I am looking for a new desktop computer

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My current hardware is:

HP model m9040n with 3 GB memory, Intel Core 2 Quad CPU q6600 @ 2.40 GHz,

Widows Vista Home Premium, 32 bit OS

Purchased 5+/- years ago.

I usually spend several hours a day on the computer.

I play music thru iTunes on my computer and/or thru airport express, 100MGB of music, some video

I manage (Synch) 2 iphones and one iPad thru iTunes. icloud keeps photos and calendars synched and backed up.

Manage finance with Quicken for over 20 years and am frequently in/out of that system. I access about 6 online credit cards, and banks.

Turbotax in Dec- April timeframe.

I am doing a lot of genealogical research using Family Tree Maker. Part of my work is to scan ~1000 documents and another 1-2000 slides and pictures.

I have about 50,000 photos and scanned items using 100GB. Primarily processing thru Picasa but sometimes using Lightroom3

I typically have IE9 open with 6-8 tabs and Chrome open with the same number.

I use Norton Internet Security for web surfing, email and anti virus. I keep uptodate with Microsoft updates.

My “Documents” folder has about 25,000 docs and requires 20 GB of space.

I have about 400GB backed up continuously with Carbonite.

As I write this I have 118 active processes and am at 72% memory utilization.

I usually have 4-6 applications running with multiple browser windows open at the same time.

I use Microsoft office 2003 (excell, word and powerpoint)

I use Google desktop to index and find stuff.

Internet connection (ATT U-Verse) timed by PCPitstop is 11.44 gbs down and 1.46 gbs up. Seems adequate to me.

I only reboot when some thing locks up ~ once a week, or performance is extremely slow, or MS updates does it for me. I frequently have to kill programs the are “non-Responsive” (after waiting 5- 10 minutes usually).

So, why am I looking at new computers?

I like the convenience of being able to switch applications on a moments notice. This has been increasingly problematic. Full shutdown and restart is on the order of 10-15 minutes to get things settled down ( cpu and I/O quiesce to minimal loads.) Switching apps can put me into a state that I have to walk away and comeback 5-10 minutes later and hope they sorted things out.

What size desktop computer and operating system would you recommend. I definitely want to go to 64 bit windows 7, which version., I think 8-12 GB ram and some multicore chipset. (Intel i5?) My hope is that with 64 bit OS, lots of ram, I can work in an uninterrupted fashion, switching around between apps, add running 2-3 things in the background at the same time. I want multiple USB 3.0 ports native and will probably still have a powered hub for less frequently used devices. I would like to get 5-10 years out of this purchase.

I would welcome your advice, especially anything I may be overlooking in security and system performance.

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5 years is a long time in computing. I recently built a system last fall that I think might stand a chance at another 2 to 3 years;

i7 990X, 6 core processor, liquid cooled with 12 GBs RAM @ 1600 MHz.
Nvidia GTX 580 graphics card.
PCIe SSD with multiple internal high capacity storage drives.

What kind of price range are we looking at here?
With the amount of multitasking and usage you have going on here, a cheap budget box should not be in your vocabulary.

I would recommend a 3 GHz 6 core processor, you’ll get the best multitasking from that, which is what you clearly are going to need. At the very least nothing less than a 3GHz quad core.
As far as memory goes, 8 or 12 GBs running a minimum default speed of 1300-1600 MHz, nothing less than that.
You’ll also need a decent GPU to compliment the CPU, no cheap XP era garbage either.

An audio card is optional and would be highly dependant on how much value you place on listening to music on your computer, and what the quality of your music is. If your music’s quality is cheap you’ll get little benefit from a high end card, your music may even sound worse.

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I would also recommend a system with more than one hard drive, you should consider an SSD for the primary drive and a couple of 1 TB drives for storage.
The combination of a decent processor, memory, GPU, and an SSD, will give you very good performance with faster bootup times and better overal system responsiveness when it comes to multitasking resource intensive applications.

Windows 7, 64 bit would be the natural choice. I would go with the professional version simply because it has gpedit if nothing else.

Most of your newest hardware will have USB 3, USB 2 will also be in ample supply.
For an Internet carrier virtually anything cable will do provided you read the fine print on the caps and get a plan that suites your specific needs.

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Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me the price range for your config? How big should the SSD be? Good catch on the sound card.

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For my system, approx. 3500.00 minus the monitor and several mechanical hard drives. They where holdovers from my previous system. This is a home built system.

For a decent SSD size, somewhere between 120 & 240 GBs will do.

Definitely consider the six core processor, it’s fantastic for multitasking, I certainly don’t regret it.

