I don't own a netbook, my boyfriend does, I've used his before. They processor speed is annoying on it, the keyboard cramps my hand like crazy, and the screen doesn't let me tile windows (which I do a lot, especially now for work) because there isn't enough information displayed in the tiles for it to be useful. I use a laptop primarily, yes, but I don't understand what the point is of saying that? I don't think I claimed I owned a netbook. If he's in college he'll be using a laptop primarily too, right? I don't own a desktop computer because I need mobility for my job. And my keyboard is plenty big enough, it's full sized and has a full number pad.

I mention the CD thing because as I mentioned in the shoutbox I had to use CDs often enough for class I know it would have been frustrating without the drive. When I upgraded from my Dell to my Acer I went with a laptop specifically for the CD drive, and it's good I did, because the following semester I had two classes that had files I needed on four different discs.

I took notes with OneNote because formatting on the fly is a breeze with keyboard shortcuts. But if you want to stay away from Microsoft Applications you might try FreeMind or Evernote.

Buying 4 gbs would cost you $20. It's definitely worth it, especially since you currently have such a low amount.

Correct, as this is a too vague statement. So I went on to describe what's actually bad for a computer.

That's only partially relevant since it may or may not lead to heightened temperatures. Before cleaning the case I'd take a peak at idle and max. temps so you get an idea of how bad it must've been.

Upgrading RAM only makes your computer faster if you don't have enough of it. So it's only worth if you experience any of the symptoms I described. If you can't tell if your computer just slowed down due to heavy usage (or if it's just generally too slow) you can always take a look at the task manager and check RAM and swap file usage. If unsure of the values (again, under heavy usage) make a screenshot of the process list, sorted by memory usage, descending and the performance tab.
2 GB RAM is not too expensive, so it is worth it, if you need it.

Any other upgrade would be pretty expensive.
Boost gaming performance with a decent video card $120 - $200 and
boost desktop performance (aka reduce loading times of games and programs) by throwing in a SSD (decent ones) starting at $120. And this is only worth it if you really plan on using your computer for at least another year or 2.
Not sure what we can do with your CPU, but someone else might be able to answer that.

Hard to say without knowing what it is. But generally, nothing significant. You can reuse a hdd if you need a little more storage. And maybe it has the same memory type (DDR2) so you could use that for a free upgrade.
I doubt it, since it's your old computer, but the video card might be better, since a GeForce 9800 is pretty damn old (but still somewhat fast).
Other than that maybe accessories like an USB hub, a good CD/DVD burner or just case fans.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 9 2012, 4:58 am by NudeRaider.

Actually, DDR2 is running at about $11-$15 per GB. 4GB would be around $50.

Oh oops, I mistook that price for when I was looking at laptop RAM. Never mind!

I've taken the liberty of writing down his system specs since they weren't very clearly indicated in the link.

• Microstar G31 mATX
  
• 250GB 7.2k RPM SATA II HDD
  
• 2x 1 GB DDR 2 PC6400 memory
  
• 500W PSU
  
• Nvidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB GPU
  
• Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 2.66GHz 3M CPU
  

We still don't know the make/model of the HDD, memory, and PSU. That information may be nice to have (especially since it's a common tactic not to list part specifications on parts that aren't great quality). I advocate using speccy to get hold of those other items -- also take a gander at your RAM, it's probably running at 667 and not the 800 advertised.

If you do plan on upgrading, we are going to need a budget. That memory sticks out as the weakest member, too; it's a shame that DDR2 is so expensive these days (over 2x as much per GB as DDR3).

Speccy getted.
I think you're overestimating my knowledge of computers. I think you're saying you want to see my hard drive, RAM, and power supply info? Do you want me to just screenshot the speccy thing for the hard drive and the RAM? I remember looking at my PSU at one point for excalibur, he told me it was one of the ones that has a chance to randomly catch on fire ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ... Where do you want me to look for the PSU stuff and what do you want me to look for? Try and be specific as to what I'm looking for looks like.

My desktop's CD thing is actually broken, I just remembered. Cheaper to get USB CD drive or replace?

Upgrading is secondary to getting a new laptop right now.

Under heavy usage meaning when it's randomly lagging or should I just try and open a few games at the same time?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 9 2012, 2:52 pm by TiKels.

Mmm, yes I do. Like this (use alt + prtscn to only screen capture the active window):





You'll have to open up your computer and read the label to tell what your PSU is.

Opening a few (modern) games at the same time is an unrealistic usage scenario plus the outcome is already clear: It will max out your 2GB of RAM. So no, this isn't useful.
I don't know when (read: with how many/which open programs) the random lagging appears, but of course it might be a good idea to check the running processes and their memory demand when it happens. If only to exclude a memory shortage as the culprit. Because random problems usually stem from software conflicts within Windows, which is why I recommended a reformat.
Heavy usage generally means you do everything you usually do at the same time with priority on things that seem taxing to your computer. If you give us a memory usage screenshot during such a scenario we can tell you if you would actually benefit a RAM upgrade. Though likely the answer will be yes.

