computer

[hiram]

Happy Holidays to all.

I have to get a new computer. It will probably be a Dell 15" laptop. What do you think I should have on the system?

The only thing I'm sure about is a SSD, but what size?

Thanks

[45DUDE]

It depends on how much data you have to store. A lot of people do not store a lot of files so a 256 gb boot drive is sufficient. 512 is plenty big for most people UNLESS you keep a LOT of music/movie/photos on your computer. Those type files use a lot of storage. Keep in mind you can always keep files you do not use often on an external drive or flash drive so I would say 512 gb is the sweet spot. Unless you run extremely memory intensive software, 16 gb is plenty but no less than that. With whatever you buy, pay attention to the cpu speed. Get one with 2.0 ghz or faster. If you get an intel CPU go for an i5 over an i7. My wife is one of the folks who advise over on elevenforum.com. She says be sure and check it out if you have questions about Windows 11. There is an entire section of tutorials there to do anything with Windows 11.

[GregLaROCHE]

That’s a lot of good information 45DUDE. I’m feeling the need to modernize my system and wondering what I should get. I don’t need a portable computer because I use an iPad for almost everything. However, everyone seems to be buying laptops these days. You used to get a lot more for your money with a desktop. Is that still true? I’ll be paying close attention to this thread.

[DougGuy]

I always buy the most horsepower that's practical and then I look for deals on that once I arrive at about what to look for. I end up buying Asus ROG gaming motherboards, fastest ddr4 the board supports, not the max fast CPU but pretty close to it, decent high resolution graphics card with as much DDR5 as I can get IF I can get it affordably.

You pay more for the name brand gaming boards, but they are built much more solidly and with much more control over the performance, and they are built to take the abuse of gaming, so in a normal desktop environment, they have proven to be more stable and more dependable than a lot of previous motherboards I have used. Asus has been at the front of high performance overclocking and gaming hardware for a LONG time, they are quite good at it.

[abunaitoo]

Just getting a new computer up to speed.
Old laptop was just giving to much trouble.
Had a Dell 3880 desktop I got a few years ago.
Bought it when my other desktop was acting strange.
Got it fixed with a repair program, so never used this new one.
Hardest part is moving a files and setting it up the way the old one was.
Still loading updates.
Not a computer guy so slow going.

[Sasquatch-1]

The biggest pro (IMHO) of a tower is peripherals. My wife has sewing machines and craft machines that connect to the computer along with all the normal stuff. When she was using a lap top it didn't have the power to connect everything. She got a powered USB expander and that helped a little. When the laptop just got too feeble to run efficiently, she got a Dell tower that can handle multiple monitors and has about 12 USB ports.

You may also want to make sure your power supply is capable of handling whatever you plan on doing.

[pertnear]

If you use your computer mainly for browsing the internet & doing some word processing & spreadsheet stuff you might consider dumping Windows for a Linux OS. You'd be surprised at how much performance you can get out of a PC without the "Windows bloat". Whatever OS you decide on, it is usually easy to find someone skilled enough to help get you set-up & started.

[hporter]

My last 8 laptops for work were all Dell machines purchased from their Outlet Store. I like buying their refurbished laptops. They save you a lot of money and I haven't had a bad one yet in many years of buying them.

I chose the Dell 3520 model this past summer when I bought my latest one. It still has the Cat5 network port, the HDMI video port, the old 1.1 USB and the new USB 3.0 ports. For my work - you never know what the interfaces will be at various engineering firms - so it is nice to have the port flexibility.

I made a mistake on my last Dell, and bought the Tablet/Laptop thing where you can lift the screen out to use as a tablet. It has the RAM soldered into the machine - so not upgradable and the 8gb it came with wasn't enough for what I do. It also only had 2 of the new USB 3.0 ports. And the power supply used one. So I had to carry around a docking station in my briefcase if I needed to plug just about anything in.

I know this is just personal preference. But I would definitely buy a Dell with Windows 11. It is sooooooo much better than Win 10 it isn't even funny. And this comes from a guy who uses nothing but Macintosh computers at home. Win11 is a nice upgrade and works very well - at least with the 16gb of RAM that I selected for my machine.

The advice given above about SSD's are right on the money. If you don't have huge storage needs, the SSD will make your computing life so much better. And even if you do have storage needs - you can always get an external USB drive and come up with a back up plan for it.

