What to do with my curent setup?

[IHateMyJob2004]

This starts by saying that we just bought new office furniture for our bedroom.

Current setup:
Wireless printer (that is a bit flaky)
Windows XP - desktop (10 years old?) w/ CRT w/sinple 2.1 stereo.
Windows 7 - laptop 1 (2 years old)
Windows 7 - laptop 2 (5 years old)

Wants:
1) Wife likes her Netflix while working at her laptop. Want to go dual monitor for her laptop. Need to read about her laptops output capabilities though.
2) CRT is goign away. New LCD (14", 23"? I ahve no idea. Need soemthing smaller since it is an office desk. I would conisder an LCD that is way beyond 1080p.

Budget:
$1000 max

Proposal:
My wife's laptop is getting tired. I am considering replacing it with a new laptop and getting an external monitor for her. So, she can work on her laptop and have Netflix playing on monitor 2. This monitor would be on a hub so it is shared with the desktop. (est $650)

I don't think all of my devices have the same video outputs. Is that a deal killer or do hubs exist that handle this? Or could the monitor act as the hub?

Asking:
There are alot of paths in my head. I gave an incomplete proposal. Seems basterdized though. If this were you, what would you do?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Get a new i3 desktop for like 450
Llano based laptop for 450
21~23 monitor=150ish

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

T_Y,

Shoudl I get a new network printer?

I have no problem going to $1000 on the stuff you mentioend and adding in the printer as an extra. maybe I'll just give the old printer a whirl and see what happens. Getting it to work wirelessly has been a nightmare if not jsut plain ol' impossible.

 

[mfenn]

Does the wireless printer have a USB option? If you're going to have a desktop that is always on, you could just hook it to that via USB and share it out from Windows.

Since your wife is using the laptop with the lid open, she is presumably using the keyboard and trackpad, so you wouldn't have to worry about sharing a keyboard and mouse with the desktop. Thus, the most economical option is to just have the laptop and desktop hooked directly to the monitor using the monitor to switch inputs as necessary. Most monitors have multiple inputs, so you are OK there. The $145 AR ASUS VH232H for example gives you HDMI, DVI, and VGA.

That leaves you $850 to spend on a replacing the desktop and laptop. Which one is relatively more important to you?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I think I am leaning towards a new desktop and new monitor. Getting a 1920x1200 monitor. Found a 24" model I like but have to double check what inputs it has.

If I can get the wireless printer that we have to work, I'll keep it. Otherwise I am upgrading it.

The desktop will not always be on. It will be on as needed. So it can't act as a print server.

 

[mfenn]

Which monitor? Also, what tasks will the desktop be performing. There's no reason to spend the remaining ~$800 on a desktop that's just going to be doing basic office tasks.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Ordered a 24" HP that does 1920x1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824176141


Waiting on the desktop to see if I really need it or if it is a want more than a need.

I'll decide this weekend.

 

[krnmastersgt]

That's rather expensive considering there isn't much that's really special about the monitor aside from 1920x1200 (most are 1920x1080).

With that much of the budget gone and the fact that you want to replace 2 systems makes it a bit tight imo since if that's your primary monitor you still need a second one for your set-up to share with your wifey. Not really sure what to suggest, do both machines feel really slow for what you use them for or do you just want them to be faster?

 

[lehtv]

That's rather expensive considering there isn't much that's really special about the monitor aside from 1920x1200 (most are 1920x1080).

It's also got a height adjustable stand, that usually costs some extra

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

i bought the monitor i bought over a $200 version from HP because:
1) The more expensive monitor has 3 inputs versus the cheaper's 2
2) cheap monitor had tilt as the only adjustment. I wanted height and tilt. the third I got is just icing on the cake.
3) The cheap monitor had 0 reviews at newegg versus the 400+ (I think) for the monitor I bought. Peopel seem to really like it.

If I upgrade, it will be a new desktop. The old one is terribly slugish. I turn it on and come back 5 minutes later to see if it is at hte lgoin screen. Once I choose my user ID, I come back 5 minutes later to see everything booted.

 

[mfenn]

If you don't want to build a desktop yourself, I'd recommend watching the Dell Outlet. Inspiron 620's with Core i3's and 4GB of RAM show up all the time for ~$350.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

mfenn,

Thanks for the tip. That's actually what I am interested in. Would love a 1 TB drive in it. $350 is probably the 500 GB.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

What about a AMD Athlon II X2 250 Processor (3.0GHz, 2MB) in a system w/1TB drive?

The most I plan on doing is Netflix streaming and internet. Assuming 1080p decoding, is this good enough?

 

[krnmastersgt]

If your system really is that slow just about any semi-modern system will feel blazing fast in comparison. So I don't think there's really a "wrong" choice for you, just more optimal/cost effective.

That being said I'm not sure that Athlon would be strong enough for seamless decoding/streaming. Though adding a relatively cheap but strong discrete video card that will handle the decoding for you might remedy the problem. How much is that system?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

If your system really is that slow just about any semi-modern system will feel blazing fast in comparison. So I don't think there's really a "wrong" choice for you, just more optimal/cost effective.

That being said I'm not sure that Athlon would be strong enough for seamless decoding/streaming. Though adding a relatively cheap but strong discrete video card that will handle the decoding for you might remedy the problem. How much is that system?

The scratch and dent AMDs are under $300. I think it was $290. The scratch and dent i3 is $360. So it saves me $70 to go AMD. Might just pay the extra $70 for peace of mind though. Getting things set up this weekend. Then I'll decide.

 

[krnmastersgt]

the i3 system is worth the extra $70 imo. Significantly stronger processor with strong enough on-board video to do all the tasks that you noted earlier quite smoothly.

 

[mfenn]

What about a AMD Athlon II X2 250 Processor (3.0GHz, 2MB) in a system w/1TB drive?

The most I plan on doing is Netflix streaming and internet. Assuming 1080p decoding, is this good enough?

The i3 is certainly faster (probably close to twice as fast), but the Athlon will do Internet tasks just fine. As krnmastersgt said, any vaguely modern PC is going to feel blazing fast compared to one from 10 years ago.