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Computer Purchase Advice — Parallax Forums

Computer Purchase Advice

doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
edited 2011-03-24 02:10 in General Discussion
Ok, so I'm thinking about upgrading the sole PC in my possession (it's an old HP with a 1.8 GHz Athlon 64). Kinda slow. I'd like to ditch WinXP in favor of Win7 so I was thinking about this Asus from BestBuy.

This machine will be used for Prop IDE, BS2 IDE, PropScope, and the like. The only other function would be web browsing at the same time. My current machine sucks hind feathers at multitasking under XP.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Paul
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Comments

  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-03-19 09:30
    Uhmmm, I'm telling; you posted "sucks hind feathers".
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-03-19 09:33
    Nice machine, but it seems like a bit of overkill for your application. A dual core AMD or Intel at ~2+GHz, 2gig ram, 500gig HDD is more than enough for that and can be found for under $380.00. I am using a laptop with similar specs except for a 250gig HD. With W7 home premium I have no problems with multitasking.
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 09:35
    PJ Allen wrote: »
    Uhmmm, I'm telling; you posted "sucks hind feathers".

    LOL - I was trying to convey my feelings about the machine without offending anyone. That was the best I could come up with. :D
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 09:36
    kwinn wrote: »
    Nice machine, but it seems like a bit of overkill for your application. A dual core AMD or Intel at ~2+GHz, 2gig ram, 500gig HDD is more than enough for that and can be found for under $380.00. I am using a laptop with similar specs except for a 250gig HD. With W7 home premium I have no problems with multitasking.

    Thanks for the tip!
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2011-03-19 10:08
    Good grief. If a 1.8 Ghz 64 bit machine is insufficient for editing and compiling dinky little mcu programs there is something seriously wrong with the world.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-03-19 10:14
    It is a better computer than anything I have used so I can't really advise you.

    I think that the old way of thinking is to put only one hard drive in computers. 1TB is more than enough for people unless you are going to do video. I can't imagine anyone filling it up with home photos unless you are a photographer. I think its size will outlast its longevity but I suppose if you took pictures for ten to 15 years that you might be able to put a big dent in the drive but you probably want to back them up before that..

    I think that computers should have at least two or three drives. Keep one drive for the operating system exclusively to keep from slowing the system down. Keep the other drives for a raid system / backup.
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-03-19 10:18
    If you have "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching" (it's in Disk Properties) Checked then you should UNcheck or your machine will have time for nothing else, just a constant dervish of disk activity/access for every little thing. It's "worthy of Nuremburg" awful.
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 10:20
    Heater. wrote: »
    Good grief. If a 1.8 Ghz 64 bit machine is insufficient for editing and compiling dinky little mcu programs there is something seriously wrong with the world.
    Good point Heater. My main issue is that I usually have a web browser open too and that seems to really drag. The MCU IDE part actually works fine.
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2011-03-19 10:22
    It's probably the xp os, I've fixed two very sluggish 1.7 ghz laptops by installing Ubuntu. But for the most part, I think the biggest problem with them both is that they were trying to run a couple anti-virus and anti-spyware programs at the same time along with things like hp monitor and they just tied up the cpu. Sometimes it's nice to just run the much more secure Linux and not need all that security software...

    BTW--I don't know how to get the basic stamp software to work on Linux without running a virtual machine. This may be an issue against changing your laptop to Linux.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2011-03-19 10:33
    I have to agree with Heater.

    I have a HP Laptop, 1.83Ghz, 2 Gig Ram, XP professional that I run Basic Stamp IDE, Propeller IDE, BST, Viewport, PropScope, 12 Blocks, Diptrace, Photoshop, Google Sketchup, and a full version of Office Profesional. It does have 256Mb video RAM which helps with a few graphics programs.

    If you find you computer is slowing down, a fresh install of Windows will work wonders. I do it about once a year, and it's got that new computer smell once again. XP is very stable, I would hang on for another year or so. I do have a desktop running Windows 7, which I like a lot.

    Heater. wrote: »
    Good grief. If a 1.8 Ghz 64 bit machine is insufficient for editing and compiling dinky little mcu programs there is something seriously wrong with the world.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2011-03-19 10:35
    BTW P!-RO...Happy Birthday!!