Pertnear has good advice about Linux too. I have 3 Dell laptops in my desk drawer that have I7 processors and 16gb of RAM - and Dell won't support the upgrade to Win10 (the necessary drivers) - so they are stuck at Win7 which isn't supported anymore. I put Linux on one and it was like a new computer again. Even though I am a Mac guy, I am not ready for Linux yet (because I am not familiar enough with it yet). But it is fast, powerful and it is interesting to see what it can do - and it's free! And the fact I can't upgrade my old Dell laptops was another reason I chose to go with Windows 11. More obsolescent proof than a Windows 10 machine would be.

And finally a tip if you want to try the Dell outlet store to get a refurbished one. Log on early each morning while you drink your coffee. The best selection is always before 6am, and inventory literally can change every 10 minutes. So pick out the features you want and write down the model and configuration you want. Do a filter on the outlet store to narrow down what you want, then bookmark it in your browser. Then all you have to do is click the bookmark to see if they have what you want in stock.

Good Luck!

[deltaenterprizes]

I don’t do much on a computer except print labels to ship things USPS so when my desktop died due to a recent storm I got a “refurbished “ Dell from Walmart for $127!
Looks like new and came with a 20” monitor!

[Handloader109]

You CAN force the Win 10 to Win 11 but performance is said to suffer. I've only one computer that is able to got to Win 11 and so far I'm not upgrading.
I've got another 2 pcs running my lasers and a tablet and a laptop all running win 10. I'll stay where I'm at until forced to upgrade the PCs as the software doesn't all run on 11.
Linux, nope.
But Buy an i5 at a minimum for the new laptop. an i3 is going to be a dog. 256 min on the SSD. larger if offered.

[45DUDE]

That’s a lot of good information 45DUDE. I’m feeling the need to modernize my system and wondering what I should get. I don’t need a portable computer because I use an iPad for almost everything. However, everyone seems to be buying laptops these days. You used to get a lot more for your money with a desktop. Is that still true? I’ll be paying close attention to this thread.

Yes, desktops do give more for money. Unless you pay out the nose for a gaming laptop, PCs are usually more powerful compared to mainstream laptops, expandable, easier to work on and/or troubleshoot hardware problems, and have more airflow to keep components cooler. Also, new laptops these days have a new feature called modern standby that is causing problems for some people. Unless I had a specific need for one, I would never buy a laptop. Just my opinion.

[hiram]

Thank you all for your advice. I'll start looking. Have a great, safe and healthy new year.

[DougGuy]

I have 3 Dell laptops in my desk drawer that have I7 processors and 16gb of RAM - and Dell won't support the upgrade to Win10 (the necessary drivers) - so they are stuck at Win7 which isn't supported anymore. I put Linux on one and it was like a new computer again. Even though I am a Mac guy, I am not ready for Linux yet (because I am not familiar enough with it yet). But it is fast, powerful and it is interesting to see what it can do - and it's free!

Linux Mint has 3 or 4 desktop environments, all look and feel drastically different (to me) but the Cinnamon desktop environment looks feels and runs a LOT like Windows 7. Any win7 user that sat down at a linux mint cinnamon machine and clicked the start button to open the menus, would be right at home.


And the fact I can't upgrade my old Dell laptops was another reason I chose to go with Windows 11. More obsolescent proof than a Windows 10 machine would be.


You must have skipped the part that says Windows 11 won't run on hardware older than 2yrs old..

[slim1836]

I recently (2 days ago) got a new computer with Windows 11 and can navigate it ok. I'm going to try Linux on it using a USB stick to see how it works. Kinda of powder coating vs lubing, having choices is good to have.

The only issue so far is my emails, some open up fine, some open up but no content is displayed. Then some open up but the content is in code, (had to call it something) showing numbers, letters, and symbols. Perhaps Linux will fix this, time will tell. I open the messed-up emails on my phone.

If you get a new computer, check to see if there is a CD read/write if you use one, mine did not. My old monitor had a built-in camera, my new one did not. For Zoom meetings (I used this with doctors) or social uses it comes in handy. I'll get an external camera online.

I'm not computer literate at all, just surf the net, and buy and sell things. I can't even print on envelopes or labels. Computer terminology is all Greek to me, and skimpy installation instructions don't help. User manuals are non-existent it seems.

