I don't think I have anymore knowledge than you Jock but I would go for a total replacement. Problem with upgrades is that you are only upgrading one bit of the PC the bulk remains old unless you go the whole hog and you then might as well buy a replacement!.

Its a while since I last looked a prices but £350 sounds a little low for what you want to do and I personally prefer a desktop as my main machine and would go for a notebook as the portable.

peedee

 

Jock,
Go for the new machine. Within your budget you will get:
3gb memory
Dual Core processor
250gb Hard drive
3 or more USB 2.0
Bigger screen
Brighter screen
Windows 7, which is fantastic.
DVD Writer
You are unlikely to find PCMCIA on any laptop now.

Personally, I would avoid Dell as they now have the highest returns rate in the High Street.
Gerry

Edited to say, buy it after Chrstmas in the sales.

 

Having just gone through a similar situation,i would replace

especially if you can get windows 7 and a dual core processor,within your budjet..my new one goes like a rocket..

Not sure you will get all that for £350

Got a link to any Gerry

 

Hi

I would also go for a new machine, if possible look for dedicated graphics memory and try to avoid the celeron or duron processors, it's not that they are bad, it's just that for a little more money you get a lot more performance. even if this meant sacrificing the webcam, you can add a webcam later but you can't change the cpu or graphics subsystem.

If you do go for upgrading; ensure you re-install the operating system, this will probably do more to improve stability and performance than expanding the hard drive and memory.

Lee

 

Try this page and select from many that fit your criteria. The company have served me well over the past few years, and I have no connection with them other than as a satisfied customer.

Colin

 

Had to pop out, but back now. :wink:

First of all, many thanks to those who have replied with their advice and views. It's all appreciated, I promise you.

Its a while since I last looked a prices but £350 sounds a little low for what you want to do and I personally prefer a desktop as my main machine and would go for a notebook as the portable.

Thanks Peedee.
I could possibly add to Rita's budget, if not too much, in order to obtain a good spec.

GerryD, thanks. Any links please, or any recommendations on which make? I suppose I could live without the PCMCIA slot, but is does serve my unlocked datacard for mobile internet whilst the USB sockets are in use.
I didn't know about the number of Dell returns. 8O 8O 8O That's a shame.

Not sure you will get all that for £350

Thanks Neil. I just don't want Rita spending any more than that, out of her pocket, although I know she would do if asked.............and I am not asking. :wink:

If you do go for upgrading; ensure you re-install the operating system, this will probably do more to improve stability and performance than expanding the hard drive and memory.

Lee

Thanks Lee. It's looking like a replacement. I suppose I could always hang onto the little Dell, and just use it for the MH only, but upgrade the RAM to speed it up a bit, and stop it from freezing up.
Due to lack of IT knowledge, or practical experience, reinstalling the OS wouldn't be an option, as well as the fact that I don't have the programme disc.

Try this page and select from many that fit your criteria. The company have served me well over the past few years, and I have no connection with them other than as a satisfied customer.

Colin

Thanks Colin. Any particular make, for long term reliability?

Keep them coming please.

Cheers for now,

Jock.

 

No question Jock - replace. :wink:

The one I'm working on now is much younger than your "Evesham" but (for a start) the RAM memory is outdated and very expensive, even from somewhere like Crucial who are usually quite cheap.

The CPU would also need updating, and in my case those two items alone would cost almost as much as a new machine.

And it would still be only as fast as the slowest component part. :roll:

For optimum performance all the separate items which make up a computer need to be matched to each other, so if you have an elderly machine the question answers itself really. :?

Dave

 

Go for a replacement!

My £600 Sony VAIO far out-performs my £1500 4 year old desktop.

 

>> Any particular make re reliability?

I have both Toshiba and IBM (now Lenovo) laptops and both are long in the tooth but still giving admirable service.

You say that a mic and speakers are needed for Skype - why not use an Ipevo handset - I use it on my laptop for all Skype calls and it is wonderful!

