The 'end' of Widows XP - New PC time!

[morethanworts]

I know many of you will be more up to date on PCs, laptops and everything to do with them than me. A bit like cars, it's something I only get clued up on every 5 to 8 years or so - whenever they need replacing, and I delay the moment as long as possible! Your recommendations would be very welcome.

With the withdrawal of support for Windows XP next month, I'm going to replace the trusty Dell Dimension 5150 and also put a newer version of Windows on the Dell laptop (which is only used for audio recording and kept extremely 'clean'). I was quite content with XP, but I guess the security architecture alone will just be too out of date soon and will not be updated by Microsoft after April.

I have around 200-odd Gig of documents and I want to future proof myself for at least 5 years in terms of storage, so I guess I'm looking at a 2TB+ Hard drive perhaps, allowing for increasing file sizes? So a PC with good storage, reasonable (but not necessarily gaming-grade) chip speed, average graphics and sound, for my fairly basic uses. I don't need a new monitor or peripherals. Budget definitely under £500, probably lower. I'm not tempted to get a local store to make anything up: I'd rather have a tried and tested unit. Dad's just got a Zoostorm and seems happy with that, for his similarly basic uses...

As for the Windows on that and the laptop, I just want the most prompt, fuss-free version. I've barely used anything after XP!

I'm all ears! :thumb:

 

[BIGJIM72]

I would start with running the Windows upgrade checker to see if your laptop & desktop can cope with Windows 7 or 8. Looking at the specs for your desktop I think with a memory upgrade you might be able to run 7 ( I am running 7 on a P4 with 4 gig of memory as a HTPC). Depends on how much you want to spend really & if you want to spend on parts for an old machine or go new.

I would go for 7 myself, but there are others here that may sway you over to Linux.

 

[hairybiker]

Depends on what you use the pc's for really.
If you are tied to a particular app then sticking with M$ is probably what you want to do. However if you only surf/email/play music then any of the Linux distro's will do so for you with no need to update your pc.

I have been using Linux for 7+ years now and only have an xp machine to update phones/tablets etc that don't provide a proper app to do it :nono: I will NOT be changing that pc to anything as it only gets switched on rarely.

Audio processing using audatious is crossplatform, but it depends on what you are doing. There are some dedicated audio distros out there that can do real time stuff. Not into that so can't really comment.

You can download a copy of any Linux distro (I recommend Linux Mint 16 Mate) and TRY with without damaging your pc by burning it on to a dvd and booting from that. That will give you and idea of what it looks like and how easy it is to use.

BTW Munich was distributing FREE Linux cd's to all the people who still have XP there. So it is no longer a niche product, even stream has games to run on it :party:

 

[supersteve]

Personally I'd steer clear of Dells, they make good products but in my opinions it's over priced. You can get the same spec machines for a lot less from places like Ergo.

Windows 7 is a good shout, but windows 8.1 is where the future will be.

 

[hairybiker]

BTW The machine I use daily is a Dell Dimension 9200, I got it from freecycle several years ago "as it was too slow!" New hdd and 4Gb of ram, new graphics card (NV GT610 fanless) and I recently added a faster processor (2.66Ghz from 2.33 so not much difference )

This is used for audio playback (streaming radio all day), watching videos (2 screens both from freecycle), games, surfing, email, printing, etc etc etc.

 

[LeithR]

I'm with hairybiker,
I've been a Puppy Linux user for the last 5 years and since settling on this version of the software (Slacko 5.3.3) I'm very happy with it and have no plans to change. It runs perfectly on my HP Pavilion ZV6000 with a 40G HDD and 512M of RAM which I bought second hand for £6 at the car boot.

As per hairybikers second post, I video stream a fair bit as well, works a treat. And the Linux forum, certainly for Puppy at http://www.murga-linux.com absolutely first class. Better than M$'s puny efforts.

Be daring and think beyond Windoze!! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[morethanworts]

There are areas in which I do go off the beaten path, but I'm not sure my home PC for whole family use is one. I'm worried I'd have to go on geeky websites to learn about the simplest thing. (sorry!) I do that enough already. Moving a 7yr old off windows probably won't help him in school.

Thanks for the advice, but this is going to end with a Windows purchase I'm afraid.

 

[Bernie]

I have around 200-odd Gig of documents and I want to future proof myself for at least 5 years in terms of storage, so I guess I'm looking at a 2TB+ Hard drive perhaps, allowing for increasing file sizes? :

Buy a back up hard drive

 

[morethanworts]

I have around 200-odd Gig of documents and I want to future proof myself for at least 5 years in terms of storage, so I guess I'm looking at a 2TB+ Hard drive perhaps, allowing for increasing file sizes? :

Buy a back up hard drive

I've got two, but I think it's time to change PC regardless. This one has served its time and the end of XP support seems like the right time.

 

[BrewWoo]

I used to spend silly money on IT, £2,000+ on processors, thousands on RAM.. Nothing exceeds like excess.

Logging into ebuyer my last PC order for 2011 was almost £6k. I haven't bought anything in a long while. In fact I no longer have a desktop, I'm using a laptop these days.

If you are comfortable in putting together your own PC, I'd do that, it'll save you so much money and you get to hand pick the parts that A) suit your budget and B) your needs.