    Now leagal in some States for some things. :)
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2011-03-19 11:35
    I agree with what a few others have said that the current machine sounds like it should be sufficient for what you are doing, my one question would be how much ram does it have?

    If you have less than 2GB you might want to look at going with more ram.

    The machine you linked to looks like a pretty good value if you want to move to Win 7 64bit. I've been running Win7 64 bit for a little over a year now and have been very pleased with it.

    C.W.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2011-03-19 12:10
    P!-Ro,

    If you get with the times and install Ubuntu or other Linux you can always run those legacy Windows apps with Windows running in a virtual machine like VirtualBox. Be sure to have enough memory for it though.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-03-19 13:34
    I doubt your problem is XP. It's probably cruftware, especially antivirus, sucking up all the CPU. I have an Asus EEEPC which is only 1.3 GHz which I use at work and it multitasks fine, including with multiple Firefox tabs open on the external monitor. All other things being equal, XP is generally faster than 7, especially if you don't turn off the bels and whistles. I have a Dell Inspiron 1520 I use at home with an external 1080p monitor; I was recently asked to set up a contractor's computer, the same identical computer but running 7, to access our wifi network and I was shocked at how sluggish it was compared to mine. All those cute little animated effects cost a lot of CPU.

    FYI I used to be the guy who built and upgraded my own machines. Then in '03 I got my first laptop and never looked back. You can hardly get the parts to upgrade a desktop that's more than a few years old any more because the tech changes so fast, and with the laptop when I have to evacuate for a hurricane I just unplug all the cables, fold it up, and toss it in the car, and at the hotel I have all my data. Almost anything can be done via USB nowadays and the drivers are a lot more solid than they were 10 years ago. Sealing the deal nearly all modern laptops can drive an external monitor and the built in screen at the same time. About the only bad thing is you can't add a second video card for more than 2 monitors.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-03-19 14:07
    I have to agree with the general tone of the comments here. I ran XP pro and everything you listed and more quite comfortably with a 1GHz/1Gig ram single CPU system until a year ago. Unless you really want a new system try backin up your data, format the hard drive, and do a clean install of XP. Also try AVG Free as your antivirus program.

    PS - localroger has a valid point in reference to the laptop.
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2011-03-19 14:08
    It's funny how all of the Linux advocacy in this thread still requires running Windows in a VM for him to do what he wants to do. Why not just keep using Windows?

    The only spec that looks a bit low is the video, which is probably okay if you're not watching a lot of hi-def stuff. It would be easy enough to add a video card if you really needed the performance.

    The processor listed is a good choice. My PC has what is basically the Athlon II version of that processor, and I'm very happy with it. I get a lot of performance increase over the Athlon 64 X2 that I used to have.
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2011-03-19 14:49
    In the lab I have a year 2004 Dell Dimension 3000 (gasp! Ancient!!!) that runs WinXP sp3 with a Pentium 4 at 2.8GHz and 2GB of RAM (originally 1GB).

    At any time I can have Visual Studio 2005 (VB2005), Visio 2003, Parallax IDE, Parallax Basic Stamp Logic Analyzer, USBee SX Logic Analyzer, Internet Explorer 8, Adobe Reader, and maybe Word 2003 *ALL* open and in-use.

    It has the stock 80GB drive, and an added NVidia 5200 dual-port video card that drives 2 17" LCD monitors.

    I have never, in 7 years re-loaded WinXP. I do periodically run Winferno registry cleaner.

    ...all that to say...

    The ONLY thing that drops this little guy to its knees is McAffe and its nearly-100%-processor appetite!
  • zappmanzappman Posts: 418
    edited 2011-03-19 14:53
    Hi doggiedaoc,

    The machine you linked to sounds be fine for what you want to do, having 6 Gig of ram should help with having the browser open.
    The new machine has a 64 bit operating system instead of the 32 bit you are most likely using now, you may have some problems using old applications and old peripherals.
    Also my experience with Best Buys is they always want to sent up and configure the computers they sell, but I just tell them NO!, and threaten to walk out without buying if they keep on insisting to mess with the new computer.
    Also, I would recommend turning down their extended warranty on a desktop.

    I hope you enjoy what ever computer you buy.

    zappman
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2011-03-19 15:16
    PJ Allen wrote: »
    If you have "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching" (it's in Disk Properties) Checked then you should UNcheck or your machine will have time for nothing else, just a constant dervish of disk activity/access for every little thing. It's "worthy of Nuremburg" awful.

