Thinking of buying a new PC? Decide v. soon

[johnb]

Anyone thinking of buying a new PC (or laptop) in the near future needs to decide pretty quickly whether they want the (now) pretty established Windows 7 operating system or the new Windows 8 OS which is due to be released later this year. Once Windows 8 is released all the retail computer outlets will only stock PCs running the new system (though suppliers of business PCs are likely to still offer a Windows 7 option).

From what I have read Windows 8 isn't exactly an attractive proposition - so if people want to buy PC with Windows 7 they need to act soon.

[MrGongGong]

eeer why do you have to do this ?
you can always easily install a different OS
like many people did with the hideous Vista preferring XP etc
and it's still easy to buy computers with XP on as that seems to be the last relatively stable version

the whole "upgrade" thing is often simply a marketing tool anyway ....... i've not upgraded my mac to Lion as several of the programmes I use all the time might not work on the new OS and I can't be doing with spending hours working out which and what and finding workarounds etc

Many new bits of software are released far too soon without enough testing so it's unwise to be in the first lot of folk who have it anyway ..........

[Hornspieler]

eeer why do you have to do this ?
you can always easily install a different OS
like many people did with the hideous Vista preferring XP etc
and it's still easy to buy computers with XP on as that seems to be the last relatively stable version

the whole "upgrade" thing is often simply a marketing tool anyway ....... i've not upgraded my mac to Lion as several of the programmes I use all the time might not work on the new OS and I can't be doing with spending hours working out which and what and finding workarounds etc

Many new bits of software are released far too soon without enough testing so it's unwise to be in the first lot of folk who have it anyway ..........

Totally agree. I will continue to use Windows XP Pro as long as Microsoft continue to support it. It does just what I want, so why change?

HS

[Don Petter]

As will I.

[Beef Oven]

Anyone thinking of buying a new PC (or laptop) in the near future needs to decide pretty quickly whether they want the (now) pretty established Windows 7 operating system or the new Windows 8 OS which is due to be released later this year. Once Windows 8 is released all the retail computer outlets will only stock PCs running the new system (though suppliers of business PCs are likely to still offer a Windows 7 option).

From what I have read Windows 8 isn't exactly an attractive proposition - so if people want to buy PC with Windows 7 they need to act soon.

Helpful post - thanks. I need to replace my laptop in the coming weeks. My existing laptop uses Vista, which to be honest, has been pretty much ok with me for the last 3 or 4 years (can't remember how long I've had the machine). However, I hear that Windows 7 is better and I don't want to take a chance with an untested OS like 8.

[doversoul1]

I understand the OP to mean ‘if you need to change your PC or laptop…’ and not ‘hurry up and change’.

I have been vaguely thinking that I may need to change my PC in the near future, as I suspect the hardware is beginning to wear out. I shan’t ask any technical questions at this stage as most will be beyond my understanding but will be grateful for advice when I do need to change it.

[french frank]

What do people think about the option of 'upgrading' (as in spec rather than OS) by buying a secondhand, refurbished machine? I bought a secondhand MacBook (still with OSX 10.6) and have been more than happy with it. Unfortunately, my little local shop now has a MacBook Pro which I eye wistfully each time I pass. With a reasonable length guarantee - my shop offers 6 months' - they seem to me to be very good value, unless, of course, you want the latest, most luscious machine on the market and can afford it (I buy the cast-offs when people do that ).

[MrGongGong]

What do people think about the option of 'upgrading' (as in spec rather than OS) by buying a secondhand, refurbished machine? I bought a secondhand MacBook (still with OSX 10.6) and have been more than happy with it. Unfortunately, my little local shop now has a MacBook Pro which I eye wistfully each time I pass. With a reasonable length guarantee - my shop offers 6 months' - they seem to me to be very good value, unless, of course, you want the latest, most luscious machine on the market and can afford it (I buy the cast-offs when people do that ).

