Expert: Bobbert - 7/27/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello Bobbert,

Thanks for the service that you provide for us folks not very knowledgeable about computers.

I’m in the market for a new computer because my existing computer died.  These are the features of the dead PC:  Dell Dimension 4550 Series, Intel Pentium 4 @ 2.0GHz, 512Mb RAM, 64Mb GeForce420 Graphics Card w/TV Out, 120Gb Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive, Intel Pro100M Integrated PCI NIC Card, 3.5-in. Floppy Drive, 48x/24x/48x CD-RW Drive, 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Cyberlink Software Decoding for DVD Drive with 6 channels, Soundblaster Live with 5.1 Support, Harmon Kardon HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer, 56K Telephony Modem.  The operating system is Windows XP.  It was bought directly from Dell in November 2002.  I would appreciate your recommendation for the replacement PC that I should buy.  

I use Microsoft Office XP (2002) for Word Processing & Spreadsheets.  Sometimes use it for presentations.  I also use Quicken 2003 Premier for financial records.  I do some photo touch up work, watch some videos, play music, use e-mail, do research on the Internet, & some relatively light graphics.  

Since I have speakers with subwoofer, & an LCD monitor, I won't need those items.  I prefer not to spend over $800 but would consider spending more if that’s what I need to do to get a trouble-free machine.  I don’t want to get a PC that is much more powerful than I need but I also want to avoid the problems with slow reaction time &locking up that I had with the Dell PC.  I prefer an Intel Processor & want a 64-bit system running Windows 7.  I am not capable of building my own system so will need to buy a PC from a store or PC supplier such as Dell, HP, etc.

Some questions/comments follow:

●   I’m leaning toward a desktop but wonder if you have suggestions on how to decide between a desktop & laptop PC?

●   How to choose between Intel Core 2, i3, i5, i7 CPU?

●   How to decide between dual core vs quad core CPU?

●   What does the number following the dash after the processor ID mean?

●   Processor clock rate to look for.

●   Should I get integrated graphics or a discrete graphics card?

●   Should I get integrated sound or a discrete sound card?

●   How to determine the required power supply wattage for the new PC?  I’ve read some comments that some PCs don’t have a large enough power supply.

●   How much RAM do I need?

●   What size hard drive do I need?

●   What type of hard drive to look for?

●   I don’t think that 3.5” floppy drives are provided with PCs now.  What type & how many optical drives to look for?

●   Number of expansion slots to look for.

●   Number of USB ports to look for.

●   My wife’s Toshiba Celeron laptop PC connects to the Internet through the desktop PC & wireless router.  Does the PC need to have a Network Interface Card?

●   The DSL modem connects to the PC with an Ethernet connection.  What does the PC need to accommodate this connection?

●   Will I be able to run existing programs such as Office XP (2002), Quicken 2003 on a Windows 7 64-bit system?  Which version of Windows 7 will I need?

●   Buying from a local store such as Best Buy, CompUSA,  HH Gregg, etc. vs. directly from Dell, HP, etc. online or by phone.

●   Are there particular brands & sellers that you can recommend?

●   I’ve heard that Asus manufactures high quality computers.  Are you familiar with these products, do you recommend them, & do you know the best places to buy them?

I realize that I’ve asked a lot questions.  If you don’t have the time to answer them all, please select the ones you consider most important to answer.  I’ll be most appreciative for any help that you can provide.

Thanks,

Harold

ANSWER: Please don't take this response as a devaluation of your questions, however given your needs any desktop computer you find for up to $800 on the market today will be beyond suitable for your applications (the slowest CPUs you can buy on the market today will be something around 4 to 6 times faster than your Pentium 4, just the reality of the times) - I'd probably go for whatever inexpensive promotion Dell or HP is likely to run in the next month or two targeting students and parents of students (you won't need to actually be a student to purchase these computers - academic buying is usually handled through a university directly). You'll probably spend around $500 and you should have no issues for the next few years (8 years is an incredible life-span for a desktop computer, 3-4 is more realistic, given that you're looking at almost a decade of usage from a machine I'm guessing you shouldn't have too many problems with anything you buy - doesn't sound like you're particularly hard on your equipment).

