Windows Vista and the Bargain Computer - There is Hope
Computer manufactures play in a competitive environment. They want to sell computers today and one way to do that is to sell them cheaply.
Windows Vista, an operating system with promise, requires more grunt than previous Windows Operating Systems.
Put the two together and you have one of the reasons that many users and IT pros bad mouth Vista.
To see if there was hope for those with basic computers we decided to do some testing. We bought an Acer Aspire 5315 Notebook. A good computer but the specs are a bit on the light side for Vista.
Windows Vista, an operating system with promise, requires more grunt than previous Windows Operating Systems.
Put the two together and you have one of the reasons that many users and IT pros bad mouth Vista.
To see if there was hope for those with basic computers we decided to do some testing. We bought an Acer Aspire 5315 Notebook. A good computer but the specs are a bit on the light side for Vista.
Acer Aspire 5315
Intel Celeron 540@1.86GHz
512 DDR2 RAM, shared with video
80 Gig Hard Drive
Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit operating system
Our test wasn't very scientific, just a couple of techs with a stop watch. Firstly we were amazed that the untouched computer did as well as it did. It was passable, although a bit slow. The software was the standard fare that comes with big name computers.
We did some slight tweaking and that made things a bit better but then we added some RAM and it was like having a new computer. From 512 MB to 1 GB made a big difference, and going to 1.5 GIG made it even better.
If you have a bargain machine and are unhappy with it don't despair; add some RAM. Unless you are a gamer or plan to work with video editing, major photo editing or graphic programs you will have a more than adequate computer. Good for surfing the net, email, viewing photos, burning CDs and typing letters.
We still recommend buying a computer with a dual core processor, 2 GIG of RAM and an adequate video card, but if you have the bargain computer the punch of some extra RAM will help.
RAM isn't expensive (you could probably have a GIG installed for $100 in a notebook, less in a desktop) and it will give you a more than usable general purpose computer.
Future post will contain some of the test results, and some reports of the Aspire in action.
Happy New Year
Larry
Intel Celeron 540@1.86GHz
512 DDR2 RAM, shared with video
80 Gig Hard Drive
Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit operating system
Our test wasn't very scientific, just a couple of techs with a stop watch. Firstly we were amazed that the untouched computer did as well as it did. It was passable, although a bit slow. The software was the standard fare that comes with big name computers.
We did some slight tweaking and that made things a bit better but then we added some RAM and it was like having a new computer. From 512 MB to 1 GB made a big difference, and going to 1.5 GIG made it even better.
If you have a bargain machine and are unhappy with it don't despair; add some RAM. Unless you are a gamer or plan to work with video editing, major photo editing or graphic programs you will have a more than adequate computer. Good for surfing the net, email, viewing photos, burning CDs and typing letters.
We still recommend buying a computer with a dual core processor, 2 GIG of RAM and an adequate video card, but if you have the bargain computer the punch of some extra RAM will help.
RAM isn't expensive (you could probably have a GIG installed for $100 in a notebook, less in a desktop) and it will give you a more than usable general purpose computer.
Future post will contain some of the test results, and some reports of the Aspire in action.
Happy New Year
Larry
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