I bought a refurbished macbook for £350 earlier this year for a family member to replace a dead pc laptop, absolutely brilliant IMV almost as fast as my £1000 macbook pro and apart from the tired battery (which £100 would replace but as it's not really used travelling didn't seem worth it) was much better value than an equivalent new PC

[johnb]

Just a few responses to the comments:

Windows XP
Yes it is a fine stable OS and at the end of last year 40% of business PCs were still using XP. However Microsoft are due to withdraw support for XP in 2014. I guess they hope to push users off XP.

The withdrawal of support doesn't mean that XP will unusable - just that there will be no more security patches for it.

Upgrades: yes there is a very strong revenue generating element in the Microsoft upgrades. Also it is IMO very misguided to buy a new OS until it has had at least a year for most of the bugs to be ironed out - and then ONLY if (a) the OS is good (e.g. XP or 7) and (b) if you need to or if the benefits are worthwhile.

As far as installing a different OS on an existing computer - yes you can, but the overwhelming majority of people (myself included) find it a daunting prospect. (I always worry about drivers!)

I have a 7 year old laptop which runs XP and works fine, even though it is slow by current standards, and a 1 year old PC running Windows 7. IMO both XP and 7 are good reliable operating systems but Windows 8 seems to have been designed with the tablet market in mind and the reports I have read have been decidedly off-putting as far as use on a PC is concerned.

[MrGongGong]

If it's security you are really worried about I would recommend Windows 3.1
no one bothers with trying to hack that anymore .......

when I first had to do a clean install I was so worried about it that I gave myself two clear days with no work and did endless backups
it took 20 minutes ..............

[salymap]

My first and probably last computer is nearly five years old and is a Vista. When I click onto youtube I am told that they [youtube]are ending support for Windows 7 and I should change my Browser.
I tried Google Chrome but couldn't see the print and hated it so spent ages getting rid of that. Should I stay with Windows Vista and not worry? I use it less and less, except for emails these days.

[johnb]

My first and probably last computer is nearly five years old and is a Vista. When I click onto youtube I am told that they [youtube]are ending support for Windows 7 and I should change my Browser.
I tried Google Chrome but couldn't see the print and hated it so spent ages getting rid of that. Should I stay with Windows Vista and not worry? I use it less and less, except for emails these days.

salymap,

I think the message was probably that Youtube are ending support for Internet Explorer 7, rather that Windows 7 (which is likely to be supported for very many years ahead).

Internet Explorer 7 came out in 2006 and has since been superseded by IE8 (supported on Vista) and then IE9 (supported on Vista with Service Pack 2).

Your options would be:
- to stay as you are until there are problems with Youtube, etc
- to 'upgrade' to IE 8 or IE 9 (you would need to make sure that your Vista has SP 2 for IE9)
- as you don't like Chrome, to try out Firefox (the browser I have been using for many years)

The easiest option would be to check out Firefox, though all browsers are slightly different of course. That way you could always go back to using Internet Explorer.

Link to Firefox download site

By the way, is your PC set to download the automatic Windows updates?

[salymap]

Thanks johnb, I'll leave it as it is until something else happens to Youtube and note your advice.

[JFLL]

I tried Google Chrome but couldn't see the print ...

One nifty thing about Firefox is that you can easily increase/decrease print size ad lib with each web page by pressing Control + the Plus/Minus keys. Chrome is faster than Firefox, I think, but they seem to have a thing against bookmarks/favourites, which are surely absolutely essential in a browser.

[MrGongGong]

One nifty thing about Firefox is that you can easily increase/decrease print size ad lib with each web page by pressing Control + the Plus/Minus keys. Chrome is faster than Firefox, I think, but they seem to have a thing against bookmarks/favourites, which are surely absolutely essential in a browser.

If you have problems with text size
the best option really is either a macbook pro with the rather nifty multitouch pad
or an ipad
nothing else really works as well for changing sizes instantly IMV