Need new computer advice

[Chad Fitzgerald]

getting a new computer, local computer shop priced me two computers, would like your advice on which one i "need".
Im sure both will work fine, im sure the more expensive one is "better", but is it necessary.

1st:Lenovo IdeaCentre H530 Desktop (3.0 GHz Intel Dual-Core G3220 Processor, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 1 TB HDD, Windows 7)

IntelPentium Dual Core processor
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Integrated IntelHD graphics
HDMI output, 7-in-1 card reader and USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports
Integrated DVD drive
Slim, space-saving USB keyboard, USB mouse
Easy access to hard drive and memory for simple upgrades
25L Tower form factor

2nd: Dell Inspiron i3847-5078BK Desktop (Windows 7)

• Intel Core i5-4460 Processor
• 8GB DDR3
• 1 TB Hard Drive
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I use the internet, coreldraw for laser, will be getting aspire(when i get a cnc), kcdw(kitchen design software)

Advice appreciated, there is about 150-250 dollars difference
Thanks Chad

[Paul Phillips]

Hi Chad, IMO the Lenovo should work fine in the short term but I've found that if you can afford it, it's worth getting a bit extra, it should last longer and you won't be wishing you had gotten more horse power upfront. 8 gigs of RAM should be minimum at this point, just my opinion though, I'm sure others will chime in with theirs also.

[Dan Hintz]

Either processor is more than fast enough, but I would upgrade your RAM to 8GB if you'll be drawing in CorelDraw... you can never have enough memory when it comes to graphics packages.

[Paul Hinds]

+1 on the suggestions that 4G main memory is absolutely not enough these days, and either processor is going to be lots more power than you need.

I am a power user in every respect except for graphics/video, which I don't do at all, and my 500gig HD is plenty, so I think 1T HD is more than enough, probably WAY more than enough for you UNLESS you are into, or plan to get into, heavy use of graphics files. They are resource hogs.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

You don't mention which version of CD you are using. That may make a difference if you are running a 32-bit version of CD on the 64-bit Windows. (Check this forum. I believe people were having problems with that issue.)

If you have a 64-bit version of CD, either of those 2 computers listed will do just fine, but if you plan on keeping that computer for some length of time, upgrade the memory to 8. I don't know about X5, but Corel X6 will install either 32-bit or 64-bit depending upon what OS it detects.

[Robert Tepper]

I have owned several Dell computers and have never been disappointed with my purchases. I run my laser and CD X6 among other programs.

Dell has excellent service and is very dependable.

Good luck with your purchase,
Robert

[Kev Williams]

My new NEW computer is an HP Pavillion, 3.2ghz quad core AMD, 8g ram, Win8 64...

My new OLD computer is a Dell Optiplex 760, 2.66 duo-core Intel, 3.5g ram, it HAD Win7 64, which I replaced with plain ol' WinXP pro..

I also have a Dell something, that has Win7 64 Enterprise, 2.16 duo-core intel, 4gigs ram...

The Win7 and 8 computers will load up Corel X4 almost instantly. My WinXP will load it in about 4 seconds.

Aside from that, I don't notice that the XP is any slower than the 7 or 8 machines. The Win8 runs my IS400, the Win7 runs my IS7000 and the Triumph. WinXP does virtually everything else, because the newer computers won't run ANY of my other machines, won't run my 2005 Quickbooks, or my 8 year old HP all-in-one fax-printer... New computers are nearly worthless to me...

[Mike Lysov]

I would recommend to get a SSD for OS. 64GB or 128GB solid state discs do not cost much but they make a huge difference in both loading and processing.
I have put a 128GB SSD in my laptop that I use for business and comparing it to a regular HDD the difference is huge. I do not even have a second hard drive in it because it is not a dual HDDs laptop. Still have a lot of space left after using it for almost 2 years.

[Chad Fitzgerald]

wow, thanks all.
Mike chance: Corel draw, currently have x4, but i think i will need to upgrade to x6 for win7(right??).
Sounds like 8 G ram is the way to go. check.
Just one more question on the processors: both will be fine sounds like, computer store said the "duo-core" may not hold up after 5-6 years therefore recommended the quad core. should i worry about 5-6 years when it comes to a computer?????
Thanks Again All
Chad

[Jerome Stanek]

I would go with the Dell as more 4 gigs more ram that you would want in it also a faster processor. The Dell should run about $549 from Amazon with free shipping

[Dan Hintz]

Just one more question on the processors: both will be fine sounds like, computer store said the "duo-core" may not hold up after 5-6 years therefore recommended the quad core. should i worry about 5-6 years when it comes to a computer?????