    Sounds like a good tip, PJ. Will uncheck it and tune for minimum smoke.
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2011-03-19 15:23
    ...I took Mr. Allen's tip and there's been no smoke in the last 2 hours.

    DJ
  • Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
    edited 2011-03-19 15:50
    Since 1987 I have bought various name brand computers (IBM, Gateway, Dell...) but my most recent desktop was bought at a local shop where you pick out what you want and they build it.

    They had a selection of several motherboards, processors, cases, hard drives, DVD writers, etc.

    I created a configuration from their web site and took it with me to the store. I picked a large server case with plenty of drive bays, 650W power supply and good air circulation (120mm fan).
    It was ready 24 hours later and has been fantastic!

    Best of all, there was no extra junk installed - no trial versions of antivirus or other software - just the operating system (w/ original installation disk) and drivers.

    If you can find a trustworthy, reliable shop in your area, I would consider that approach.
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 16:21
    ctwardell wrote: »
    If you have less than 2GB you might want to look at going with more ram.
    I did think of that at least - I dug up all the ram I could find and was able to max it out (I intalled 3.5GB) I'm pretty sure it only addresses 3GB. I've played with it some and it seems a little peppier than it did with only 1 GB.
    ctwardell wrote: »
    The machine you linked to looks like a pretty good value if you want to move to Win 7 64bit.
    Yes, ultimately I think that I'd like to get away from XP.
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2011-03-19 16:52
    You might also want to download Sysinternals Suite from Microsoft, and use Process Explorer and Autoruns to disable anything that doesn't need to be running.

    Or you could just skip all of that and buy the new computer. :)
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 16:58
    Kevin Wood wrote: »
    Or you could just skip all of that and buy the new computer. :)
    Leaning that direction! LOL I only paid $125 for the one I've got so an upgrade (ie new) machine will be a treat.
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2011-03-19 17:19
    I know Ill be shot for this . but get a mac mini with Win 7 and OSX and multy boot .
    its the best of both worlds in one small box .

    its under $1000 . and its stable .
    has HDMI and vga and DVI . . can do dule screens . and its fast !

    Peter .
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2011-03-19 17:32
    @Peter - I like the way you think since I'm a Mac Dude. But....

    <sarcasm> It's only twice as much money right? And I get to purchase Win7 separately. For that matter - I could just get the new Macbook Pro 17 and leave my old Macbook Pro 17 out here in the garage since it is already dual boot with Win7. Then I could yank out the optical drive on the brand new MBP and put a second HDD in it and install Win7. Oh I could buy a USB enclosure to put the optical drive in and be all set.


    Nah. Think I'll just buy a cheap Win7 machine and be done with it.. </sarcasm>

    LOL

    Paul
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2011-03-19 17:40
    BTW the last 2 MBPs can boot off the SD slot . and 32G SD cards are not to much .
    My moms MBP13 runs XP off a 16GB SD card with no hassels !
  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2011-03-19 19:28
    Your current machine sounds fine for the stuff you say you need to run.
    Just be sure it has enough ram, 2GB should be fine.
    I also recommend getting the free drive imaging ap from Paragon.
    http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/
    This program is all you need to image your boot drive and restore it
    when the inevitable disaster strikes. It can generate a tiny Linux
    boot CD that can restore your system if it won't boot up.

    A lot of people are upgrading their system lately because it takes
    a powerful machine to run the new AVR Studio 5.0 IDE...quite a
    few users are disgruntled that their old PC or laptop can't run it. :-(

    Oh, IMO 2 drives is a must. With a single drive their is a lot of thrashing
    when decompressing data or working with video editing software. I prefer
    one internal drive supplemented with external drives.
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-03-19 19:43
    HollyMinkowski wrote: »
    Oh, IMO 2 drives is a must. With a single drive their is a lot of thrashing when decompressing data or working with video editing software. I prefer one internal drive supplemented with external drives.

    My primary machine - which is used for development and photo/video editing - has 5 internal drives in it (80G boot, 1x640G, 3x1TB). And of course there are some externals around too.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-03-19 20:07
    I have always had good experiences with Toshiba's Satellite models. I had a older model that lasted 5+ years. They seem to build good quality machines and they are not to expensive(Stay away from Compaq's, i have enough broken ones to fill a landfill:))
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