Expert: Bobbert - 6/1/2010

Question
QUESTION: 1. Which PC computer brand would you recommend?

2. Best place to buty it?

4. Should my older software (such as Office 2000) be compatible with Windows 7 or should I opt for XP?

5. If the latter, where do I purchase XP.

Someone mentioned that I can easily transfer information from my old desktop to my new one. I'm not sure if this is limited to general settings or if it includes current software installations and files as well? How is this done?

7. When I view my current computer's properties it reads "Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00 GHz, 2.99 GHz, 512 MB of Ram". If I am looking for a faster processing computer that can handle a lot of graphics as I do graphics editing, which one of these 3 numbers should I choose to upgrade to the highest possible number?

Your input would be much appreciated!


ANSWER: If you don't mind, I'll just answer your questions as a list (Based on how you asked them):

1. Honestly I have no preference when it comes to brand, I've seen just as many failures as I have successes from any given brand over the years, I will say that Dell, HP, and Apple generally have solid customer service behind their products, and usually have fairly attractive pricing.

2. With regards to retailers, many manufacturers will sell you their equipment directly, in this case, I would buy from the manufacturer, so you don't have to deal with a 3rd party (even a credible and reliable vendor like Newegg) if warranty/repair issues arise.

3. Generally yes, older software will work with Windows 7, it does offer XP compatability/emulation mode, and in some cases newer versions of software are available from Microsoft or other vendors (such as newer versions of Adobe Reader, Flash, Internet Explorer, etc) which are compatable with Windows 7 (for example DirectX 11 for Windows 7, as opposed to DirectX 9 for Windows XP, this is backwards compatable with older versions, but is a minor difference for the newer operating system). With respect to Office 2000 directly, I would suggest an update to OpenOffice 3.x or Microsoft Office 2007 (or 2010), mostly to use a more efficient and newer office suite (www.openoffice.org, and yes its fully compatable with Microsoft and Corel file formats)

4. I wouldn't worry about buying Windows XP explicitly, unless you have a specific legacy application which needs XP, although I would still suggest trying Windows 7's XP emulation mode.

5. Regarding information transfer from the older PC, yes this is easily possible, you can either setup a network between the two, and share files this way, or use removable media or a similar technique to more or less cut and paste the data from the old system to the new system.

6. This would be the longest question from your list for me to answer:

There is no single, linear, factor which determines a system performance, so there is no value you can raise "to the highest possible level", most current microprocessors are barely reaching 3Ghz (or exceeding it), yet are easily two to six times faster than the Pentium 4 in your system, based on a variety reasons (more efficient architectures, more efficient memory systems, multiple cores, more efficient/optimized insturction sets, faster system interface busses, and so on). You mention "graphics editing", although this is somewhat vague, do you mean 2D graphics or print media, using applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Paint Shop, ImageReady, Fireworks, GIMP, InkScape, CorelDRAW, or similar, or do you mean video/SFX editing, using applications such as Vegas, Premiere, Media Composer, Nitrus, Flash, Blender, etc, or do you mean high resolution 3D graphics, either as animation or CG, using applications such as Maya, 3ds Max, Softimage, SolidWorks or similar, or do you mean CAD/CAM applications?

In the case of the first two examples, you want hefty processing power and a considerable amount of memory, 512MB is .5GB, I would suggest at minimum 2GB, but more realistically 4 to 16GB of RAM, as well as a capable multi-core processor, look for Intel Core 2 Quad, Core i7, or AMD Phenom II X4, if not Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron (the professional variants of Core and Phenom, respectively).

In the case of the later examples, you'll want the same as the above, but additionally will benefit from some hefty GPU power as well, either nVidia's Quadro FX or AMD's FirePro or FireGL, this is where the price can become somewhat inflated (the current top of the line Quadro FX card sells for around $2900 by itself, for example).

I would honestly suggest, regardless of your situation, to have 4-8GB of memory (realistically, this isn't that expensive), a quad core CPU (be it AMD or Intel), and a capable graphics adapter (even a relatively powerful nVidia GeForce or AMD Radeon will be suitable, although not neccisarily ideal, for CAD/DCC).

If you have further questions, or need clarification, feel free to post a follow-up.

-bob


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: 1. Aside from transferring files from an old pc to a new one, is an external hard drive the recommended method for backups?

2. Does the use of an external hard drive compromise on the pc's performance due to the attachment of another device?"

3. I understand there is software out there that would allow me to backup settings from an old pc to a new one. Is there a possibility of transferring software installations as well?