So that more or less nulls all of your questions about processor type, clock rate, integrated or discrete audio or graphics, etc

A few that were worth answering directly in my opinion:

- Network connections: how does your DSL modem itself connect to everything else? It should connect directly to the phone-line, and then what kind of output does it offer? Ethernet? USB? is it a router as well, or just a modem (does it have multiple Ethernet outputs, or an antenna to serve as wireless access point? if you don't know - contact your service provider or review any documentation that was provided at the time of install)?

Any new computer you purchase today will have a NIC and at least one Ethernet port, depending on how your DSL modem is designed dictates whether or not you can connect your PC via this connection (I do not suggest using a desktop as a residential gateway - purchase a router - I like Netgear and Cisco/Linksys - shouldn't cost more than $50), you should have no issues with connectivity with the new machine though (however integrating the rest of your house may require additional equipment (again, a router, for example)).

- USB ports: how many do you need?

- Expansion ports: what kind of expansion?

Sorry if those two seem somewhat snarky, you should only bother with counting expansion slots if you actually need them - otherwise buy what works now and worry about upgrades later (And honestly, given your stated needs, you shouldn't need to upgrade a thing on a modern system).

Now as far as actually shopping - I'd suggest just going direct from the manufacturer, be it Dell, HP, Sony, whomever - some manufacturers have outlet or retail stores (such as the Apple store or Dell outlets) - you'll generally get the best pricing and you don't have to deal with a high pressure salesman trying to push worthless extended service packages on you. However, if you're more comfortable with a general retailer or a specific salesperson, there is no issue there - at least in context of Best Buy and other national chains (I'd be somewhat leery of CompUSA and Circuit City retail stores - they aren't the original companies) - as they are generally authorized resellers for the brands they sell which means manufacturer warranties are honored.

Regarding Asus, they manufacture the majority of PCs and components on the consumer market (alongside Foxconn and ECS EliteGroup) - their badged equipment is of comparable quality to other offerings you'd find from HP or Dell and their customer service is average - I'd probably go with Dell or HP for the generally above average customer service even though we're talking about the same components under the hood (so to speak).

Brands I would generally avoid: Anything produced by Acer or a subsidiary (eMachines, Gateway, Packard Bell, or E-TEN) as generally the final product quality is sub-standard and the customer service and support is non-existent. I would also probably steer away from Apple, just due to the price (The customer service and product quality is, and always has been, excellent, but you'll clear your $800 budget fairly quickly once you factor in re-purchasing software for the Apple platform).


As far as software compatibility, you should have no issues at all.

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

-bob


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

QUESTION: Hi Bobbert,

Your prompt & very helpful reply is sincerely appreciated.

-It would be helpful if you could provide a guideline for deciding between a laptop or desktop PC.

-If I understand correctly, it shouldn't matter if the computer that I buy has discrete or integrated graphics or audio.

-I'm writing you on my wife's Toshiba Celeron Laptop PC.  This PC as well as my Dell desktop both experience(d)100% CPU usage frequently during which time I can't do anything.  As a result,I'm considering at least an Intel dual core CPU.  Does that make sense?

-I reside in St Petersburg, FL, & my DSL connection is with Verizon.  My Modem is a Westell Wirespeed Model# 800-210015-04 Rev F provided by Verizon.  The Westell Modem has both USB & Ethernet ports but I use the Ethernet port.  The wireless router that I bought is a Netgear WGR624 V4.  The Netgear has 4 equipment ports, a broadband Modem port, & an antenna.  I hope that I'm describing the connections correctly.  A line goes from the phone line to a Phone/FAX Modem Communication Protection Port on the CyberPower surge protector & from the Surge Protector to the Modem. An Ethernet cable runs from the Modem to the Wireless Router.  Another Ethernet cable runs from the Wireless Router to the Ethernet port on the back of the PC.  It's labelled CATS Port but I don't remember why or what that means.  However, since I've been having so many "nonresponding" problems with Verizon DSL, I'm considering switching to a Cable Internet service with Bright House Networks, which provides RoadRunner Internet service.  I don't know which cable Modem they would provide & how or if that would change the connections or the PC's Ethernet Port requirements.

