Seeking help on my first computer build

[-joe-]

Ok my current set-up is a older Dell Dimension 8400.
Intel Pentium 4 3.20gHz CPU
1 GB of RAM
?gb Western Digital 7200rpm HDD
Thats all i know about it

It is becoming very slow; opening new tabs and new windows takes 10+ seconds at times. All I ever do with my computer is a ton of Internet multi-tasking, Farmville a lot, itunes, and microsoft office. I was thinking of just buying another dell but they don't offer very much and i hate the bloatware that comes with them. Can anyone help me get started; I am thinking AVADirect because I want to stay under $800 with this build?

Thanks

 

[Niklas_13]

Would you be willing to build your own system ? you can put a good system together for 800 bucks that will be better then one you can buy and you wont get the bloatwhare

This is a step by step how to build a PC http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

Other good read me http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/269162-31-recommended-builds-usage

Your call let us know

 

[-joe-]

I don't want to build it myself, i was thinking of putting it together on avadirect.

 

[killerclick]

I don't want to build it myself, i was thinking of putting it together on avadirect.

But where's the fun in that?

 

[Niklas_13]

http://livehotdeals.com/HP-Pavilion-Elite-e9300z-series_32062 maybe something like this would suit you

Anyways, you are going to get bloatwhare with any prebuilt PC less its a custom build that would be out of your budget range anyways.

All PCs slow down after time maybe you can just reinstall the OS and programs and see if that brings your PC back to life.

 

[number13]

how old is the computer, what OS, what have you been doing with it, do you have a A/V program that is up to date, do you run a spyware program

 

[jsc]

What you are doing is not very demanding. Before you spend any money, try a fresh Windows install to clean all the junk out of your system.

 

[capt_taco]

What you are doing is not very demanding. Before you spend any money, try a fresh Windows install to clean all the junk out of your system.

Exactly what I was thinking. On any machine that old (I'm guessing 5+ years), eventually enough "Windows rot" piles up in the form of junk files, registry errors and so on, that your system will slow down significantly. If you haven't defragged your hard drive in a long time, you may try that first and see if it saves you the trouble of reinstalling.

Also, check how full your hard drive is in the first place. If it's pushing 75-80% (read: did you fill it up completely with music files?), that's about the point where they start to struggle and you see a significant increase in search and load times.

But again, if all you're using this machine for is iTunes and the internet, you don't need a very powerful machine, and getting this one back running like it should ought to be fine.

 

[-joe-]

Ok thanks for all the tips and advice. The computer is probably 10 years old and used to run great.

Ok so everyone thinks i should just reinstall the operating system? I just went and ordered a Dell laptop today will it come with a windows 7 CD?

 

[-joe-]

I found a Windows XP Recovery CD by Alienware, that came from my dads computer, would that work?

 

[Niklas_13]

I found a Windows XP Recovery CD by Alienware, that came from my dads computer, would that work?

yup that will do it


I would not run win7 on the old PC tho

+ the OS that comes with the laptop is a OEM more likely and is only for that machine

 

[-joe-]

thanks, thats what i was affaid of

So how do I go about removing everything and starting fresh?
Will it completly wipe out everything?

How can i keep microsoft office thats already on it?

 

[Niklas_13]

Well the recovery disk Should have the OS and drivers etc to get it up and running, I would go online and dload all the new drivers and load them after Windows loads and update windows, As far as office goes you will need to reinstall it off the disk

 

[Niklas_13]

I found a Windows XP Recovery CD by Alienware, that came from my dads computer, would that work?

I just seen that you said you found a Alienware Recovery CD but your system is a dell ?

You will need to find the dell one or buy a OEM OS to reinstall

 

[-joe-]

I can't find the disk... is there any other way?