Help me choose a new computer please

[kitchenwich1968]

I am a fleet taxi dispatcher, And in need of a new computer as the one I use is borrowed and old . Not sure what to look for , My needs are these , something that can do Major multitasking, save client files and numbers, and occasionally stream movies and listen to music , as i have no life out of this house .lol. I Dont know much about computers other then what I have learned using them. Guess my question is .... Do I just go out and buy one basic, if so will it handle my needs or add RAM, Graphics card, and sound card . Im at a stand still with a crappy unit

 

[ScrewySqrl]

do you want to build your own?

and what is your total budget?

do you want a desktop or a laptop?

 

[kitchenwich1968]

do you want to build your own?

and what is your total budget?

do you want a desktop or a laptop?

really dont want to build unless i have to , desktop , i am just wondering if a basic new computer can handle what i need it to do . Work is more important than anything . I work 12 hours 4 days a week and am multi tasking the whole time three or four pages at a time sending and receiving information constantly. and in the winter money is really tight , also answering two phone lines through the computer . If I wait a few weeks i might be able to manage 350.00 . like I said not sure about the newer processors , ram and stuff and the ability to handle multi tasking ,

 

[Sylvvester]

What are the specs of your old PC? (CPU, RAM, Hard drive, Graphics card)
You could get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-790-DVD-Writer-Professional/dp/B00IIU9ELA

 

[ScrewySqrl]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAC4Z5241387

this should do everything you need

 

[smorizio]

as your looking for a work computer talk to your cpu or tax guy. as the pc is for work there are tax laws thta you can write the cost of the pc off on your taxes. if you go with pre built dell or all in one most times other then ram upgrade you cant upgrade those pc. newer dell now use sfx and smaller power supply so you cant add a gpu for gaming or movies. if you can wait a few weeks both amd zen cpu are dropping and intel kurby lake cpu are dropping this make older pc cheaper when new hardware drops. myself i look at intel i5 6500k 8 or 16g of ram and a 256g ssd and a storage drive. with 1050ti for a gpu a a min pc with on board sound.
the i5 cpu will make your pc last a few years without upgrading it. you be able to use it as 2 pc in your home when you replace it for a faster unit. ssd will be for boot speed/waking up from sleep. cold boot to in windows 10 with ssd is very fast. having one of the newer gpu let you stream and game. with more ram you can mult task. also with newer gpu and mb you can have 2-3 monitor set up. watch tv or movie or one screen and work on the other without closing windows. as your keeping work files look at ext hard drive and cloud backups. ext backup for speed and off site in case of fire or flood. dont want to lose all data.

 

[smorizio]

windows 10 and next version of windows wont support older hardware.

 

[bambiboom]

I am a fleet taxi dispatcher, And in need of a new computer as the one I use is borrowed and old . Not sure what to look for , My needs are these , something that can do Major multitasking, save client files and numbers, and occasionally stream movies and listen to music , as i have no life out of this house .lol. I Dont know much about computers other then what I have learned using them. Guess my question is .... Do I just go out and buy one basic, if so will it handle my needs or add RAM, Graphics card, and sound card . Im at a stand still with a crappy unit

kitchenwich1968,

Used workstations are designed for multitasking, performance, reliability, and quiet running. How about:

Dell Precision T3600 Workstation Intel® Xeon® E5-1620 16Gb 500GB Windows 10 > $325 or offer

The Xeon E5-1620 is 4 Core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz- quite fast and 16GB of RAM will allow 4 or 5 good-sized programs to run at once. The 500GB Hard drive in that one would be filled quickly, but there will be examples with 1TB. The Ebahhh search: "Dell T3600 E5-1620" yielded 112 results. If the above were purchased for $300, add a Western Digital Blue 1TB for $50 and it would be close to the budget. There is not a grpaics card mentioned, but in the absence of 3D, add a GTX 650 for about $30 or GTX 650 Ti for about $40.

Another model to consider is the HP z420. I have one (2013) with E5-1620 with 16GB RAM, and a Quadro K2200 GPU, and it is 100% reliable over three years, running 2D drafting, 3D modeling programs , graphic design, word processors, and two browsers, all at once and is extremely quiet.

Those choices are pressing the budget, but the very high quality, good perfrmnace, and reliability will make that kind of system less expensive in the long run. We have a Dell Precision 390 from 2007 that was free and it is excellent condition and has perfect reliability for all the office business. If the budget is really absolute, perhaps:

DELL OPTIPLEX 990 MT i7-2600 3.4GHz 16GB 1TB DVD-RW WINDOWS 7 PRO x64 COA > sold for $196 (10.16)

The i7-2600 is 4C @ 3.4 / 3.8, there is 16GB DDR3-1333, a 1TB drive. No GPU mentioned, but add a used GTX 750 Ti (~$60) and a 120GB Samsung 850 Evo ($75_ and it's more complete and comfortable in the budget. For better multi-tasking, in that series keep to i7 rather than i5 which are not hyperthreading.

So, a couple of alternatives.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[kitchenwich1968]

What are the specs of your old PC? (CPU, RAM, Hard drive, Graphics card)
You could get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-790-DVD-Writer-Professional/dp/B00IIU9ELA

AMD athlon 5150 with radeon r3--------- 1.6 GHz [4 CPU]
chip type AMD radeon graphics processor 0x 9830
RAM 7.44 GB
64 bit OS - x64 based processor
directx 12

 

[ScrewySqrl]

ok:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5965581450
Refurbished Hp Pro 6300 Small Form Factor I5-3470 Quad Core 3200 8Gb 1Tb Dvd Windows 10 Home 64 Bit Wifi ($250)

then a monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112026
Sceptre 22" 1920x1080 ($80)