Colin

 

>> Any particular make re reliability?

I have both Toshiba and IBM (now Lenovo) laptops and both are long in the tooth but still giving admirable service.

You say that a mic and speakers are needed for Skype - why not use an Ipevo handset - I use it on my laptop for all Skype calls and it is wonderful!

Colin

Thanks Colin. Noted, Toshiba or Lenevo!

It's probably my assumption (rightly or wrongly), that most modern laptops come with a built in webcam, mic and speakers. At the moment, if someone Skypes us, I have to delay them whilst I set up the webcam, and headset with boom mic. It's a pain in the proverbial.

Regards,

Jock.

 

When at home, my laptop spends most of its life on a 3M Laptop Riser and the camera & USB handset are permanently plugged in. Gave my desktop machine to the grandkids for gaming.

Colin

 

I run 8 Hp's at work no problems at all.over the last 3-4 years
5 desktops and 3 laptops.

The new lap top with windows 7 and dual core2 is amazing(if you like that sort of thing) 8) 8)

 

I have just gone through the same exercise and ended up with an Acer from Tesco's I bought an Acer Aspire 5738Z which does everything I want and more and comes with built in webcam.

More details on it's specifications from;

http://www.simplyacer.com/Acer_Aspire_5738Z_625144.html

Tesco's were way cheaper than Acer Direct - it cost me under £400 as it was on special offer.

I had looked at a Dell Inspiron (MrsW has one) but several things deterred me; 1. her machine has proved very slow, the CD cover has fallen off and Dell are not helpful (only 8 months old), the cost was greater than the Acer, and when I tried to order a Dell I was told I had to pay for it, then they would build it and send it to me for delivery about 6 weeks in the future. When I said we would not be there, the answer was effectively "Tuf" if they cannot deliver it they will return it to us and eventually we will refund your money and no we cannot deliver to an alternative address. they were awful as regards helping so lost the deal.

The Acer has proved very quick and we are just upgrading to Windows7 as part of the deal.

Tesco's is not a bad place to look if you know what you want!

Dave

 

Now's the time to buy with all the offers on at the moment - I am currently looking at All In Ones which are alot tidier like >>Viewsonic<<

 

You only have 3 problems with both your laptops, it's the same old problem every time. MEMORY MEMORY & MEMORY.

They have nowhere near enough, just adding 1GB will give you a new machine

Biglol

EDIT :2GB would be great
EDIT : and I use an Apple

 

I have also been looking to replace my old laptop and also my desktop.

On looking around the spec looks brilliant at 4gb memory and 500gb hard drive for around £400 for laptops but !!!!!!! and in my case its a big BUT !! there is no word processing, spreadsheets or database on windows 7,

They tell me that you now have to pay extra to have them put on and thats not cheap.

I am no expert on computers and certainly not when it comes to understanding the spec of them but if there is no spreadsheet, word processor or database then to me it is just a toy.
Am i wrong or not ?

RD

 

I have also been looking to replace my old laptop and also my desktop.

On looking around the spec looks brilliant at 4gb memory and 500gb hard drive for around £400 for laptops but !!!!!!! and in my case its a big BUT !! there is no word processing, spreadsheets or database on windows 7,

They tell me that you now have to pay extra to have them put on and thats not cheap.

I am no expert on computers and certainly not when it comes to understanding the spec of them but if there is no spreadsheet, word processor or database then to me it is just a toy.
Am i wrong or not

RD

You can buy works for about £15

or office 2007 for less than £50

 

I have also been looking to replace my old laptop and also my desktop.

On looking around the spec looks brilliant at 4gb memory and 500gb hard drive for around £400 for laptops but !!!!!!! and in my case its a big BUT !! there is no word processing, spreadsheets or database on windows 7,

They tell me that you now have to pay extra to have them put on and thats not cheap.

I am no expert on computers and certainly not when it comes to understanding the spec of them but if there is no spreadsheet, word processor or database then to me it is just a toy.
Am i wrong or not ?

