But if she does decide to get a new one, it will be much faster,keep the old one for a backup. Walmart has a great deal on cheap prebuilt computers, my mothers using one(e-machine) and it still works great,its been working for years.
 
I highly suggest you go to the HP website to get her a computer. Here's an under $500 laptop that will last for awhile and it has a fairly large screen for low amounts of squinting :)

G62X for $479.00 as of (4/7/2011) http://goo.gl/fMbse
Intel Core i3-370M Processor (2.40 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) + Intel(R) HD Graphics
FREE Upgrade to 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
 
I would generally agree with comments that the old computer will probably go for a while yet. I'm typing from a 2004 PC and it still does everything including HD video editing and processing. It's not slow other than processing HD. The argument against is that XP support will run out in a few years (which also means being stuck at IE8 or older) and grandchildren will soon want to run more sophisticated games.

My other PC is a refurbished eMachines which cost $250 "new", no monitor. The aficionados in this forum would have heart attacks at the spec but it also runs great and is so silent it's fortunate it has a prominent "On" light. Under normal "office" use the CPU and case fans do not even run.

Perhaps a good compromise is to spruce up the present machine as Johnb35 suggested, run for a few more years and then buy another machine. You can guarantee it will be cheaper then for the same money.

If you want to get a PC now, make sure it has Windows 7. That's probably a given anyway.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top