-Something unrelated to my previous questions.  I have a Western Digital External 120 Gb USB Hard Drive.  I won't go into all the details about my PC problems.  But while it was operational but with lost files, I tried to restore a backup from the External Drive & it didn't work.  Do you have any idea why this happened?

Thanks again for all of your help.

Harold

ANSWER: Well, regarding laptop vs desktop, it really comes down to your usage scenario or personal preference - do you want the system to be portable or transportable, or do you not mind having it more or less in a static position?

Generally speaking, a desktop will have a better price:performance ratio, however as I've said before - you aren't doing anything too incredibly demanding so you don't need to worry all that much about what's under the hood (the vast majority of current laptops shouldn't have an issue, some very compact machines (like the Asus Eee line of Netbooks) might not be the best choice though). Essentially, it comes down to what you'd like to own - while there are advantages and disadvantages to both, your desired usage doesn't really eliminate either from the running.

Regarding integrated or discrete graphics/audio - discrete audio is fairly rare on modern systems (aside from professional workstations), and integrated audio is de facto standard (honestly you'd be hard pressed to find a system that doesn't have integrated audio these days), modern hardware is fast enough that a discrete audio processor isn't required at all (again, except for professional workstations). Discrete graphics are still more or less required for intensive 3D rendering or gaming, however for conventional office/business usage, and light 3D work (as well as movies including HD content), modern integrated graphics are more than suitable (And this generally means a savings for the user who's needs are fulfilled by integrated graphics), again as your needs on a computer aren't incredibly intensive you can purchase more or less whatever you like here - any graphics card integrated or discrete will be more than suitable for your usage and the same goes for audio hardware.

Now, regarding your Toshiba - have you checked for spyware, malware, viruses, and the like? That said, it is entirely possible that you are running the CPU up to 100% usage depending on the age of the machine (I'd still check for problems, just to be certain) - with a modern system you'll very likely only be able to buy a dual-core (or more) - and anything from Intel or AMD will do just fine (the one exception here is the Intel Atom, which is not a dual-core processor, and I would not suggest a system based on the Intel Atom for your usage - these systems are more suited for those who need mobility/portability over anything else). Pentium E and G, Core i3 and i5, and AMD's Athlon II X2 and X3 are all quality options, and will all boast nearly exponential gains over your Pentium 4.

The modem configuration is described correctly - your system is not installed as the residential gateway and all is well using the router as it is - leave that be (a cable modem would connect in the same way as your DSL modem, except you'd be connecting to the cable on the wall, not the phone jack). As an aside, the port is likely labeled "CAT5" or "Cat 5" to denote/reference the standard of cable used for the Ethernet wiring (Category 5 cable - you can also see Category 5e and Category 6 used for Ethernet, you may also see "RJ-45" or "8P8C" as a connector label (referring to the type of connector (8 Position 8 Conductor (8P8C) which is often erroneously called "RJ-45" as it closely resembles that connector)).

As far as your Western Digital drive, I'd need more information to provide an answer - do you mean to say the Western Digital device lost data, or you attempted to use included software to make a back-up and that process failed?

Somewhat related to your original question, Dell currently seems to have their back-to-school promotion running, here:
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/deals/popular_laptops?c=us&cs=1

-bob


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

QUESTION: Bob,

Thanks again for sharing your considerable expertise & for the link to Dell's sale.

The Western Digital external drive had several backups that I had done but, unfortunately, I didn't backup as oftemn as I should & they weren't very current.  Since I had to reinstall Windows XP on the Dell PC, I thought that I could restore the backups that I had on the external drive & perhaps regain at least some of the lost data.  However, the restore operation failed.  The CD that came with the drive included Dantz Retrospect Express backup software.  The reason that I'd like to know what happened is that I'd like to use this drive to backup my wife's Toshiba laptop & the new PC that I'm going to buy but wonder if I can safely do that.

Thanks again for your help,

Harold

Answer
If you simply save a file to the drive, can you then access it later? Regarding the second query - if the Toshiba is somewhat old that could very well explain the problem - it may just not be up to handling all of the anti-virus/anti-spyware software you have running in the background as well as other heavy applications (I don't suggest removing the protection - just something to note).

-bob