# computer advice



## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I am getting ready to purchase a desktop for my kids to use in high school and college. They need word/excel/powerpoint etc. I am so confused with the i3,i5, i7 processors and the hard drives/memory numbers. I want basic computer use, not gaming or lots of graphic stuff. I will use it to do banking and to store pics from the camera. I do have lots of pics, 10,000 or so a year to load. I would like to stay low in budget because these laptops my mom got the kids 5 years ago were over 1,000 each and they have not held up well. Where to I start with all these numbers? Is there a web site for computer dummies that explains it all.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

i3, i5, i7 refers to the processor (meaning speed) of an Intel Processor (AMD has its own system and are also good processors) the higher the number the faster, for what you said i3 would be just fine. But if you find a sale on a better (i5, i7) that would be a bit faster.

As far as RAM (active memory), more is better, but again, for what you said 6 GB, or 8 GB of RAM would handle it with no problem, I don't recommend just 4 GB, as Office 2010 is a memory hog. 

With that many pictures you will need a decent size Hard Drive (which is storage). luckily most computers come with 500 GB or more which should be fine.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jamala said:


> I want basic computer use, not gaming or lots of graphic stuff. I will use it to do banking and to store pics from the camera. I do have lots of pics, 10,000 or so a year to load. I would like to stay low in budget because these laptops my mom got the kids 5 years ago were over 1,000 each and they have not held up well. Where to I start with all these numbers?


Honestly, any contemporary laptop is more than enough for what you do.

If you have an electronics store like Frys or Best Buy, see what they have on sale in the $250 (+ or - $25) range. Failing that, take a look at some of these.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=17&sel=Price;Price5

You'll be happy with anything in that price range for what you need it for.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Thank you both so much, that makes sense to me now. I was so confused with all the numbers.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jamala said:


> Thank you both so much, that makes sense to me now. I was so confused with all the numbers.


One more thing, I suspect you will find that laptops have become more economical than desktops, at least when you consider the cost of a monitor. Laptops come complete and are affordable.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Thanks, I was looking at desktops hoping they would hold up better. This laptop has had 5 hard drives in 4 years and our other laptop has had 3. I don't know if it is just dell that has bad hard drives or what. We are not hard on the laptops but the repair man said it was from moving them from one room to the next all the time. I was also told that putting them on soft surfaces will ruin hard drives so we stopped putting them on the bed or couch and only use them on a desk now. I was talking to friends today that have had laptops for years and never replaced the hard drives so maybe we just have bad luck


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jamala said:


> Thanks, I was looking at desktops hoping they would hold up better. This laptop has had 5 hard drives in 4 years and our other laptop has had 3. I don't know if it is just dell that has bad hard drives or what.


You had unusually poor luck. My laptop is about 3 1/2 years old and it still has the original hard drive. There's really no reason why a 2.5" hard drive shouldn't outlast the laptop it's mounted in.

Being a Dell shouldn't matter. They don't make hard drives anyway. They use the same components that all other laptop manufacturers use.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

That makes me feel so much better, thank you. I feel much more confident now making a decision.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

We've talked about this before, however Nevada and I have had different luck. Laptops never last me more than 2 years before dying whereas desktops last me until I get sick of them and want something new.
Nevada has had better luck with them.
If you need something portable then the laptop is your only choice.
If it will be in one spot, I'd rather have a desktop. I don't change monitors just because I get a new computer, so that's not an extra cost for me.
Personally I think its an airflow issue, as I never get a small or compact desktop, its always a tower -- more airflow by design.

Again personal preference from 2 people with vastly different experiences.


PS my laptops were Dell's also.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

jamala said:


> This laptop has had 5 hard drives in 4 years and our other laptop has had 3.


If your laptops are eating up that many drives, you're moving them much too roughly while they're powered on. Laptop hard drives are made to be as tough as possible, but there's only so much that can be done with such a small, fragile mechanical device. They're designed to be moved some while operating, but you have to do it GENTLY. That means no rough handling; no fast, jerky movements that over-stress the bearings; and when setting it down on a hard surface, set it down GENTLY. Go ahead and use it on the bed, couch, lap, or wherever (we do all the time), but don't forget what it is you're using.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

backwoodsman7 said:


> If your laptops are eating up that many drives, you're moving them much too roughly while they're powered on. Laptop hard drives are made to be as tough as possible, but there's only so much that can be done with such a small, fragile mechanical device. They're designed to be moved some while operating, but you have to do it GENTLY. That means no rough handling; no fast, jerky movements that over-stress the bearings; and when setting it down on a hard surface, set it down GENTLY. Go ahead and use it on the bed, couch, lap, or wherever (we do all the time), but don't forget what it is you're using.