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I would get rid of Norton Internet Security. I would bet that if you did a clean install you would run fast enough. If you are looking at a new machine, an I5 class would be great. Your machine has a passmark of about 3000, an I5 would be about 6000. I believe you have a lot of software to clean up. Also, if you have not already, you can get the MS file converters so you can deal with Docx and XLSx.

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One of the i5 Ivy Bridge CPUs would do nicely if you want to keep the price down, they list for approx. 200 dollars.

I agree with getting rid of the Norton and Cleaning things up a bit. Having 118 processes running, as one example, is too much.

Of course, if you prefer not to change software or habits you will need to have a beefier system to accommodate your usage.

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I would welcome your advice, especially anything I may be overlooking in security and system performance.

rhodie,
Hello…one other thing to consider for a “Home Built” if your deciding to go that route, is your “case” choice .. I recently installed a Corsair Obsidian 650D See This thread I’m glad that i did …great case….:cheers: Regards Fred

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Two things that I’d want answered first. Time frame and budget.

If you can wait a bit I’d wait until Windows 8 is released. I believe you’ll see a big wave of new systems from all the big OEMS in the 4th quarter. Plus, with your workload Windows 8 will most likely perform better than Windows 7 from what I’ve been reading. There will be a learning curve with Windows 8. For a short period after Windows 8 is released you will still be able to get Windows 7 if you really want to stay with it. Since you stated that you want the system to last 5 – 10 years operating system support may be important. See Windows 7 lifecycle support for more details.

Money wise it is hard to beat the pricing a big OEM can bring to the table. While you have total control over the components if you build it yourself, do you have the time & energy to do the research and assembly. You can get a really, really good OEM system without a monitor for well under $2000 USD.

Joe

--Joe

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Joe’s got a good point, here are some customizable OEM’s from:

Dell: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxdwps4s&model_id=xps-8500&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

HP: http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Desktops/Desktops

Examples of two customizable OEMs that you might want to look into.
Some of the major weaknesses in OEM systems are their power supplies, they tend to be minimalistic.
There will also be need for some considerable decrapification with these systems.

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I might go a little further and recommend that if you are going to consider Win 8, you might want to set up a dual boot with your original OS and Win 8 RP so you can get through the short learning curve and customizations ahead of time. In my case I have everything set up so that I can put everything I wish to install in a folder on my data drive. This way my installation and customizations will take 2 or 3 hours tops.

As we get close to the Win 8 release you will start see Compatible with Win 8 and Designed for Win 8 designations. If you can hold off on new H/W for 2 or 3 months you might be amazed at the options.

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I recently purchased this desktop bundle from Walmart.com:

Walmart.com: Acer AM3970G-UW10P Desktop PC with Intel Core i5-2320 Processor, 8GB Memory, 23″ Monitor, 1TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium: Computers

After about three weeks of use, I couldn’t be happier. I’ve added a second 1TB internal drive identical to the OEM drive and put them into a RAID 1 configuration. I’m getting fantastic performance plus much improved reliability. See my questions and answers on the Walmart web page about adding the drive and setting up RAID. This system also comes with several undocumented features like an Easy Swap Expansion Bay which would permit a third SATA drive to be installed. Acer computers are also extremely easy to work on and they use standard parts. For the money, I don’t think you could get a better package. Just plan on about $100 more for an additional drive and another $80 for a hefty UPS.

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You might want to review this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-gaming-pc-overclock,3159.html

Jerry

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You ought to consider a system from the Microsoft store either on-line or bricks ‘n mortar if you are lucky enough to live near one. The systems they sell have no crapware on them and have been tuned to run extremely well.

Joe

--Joe

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You ought to consider a system from the Microsoft store either on-line or bricks ‘n mortar if you are lucky enough to live near one. The systems they sell have no crapware on them and have been tuned to run extremely well.

Joe

Why can I buy a Dell desktop from the Microsoft Store without all of the unwanted crap, but I can’t buy that directly from Dell?

I belong to a large “Premier” group with Dell where we get a small discount.
But, even more importantly, we get a separate Support Telephone number to call.
Even though I have had to call Dell Support only a couple of times in over 20 years, it is good to know that I can get through to support if I needed to.

I will also be shopping for a new Desktop once Windows 8 is released.
I would hate to NOT buy directly from Dell & lose that unique Support option, but I must say not getting all of that garbage on a computer sure interests me.

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I would think the lack of crapware would be a huge draw. It can be so time consuming getting rid of this junk, and there is a chance of something breaking when doing so.

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I don’t think its that big a deal to remove the crapware. Just download Revo and uninstall everything you don’t want and remove anything you don’t want in startup. Usually takes less than 15 minutes. Besides, it drums up business when a client buys a new PC and wants it optimized for less tha the exorbitant fees Best Buy or the like wants.

Just had Dell install a failed disk for a client and it came with Windows 7 and no crapware. :rolleyes: They even gave us a Windows 7 disk that works on any Dell system.

