Buying a new computer

[Shatnertage]

I'm at about the end of my rope with my circa 2005 Dell Inspiron ME051, which has a 1.40 Ghz processor and 504 MB of RAM. Pretty much all I run on it is a web browser (firefox or chrome), MS Word (or Excel or PP), and maybe Tweetdeck. The thing is just incredibly slow, to the point where it sometimes takes minutes for Word docs to open.

I'm looking at getting a new computer and liked the look of the all-in-one desktops. They have bigger monitors than the laptops and aren't as space-intensive as tower/monitor desktops. I really like the price and features of this one:
Compaq Presario CQ1-2025 20-Inch

The only thing that's giving me pause is the 1.6 Ghz processor. This seems slower than many of the more expensive ones out there.

Here's what I'm going to be using the computer for:

1. MS Office, mostly word processing
2. web browsing
3. Tweet Deck
4. uploading and saving photos from my phone
5. Some light Photoshopping
6. Maybe a little Skype
7. iTunes

I'm not planning to play games or do video editing on it.


My question is, is a 1.6 AMD Dual Core processor enough for that?

And does anyone have any experience with these all-in-one desktops? Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Amaris]

I'm at about the end of my rope with my circa 2005 Dell Inspiron ME051, which has a 1.40 Ghz processor and 504 MB of RAM. Pretty much all I run on it is a web browser (firefox or chrome), MS Word (or Excel or PP), and maybe Tweetdeck. The thing is just incredibly slow, to the point where it sometimes takes minutes for Word docs to open.

I'm looking at getting a new computer and liked the look of the all-in-one desktops. They have bigger monitors than the laptops and aren't as space-intensive as tower/monitor desktops. I really like the price and features of this one:
Compaq Presario CQ1-2025 20-Inch

The only thing that's giving me pause is the 1.6 Ghz processor. This seems slower than many of the more expensive ones out there.

Here's what I'm going to be using the computer for:

1. MS Office, mostly word processing
2. web browsing
3. Tweet Deck
4. uploading and saving photos from my phone
5. Some light Photoshopping
6. Maybe a little Skype
7. iTunes

I'm not planning to play games or do video editing on it.


My question is, is a 1.6 AMD Dual Core processor enough for that?

And does anyone have any experience with these all-in-one desktops? Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanks for any help.

A 1.6Ghz AMD Dual Core processor is more than capable enough to do what you need it to do in your given situation. The real question is how much storage space and RAM a computer has. Processor speed isn't the be all end all, even though that's what you're told.

According to the specs, you're getting a 320GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM. Normally, I'd say it's a little anemic, but considering your planned usage, it should be sufficient.

As to your second question: All in ones all carry the same caution: That if something goes very wrong, you have to send the whole unit in to be repaired. Plus, some brands of All in One models are rather flaky *cough*Dell*cough*, so buy carefully.

 

[Shatnertage]

Thanks.

I read that it's upgradable to 8 gigs of RAM and I've already got a 500MB external HD for all my media, so I think I can make it work. The processor was the one thing that worried me since I can't upgrade that.

 

[Amaris]

Thanks.

I read that it's upgradable to 8 gigs of RAM and I've already got a 500MB external HD for all my media, so I think I can make it work. The processor was the one thing that worried me since I can't upgrade that.

Processors can be upgraded, and AMD processors are generally less in cost than Intel processors.

 

[Shatnertage]

Oh. Well I guess I really don't have much to worry about, then.

Sounds like this should be enough for me.

 

[NextGen123]

I had very bad luck with my first computer ( A Compaq) and had to return it to the store. I ended up with an HP and haven't looked back since.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'm not sure there's such a thing as "light photoshopping", at least if you're using Photoshop itself.

PS is a memory hog, I have 8GB on this machine (home) and it runs OK. 4 GB on the machine at work and it gets a little sluggish. Though I'm not sure of the RAM speed at work.

 

[Jadzia]

I'm not planning to play games or do video editing on it.

My question is, is a 1.6 AMD Dual Core processor enough for that?

And does anyone have any experience with these all-in-one desktops? Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanks for any help.

It sounds like you and I have similar hardware needs. My previous computer was an AthlonXP 1600 which is similar to what you are currently using. After much deliberation over what to buy next, In January this year I built a computer with an intel Atom, the D525, and this is similar to the processor in the All-In-One PC you are currently considering.

You want to know how they perform... I had no idea what to expect from my processor when I chose it. My project was meant as an experiment more than anything. Also new to me was sata, usb2, and ddr2 memory. I had no parts compatible with the motherboard, not even a power supply, so every part had to be bought new... so it was quite a big experiment.

Compared to my old AthlonXP, the Atom has a smaller cache and is ultra low power, which I feared would mean sluggish. But on the plus side, it has an improved architecture, a slightly faster clock, and is dual core.

Overall it feels like it runs about 2.5 - 3 times as fast as my old AthlonXP computer ~ something I definitely benefit from, but it's not a massive gain. This was pleasantly surprising, so I decided I'd use this as my main computer.

The integrated graphics is faster than the video card on my old computer. Games from 2005 and earlier run smoothly.

I also have 1GB of memory installed, which is plenty for me. I've never run short of it and ended up in the swap file. Memory usage hovers about 200-300MB most of the time, even when I have a variety of programs running.

