Thanks: 0
Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 1 to 15 of 21
-
5th January 2019, 09:37 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
I feel the need, but how much speed?
The time has come for me to 'upgrade' my computer as I am getting tired of the dial-up speeds it often gives me. The old system must be well over 10 years old and is incapable of running modern software.
I am only going to buy a second hand unit and was looking at what speeds are available. There doesn't seem to be much available that has a clock speed of greater than 3.2G, but my current dinosaur is already 3.2. Have clock speeds not advanced, or do they not have too much bearing on speed?
I am also looking for SSD rather than HDD, Win 10 (still running XP at the moment). What else should I be looking for in a speedy machine? Minimum RAM needed?
I possibly need to be looking at replacing my modem as well. I still have the Thompson 530 that Telstra gave me back in the day when I first signed up for ADSL. Don't even recall how long ago that was. Any suggestions for a better and speedier modem compatible with Telstra?
Tools
-
5th January 2019 09:37 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Posts
- Many
-
6th January 2019, 07:50 AM #2GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Mar 2018
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 1,166
Moore's Law has seen processor speeds tap out, but modern processors are much more powerful and more power efficient. If you're buying 2nd hand then it becomes important to look at the processor specs and age - I'd suggest looking at ones as young as possible. The bigger factors with performance to look at are on-die cache and number of cores. I'm using a dual core, 4 logical processors machine capable of 2.8Ghz, but it peaks at 3.2Ghz if needed in short bursts.
Memory, definitely go for 8Gb minimum. If you can find a machine with 12 or 16, even better, but don't buy under 8 or you don't do the modern processor the justice.
SSD. Absolute game changer in performance - in fact, the one upgrade I would do on a PC before any other, if I was to suggest that. I don't know how you will tell when buying 2nd hand how much life an SSD has left (since they are finite write life devices) so caveat emptor, and prepare to replace it.... or just buy a new one to start with? Seems like $150 for 500Gb for new with warranty would be good peace of mind.
As for modems, what is your current ADSL speed and line condition, and what are the NBN rollout plans in your location? It's unlikely that you will see a significant improvement just by upgrading the ADSL modem (maybe 10% max depending on a LOT of factors?) so I'd be not worrying about that at the moment.
-
6th January 2019, 10:27 AM #3GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Helensburgh
- Posts
- 7,696
-
6th January 2019, 11:54 AM #4
100% agree with Poundy - a SSD will change your computer like you simply wouldn't believe.
Pop as much RAM into it as you can buy (Ebay has outstanding prices on 2nd hand RAM from office upgrades).
For examples, the 240GB Kingston SSD is only ~$55: https://www.mwave.com.au/hdds/solid-state-drives-ssd
The addition of the SSD is easy enough... for making a mirror-copy of your existing disk, use EaseUS, MiniTool Partition Wizard or Acronis TrueImage, these and many more are free. Leave your old disk in the machine to use for a bulk storage.
To assist with identification and compatible RAM, run Speccy to give you all the numbers: https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy
I've upgraded around 8 machines this way for friends/family over the last 2 years (4 were laptops). They simply can't believe the change. It's such a cheap thing to do ($55!!!!!) that you'd be mad not to try it first.
-
6th January 2019, 12:00 PM #5
Budget and intended use?
Hey Tools,
What's your budget and what do you plan on using the PC for?
-
7th January 2019, 08:34 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
-
7th January 2019, 08:35 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
It is used mainly for surfing the net, a bit of record keeping, photos etc.
Tools
-
7th January 2019, 08:38 PM #8SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
WoodPixel,
Yes after reading up a bit on SSD I think I would still have an HDD for storage and run the system from SSD for speed.
Tools
-
7th January 2019, 09:03 PM #9SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
Poundy,
I didn't realise that SSDs had a limited life span but reading up on them I now do so would probably look at having both SSD and HDD.
My current machine is dual core but it is probably just old and clapped out. I have never used it but it still has a floppy disk drive!
We aren't due for NBN until mid next year when we will have FTTC so it is worth trying to speed things up in the mean time. Current speeds are 6.5 download, 0.7 upload and 22ms ping.
Thanks everyone for your input
Tools
-
7th January 2019, 09:37 PM #10GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Mar 2018
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 1,166
I'd just suggest NOT buying an SSD 2nd hand - even if you bought a 2nd hand machine, plan to buy a new SSD as well. I've had a failure on a relatively new one (replaced under warranty so all good on that front) so you're never immune. Not with spinning disk either - so always have backups
How about you tell us the specs of the current machine? Processor details and memory? If it's ok, it might be worth just adding either memory and/or SSD to what you have?
You really should not be running Windows XP any longer. So so so many security vulnerabilities that are not able to be addressed, so get that upgrade done too
-
8th January 2019, 04:14 AM #11
perhaps a new computer is not required ?
If you're still on dial-up you may not notice any improvement after the "upgrade".
Also, Win10 really needs a touch screen, so if you on't have one, Win7 may be a better upgrade option for the operating system.
If your existing machine is about 10 years old, a RAM and hard drive upgrade might be all you need.regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
-
8th January 2019, 07:22 AM #12SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Apr 2015
- Location
- Brisbane
- Posts
- 304
Have to disagree with ‘Windows 10 really needs a touch screen’. I use windows 10 all day at work (& sometimes all night) and never had a touch screen.
-
8th January 2019, 09:40 AM #13SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Mar 2018
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 469
I use win 10 for both home and work and rarely use the touchscreen at all.
My kids though on the other hand use it all the time for school homework (matheletics, etc...) so i guess it depends on your situation/ profession.
Lots of people have advised getting 8gb ram as a minimum. I'm a heavy excel user and it eats ram for breakfast.
Regards,
Adam
-
9th January 2019, 06:57 PM #14SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
-
9th January 2019, 06:59 PM #15SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 664
Similar Threads
-
Variable Lathe spindle speed control project for constant surface speed
By jhovel in forum METALWORK FORUMReplies: 27Last Post: 15th October 2014, 08:34 AM -
Wadkin EQ 4 speed Spindle Moulder with Frommia 4 speed power feeder and accessories
By camoz in forum ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE TOOLSReplies: 20Last Post: 11th June 2013, 12:45 AM -
How do Others Feel?
By Wood Borer in forum FORUMS INFO, HELP, DISCUSSION & FEEDBACKReplies: 92Last Post: 17th April 2008, 04:15 PM -
I feel the need to know about feed speed
By Trav in forum HAND TOOLS - POWEREDReplies: 8Last Post: 14th October 2004, 01:32 PM