Jerry

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Whenever you buy an OEM computer, the absolutely best way to get ride of crapware and all the other extras, is to purchase a genuine OS disk and completely format and clean install.

I think the best the OP is going to do, baring doing his own build, would be to find an OEM that will allow for him to make as much choice as possible in the specification.

A few more OEM’s to choose from that can be configured to be potent computers:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-aurora-r4/pd.aspx?~ck=mn

http://www.falcon-nw.com/configure-falcon

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Unfortunately I do not believe Dell will sell with a basic Win 7 OS. They just load the PC with crapware. I purchased a PC for my granddaughter from Dell and it was just loaded. There was no option to not get the crap.

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A cure for crapware

Spend the extra money and spring for a genuine copy of your OS.
If you get rid of the computer at some point in the future you can keep the genuine copy and restore the factory install and be no worse for ware.
This is what I have traditionally done when purchasing OEM desktops like Dell.

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I’d like to raise the possibility that you simply won’t be able to purchase a machine today that will last you 5 – 10 years unless you change some habits to allow it to.

Others have touched upon but perhaps insufficiently emphasized the fact that your current computer is struggling under a heavy and quite possibly largely unnecessary overload – and might behave much more to your liking if that were fixed.

Consider that you purchased a very respectably-configured system 5 years ago, shortly after Vista was released and long before application support on Vista had ramped up, and yet now you’re looking to upgrade. By contrast, Win7 and its applications are well-established now, Win8 and new applications are just around the corner, and your opportunities to load up your new system will be commensurately greater.

If your current system takes more than a minute or so to boot up it’s not overloaded: it’s poorly configured. Ditto for shutting down. Even more so for switching applications. More RAM and page file could help the latter two (whereas more CPU power would likely have much less effect), but the real solution (which would also allow for future growth with the extra RAM and page file) would be to reduce unnecessary load by eliminating some of those 118 processes that don’t need to be running because you’re not using them.

The normal activities you describe simply don’t require more machine than you already own to perform adequately (far more adequately than your description suggests). And it’s not clear that, with comparable inattention to loading up the machine unnecessarily, a significantly heftier package would improve things sufficiently for you to be happy.

It would, however, take some time before a new machine got as overloaded as your current one is. If making better use of the hardware is not your cup of tea, you could probably achieve your other goals simply by buying a mid-range system (such as the Walmart one), shortening its desired lifetime to more like 3 – 4 years than 5 – 10, and using the money saved to buy your next system that much earlier (when you’ll also have a much better idea of what you need at that time).

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Having previously extolled the Acer bundle available from Walmart.com, I’d like to offer a rebuttal to Bill’s suggestion that a midrange system may only last 3-4 years. In all other respects, I agree with his comments.

Being a retired electrical engineer, I chose the Acer desktop as much for it’s mechanical/electrical characteristics as for it’s system features. Our local computer repair shop praises Acers for their use of standard parts while others like Dell and HP use proprietary parts. It should be possible to replace hard drives, optical drives, power supplies, fans, etc. in an Acer long after the proprietary parts from Dell and HP are no longer available. (Reminds me of my rancher friend who’s had the same hammer for 30 years. He only replaced the handle twice and the head once.)

As far is junkware is concerned, Acers are among those with the least amount that I’ve encountered. HP and Toshiba have loads of programs starting with “HP” or “Toshiba” that makes it very difficult to determine their true function. At least the Acer junkware is easily identified, and just as easily removed. And if you ever want the junkware back, just use Acer’s Restore utility and reinstall it. It may sound like I own stock in Acer, but I think they really do offer a super product at a reasonable price. Look them up on Wikipedia. They’ve come a long way in a short time.

I hope most would agree that it’s hard to beat a $718 system package (including a 23″ HD monitor) with an additional $100 hard drive that boots in 40 seconds, shuts down even faster, and runs a 70000 file virus scan in 38 seconds. Part of that performance is a result of the RAID1 configuration of my two hard drives, but again Acer provided for it up front in their design. I’ll be very surprised if can’t get at last 5-7 years out of this particular system.

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(Reminds me of my rancher friend who’s had the same hammer for 30 years. He only replaced the handle twice and the head once.)

So … I’m confused … if he replaced the head and handle … what’s left? What makes it the “same hammer” he had 30 yrs ago?

:confused:

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Having previously extolled the Acer bundle available from Walmart.com, I’d like to offer a rebuttal to Bill’s suggestion that a midrange system may only last 3-4 years.

