The Computer Buzz

February 21st, 2008

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Old Is New

Some weeks back we made the observation that any PC born with Windows XP was worth upgrading. We further stated that a five year old PC with XP could run circles around a brand new Vista based PC from Dell, Compaq, HP and the others. We suggested that most folks would actually be better off with an older system than a brand new Vista computer.

We got an amazing response from that column. Many people found it hard to believe that their old PC could actually be faster and more reliable than a brand new PC. It's absolutely true.

Part of the reason is that Vista is not only slower than XP but Vista is also incompatible with many existing applications and devices (like printers, scanners and cameras)

Few business and home users fully utilize the capabilities of their existing PCs. Playing and recording CDs and DVDs, editing music and pictures and using applications like office suites, accounting and tax programs, genealogy and Internet surfing will not tax the resources of a healthy five year old PC.

A high end "Gamer" may be able to fully utilize the new multi core processors, PCI express dual video slots and striped high speed SATA RAID hard drives but even gamers will probably want to hang on to the XP operating system.

If an older PC has Windows 98, 2000, or ME it will probably not be worth upgrading but that doesn't mean you have to get stuck with buying a new Vista nightmare.

We hate to see perfectly good PCs go to waste here at the Computer Factory so we often take older XP PCs in trade on new home or business workstations. These PCs are typically three to five years old with CPUs running between 1.5 and 3.0 GHz. That's plenty fast enough for current applications and overkill for Internet surfing.

We clean up and refurbish these XP PCs often adding RAM, DVD-R/W, anti-virus, anti-spyware and other useful applications. These "refurbs" usually sell for between $200 and $300 dollars including a large CRT monitor, keyboard mouse and speakers.

If someone you know needs a capable PC but doesn't want to spend much. one of our "refurbs" may be the answer. Our 3-5 year old "refurbs" will open a can of whoop-ass on a new Vista based Dell or Compaq.

"The Computer Factory" is now an official State of California collection point for computer monitors and television sets. That means you can drop your old monitors or TV sets at our store for recycling. We also collect old PCs and PC components. We disassemble old PCs, segregate the components and recycle them to scrap and precious metal salvage companies. We do not recycle printers scanners and other PC peripherals. If you have monitors, TV sets or PCs and need help moving them, give us a call and we will dispatch one of our salvage associates to your home or business for free pick-up service. We are GREEN.