It's pretty hard to put the PC together wrong as well, as ALL the parts only fit into their respective sockets one way, so unless you are a hamfisted beast, it's almost impossible to put it together incorrectly.

 

[hairybiker]

Well if you are stuck on M$. The a few of the recycle sites, they buy "surplus" stock and sell it cheaply. I got a nice Levenoo laptop with a whole 50 HOURS off use on it (from the info from the hdd), for £65. There is one that deals in Dell hardware as well.

You still need to BUY a new copy of M$ OS but at least the hardware would be cheaper.

As to a 7 YO using it, they would be better off NOT pre-programmed that M$ is the only way, the use of Open/Libre Office rather than M$ office etc (Even the GOV is trying to move away from M$!)

 

[supersteve]

Your kids will probably always need to use Microsoft.

They've just knocked off loads of money for schools buying their OS's and software, and it's industry standard anyway..

To expand on this, With office 365 school kids / teenagers will be able to install a full suite of office at home for free and have access to all of their school work at home.

 

[oldbloke]

Avoid Windows8 is at all possible. Windows 7 is the one to go for, or wait for whatever's next...
Seriously consider some form of Linux, it'll run almost all Windows software in an emulator, or have its own stuff that's better and can read the Windows file formats

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Avoid Windows8 is at all possible. Windows 7 is the one to go for, or wait for whatever's next...

What's wrong with Windows 8?

I've used windows since version 2. That was a long time ago. I use a computer of some sorts for most of the time. My work PC is Windows 7. I have upgraded both my home desktop and personal laptop to Windows 8.1. I hate going back to Windows 7 now.

I don't get all this hate for Windows 8.

 

[oldbloke]

Bought the MiL a new PC, it had 8, she couldn't find anything. Took me ages to get it enough likk a normal desktop for her to be OK with it.
Maybe 8.1 is better

 

[supersteve]

People are scared of change.. Windows 8 is fantastic but it was designed for tablet PCs and Touch Screen devices and computers. That being said it's still great, if you're stuck in your ways and don't want to move with the times then windows 7 is your go to OS, Do not avoid windows 8 though.

 

[brewtim]

If you want an almost hassle free computing life then get an Apple Mac (oops what have I done now).

I'm not bashing M$, it continues to provide me with a living at work and has done for many years, but for ordinary home users, who don't want to tinker, who want a simple to use, hassle free computer experience that will last for years without major security fixes, constant updates and expensive OS upgrades, then you cant beat Apple, I've been a convert for 6 years now and while Windows looks like it is [slowly] catching up, everytime I logon to a windoze machine I breathe a sigh of disappointment and long for my shiny Apple laptop.

In my eyes, budget is less relevant, value for money is what counts over the long term my 2008 Macbook Pro laptop is still an excellent workhorse and still relevant to the latest version of OSX. If you also have other Apple devices (iphone, ipad etc) they all work seamlessly together. I've saved my wife (and myself) countless hours of frustrating effort of fixing her cheapo Windows laptops by buying a Macbook Air for her, it does everything she wants and hasn't gone wrong in 4 years.

Get a used example of an Apple for under £500 and you'd be doing well, but there is a reason for that......

:party:

 

[kentmark]

I have around 200-odd Gig of documents and I want to future proof myself for at least 5 years in terms of storage, so I guess I'm looking at a 2TB+ Hard drive perhaps, allowing for increasing file sizes? :

Buy a back up hard drive

I've got two, but I think it's time to change PC regardless. This one has served its time and the end of XP support seems like the right time.

On the storage front you could just use a USB external drive for backup. Something else that's coming down in prices is NAS boxes. You plug them into your home router (I'm currently using a BT Homehub and was with Sky before that for example), do a bit of config and you have a networked hard drive that can be accessed from multiple devices. If you get a 2-drive NAS you can usually configure them to mirror between the primary and secondary drives, giving a little more resiliency.

Just another thought to add into the mix :geek:

 

[Bernie]

On the storage front you could just use a USB external drive for backup. Something else that's coming down in prices is NAS boxes. You plug them into your home router (I'm currently using a BT Homehub and was with Sky before that for example), do a bit of config and you have a networked hard drive that can be accessed from multiple devices. If you get a 2-drive NAS you can usually configure them to mirror between the primary and secondary drives, giving a little more resiliency.

Just another thought to add into the mix :geek:

Good point. They can also be accessed across the WWW making pads a competitive choice compare with a portable, which would be handy on brew days.

 

[Vossy1]

There are areas in which I do go off the beaten path, but I'm not sure my home PC for whole family use is one. I'm worried I'd have to go on geeky websites to learn about the simplest thing. (sorry!) I do that enough already. Moving a 7yr old off windows probably won't help him in school.

m, I've been in the same situation as you recently and there is another alternative.
After speaking to (Martin) Eskibrew he advised running Linux in virtual box along side XP for a month or so to see how I got on with it, and tbh, I'm no techy but it was a lot easier than I thought. One of the programmes is designed to look and feel just like Windows and it's very easy to get used to. Why not upgrade your Windows but run Linux alongside so when the time comes again with Windows (as it does) you'll be in a more informed position to decide, like myself.