Time to Upgrade Your Computer? - Comments Page 2

For backup, we use what is called a "Clickfree" backup system. Works very well with no setup or clicking necessary unless you want to adjust your options. Plugs into a USB port. Also, does more than one computer. Just plug it in and it automatically backs up. Likely, the easiest backup there is. Takes a while first time thru. They come in different capacities.

As a side note. It would take 100's of floppy discs to backup today's computers. However, we have a Sony Mavica camera that uses floppys for memory. It works so well that we still have floppy drives in our computers for the camera.

Also, good info on the upgrades Bob. And from all the posters too. That is something we have been putting off and probably need to do. I'll refer back to this page when I do.

It's probably true to say that all your articles are of value & certainly worth reading. The current one exemplifies the good advice that you constanly give rather than the 'off the cuff'answer.

Bob, I always read your emails because of advice like this.

My PC is running XP and Ubuntu (just in case), but have no intentions of upgrading. I'm using less than 80% of my 250gb hard-drive, and with scheduled system cleaning to maintain it with backup every Sunday it runs fine.

To keep my PC (running XP) clean I use Glary Utilities & Soluto with Smart Defrag 2 to sort out my hard drives.
NB when installing these, as with all software, don't blindly click "yes" or "next" but read what it's asking unless you want a new homepage, default search engine, etc.

I bought a Tiger Direct kit to run Windows 7 - haven't gotten around to 8 yet though I've worked with it some. But, for keeping business documents and as a printer server, I still run an IBM (not Lenovo) Netvista Pentium III that I bought refurbished in 2001. I upgraded the processor and maxed the RAM (512MB!), at one point I replaced the power supply and switch. It runs Windows 2000. It's glacially slow booting, but otherwise does the job just fine. It has outlasted 2 other machines. So, I totally agree - it's what you want to do with the machine, not the latest and best technology that should drive the decision to buy.

Bob, thanks as always for your wonderful articles.
Regular maintenance is a must for all PCs
My first computer was a clunky old HP (I can't remember the model number) with a 500mhz CPU and 32mb RAM and a 10gb hard drive.
In the 3 years I had it I upgraded to 512mb RAM (the max it could hold) and added an 80g 2nd hard drive.
When it came time to replace it due to a series of hardware failures I decided to build my own.
With a lot of research I realized it was not terribly difficult to do.

This was my first build:
- Intel D915PGN Socket 775LGA Motherboard
- Corsair TX650W 650 Watt Power Supply
- Windows XP Pro x32 w/ SP3
- 3.6ghz Intel P4 with Hyper Threading, 2mb L2 Cache and 800mhz FSB
- 2g Corsair XMS Dual Channel DDR RAM (PC3200)
- NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT with 1g DDR2 RAM
- LaCie Double Layer DVD±/CD-RW drive with Lightscribe
- 74g Western Digital 10,000 rpm SATA150 Raptor Hard Drive with 16mb Cache (C: drive)
- 400g Western Digital SATA150 Hard Drive with 16mb Cache (D: drive)
- Mitsumi 7-in-1 Card Reader/Writer and Floppy Drive

This PC served me well for more than 8 years and as a hardcore gamer I seldom had any problems with it.
With regular maintenance any PC will last for many years and serve you very well.
I recently built my newest PC and it's better than the first build.

Here are (some of) the specs:
- ASUS M4A87T AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard
- Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Power Supply
- Windows 7 Ultimate x64 w/ SP1
- AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor (4th core not unlocked)
- ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Desktop Memory
- SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity Technology
- 74gb Western Digital 10,000 rpm SATA150 Raptor Hard Drive with 16mb Cache (C: drive)
- 1tb Western Digital 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (D: drive)
- LITE-ON Double Layer DVD±/CD-RW SATA drive

NOTE: The 74g Raptor drive in my new build is the same one that was in my 1st build.
It it still running strong and I make back-ups on a regular basis in case it fails.
I also omitted a floppy drive on my new PC as they are quickly becoming obsolete.
I anticipate that with regular maintenance this one should last me into year 2020, maybe even close to 2025.

Nice question about purchasing a new PC etc. What Bob has suggested holds good. Being a very senior IT consultant, I may add that use your PC/Laptop till the end. My researches have shown that a very vast majority of users use their PCs for word processing, surfing on Net and similar simple tasks. Only professional use their PCs for Video editing or other number intensive tasks. So my advice is not to be taken in by the hype that PC manufacturers spread. I have a number of PCs and laptops and some of these machines are more that 8 years old and still working fine. Proper maintenance and good care is needed. Definitely, PCs have their life, but with a little care we can prolong it. Need based purchases are best. Good luck.