My (main) computer is a laptop that I bought for college. Since graduating, it serves it’s life on a desk connected to a 27” monitor and wireless keyboard/mouse. I don’t have a tablet, but my pc still almost never leaves the desk.
There’s a lot of good refurbs out there—HP DCs are good the Pro8000 are also good—you can get a I5 with 4gb ram with windows 7 pro for $250 to $300 add another 4gb ram good to go—I have always built my own taught by an experienced old guy—nothing to it snap together—but for the money the refurbs are awesome—I stayed away from ready builts because of the crap they install on them—I just recently learned you can clean install any windows as long as you are using the same version your key is for— I bought my stepson a HP DC7900 $125 3yr warranty (newegg) added a core2 Quad 9550 8gb ram and a SSD drive —-I only have $325 in this machine and it better than most store bought stuff—The little machine was ok out the box—needed the ram is all
If your laptop is just slow—reload windows —open control panel/system and tell us what you have—The other person that said load windows on a SSD drive is right—once you’ve had a SSD pc you’ll never go back—on ebay you can buy OEM windows cheap
Thanks for all the info, I'll be using the desktop for the forums and web browsing when im building flashlights, i do save tons of info on flashlights/builds :) pictures ect..i like the large screen of the desktop so i can learn how to do 3D images, know for the tablet i like to browse the net and forums when in not building and when i dont want to be in my room ext.....laptops are nice but they get hot fast and u csnt work on them like a desktop
This is gonna be a really simple question but how can I get “my computer” back on my desktop in win8.1? I’m working mostly in the classic environment. It won’t let me place a shortcut.
I think it's my Hard drive i got a msg when i powered it on ever since i cant copy or paste anything and got slower and acting wierd
Another entry question, I don’t do any gaming, mostly programming (arduino IDE and Atmel studio 6.2 plus MPLAB for PIC’s) and PCB work. I would like to eventually get myself setup with a 2nd screen for more workspace open at once. Can my current Dell inspiron handle that (it has one HDMI out) or is it a one-or-the-other thing? (I.e. I can only use the laptops screen OR use a monitor?)
They can definitely use both. I do it all the time. Main screen doing whatever, laptop screen with spotify or netflix always open. Just plug in the monitor and press Win+P to toggle output modes.
Anyone running Windows 8 should update to 8.1, and anyone running Windows 7, or Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, when it comes out.
Yup, you can use both at the same time, side by side. You can also duplicate the displays but I don’t think most people will use that.
As for the OP, what’s your current laptop model? An Intel i5 CPU, even if a couple of years old, can be quite powerful even in a laptop. Maybe try swapping your HDD with an SSD? It’s the cheapest investment to make your computer more responsive.
I use Win 8.1 on my custom, self-built, desktop PC. I use a tablet for everywhere else. I have built desktops for a long time and I save money, plus I build them the way I want, with the components I want. I do a lot of desktop gaming still, since I do not own a TV or any video game consoles.
If I had to buy, I would buy a Dell. I buy Dell desktops for my wife. She doesn't need a custom PC. If I were to buy today, it would be a Dell Windows 8.1 desktop, with a large monitor and a Dell Windows 8.1 tablet, so I could use them together or separate.
Yup. Plug in a monitor, hold down the Windows key and press P. If you keep holding the Windows key down, it’ll present four options for displaying/not displaying things on the external monitor. You can change the resolution of the external monitor and change the location of the external monitor (ie: on the left or on the right of the main screen), as well as make the external monitor the ‘main screen’ (the one with the taskbar on it) by right clicking the desktop and going to Screen Resolution (Windows 7, not sure about Windows 8 ). If that option isn’t available when you right click, head to “Displays” in the Control Panel.
I’ve actually been rolling with three monitors (laptop + two externals) for several years now. If you head down that road with a laptop things get marginally more complicated without a discrete graphics card. (You can add several external monitors with one/more of these… they just won’t play video or games well. At all.)
Model number is SVS151C1GL
That’s a decent laptop with nice specs. I’d recommend sticking with it and replacing the slow HDD with a nice and snappy 256GB or 512GB SSD.
Dude I just looked up that model—looks good to me—you sure your just not loaded up with spyware/malware—what are you using for cleanup—I would try cleaning it up with something like ace utilities—then defrag—then if that doesn’t work —do you have a restore disc or petition—-save all your stuff to another drive or replace your current drive and restore it—most likely have all kind of background crap bogging it down—My wife is a State Farm agent—they have to use special leased PCs —before she opens up anything they have 122 processes running—that’s like riding around with a PU bed full then trying to haul more
I had a guy set up that stuff so im not 100% sure lol what HDD do u prefer i get ? I would check but its hard getting to anything on it
Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX1AJ8295
The HDD should be easily accessible via a back panel. Look for a screw that has “HDD” written on it and swap the drives.
Make sure you back your data up though.
If you go the SSD route I would do a clean install—windows recognizes the SSD and installs accordingly—it will work without but you won’t see those blazing speeds
If you go new drive—I would recommend getting a empty case to put your old drive in—most SSD come with cloning software and you will need a case to be able to clone from—I wouldn’t clone a slow working drive though
I disagree with all of these people. That laptop is crap. Just buy a new computer, and I’ll pay postage to have the old sony sent to me for proper recycling. I’m really doing you a favor here. Don’t think about it, just trust me.