I need a new PC! --- is it a Gadget? (1 Viewer)

Uncle Gizmo

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I'm looking to buy a new PC, mind keeps having glitches! It's very old but very powerful and I'm reluctant to lose it. I'm just mainly interested in running MS Access, I don't run any fancy games or nothing.

I'm thinking I need a:-

Tower
64bit

Ram 8GB - DDR ram 2, 3 or 4? no idea ?

Disk
500GB HDD

Processor
Intel Core i5
3.3Ghz

Software
Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Office Professional 2016

Anything I've missed?

I would be interested in the latest views on PCs and any pitfalls there might be!

Are there any particular models, memory sticks/chips, softwares to avoid?

I have been searching on Amazon and Morgan computers...
 

CJ_London

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build your own? - it's not that difficult.

Anything I've missed? - motherboard - with/without sound/graphics/sockets such as cat5/6/usb/hdmi/dvi/etc - type and number for your peripherals

Edit: - you may also need cd/dvd drive

might consider ssd rather than hdd drive?

don't buy second hand, think everyone has their own views on different makes - best to look at reviews for particular model, look at 'best for 2018' type review sites.
 
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isladogs

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I've also built my own a couple of times though as my eyesight gets worse it may be beyond me now.

I've used Novatech for several computers - inexpensive / good range of customisation & very helpful.

Last year, I used a company called Elf who sell both new and refurbished PCs & laptops at very low prices. You will need to use a business email address. Bought a laptop for my wife from them & its been excellent
 

Uncle Gizmo

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Thanks for that chaps, not really keen on building PCs anymore Chris, done that been there! - Thanks for the reminder Colin, I've dealt with Elf over the years, used to buy stuff from them for my Shop in Reading. I've just placed my order, New PC and monitor, got a 3 years warranty, and I went for a 32 inch monitor. Like you, my eyesights not as good as it was, and I'm starting to have to use my glasses for reading, never had to do that before!
 

jdraw

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I would opt for ssd as CJ mentioned. And USB 3.0.

Also please describe "glitches!". Most of my "glitches" relate to my inability to type (fat finger syndrome).
 

AccessBlaster

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Gizmo,
Generally speaking buy a tower that offers largest capacities for the lowest cost. Do not search for a 500GB hard drive, when you may be able to get a terabyte for the same price. Also check Newegg.



Good luck.
 

Gasman

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Tony lives in the UK ?

Gizmo,
Generally speaking buy a tower that offers largest capacities for the lowest cost. Do not search for a 500GB hard drive, when you may be able to get a terabyte for the same price. Also check Newegg.



Good luck.
 

Uncle Gizmo

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Update,- yes it's got an SSD, I'm not sure what the USB's are, but I don't use them much, only for my headset.

BTW - if you ever decide to record your own videos, always go for a headset with the Soundboard built into the USB plug. In other words it's an independent system from your computer. I understand this avoids lots of problems you can have with trying to use the PC built-in sound system.

Oh, and they were out of stock on the 32 inch monitor so I went for a 27...

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
 

isladogs

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Only a 27 inch monitor?
Never mind - Access can't create reports wider than 22 inch.

When your shiny new PC arrives, you should run the speed tests I uploaded here and hopefully feel very pleased with yourself
 

Gasman

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Most likely do, but that cost would probably mean cheaper to buy in the UK, even when companies swap the $ sign for the £ sign.
I have even had some companies not take UK credit cards, or even ship outside USA, but I was thinking mainly of the cost.?

Yes I know, are you referring to my link? Because they ship.
 

kevlray

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I have built my own machines for years (they also last for years). Unfortunately the last one I built had an older power supply burn up (yes, it started to smoke). I have had a couple cpu/mother boards die. I am still using a hard drive that I have had a long time.
 

AccessBlaster

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I am thinking about cloning my laptop HD to SSD. I found a fairly cheep cable $12.00 and free software. Could speed things up.

I might try it in my Linux machine first.
 

The_Doc_Man

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The SSD is well-established now, but years ago when I was the special-projects guy for a small company, we got a RAM disk and had to test it. It wasn't for Windows, though. We did well with it until the O/S started getting some really bizarre issues cropping up. Seems that at the time, because the disk was presumed to be asynchronous, sometimes the device driver would set the flag showing the transfer was pending but the damned disk was so fast it was already done. That led to a process hang until some other device interrupted and triggered the I/O completion routine. The disk was TOO FAST for the O/S. With modern fractional-nanosecond back-planes, that probably isn't an issue any more. But I remember a time when an SSD was too fast for the computer.

Back to a more modern comment, an SSD is fast but not usually important UNLESS you are an I/O-heavy environment. MOST of the time, the computer O/S is one great big I/O Wait state, but NOT waiting on a disk. Waiting on a user to tap a key or click a mouse, more often. So if you are going to use an SSD, a few things will be slightly faster but if you have a LOT of "think time" in your usage profile, you'll never really notice it.

Gamers like to use SSDs if their games have to swap in virtual maps and/or graphics for animation. In that case, all the speed you can get out of your I/O backplane helps and the smoothness can be awesome. For a dedicated gamer and the right game, an SSD makes for more enjoyment.

I'm not downplaying SSDs totally. Just saying that for some users they are an expensive novelty with limited practicality. For other users, they are a sine qua non. Given the games I play, an SSD would be wasted on me.
 

AccessBlaster

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The PC builders I follow on YouTube usually configure the SSD for bootup only, and use the larger cheaper mechanical drives to hold everything else.

Personally I care more about a clean configured drive image stored safely away from the internet.

After all if you can't get everything back within a hour or so what's the point.
 

jdraw

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I like the SSDs I have mainly because there are no moving parts. I don't do gaming nor anything real intensive.
Good luck.
 

The_Doc_Man

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And now, after a horror story, I'm on my 2nd SSD. See my thread "distractions, distractions, distractions" elsewhere in this forum.

You mentioned something about USBs, Uncle G. They are where you plug in "thumb drives" - which are the greatest storage idea since sliced bread. I remember when I worked for a company where we carried around removable disks holding 5 Mb. They were in the 24-26 inch diameter range (don't remember exactly) and it isn't important. But now you can carry 64 Gb on a device the size of your thumb (hence the name).

Before it was modernized, you could have put the entire Library of Congress (which is mostly printed matter) on something that size. I use one to backup my "My Documents" folder. I don't care about the game images and other programs - I still have the original disks for those and they work fine if you have to reload, thank you very much. (And as you would see in my other thread, I'm getting to be an expert on that subject.)
 

Jaciro

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You still need a motherboard, and in general, I advise you to look at the guides on YouTube or read some articles about PC assembly.
 

Gasman

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I think Tony would have bought the computer by now, as thread is over 3 years old? :)
 

The_Doc_Man

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In reviewing this thread after it re-emerged, I see I omitted the answer to a question back then. Tony asked about DDR2, DDR3, DDR4 memory. The answer is that you buy the type of memory called out for the motherboard, whatever that is, whether DDR2, -3, or -4. That tells you the slot, but the speed is actually an issue as well. If your memory is slower than is called for in the motherboard specs, you just dragged your CPU through the mud and slowed it down. If your memory is a little faster than called for, first it might be quirky and second, you wasted some money. If it is a LOT faster, you won't be able to run very well with it at all because the speed of the logic gates on the memory board will outpace the speed of the gates in the backplane and that can lead to desynchronization of backplane handshakes. Seen that once. UGLY.
 

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