4. Is there a cd drive that would read cds created on a mac as well as a pc?"

ANSWER: 1. Generally I don't suggest external hard drives - they pose zero advantage for back-ups, and the marketing that indicates they're the "standard" for back-ups is just that: a way to sell more units. If you decide to purchase an external drive, yes, you could use it to transfer files and back-up data, however it isn't any more reliable than an internal drive and doesn't guarantee your back-ups (you have to manually copy any files you wish to keep). You may be more interested in a NAS device or some other networked solution, you could alternately just network the two systems together and copy data (or take the drive out of the old machine and pull the data off that way). I can answer any questions you may have about any of these solutions if you'd like.

2. No, not at all. The USB standard makes provisions for hundreds of devices to be connected to your system, and it isn't all that uncommon to see computers with five to ten devices at any given time - you should never have problems with external peripherals impacting performance (if you do, it likely indicates a problem).

3. You cannot transfer the software installations directly - you can transfer some settings but I wouldn't worry too much about this (it really isn't that hard to re-configure your power saving and other basic settings, plus, if you're transitioning from XP to Windows Vista or Windows 7 there are many more options to chose from in terms of available settings: I wouldn't want some 3rd party application bothering with that, I'd just spend the few minutes to do it clean from the get-go).

4. CD-ROM is a standardized format, any device bearing the CD-ROM logo will read any media with the same logo, doesn't matter if we're talking about an Apple computer, an SGI workstation, an HP laptop, a Sun/Oracle server, or a Sony DVD player - this also applies to other storage formats such as DVD, Blu-ray, and so on

Differences may be encountered in terms of file-systems used with external drives (generally they come from the manufacturer formatted using FAT, which basically anything can make use of) - but thats about it.

Now, Apple computers use different software than Windows computers (which are both different than, for example, an SGI machine running IRIX) - some things may not be inter-compatible there depending on what is installed on the machines you're attempting this with. Fairly "standard" file formats usually aren't a problem (for example .mp3, .m4a, .mpeg, .txt, .html, .java, and so on) however files created by more specific applications may encounter problems. Microsoft Office or OpenOffice (or derivatives thereof) documents can read by two systems with the appropriate software installed - if you have Microsoft Word for Mac on the Apple, and Microsoft Word on the PC you could write and read .doc between both machines (the only issue if one system has a much newer version and you leave the default .docx file format when you save the document - this will simply require re-saving the document as .doc for compatibility). The same applies to OpenOffice - .odt will be read by the various versions of OpenOffice if they are available.

So really in response to #4, I would need to know what you're trying to share between two machines if you're unsure about compatibility.


As always, post a follow-up if you have further questions or need clarification.

-bob




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Your response could not have been more comprehensive. Thanks for your time!

I would still require clarification to response #1. Please note that I am now only inquiring about methods for steady backups.

1. "You may be more interested in a NAS device or some other networked solution, you could alternately just network the two systems together and copy data (or take the drive out of the old machine and pull the data off that way)"
Do you mean to indicate that as a backup device I can use my old computer and network it with my new one or did you mean this as a method for merely transfering files to the new system?
2. What do you mean by a NAS device?
3. How do you go about pulling the drive out of the old machine and pulling data off?
4. If the above suggestion was only for transitioning to a new system, what is your recommendation for daily backups other than the use of an external drive?

Answer
NAS stands for Network Attached Storage - you can purchase a number of inexpensive devices from manufacturers such as Netgear, D-Link, and Buffalo that will connect to your home network and provide storage for your network (basically a simplified "server" of sorts) - you could also look at a bit higher level solution: for Windows environments there is Windows Home Server and for Apple environments you have the Time Capsule. This is a somewhat expensive option, so I would only suggest it if you have a lot of data (hundreds to thousands of gigabytes) or many users (3 or more users would probably warrant a more creative solution than an external drive).

You could easily use your old computer to fulfill these duties if it has enough storage (or can be upgraded to feature enough storage - a very simple and inexpensive task) - simply connect it to your home network and share a large partition/drive with the rest of your systems.

As far as removing the drive, you simply open the system's case, disconnect and remove the internal hard-disk, and install it in the new machine. As long as it isn't set to primary drive status, the machine should not attempt to boot from it (remember, it still has an operating system installed), then you can copy any files you like onto the system. Note that even using this method, you cannot transfer already installed applications to the new machine (as they aren't installed and registered with the new machine's operating system).

As far as daily back-ups, I would suggest considering an automated solution - many NAS products feature this kind of software, and Windows Home Server also offers this kind of functionality on a Windows network (for an Apple environment you would, again, want to look at the Time Capsule). Then you don't have to worry about forgetting a back-up or missing files that you'd like protected (depending upon implementation/equipment - this feature may be available). Alternately, if you do decide to use the old machine for remote storage, you can simply drag'n'drop your files to that machine.