I’m afraid you misunderstood me, DLG. What I suggested was that the Acer system in question would last rhodie 3 – 4 years before becoming terminally sluggish IF he did nothing to curtail the explosion of unneeded but running programs which his current system apparently suffers from. Someone like you or me might easily get twice that useful lifetime out of it – though there does tend to come a time when while the system will still do what it has always done it cannot run new hardware (e.g., PCI-e accessories and SATA drives in the case of some of my older machines, or USB3.0 connectivity in the case of many pretty current ones) or new software (e.g., there’s starting to be quite a bit of new stuff that doesn’t run even on XP now, despite the fact that XP has a couple more years of Microsoft support ahead of it) and this, rather than performance limitations, may be what prompts an upgrade.

As for pricing, I guess I’m just spoiled by past bulk purchases which are still eminently usable: $10 cases (e.g., Ultras and CoolerMaster Elites), $10 PSUs (500W – 600W CoolerMasters and Ultras, and they’ve been solid and reliable), $10 video cards (some of those deals are still around – like the 1 GB nVidia GeForce 210 I recently got), $50 – $60 motherboard/CPU combos (not many of them these days, but I recently got a decent AMD AM3 MB for $20 after rebate and right now NewEgg has a 3.2 GHz 3-core AMD Rana retail package with heatsink/fan on sale for $60), monitors (recently got two 23″ HD LCDs – an HP and an Acer with fluorescent backlights but very decent video quality – for $75 and $80, respectively), three 2TB Samsung HD204UIs a year ago at an average of $60 each (the previous year I was delighted to score a WD 640GB black for $40 on Black Friday, and between those times a couple of 500GB Samsung HD502HJs for $45 each: I’m REALLY sorry to see Seagate taking over the Samsung drive business, but at least for now the Samsung-designed drives are still available, albeit with 1-year warranties), Win7 Home Premium retail upgrades @ $50 each (3 years ago, pre-purchased before the release), HP DDR2 and more recently Corsair DDR3 RAM at $3/GB…

True, these aren’t super-high-end components, but they perform very respectably and make it possible to build systems considerably more inexpensively than any comparable ones I’ve seen on the market, so while I think the Walmart Acer price is quite good relative to its competition I”m not that tempted by it (not to mention having several more machines at the moment than I have real use for: having bought all those components it’s difficult to resist the temptation to put them together, just in case one of the main systems our family uses fails).

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I just checked Walmart.com and noticed they’ve put my Acer desktop bundle on “clearance” and lowered the price to $689. If you want one, don’t wait too long to place an order.

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That’s the joke!

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Thanks for the clarification, Bill. Yes, I would agree that rhodie’s 50,000 photos, 25,000 documents, and 100GB of music represent a heavy load. My presumption was that he had reached a plateau and was now looking for a system that could handle all that plus only moderate growth going forward. The number of running processes is still a mystery to me given the programs he says are usually open.

The point of my rancher joke was very much along the lines of your comments about when a system ultimately becomes obsolete. The obvious advantage of any desktop system is the ability to replace or upgrade parts. But as you point out, the software issue may ultimately be the deciding factor even if the hardware is still fully functional.

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I think you may need to define what load means. The file count means practically nothing to Windows as long as there is sufficient disk space on a decent drive. It is concurrent programs running and file usage that define load that is apparent to the user. His description includes streaming music, at least two different synch processes running (icloud and Carbonite), plus google desktop. IMO, switching to a 64-bit OS & doubling RAM would do wonders for his performance. A look at the running processes would be useful too.

Joe

--Joe

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Here’s some desktop computer reviews:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1645/top_10_power_desktop_pcs.html

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1646/top_10_value_desktop_pcs.html

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372609,00.asp

The December 2011 issue of Consumer Reports reviewed desktop computers for performance and reliability. The same issue reviewed computer retailers. If you don’t have a subscription, you can get an online subscription here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm Also, you might find that issue at your local library. There is a general buying guide here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/computers/buying-guide.htm

All of these reviews are, to some degree, out of date, but they can provide a perspective on the hardware configuration used to provide the level of performance achieved by each model.

If you are put off by the idea of a build-it-yourself computer, you might want to consider what I did. My current computer I designed myself, which was the first time I did that, but when I finished the design stage, I realized the assembly stage didn’t really interest me. So, I took my parts list to a local computer shop with a good reputation and they did the assembly. I had to make some minor changes to the parts list to accomodate the parts they had in inventory, but otherwise I found the experience worked out well. That computer is 4 1/2 years old and runs like a Swiss watch.

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What is your budget for your new computer?

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I just looked at my Win7 Dell quad and it has 119 processes. Why on earth would you recommend Windows 8, I have been testing it and I hate it. Opinions differ but 7 is a very good operating system, so is XP for that matter.

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To each their own. Many of us love Win 8. You can explore the Win 8 forum for various reasons why. Please do not hijack threads and go off on another subject in the middle of a thread.

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