Would a new PC work better, generally?

[dermbrian]

I have Windows 10 installed on three PC's.
1. My primary, an approximately 3 year old MSI all-in-one.
2. My laptop, an Acer "Switch 10" convertible entry-level PC with detachable keyboard.
3. A Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet.

None of these are high-end PC's. All have extremely poor performance doing what I'd consider ordinary tasks. For example, I just timed my primary PC in how long it took to open a folder D:/downloads.

Result: One minute and 13 seconds of "working on it" with the green bar growing in length and nothing being displayed until it finished "working on it". When I look at the properities of that folder, it shows 1,542 files in 245 folders. The folder itself is only 190 files and 8 directories shown at the end of "working on it".

Typing anything in the Cortana box usually is very sluggish in getting a response. For example, if I type "Paint.net" to open that program, it takes seconds for it to settle and display that program. If I just type "Paint.net" and hit enter, it will open whatever it thinks I'm looking for that it has run across...and not the local program that is my intention.

I long, long ago gave up on using Cortana by voice on any of these PC's.

So......when the time comes to buy my next PC, what can I expect if I buy a budget PC (<$300)? Performance like on the Windows 10 commercials where the future is bright and the interface is 'snappy', or continued performance that is way worse for common tasks than Windows 3,1 ever was?

Brian

 

[xandros9]

Hm. A new PC would obviously work better, at least from the get-go, but I would consider erasing the PC's and starting fresh.

My sister's Venue 8 Pro appears to perform as it always has on 10, which is more than acceptable, limited only by storage space, lower-power hardware and small screen.

Also if you use a traditional hard drive in those, an SSD will make a world of difference. I have a ThinkPad which is, design-wise, 7-8 years old and switching between an SSD and spinning hard drive has made a significant difference. I believe it is often the bottleneck.

I would first execute the SFC SCANNOW command. How To Use SFC Scannow to Repair Windows System Files
It may correct some underlying issues if there are some damaged system files.

 

[Bobvfr]

Just on a personal note, I would go for at least an i5 processor or its equivalent, i3's are OK but you really notice the difference, if you are going for a standard desktop have do have a lot more capacity to upgrade for example adding more memory or an SSD later on and by buying a PC with separate monitor compared to the all in one you can save some more pennies on the initial purchase by picking up a small maybe second hand monitor to start with.

I have a HP desktop with an AMD (i5 equivalent processor) and recently went to 14 meg of memory and it does every thing I need for the time being. I haven't upgraded to an SSD yet as I hardly ever reboot it.

Also have an i5 SP3 and for a tablet it's pretty damned good.

Yes a new PC will be better but don't go too hard on the budget.

 

[dermbrian]

Well, I do need to be able to use a touchscreen with the desktop. The primary function of it in my living room is as a touchscreen jukebox, running DWJukebox and playing a lifetime's worth of collected music (my lp's, cassettes, CD's) converted to mp3's. So that pretty much requires an all-in-one.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

If you had upgraded some of the devices to 10 and you noticed that the responsiveness was slower, then you could do the fresh install as was suggested

But try doing a disk cleanup first, especially for older installations and restore points - that can also make a big difference

And reducing the number of programs or apps running in the background and at start up

 

[RumoredNow]

Well, I do need to be able to use a touchscreen with the desktop. The primary function of it in my living room is as a touchscreen jukebox, running DWJukebox and playing a lifetime's worth of collected music (my lp's, cassettes, CD's) converted to mp3's. So that pretty much requires an all-in-one.

There are usually sales on in the Microsoft Store for devices.

Respectfully suggesting a Touch Screen laptop might fit your use scenario. You might get a bit more "bang for the buck" with a laptop vs a 2-in-1 as you pay for the form factor with the latter and all you seem to want from that is touch interface. You can also put the laptop into tablet mode.

By shopping at Microsoft Store you can get a Signature Edition that has no bloatware. Also being a Bing Rewards Member might add extra buying power. Last year, my wife and I each got Dell 15.6", i3, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Touch Screen, Signature Edition laptops for only $300 each as Rewards Members. They are not wiz bang, but we like them for daily surfing and productivity...

Check it out: https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...nking%2Bascending%26filters%3D&token=LZvR8qvS

 

[EspHack]

SSDs and fresh installs will fix your problems 100% guaranteed, that and never installing any AV bogusware, if buying new on a desk anything with a Core i cpu is enough, on something mobile, get an i5 at the very least, your venue tablet must be very bloated, again, a fresh install will fix that

 

[aybarrap1]

If you want to go new and don't want to spend a lot, I would recommend getting a touchscreen laptop with at least an i5 processor. If you can splurge, go with an SSD and use a powered external HDD plugged in via USB for all of your files. This will allow you to get a small SSD at a lower cost and gives you a convenient way to backup while enjoying the extra speed.