You know it is amazing more failures doesn't happen like that. As close as the read/write head is now floating about the hard drive which is spinning 5,000 to 7200 rpm. And this R/W head is less then a human hair in distance away from that spinning drive, it really is amazing more drives don't crash.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Thank you all for your advice, I really appreciate it.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Just an add on, I never move my laptops while powered on. I know people who do and I cringe when I see it. Y'all are right about that having the potential to kill hard drives quickly.

I have not yet had a solid state hard drive but I assume that will eliminate that as a problem.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

dont get a desktop. Get a laptop.....


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

If one decides to get a laptop, don't you need to have a box that desk tops use?

If one decides to get a laptop, can you use it WITHOUT the box desk tops use?

If one decides to get a laptop and it is used at the same time as the desktop, will this produce considerable "lag"?


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

motdaugrnds said:


> If one decides to get a laptop, don't you need to have a box that desk tops use?
> 
> If one decides to get a laptop, can you use it WITHOUT the box desk tops use?
> 
> If one decides to get a laptop and it is used at the same time as the desktop, will this produce considerable "lag"?


No, yes and no.

A laptop (they are now a called a notebook), is mostly just a desktop, all packed into portable little unit.

Your don't need anything else to operate one. the screen and mouse-pad, are all built in. You can plug in printers, etc. even a larger external monitor (just like a desktop) if you want.

here is an example.

http://www.officemax.com/technology...uters/product-prod3810180?R=23261925&ssp=true


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

If you get a laptop and go through them THAT quickly, are worried about jerking the hard drive component around, and don't mind a little less space (and a huge speed increase) then get a laptop with an SSD drive. No moving parts and a HECK of a lot faster than a regular drive, if not more expensive.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kung said:


> If you get a laptop and go through them THAT quickly, are worried about jerking the hard drive component around, and don't mind a little less space (and a huge speed increase) then get a laptop with an SSD drive. No moving parts and a HECK of a lot faster than a regular drive, if not more expensive.


I did a server test with SSD a few weeks ago. While I admit that my hosting & voip applications are not hard drive intensive, I didn't observe much of an advantage to SSD over a hard drive. The fact is that network delay dwarfed all other factors. A server with heavy MySQL lookups may have different results.

Of course a workstation is another story. I will be interested in seeing how SSD improves workstation performance.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

grrrrr ... all this is over my head!


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

motdaugrnds said:


> grrrrr ... all this is over my head!


SSDs are solid state drives, which is really just a bed of nonvolatile memory that retains information when it's unpowered. SSD drives are contenders to replace hard drive technology, since SSDs are magnitudes faster than hard drives and have no moving parts.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Nevada said:


> SSDs are solid state drives, which is really just a bed of nonvolatile memory that retains information when it's unpowered. SSD drives are contenders to replace hard drive technology, since SSDs are magnitudes faster than hard drives and have no moving parts.


 I read that about 10 years form now the HDD drives will be pretty much gone.
Some drives are a combination of SSD + HDD in the same drive 
That company that makes those Suspension drives for the read write head that I had worked for, within one year ALL of their Assembly portion to make those parts will made in Thailand. 

When I worked their in its hay day they had over 2600 in that plant alone company wide was something like 8700.
Now the Eau Claire plant within one year will down to around 500~
And plant wide way down to only 2,000
That is because of the SSD's that will be used in years to come, no mechanical drives to use the Suspension parts. About the only thing left for them then is the Servers etc. And other devices that may continue to use the regular hard drives. I would think DVR's and such


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

I've had my desktop for 9 years and it is about to go. I was dead set on getting a laptop but with the smartphones I don't see the point. Laptops have a horrendous track record when it comes to durability. I can't believe I am going to be this old school but I am leaning towards another desktop.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Raven12 said:


> I've had my desktop for 9 years and it is about to go. I was dead set on getting a laptop but with the smartphones I don't see the point. Laptops have a horrendous track record when it comes to durability. I can't believe I am going to be this old school but I am leaning towards another desktop.