It's a seller's ploy to get you to spend more money now. Will you be running the same machine in 5-6 years with the same software versions? I don't upgrade software often... I was a beta tester for X5, still run X5, and will continue to run X5 until such time as I beta test another version. If it works, I see no need to "keep up with the Joneses". Computers don't magically lose speed with their hardware, people just keep upgrading all of their software, which requires more hardware oomph. Stick with what you have and be happy.

[Neil Pabia]

I upgrade my computers every two years. The last few I had were Asus laptops and since using those I would never go back to a desktop. I also agree that a dual core is plenty of processor and 8 gigs of ram is better than 4 gigs, but will you really notice the difference? Probably not.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I agree with Dan. I see people encouraged to buy more because the seller has no idea what the buyer intends to use it for. I have a 10 year old, 1.5 GHz duo core processor ThankPad laptop running XP and it's still going strong. With all the latest software updates, Chrome has been pushing it's 1 GB memory and crashing it. Two weeks ago I bought a 2 GB memory for around $25, popped it in to make 3 GB and I have a brand new laptop that is no longer running hot. That laptop will continue to be for personal and business email use, surfing the internet, as well as run the dated software for my old rotary engraver. I feel certain that if I walked into a store looking for a laptop, I would be shown laptops that had way more power then I need and would not be as durable as my old one.

I would have been content to keep using my Corel X3 on my XP computer, but I needed the more advanced OpenType Font capabilities that X6 offered. My XP computer was slightly over the minimum requirements, but X6 still brought it to a crawl. After suffering for 2 years, I finally bought a new Windows 7 64-bit computer last week and recently posted my experiences with transferring my Corel files.

This forum does not allow 2-character searches (i.e. X4) so you will have to include search terms such as "corel" and "upgrade" and "64-bit" and see if you can find the posts about using X4 on a Windows 7 computer. You might be okay to run your X4. I haven't paid much attention to those posts since I jumped from X3 to X6.

I plan to keep this new computer for many years to come, so I opted for 8 GB memory, fast processor and 1 TB drive. The only reason I see to upgrade Corel in the future is if a new version will acknowledge the "hidden" setting in all the annoying Windows 7 system fonts so that I don't have to display them in my Corel font list. I really dislike having to scroll through an extra 40+ fonts in my font list that I have no intention on using!

The only other suggestion I have is to research the versions of Windows. I went with Pro so that I could to network backups and other more advanced stuff other versions of Windows did not allow.

[John Noell]

Everyone seems to agree that more RAM is better, but I bet very few have actually tested that on their workload, or even looked at memory use in the performance tab in task manager. I have, and I am quite happy with 4GB. Putting in 8GB did nothing for my usage (graphics and a fair bit of video editing/encoding). Most people who try SSDs love the increase in read/write speeds. Put your OS and apps on the SSD, use the terabyte drive for files. As for two or four CPU cores, very few apps (incl CorelDraw thru X6) make much use of multiple cores (or even threads). Yes, the save function does, but with an SSD it's essentially instant anyway. If you are an artist and do incredibly complicated drawings, you MIGHT see a difference in save times. Even Dan likes X5 (with fewer functions that make use of multiple threads).

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I do agree with you John, but the two big factors are 1) What is the computer's intended use? and 2) How long do you intend to keep it? Most people will not tap into that 8 gb of memory or the full potential of their computers, but it doesn't hurt to have it if you intend to keep the computer for over 5 years ... or at least have a computer that you can upgrade to 8 gb when future software upgrades & installs require it. Part of the reason I had to buy a new computer last week was that my 10 year old computer was maxed at 2 gb of memory. Mine just happened to come with 8 gb installed.

I do have various performance monitors on my computers and my XP laptop was red lining with nothing loaded but Chrome. Now that I added 2 gb of memory to bump it to 3 gb, I can open Chrome and a slew of other programs and the performance monitors barely change and it is no longer overheating. I haven't made any drastic software changes to my laptop in at least 6 years other then software updates for Chrome, virus monitor and iTunes. I still use my excellent Eudora 7.1.0.9 for my email! :-)