DVDs play with something like 1-2% CPU usage, which is nothing. In comparison my AthlonXP used something like 30% CPU usage to play a DVD.

I can do photo editing and other graphics work just fine. Only if I use huge 250 pixel wide smoothing brushes do I notice any lag.

It may be considered weak by todays standards, but computer hardware has grown to a point where even weak hardware is perfectly adequate for many applications.

The final benefit is that the computer is ultra low power, and altogether uses something like 20W compared to 80-100W for an AthlonXP based machine. This means that even if I leave it switched on twice as long, I'm still going to be saving energy and money.

I hope that gives you some idea of what perfomance will be like.

 

[jerriecan]

I'd say you have enough to do what you want for the most part. It depends on what version of Photoshop you're using, though. I use CS, and it runs decently on my desktop (which has roughly the same capabilities as the Compaq you're looking at). Any newer versions pf PS and you'll soon run into trouble. But the rest of your needs are well within the specs of the Compaq.

Good luck with whatever new machine you decide on!

Jerriecan

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Is that CS "1"? I have CS3 in both places and like I said, at work it can get a little troublesome.

But I guess it depends on how much Shatnertage plans to use it.

Personally, when I built my current machine a few years ago, I went completely overboard, so it's running W7 quite well.

 

[Shatnertage]

Not much for Photoshop at home--maybe cropping and sizing a screenshot every now and then.

I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on the Compaq All-in-One.

 

[jerriecan]

If I may suggest something, Shatnertage, if that's all you use Photoshop for then you're going overpowered. There are other free tools available that do many of the things PS does without taking up a fifth of the system resources. if you're mainly using PS for cropping and resizing, you might think about Paint.net - it's set up very similar to PS, has many of the capabilities but is far more streamlined. Granted it's not as powerful, and if you've already got PS you might as well use it, but Paint.net would probably run smoother on the machine you're looking at. Just a thought.

And Al-Pharazon, yes, that's CS1. Too pricey to buy a new version, and my desktop couldn't handle it anyway. But it does all I need it to.

Jerriecan

 

[Shatnertage]

Thanks--I'll look up Paint.net. If I have any serious Photoshopping to do I can use my work computer anyway.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

If I may suggest something, Shatnertage, if that's all you use Photoshop for then you're going overpowered. There are other free tools available that do many of the things PS does without taking up a fifth of the system resources. if you're mainly using PS for cropping and resizing, you might think about Paint.net - it's set up very similar to PS, has many of the capabilities but is far more streamlined. Granted it's not as powerful, and if you've already got PS you might as well use it, but Paint.net would probably run smoother on the machine you're looking at. Just a thought.

And Al-Pharazon, yes, that's CS1. Too pricey to buy a new version, and my desktop couldn't handle it anyway. But it does all I need it to.

Jerriecan

I understand. I managed to get CS3 for the "student" price (still $350), when they weren't asking for any confirmation I was in fact, a student.

Now they're up to CS5. Probably $700 knowing those greedy SOB's at Adobe.

 

[KJbushway]

If your motherboard seems like its broken, have the computer place look at your CPU.

My computer just didn't turn on one day and I thought it was the motherboard and the computer place just agreed with me even though they were confused on why a good motherboard just up and failed. However, after I bought a new motherboard, the old cpu didn't work. So I took a CPU for a computer no-one uses, it turned on the old motherboard. So, just make sure you have them check that, because I would have loved not to pay for a new motherboard.

 

[John O.]

Even though few applications outside of gaming "require" greater than a 1.6 dual core, processor speed isn't simply a matter of "will it, won't it" work. No matter what you're doing, processor speed scales everything. You won't find that anything "doesn't work" on a 1.6 ghz dual core, but it may be pretty slow - it's like a netbook or Dell Mini processor speed, and those aren't build for speed. The same goes for memory. While nothing on your list outside of photoshop applications has the potential to be a memory-hog, if you try to multi-task you'll see the difference between 2, 4 and 8.

 

[farmkid]

Thanks--I'll look up Paint.net. If I have any serious Photoshopping to do I can use my work computer anyway.

If you don't find paint.net to your liking, there's also GIMP that many swear by. I recently found Pixlr, which is a browser-based photo editing tool that's similar to Photoshop. I haven't really used it much, but it looks to be pretty good. Since it's browser-based, you don't even have to install anything.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Thanks--I'll look up Paint.net. If I have any serious Photoshopping to do I can use my work computer anyway.

If you don't find paint.net to your liking, there's also GIMP that many swear by. I recently found Pixlr, which is a browser-based photo editing tool that's similar to Photoshop. I haven't really used it much, but it looks to be pretty good. Since it's browser-based, you don't even have to install anything.

Yeah, those are all good apps. Personally, I swear by GIMP for just about everything.

 

[Shatnertage]

Thanks all. The Compaq is on its way. I'll keep you all posted.

Dave

 

[Shatnertage]

Got the Compaq. Almost everything's installed and running great, but, to my dismay, I learned that Windows 7 doesn't support my printer, an HP Laserjet 1012. I got a helpful link to buy a new printer, though.

I read through a few support threads, the most disenheartening of which was from Oct 2009, which said that HP would be released Windows 7 drivers "soon."