when is it time for new computer?

16 years ago

MY COMPUTER IS SO SLOW and I have done all I know to make it faster ,Should I buy a new one or just have patience.This one is about seven years old.

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Comments (13)

bpgreen
16 years ago
Seven years old is young for a person, but it's pretty old for a computer. It's probably time to consider getting a new one. With Christmas coming, there will probably be a lot of sales going on. And if you pass on those, there will probably be a lot of post Christmas inventory reduction sales.
cboy
16 years ago
You can customize a buying of a computer to help you decide
on what you want and how much to spend. Try Dell and also HP
Dell
For Dell click on continue.

HP
The price go up as you pick better parts like Ram or Processor.
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grandms
16 years ago
I suggest that you do as cboy wrote, copy the final results for several different configurations of each, and instead of buying directly from Dell or HP, go to one of the big stores (Best Buy or Staples or the like) and see what that have in stock (and maybe on sale) that most nearly meets what you want. I did that with my last HP, and ended up getting an upgrade from what I was considering and at a better price. But take your time and shop around. You can find some great bargains.
maime
16 years ago
If it's no financial burden get a new one. Make sure it is a fast one and the others here can help you with that. It will be Vista or Windows 7 and I would opt for W7., it is said to be better than Vista. Give the old one to someone in the family who wants one. A slow one is better than none. If you have anything on the old one back it up, then transfer to the new one. I prefer store computers, I never know what I want or need for a custom order. With a store computer I order the restore CDs and can reformat it. Most of the time that "fixes" my PC. They usually run around $15.
homebound
16 years ago
Goldy,

If it's 7 yrs old, you've GOT to be out of patience! By all means get a new one. Yes, you can peruse the sale flyers on the weekend, but don't obsess because they're already cheap enough in the grand scheme of things. Good luck.
DA_Mccoy
16 years ago
I can feel your concern for an older system's lack of performance. I work on an older XP system at work and I think it is not worthy of being a door stop. I personally prefer the even older pared down Win2000 that I also use.

I've worked on some older systems that have been modified and tweaked that are closer to current speeds and configurations. The bottom line here is what are you doing that is so slow and what do you want to do that you can't now?

New systems are nice but they are not the panacea that some users expect them to be. They will not speed up your Internet connection, though they will process the data packets faster giving a slight appearance of better connection speed. If too much is running in the background they will be slower than expected too.

A pared down upgraded XP system with the proper RAM would still be a decent system for general purposes. It would not however compare to a new one.

If you want a new system please get one and enjoy it. Just don't set the bar of expectation too high. And yes W7 is the way to go.

DA
railheadwitz
16 years ago
It would help to know what you mean by 'slow' and what you have done to make it run faster.
Malware can bring a fast computer to a crawl and certain programs that are resource hogs can have the same effect.
I've got a Dell Dimension 4550 running WinXP SP3 that I got in Jan 03 and it seems to run just as fast as the day I bought it. The only hardware I have upgraded is the RAM, from 256MB to 1GB, and the harddrive.

Witz
genes
16 years ago
Running processes, lack of memory, older type 4800rpm HDD can all contribute to a slow computer as well . Newer desktop HDD speeds are up to 10,000 rpm now ( lightning quick)
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
16 years ago
Might you have a lot of music stored on your computer? How much memory do you have? How much is available? Do you know if it is maybe expandable?

My computer is soon to be 6 years old, have XP, and its speed is fine. I have thought of maybe getting some additional memory sometime though. I have Dell tech support for the life of the computer.

Sue
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
16 years ago
Give us info on your system so we can try to make and educated response. With out knowing what type of processor you have or amount of RAM etc it is difficult to say. When was the last time you opened up the case and cleaned out the dust bunnies? When was the last time you did a defrag and eliminated all the junk programs you do not need or use?
Slow as in to start up at boot or slow as in to display each new webpage? What is your connection type and speed? dsl? cable? dial up?

I always suggest this site and the directions to anyone saying their pc is slow, the steps she outlines are good for anyone to follow.
Help! My computer is slow!
Cleaning the computer and its components

I have some of mine that are at least that old and I use them daily, they run great, fast as ever, and very clean.

When was the last time you updated and ran a malwarebytes scan?
How to download and install Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware application for Windows computers
windslam
16 years ago
Ok guys, I guess you'll really let me have it on my reply. Let me just say, I see nothing wrong with refreshing equipment every 5 years or so but sometimes, it may not be necessary.

I think it all depends on what you use your computer for, to determine when you need a new one. If you're having slow boot-ups and slower browsing, I personally think you need to do a major cleanup. By that I mean getting rid of unnecessary files and disk maintenance (defragging, etc.) You also need to eliminate a lot of unnecessary routines that load up during boot up. I'd suggest purchasing a utility that does that for you and it also cleans up and repairs the registry. The best program I have found is "Fix-It Professional". It does all that in addition to virus protection with weekly automatic updates. It's only 30 bucks. I've been using it for years and the customer service is absolutely excellent and immediate. It is made by Avanquest. I think the name of the product makes it sound less dynamic.

If you do a lot of gaming, well then I would say replacement every 5 years. My son won't touch any of my computers because I don't do gaming and they aren't equiped with the current "fastest and bestest". I do mostly web building with several programs for that, several graphics programs, web browsing, MS Office products (heavily in Excel and Access) and home security with web accessible video, telephone answering system, some remote applications like temperature monitoring, garage door open/close..stuff like that... on 3 computers that are 6 years old (IBM, 2 HPs). I have one computer that acts as a server for the home network that is 10 years old (HP) 3 of my laptops are 8 years old (2 Toshiba's, 1 HP). They all run XP and with the monthly and sometimes weekly cleanup, they are not much slower than when I first got them. The only down side I've experienced is internal disk size. I bought some large USB external drives solved that issue, they're cheap these days.

Just a side bar on slowness.....my first computer had to be booted with a 5-1/2 inch floppy disk in the drive, which loaded the operating system!!! I still have it and yes, we're talking slow. When the 20 meg, yes meg, hard drives came with a computer, I thought....I'll never use all that space!!! I still play with DOS 5.1 on that one.
genes
16 years ago
"Give us info on your system so we can try to make and educated response". That should have been info provided by the original poster in the first post. If that would have been provided, then those trying to help wouldnt have had to ask a bag load of questions to get some basic info
DA_Mccoy
16 years ago
Let's not get too far off the original question. Some members don't know or realize that information is the foundation for assistance. It's just a lack of awareness. Just like starting multiple forum threads when it is not necessary.

Computer systems are not on a chronological clock like the sand in an hour glass. What they do have is a service life expectancy. One of the systems I use at work is an old Win2000 and I love it as it is forever reliable. No pauses, glitches, crashes or burps.

If they are sufficient and reliable for the user, systems can last for an indeterminate amount of time. Personally I have an old Win98 P3 OE out in the garage that I play CDs on and look up Internet information when I need reference or parts.

It's when the user's demand exceeds the capability or the system becomes unreliable that it must be considered for replacement.

There is no sense in addressing the issue of "wanting" a new system as that is obvious.

Goldy,

If you are strongly interested in a new system take a look at the December issue of Consumer Reports as it has a new computer evaluation.

DA

when is it time for new computer?

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