I can't imagine using the same computer for 9 years. It's not that it will wear out or break down, it's that computers only have a useful life of a few years before becoming obsolete. I could see using the same machine for maybe 5 years, but 9 years is hard to imagine.


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

Nevada said:


> I can't imagine using the same computer for 9 years. It's not that it will wear out or break down, it's that computers only have a useful life of a few years before becoming obsolete. I could see using the same machine for maybe 5 years, but 9 years is hard to imagine.


Really? Why would it be obsolete? I have been on the same operating system, Windows XP, from day one. Up until this year the only part I had to replace was the monitor which blew out from old age. Now it is one thing after another. The keyboard finally went. That was an easy replacement. Now I am having problems with the fan, hard drive, and other mechanics. 

I am buying a tower so I will keep the monitor, mouse, and keyboard to use with it.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Raven12 said:


> Really? Why would it be obsolete?


A few reasons. It starts to become difficult to find applications what work with obsolete operating systems, older computer equipment becomes sluggish, and sometimes you can't add more than a certain amount memory. Of course I have no objection to using an older machine if it meets your needs, I'm just surprised that a 9 year-old machine still meets your needs.


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

One problem I am finding is that a lot of software is now being sold as subscriptions. I know that really doesn't have to do with the operating system but it is an annoyance.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Raven12 said:


> One problem I am finding is that a lot of software is now being sold as subscriptions. I know that really doesn't have to do with the operating system but it is an annoyance.


 And now with XP coming to its life next year XP has had a wonderful run ever since 2001. That is a nice long run. Now that time is ending next year. As no more critical updates supported by MS.
And you can't even get the latest IE for XP which is now updated 3 times since.
So with a new box coming I would think you are what going with at least Windows 7?


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

arabian knight said:


> And now with XP coming to its life next year XP has had a wonderful run ever since 2001. That is a nice long run. Now that time is ending next year. As no more critical updates supported by MS.
> And you can't even get the latest IE for XP which is now updated 3 times since.
> So with a new box coming I would think you are what going with at least Windows 7?


It comes with Windows 8. Yes, I have read the bad reviews but it is what it is.


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## WhyNot (Jun 21, 2011)

Windows8 isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. Yes, it's a little discombobulating for a minute, yes there are some.....nuisances in getting around until you build some shortcuts and etc...bit of a learning curve...but you can always "escape" back to the more familiar desktop.

Some of the "reimagined" applications I could do without...like the way they "reimagined" Skype....I'm so ticked off at that I can't even express it...I can't find a dang thing in Skype now...and there's no reversion for it either...those are the big irritations I think.

So far, I have been teaching people how to use it and it's going fairly well. My last client that had a lesson with me had a ten year old workstation that was running WinXP and he went to a new Windows8 laptop. He's about 78 years old. After about two hours he had mostly gotten over the view shock and was getting around rather smoothy actually.

Although, it's easier to train/retrain people who look upon things as an adventure and opportunity to learn something new...and helps if they never really did much before on it LOL. I try to get all my students into the adventure and excitement frame of mind...and then give them a bunch of "cheats" and shortcuts to what is familiar so the frustration level doesn't get too high. It's a safety net.

I'm sure you will be fine, Raven12.


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## Bogey (Feb 7, 2013)

Hi jamala & all,

This is my first post, but I have been lurking on HT for a long time, and I have gleaned a ton of useful info from HT.
I hate to drag up old threads unless I have some info that is relevant and hopefully useful to the OP.

jamala,
you wrote:
"...I was also told that putting them on soft surfaces will ruin hard drives so we stopped putting them on the bed or couch and only use them on a desk now..."

My experience:
When I first started using my first laptop, I used it as a "laptop" (resting on a pillow on my lap).
The laptop got VERY hot due to the air circulation vent (at the bottom of the laptop) becoming blocked by resting on the pillow ('soft surface').

This overheating can be very harmful to the hard drive & the CPU, perhaps even causing them to fail.
I solved this problem by placing a cookie sheet on the pillow, then placing the laptop on the cookie sheet, thereby allowing proper airflow.

The laptop doesn't really need to be on a hard surface, but it does need to have its airflow unrestricted so that the internal fan can circulate air.

Others have posted several other possible causes to your hard drive failures, and I have learned a lot by reading this thread.

Best wishes to you regarding your computer issues, and a special "shout out" to HT (I love this site).

-Ron


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