Need a new Computer! (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I know some of you have already suggested this, but I might just purchase Windows 10 and install it on my current computer. It would be a much cheaper option and will give me a chance to kick the can down the road before I have to buy a new computer in three years or so.

What do you guys think about that option? Also, which version of Windows 10 should I purchase, home or pro?

 

[DaveF]

After nine pages of advice, that’s a really anticlimactic conclusion to the story. I’d fire the showrunner and not renew for a second season.

Otherwise, sure, if your computer works well enough for you!

 

[Robert Crawford]

After nine pages of advice, that’s a really anticlimactic conclusion to the story. I’d fire the showrunner and not renew for a second season.

Otherwise, sure, if your computer works well enough for you!

Well, some other future expenditures have cropped up on my radar screen. I'm a retiree so my budget is more finite than when I was working like some of you guys.

 

[DaveF]

You might upgrade to an SSD while you’re at it. That would be the single best improvement that you would feel in use.

If you’re managing costs, I’d get Win 10 Home. I know Pro has extra power-user features. But I’ve had Home on my HTPC for six years and it’s fine.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm keeping my options open because of other circumstances.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's a great point about the SSD upgrade. One of the things that is frustrating me about my current computer is the wait time. Anyhow, I'm just thinking out loud as I'm still leaning towards just purchasing a new computer, but using my current printer, monitor and speakers.

 

[BobO'Link]

You might upgrade to an SSD while you’re at it. That would be the single best improvement that you would feel in use.

If you’re managing costs, I’d get Win 10 Home. I know Pro has extra power-user features. But I’ve had Home on my HTPC for six years and it’s fine.

There's little to nothing "Pro" adds that a typical home user needs. The biggest item is possibly the Group Policy Editor - something few home users need. And anything it does can be done via registry edits. Home also doesn't support Hyper-V but there are better, and free, 3rd party products for running VMs that work on Home just fine. The only other thing is the ability to join a domain - something else most home uses don't need. There are other things but they're primarily aimed at domain/corporate users. I've been using Win10 Home on my laptop for 4+ years with zero issues - and I really thought I'd miss the features of Pro. Basically, other than the very rare occasions I'd like to use GPE to manage a setting I don't find anything missing I truly need.

I fully 2nd and encourage upgrading to an SSD. We got 2-4 years more usable life out of old systems doing this at work. People who received that upgrade rather than a new computer thought we *had* put a new computer in place.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I know some of you have already suggested this, but I might just purchase Windows 10 and install it on my current computer. It would be a much cheaper option and will give me a chance to kick the can down the road before I have to buy a new computer in three years or so.

What do you guys think about that option? Also, which version of Windows 10 should I purchase, home or pro?

You running Win 8.1 right now, with a proper license, right?

If so you can upgrade to Win 10 FOR FREE!!!!

At the launch of Win 10, MS originally stated that licensed users of Win 7/8/8.1 could upgrade free to Win 10 of the same version (e.g. home to home, pro to pro) for the first year. They lied. The offer unofficially still is good. See articles all over the web about this such as https://geeksadvice.com/upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free/

EDIT Heck I mentioned this in post 7 of this thread.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

You have to do the "upgrade" first to maintain the license. Then you could perform a "clean install" of Win 10 later on.

I'd upgrade on your present HDD first, do a backup, then install the SSD and do a clean install on the SSD, then restore from your backup.

SSDs from Western Digital and Crucial come with a free access to Acronis backup and cloning software. I've had some problems booting from cloned disks - YMMV. However the old Win 7 backup still exists on Win 10.

You may want to write down your activation key before you start - see my thread https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...g-original-oem-windows-activation-key.376212/

EDIT: Robert, how do you do backups now?

 

[DaveF]

I upgraded from Win 7 to 10 free that way six years ago. I didn’t know that was still ongoing.

 

[David Norman]

I upgraded from Win 7 to 10 free that way six years ago. I didn’t know that was still ongoing.

Pretty sure it is. I've upgraded a couple older computers in the last 6 months without a problem using the USB Download file. These were clean installs though so I;m not sure the SAVE your informationa and files update works now.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

You probably would need the "2.5 inch" SATA package SSD. Spot prices now are $50 for half terabyte and $90 for one terabyte.

Robert, what exactly is the make and specific model of your old PC? They may vary in how many disks and what type you can stick into them.

 

[Thomas Newton]

You probably would need the "2.5 inch" SATA package SSD. Spot prices now are $50 for half terabyte and $90 for one terabyte.

Robert, what exactly is the make and specific model of your old PC? They may vary in how many disks and what type you can stick into them.

Also, how much RAM does the old PC have? Windows 10 allegedly requires "1 GB for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit," but I suspect that performance would be better with 8 GB.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

but using my current printer, monitor and speakers.

I think this makes a lot of sense - if they’re currently meeting your needs, it’s an easy way to save money now and there’s nothing to stop you from replacing them later if your needs change.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your suggestions, but after some further reflection, I'm going to buy a new computer and be done with it. I'll probably do so in the next several weeks before November to beat the Xmas shopping crowd. I'm definitely going to Microcenter for this new computer and will have them back up and migrate my files from my old computer.

Is this computer overkill?

Dell XPS 8950 Desktop Computer; Intel Core i7 12th Gen 12700 1.6GHz Processor; 16GB DDR5-4400 RAM; 1TB Hard Drive; Intel UHD - Micro Center

Get it now! An elegant desktop that gives your ideas room to grow - with infinite expandability, monstrous performance and blazing-fast speeds.

www.microcenter.com

Another one I'm looking at, but will have them add another 8GB RAM for a total of 16GB.

Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Computer; Intel Core i7 11th Gen 11700 2.5GHz Processor; 8GB DDR4 RAM; 1TB Hard Drive; Intel UHD - Micro Center

Get it now! Create without limits using the all-new XPS Desktop. Featuring powerful performance, a minimalist design and a highly expandable chassis.

www.microcenter.com

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Neither of those two have an SSD, although Dell's manuals state they accept NVMe SSDs. If you order from Dell directly you can configure with a system NVMe SSD. With either of those you cited you pay a lot for a fast processor that's held back by a mechanical HDD. A PC with an i5 and SSD may be more responsive than one with an i7 and a HDD.

 

[Nelson Au]

Robert, I don’t recall seeing any posts suggesting you try to build a PC yourself?

I’ve been investigating it myself for a specific use build. Perhaps you have no interest or inclination towards this task. !t might be a way to save a few bucks and build what you need. Then as you use it, you could upgrade stuff later as you find the need. But I get it that not everyone enjoys or wants to work on their own cars and prefer to pay someone to repair or upgrade it.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

OK I see you can get an XPS 8940 with i5, 16GB memory, 512 GB NVMe SSD, Win 11 Pro, and a regular factory warranty for $748 shipped. Refurbed in-house by Dell.

Go to Dell, click on Deals, drill down to Dell Outlet, select Home, then select Shop XPS.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert, I don’t recall seeing any posts suggesting you try to build a PC yourself?

Are you kidding?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Neither of those two have an SSD, although Dell's manuals state they accept NVMe SSDs. If you order from Dell directly you can configure with a system NVMe SSD. With either of those you cited you pay a lot for a fast processor that's held back by a mechanical HDD. A PC with an i5 and SSD may be more responsive than one with an i7 and a HDD.

What a dumbass! I didn't even notice they had a hard drive. That's what I get for surfing on that site when I should have gone to bed. Anyhow, I'm going to Microcenter with a list of specs generated from this thread and see what they recommend to me.