I want to thank Doug Guy for taking me under his wing in helping me buy a system. Many PM's later I'm typing on my new computer. I'm lucky to have had him through all this and he can give himself a big pat on the back.

Slim

[hporter]

You must have skipped the part that says Windows 11 won't run on hardware older than 2yrs old..

No, I didn't skip that part.

I was talking about buying a new computer, and having the choice of Win11 or Win10. Buying a Win11 machine puts you one step ahead of the planned obsolescence mechanism that I just experienced with my otherwise perfectly usable older Dell laptops.

I understand why they stop supporting the older machines. It is hard to sell new ones when the older one is just as powerful (or in my case - more so) than the new one you just bought.

With the advent of SSD drives, even I7 processors from 10 years ago can run with the brand new ones. Aside from the advances in integrated graphic cards and shared memory, my old Dell computers with dedicated video cards and dedicated onboard graphics memory are still screaming fast with a new SSD drive.

I think for practical purposes, we have reached the performance threshold with computer processors given the existing memory architecture and operating systems. Of course computers will keep evolving - and keep getting better. But unless you force people to upgrade by making their Operating System obsolete, you won't have the capital to keep improving and developing the product line.

Linux is good, and probably the future. But until corporate America divorces itself from the Microsoft PC world, not much will change. At least in the bulk of computer installations.

Slim1836 made a good point. If you are curious about Linux, you can download it and install it on a USB thumb drive that you can boot from and try it out without messing with your hard drive. I even put it on a very old Dell mini laptop with an Atom processor. I had to run a light weight version of Linux, but it ran just fine. I have made Linux Cinnamon USB thumbdrives that I have used on my Mac's and on my PC's. All work fine.

[hiram]

OK. I got a computer. Dell Vostro 5620. 512 SSD, 16 gigs, I5. Speed up to 4.4 ghz. 2 USB-3's, a USB-c, ethernet port, SD slot. Boots in about 20 seconds and shuts off in 2-3 seconds.

[hporter]

Nice, Congratulations.

Which operating system? Win 10 or Win 11?

[trebor44]

Win 11, NO built in CD or Blue ray support from Microsuck so you need to get (purchase) third party if you want or need a CD. Win 10 does have a limited (2025) lifespan, thanks Microsuck. Now getting "bad boy" messages from Google about my Win 7 OS. NO more updates etc. etc. Time to fire up the Linux boxes! SSD for bootup and apps but HDD for storage. Those options are available with lots of new systems! External storage is readily available also.

[Ford SD]

Mint / Linux install

I just did a install on a older Desktop Was win 7

I had some problems with the latest version of Mint and after a bit of searching (not the only one having problems)

the Fix is Install Mint version 20.3 ..... only had to reboot for updates about 4 times

DO not try to install mint on a hard drive bigger than 2 TB ( Could be wrong on that) but it is nice to have OS on a SSD or HDD 500mb or smaller
and have your main saved files on another HDD

New hdd up and running in about 2 hours / with new updates / added software / ....... All free software

Still a few tweaks needed ( big one is configuring Email

[DougGuy]

Mint / Linux install

I just did a install on a older Desktop Was win 7

I had some problems with the latest version of Mint and after a bit of searching (not the only one having problems)

the Fix is Install Mint version 20.3 ..... only had to reboot for updates about 4 times

DO not try to install mint on a hard drive bigger than 2 TB ( Could be wrong on that) but it is nice to have OS on a SSD or HDD 500mb or smaller
and have your main saved files on another HDD

New hdd up and running in about 2 hours / with new updates / added software / ....... All free software

Still a few tweaks needed ( big one is configuring Email

Good for you!

There is a hexchat irc client already installed and configured, you launch it and it goes right to the linuxmint-help channel where you can type in your issues or questions and get live help. Not routed to 3rd world tech support that can't speak Engrish.

You can also join the #linuxmint-chat channel if you just want to lurk and ask questions..

I had 20.3 on 4 systems, I heard about issues with 21, so I waited for 21.1 to release and you have to upgrade through 21 to get to 21.1 so more reboots, but all mine are running 21.1 fine now. I didn't like the straight up install of 21, and going from 20.3 it doesn't yank out everything it just upgrades what is needed, you may have better luck with 21.1 doing it this way.

[hiram]

I got windows 11 pro.