CPU Change??

[David Root]

Thought I'd open a new thread as I had raised this earlier in a basically unrelated thread that wandered a bit, so....

I have a probably 12-13 year old Dell Optiflex 280 that I bought refurbished about 10 years ago. It runs Windows XP Professional, Internet Explorer 8.

I use it for e-mails, web surfing, TAG and on-line banking. That's about it, no iPad, no smart devices. Only plug in is my digital camera.

Some of you have already told me I'm living dangerously on the web with XP from a security point of view. I have one piece of software that seems to work as advertized, Malwarebytes.

I have looked at some used refurbed CPUs on newegg.ca and run across a Dell Optiflex 760 with Windows 7 for a reasonable price. As the Canadian $ is diving right now, down to 77.5 cents US this morning and likely headed lower if Iran gets to sell its oil and the Fed raises US interest rates in September, I'm considering buying one so I can upgrade to Windows 10 free at the end of this month.

But do I really need Windows 10 vs 7? 10 seems to be designed to 1) get rid of the phone interface of Windows 8 and 2) to sync with all the smart gear now out there, none of which I have or want.

If I do this I'll need to go for the new CPU real soon, as I'm told just putting Windows 7 on my existing machine is not a cost effective way to go.

[xtian]

I put Ubuntu or other free Linux distros on older hardware. I can run Chrome or other browsers, and the computer serves as a perfectly good Internet-enabled machine. Your camera driver would be the only thing that might be troublesome.

If you don't want to go Linux, the cheapest way to give your computer new life is to max out the RAM and install a SSD drive to replace your spinning disk. Man, I can't believe you can get 240GB for under $100US.

[David Root]

Thanx, xtian but I'm not tech-savvy enough to mod old CPUs. I am concerned that Windows XP is a security risk. I keep my income tax records on this machine, for example.

This GX-760 at newegg.ca is $300 plus $25 shipping (all $Cdn) and has Windows 7.

[Phil_S]

Here is a whole lot of computer for US$200:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =S02-14020

I'm not sure of the in's and out's of getting it shipped to Canada, but at the current exchange rate ~CN$260. Shipping is extra. Don't know how much, but it is worth asking them.

Here's another, same price. I think it is better than the one above: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 7&csid=_61

I would argue against any upgrades for a 10 year old computer. The new(er) OS will not run as you'd like it to. Whether you upgrade to Windows 10 is up to you. If you buy now, you'll have the option to d/l the new OS and install it if or when you want.

[David Root]

Thanx Phil, I was coming to realize that in practical terms my GX280 is just too old to put new teeth in, so I think what I'll do is replace it and use it without an internet connection to keep my taxes and other personal stuff on it where it's totally safe (unless of course it can be accessed by modulating the 120V wall AC--I bet the NSA could do that!).

Your suggestions are indeed more modern but my wife's eyesight is poor and she needs the 27" monitor screen I just bought, so I'll stick with a desk CPU, or under-desk as I have a printer and the monitor on a 48" x 24" desktop.

I think I'll go for the newegg Dell Optiflex GX760, it appears to offer a lot for the money and I have been otherwise happy with the GX280, so hopefully it will have similar electro-genes!

Intel Core 2 Duo 3.1GHz, 8GB 2TB disk, DVD, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.

Hopefully someone will bless this for my relatively simple needs, or tell me it's not worth it.

[vibratoking]

Intel Core 2 Duo 3.1GHz, 8GB 2TB disk, DVD, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

That machine should work for you. FYI, the Core 2 Duo was a CPU launched in 2009. It's an older architecture. I don't know what you will pay for that, but here is a comparison. I recently bought a desktop off CL with an Intel i5, launched in 2013, and all the same RAM, disk, DVD, and OS for $225 - just the machine, no keyboard, monitor, or anything else.

[David Root]

This GX760 is $300 Cdn ($US232 right now) and includes a keyboard/mouse but no monitor. I have a good monitor so that's not an issue.

Canada's entire population is about the same as California so we don't get US economies of scale ie deals on anything! And if I ordered a CPU from the States it would costa lotta to ship it here, and that negates the better price and then some.

Thanx for the help guys, I'll pull the pin on this one tonite.

[vibratoking]

David, one last thing. Have you checked that the video output of the new PC is compatible with your existing monitor?

[David Root]

Umm..., no. Using the VGA now on existing CPU; according to the monitor user manual it also has a DVI-D/HDMI connection port.

I just checked the GX760 specs online, it lists VGA and "Display Port" whatever that is.

It shipped out to me today.

[drew]

Displayport is a less widely adopted interface for digital video. What you will want to do is order a displayport-to-hdmi adapter to plug into the computer, then use a normal HDMI cable to make the connection to the monitor. The image quality should be much better this way than with the VGA, which is basically age-of-the-dinosaurs tech at this point.

Note: if you don't look closely, a display port socket doesn't look that different from a USB port. Don't make the mistake of trying to cram a USB keyboard or mouse cable, thumb drive, or what have you, into the displayport socket.

[vibratoking]

Or just continue using VGA. You already have the cables and I doubt you will notice a difference.

[David Root]

OK, thanx.

While I think of it, I will have the new CPU later this week.. In view of the problems I now have with the existing setup, I don't want to just dump the entire contents of my back up disk into the new CPU.

How can I do this selectively so that all the old bugs/corruption doesn't contaminate the new CPU?

[brentm]

OK, thanx.

While I think of it, I will have the new CPU later this week.. In view of the problems I now have with the existing setup, I don't want to just dump the entire contents of my back up disk into the new CPU.

How can I do this selectively so that all the old bugs/corruption doesn't contaminate the new CPU?

David,

Can you browse your backup drive in Windows Explorer? If so, you can probably just navigate to your "Documents and Settings\David Root\My Documents" folder and grab your documents. Then \My Pictures - \Favorites - \Desktop - \My Music.

Or you might just grab the Windows 7 "Easy Transfer" application.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... y-transfer

That would probably be the easiest option....

[David Root]

Thanx brentm. I looked around earlier today and found that info about Windows 7 Easy Transfer, so I'll try that.

[guittech]

Hey David, Tiger Direct sells in Canada, as does Canada Computers... (Tigerdirect.ca) No worry about cross border or crazy high shipping fees. I am in Tdot, I've got both companies with shipping centers as well as brick and mortar stores within walking distance, I would think there has to be an equivelant out west.

Of course, I am NOT the guy to be talking computers with, since i build them like i build amps... More than i need to! Currently using a quad core with dual video cards and 16 gb of ram, here at the office. It's my "old junky gaming computer" lol, Dual monitor setup so I can surf TAG and still have my second monitor on our POS system (i work in a guitar shop)

I recently built a kickass crazy gaming computer, only to realize as i turn 40 that i don't really game anymore. So it sits beside my regular home office computer, waiting for me to get a craving to play some old skool games!