Replace your "CD thing" with an internal SATA CD/DVD writer combo drive. Alternatively see if you can connect the "CD thing" from your old computer. That's one of the parts where even ancient hardware will still do its job if it has the desired features (burn CDs, burn DVDs, etc.)

Btw. If you'd actually aim for a new video card it might be necessary to upgrade your PSU too which would be another ~$60. It's impossible to tell in advance though.

If you made the above screen under "heavy usage" you can consider yourself lucky, since you're only using 70% of your RAM. Only 200MB have been swapped to the slow disk which is no cause for concern.
If you made it under light usage however... it'd be alarming. I'd like to see your process list then.

Good news: Speccy shows that It's running at full speed.

That would be light-medium usage. That was for sac, not for you.

Well not even a game running. But a good amount of desktop programs. This means you have headroom for maybe a Photoshop (amateur level, since pro level photoshop can easily use 2 GB alone) window or a few smaller programs.
Looks like you'd easily hit the 2GB whenever you open something big, which in my book is reason enough to upgrade. Ever experience problems switching from games to Firefox and back?

Try and find all the stink bugs!





Duh. I've gotten lag problems to the point of the computer freezing when I'll I'm running is what you see on that list (maybe even less)

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 9 2012, 5:14 pm by TiKels.

What should I look out for in a laptop? Like things that should tell me it's a bad deal? Should I look online? Should I look in stores? I don't know much of anything about the market? What are some horrible do-not-get brands? How much should I be paying for what I want?

How much does it cost to get the computer I have now (in terms of specs) as a laptop?

Look online. Look for hardware that you know performs well enough for you (know this by checking online benchmarks). Look at the newegg reviews if you're on newegg, lots of good info there. Get higher rated items with lots of reviews, as they won't have manufacturing problems arise. Id say you should expect to pay like 800 dollars.

Edit: LOL @ avatar

hp(blabla)(sometimes 2 numbers).exe- If "HP" means all of these have to do with a printer, then no. Your printer does not to run all of these processes. See what you can turn off.

jusched.exe - You can disable automatic updates for Java and do it yourself to save this RAM.

A lot of the system and local service ones and some others might be services that you can disable safetly through services.msc. Refer to Black Viper's Service Configurations for more information.

Hrrm. Late to the party.

It seems that you're asking for recommendations, but I don't see you really stating what you want. Might want to specify that. If you want to game a lot, I'd say that buying a $100 GPU for the old desktop and a $600 laptop is the way to go. 2GB DDR2 RAM and 200GB of disk space, what I've seen of your current computer, is enough to last for four years. It's not as nice as 4GB RAM, but it should be enough for playing games and getting work done on your desktop. But, yes, you should tell us more about your power supply and processor before we give definitive answers.

On the laptop side, I bought an expensive 13" laptop. No number pad. I do a lot of number-intensive things, and it's definitely possible to do them without a number pad. Might be easier with it, though. Not sure, never used one. 13"-15" should be alright as well. If you're sticking with the desktop, I'd go with 15", just so that going between your computers is less jarring. Though I suppose you'd get used to it in time. Other features you might want to focus on in your laptop are the GPU (graphics card, so you can play games on it), backlit keyboard (or not backlit), and screen resolution. Lighter laptops are very nice, but that typically adds to the cost. Most of the spec-efficient laptops (those that give you the most computing power for your buck) tend to be heavy (mostly MSI, Asus, etc).

There's more to tell, but, really, a lot of it is just common sense. How difficult would it be for you to carry it around? What do you need it for? We can't answer these questions for you.

Also, look into the Microsoft Surface. It's probably not the right fit, but I think that it might be, and it's rather awesome: Microsoft will be releasing a tablet (unfortunately, I believe after Christmas) with a Core i5 processor (that's very good) and associated integrated GPU (should be enough to play modern games, albeit on low graphics settings) running Windows 8. It has SSD storage (so, very fast, but not a lot). It comes with a removable cover similar to that of the 2nd iPad (the nice foldy one), except that the cover is simultaneously a keyboard (with two different options, one touch-only and one with tactile response). And it should be around $900. It can run any Windows program that a computer can, you can plug in other monitors into it, you can plug in a mouse, you can sync iPads to it, it looked pretty amazing. But it may not quite suit your needs, because I don't know what your needs are.

This topic was in part figuring out what I want. I mean sure, I could get a gaming laptop but it would be stupid expensive. I think I could stand a RAM upgrade, a format, a physical cleaning, and a low end laptop. My power supply is a Raptor R500. Google searches tell me that I find out my processor at "Control Panel > System" but it won't load so I don't really know how to find out my processor. Why do I want a new GPU?
I don't believe I want a gaming laptop.
I don't really know the answers either. I think I'm going to be doing a good bit of walking at college.
Doesn't seem to be what I need at all. I have no real use for iPad syncing, it's a few months too late for me, I don't see the utility of having a tablet in the first place, and I doubt I want a high-end laptop anyway. I'll never need to plug other monitors in.

Speccy can tell you what your CPU is. It has a tab for that (but I already linked to it earlier in the thread).