RD

You could always get Openoffice. Its free and compatible with Word and just as good. IMO.

 

As a previous poster has said increase your RAM (memory) to the maximum.

Go to http://www.crucial.com/uk/ and download the scanner which will look at your machine and tell you what memory you have and available space. It will also suggest a possible purchase.

Also go to http://www.winpatrol.com/ and download the freebie which will allow you to see all items that startup when your computer boots up. Most of them are not required to startup at boot and can be disabled to stop them running in the background.

You will be amazed at the increase in speed of bootup and opening of other processes.

If worried about opening and inserting memory then there are many "how to do it" sites on the web.

Terry

 

I have had several Dell laptops and never had a problem, don't pay extra for more than a 1 year warranty and the price drops right down. The difference is nearly a third of the price of a new machine so save it for when you want to replace next time.
I have had 2 faults in total with Dell one was a hard drive that at 11 months old started to play up. It could have been a software problem but as the warranty was nearly out I rang Dell and they send a new hard drive in the post the following day.
The second was a screen that failed, they collected and returned it within 3 days.
I have just bought my daughter a dell machine for christmas from carphone warehouse. It is 17" so not too portable but what a great screen.
A dual core 64 bit processor which really makes the difference especially with Windows 7 load of memory and storage and a webcam.
All this for £329 delivered and another £16 back from Quidco.
Save the old laptop for taking away, pop in some extra memory, format the hard drive and reinstall just what you need when your away and it will be a lot better and beats leaving your new machine in the MH when it's unattended

 

Save the old laptop for taking away, pop in some extra memory, format the hard drive and reinstall just what you need when your away and it will be a lot better and beats leaving your new machine in the MH when it's unattended

Thanks JP. I think that will be the route for the current laptop, including upping the RAM a bit.

It's knowing what to buy that's the problem. I quite liked the look of this HP Compaq from Ebuyer, but someone mentioned not to bother with AMD. I'm not sure why. Is Intel a better processor?

Thanks to everyone for their input so far. It will probably be after Christmas when we buy, but for now, keep any suggestions coming in please.

Best regards,

Jock.

 

>> Any particular make re reliability?

I have both Toshiba and IBM (now Lenovo) laptops and both are long in the tooth but still giving admirable service.

You say that a mic and speakers are needed for Skype - why not use an Ipevo handset - I use it on my laptop for all Skype calls and it is wonderful!

Colin

Hi

I second Colins recomendation of Lenovo, very good, i hate the way keyboards flex on so many other brands, when Lenovo laptops have a quality feel to them

Lee

 

A few months ago, I did something that I thought would have taken a team of wild horses - I bought a laptop from PC World.

I know horror stories about PCW come by the bucket load, but on this occasion, it really was a good deal. They had an ex-display Toshiba Satellite L 350 (Core 2 1.66GHz processor / 160GB HDD / 2GB memory / 17 inch screen). It came with a full Toshiba warranty and I couldn't find anything wrong with it at all - no dead pixels, not a mark on the case - and it was marked up at under £200 to clear (I think the internet price at the time was around £365).

Sometimes it pays to look out for end-of-line / ex-display kit.

Mike

 

Computer

From what you are using at the moment and the current spec I would suggest you replace. For just £3 > 400 you will be pleasantly surprised.
If however you are intending to play the latest games or get into Photography or Films you may use the opportunity to really spread your wings on graphic cards.

My PC is basically a pretend Aeroplane so requires lots of Ram, Large Hard Drives, high end graphics cards and fast processors, bit anoraky really.

Steve

 

Re: Computer

If however you are intending to play the latest games or get into Photography or Films you may use the opportunity to really spread your wings on graphic cards.

Not intending to.............excessively. :wink:

My PC is basically a pretend Aeroplane so requires lots of Ram, Large Hard Drives, high end graphics cards and fast processors, bit anoraky really.

:lol:

Regards,

Jock.