The reason I generally don't suggest an external drive for back-ups is because an external drive is generally more likely to be damaged or lost than a desktop or laptop computer - while the data integrity will be almost identical with a basic NAS or a single drive in your other system (more complex solutions provide more levels of reliability - for example, RAID) the physical reliability may not be as great. You would, at that point, be better off putting a second disk in your machine and simply saving the files there - an external drive will need to be very close to your machine so any sort of fire/water/surge event that will damage your machine will likely damage the external drive, and again the drive is easily misplaced or damaged. Additionally, an external drive is generally not network attached - meaning only one machine can access it at once, whereas a network drive is going to be shared between all systems on your network (which means if you have a friend over, and they wanted a photo album or some other data you'd like to share with them, they can simply connect to your network and download a copy (this can be configured to be very secure)).

Generally, for important data, the suggestion is three tiers of redundancy, on different forms of media. For example:

1) Data is stored on the machine that generated it, the system has a single disk and the data is stored a single time.
2) Data is routinely backed up to a remote storage system, located in another room away from the machine.
3) Data is periodically burned to CD, DVD, or saved to removable disk and stored in a secure location (fire safe, garage, safety deposit box, etc).

Now, the above is generally what I would suggest to commercial customers seeking to retain records or other sensitive information - the more sensitive the information the more complex each tier can become (read: the more the customer is willing to spend relative to how much this data is worth to them). For a home user, it still serves as good model - the data is not only kept on the machine that generated it, but also at locations physically away from that machine in order to secure against both software related data loss (accidentally deleting the wrong file, etc) and physical damage (fire, etc).

Regarding RAID, as this question comes up more often than not, it is not a proper substitute for regular back-ups, here's why: RAID is designed to "mirror" identical copies of the data to multiple (ideally identical) drives - if one (or in complex systems, more than one) drive fails nothing is lost by this as another drive will still have a complete copy of the data. This doesn't do anything to prevent software related data loss - if a file is accidentally deleted that file is deleted from all disks at once, if a file is corrupt it is corrupt on all disks at once. In a high demand environment, I do suggest RAID in both the main system and for the back-up storage device simply to reduce the odds of disk failure costing valuable data - however for a home user the extra price and added complexity isn't likely worth it (many external storage devices support RAID at many price levels, so you may encounter it there - don't avoid it, but don't worry if your new computer doesn't feature RAID).

Ultimately, data protection can get as complex and expensive as you want it to be, for backing up "simple" things like family photos, school essays, and other electronic documents not stored remotely (for example most banks that provide on-line statements - while you can download a copy of the statement, the original data is stored remotely on the bank's servers) I would suggest saving copies both on the computer, and a mixed approach to back-up copies. Photos and similar I would probably just burn to a CD or DVD and put up somewhere safe - it isn't data you need to access very often and when put on a disc it can be read by most DVD and VCD machines you'll encounter, so you can view the photos without printing them out (For example you could take the DVDs to a friend's house and view them from a DVD player attached to a TV - without printing them all out or having to huddle around a small computer screen; if the disc becomes damaged, simply replace it). Other documents I would probably keep a copy on the machine and another copy on the old machine or whatever attached storage device you decide on purchasing - only burning to a disc or similar removable storage if you feel it absolutely necessary (currently no major legal documents exist exclusively in electronic form - so I can't think of a situation where this is absolutely required; if you have data you feel is this important discs are relatively inexpensive).


Some examples of devices mentioned:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC343LL/A/Time-Capsule-1TB?fnode=MTY1NDA0Nw&mc (also available in 2TB)
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/Stora/MS2110.aspx
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=666 (will require internal hard-drives purchased separately)
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11384
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=14
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/can.do?landing=notebook&storeName=acc
http://event.asus.com/server/tsmini/

The majority of these products can be purchased from online retailers like Newegg (www.newegg.com) and Amazon (www.amazon.com) - often for less than the manufacturer lists, so be sure to look at that before you buy.

If you don't have a home network already, I would suggest D-Link, Netgear, or Cisco/Linksys for your router (they all make quality products) - your ISP may alternately be able to provide you with a router and help you set it up.

As always, if you have any further questions or need clarification, feel free to post a follow-up. As a side note: the AllExperts software system unfortunately only allows a few follow-ups until you have to ask a new question (after a point, it simply stops allowing you to submit follow-ups - this isn't to say I'm done with helping you, the software just has limits) - so if you cannot submit a follow-up feel free to submit your further questions as a new question and I'll be happy to help.

-bob