Do I need a new computer? This is the question that a lot of people will be asking themselves this year.

With Windows 7 newly released on the masses many will wonder whether their existing PC can run Windows 7 and whether Windows 7 can run all their existing software. These are questions that are best answered by your local or family tech guy (or gal). But what if you don’t have a local techie to call upon? You could go to your local computer store and ask there but I think you already know what their answer will be! You could do some research on the Internet but then there’s so much information out there a normal person could get lost in all the MHz and kbps. So what’s a normal person to do? Read on.

In this article I’ll give you all the information you need to tell whether your existing PC is:-

• Ancient without the possibility of upgrade

• Old but upgradeable

• Sufficient for today’s operating systems and software

• Cutting edge technology that will make your friends jealous

If you do need a new computer I’ll also tell you where (and where not) to spend your hard earned cash.

To buy or upgrade? That is the question.

Whenever I look to replace a PC I go through a four step process. Below are the four steps with links to how, even without technical skills, you can step through the process yourself.

1. Analyze your current PC’s hardware and performance - either manually or with free, simple to use software

2. Review the results and highlight the key information

3. Decide Is your PC sufficient for your needs or do you replace/upgrade

4. Buy upgrades or a new computer

Fortunately, everything you need for this step is already built in to Windows. Yes, there are tools which you can download and install which will scan your computer and produce a report for you but in general the amount of information these tools provide is far more than required for the task in hand.

Assuming you have at least Windows XP or Vista, there are essentially three pieces of information you need to determine whether you need a new PC. If you have an earlier version of Windows like Windows 95, 98, ME, NT or 2000 then skip straight to the buying section of this site since there you absolutely need a new PC! These earlier versions of Windows are no longer supported by Microsoft and have multiple security flaws.

So on to the information you need:-

• Hard Disk - The size of your hard disk drive
• Processor - The speed of your processor
• Memory - The amount of memory in your PC

Hard disk

Your hard disk is where you store all your files, photos, music etc. Unless you have a large colletion of photos or music (normally mp3 files) then an 80GB hard disk is more than sufficient. To check the size (and amount of space left) on your computer’s hard drive double-click the My Computer icon which is normally on your desktop and looks like one of these:-

 
You’ll then see a Window that displays all your computer’s drives – it’s the ‘C’ drive we’re interested in: right-click on it and select properties:-

You’ll then see a very helpful graphic that tells and shows you how big your hard drive is, how much space you’ve used and how much you have left:-

 
If the overall size of you disk (it’s capacity) is less than 80GB then it’s fairly safe to say that your computer has seen better days. There’s a good chance your hard drive is old and may need replacing. Hard drives fail – always! Bear this in mind and whether you buy a new PC, replace your old hard drive or not please, please, please make sure that you backup your data! Too many people never backup and loose data that is totally irreplaceable.

Processor and Memory

Information about the processor in your PC and it’s total memory can be found in the same place.
The processor or CPU is the ‘brain’ of your computer, it’s the processor that does all the calculations – the processing.  Computer memory is very often confused with the hard disk but while the two have things in common they are distinct hardware components inside your computer. The memory stores data just like the hard disk but where a hard disk stores data permanently, memory only stores it temporarily so the processor can work on it – while the computer is on.

To find out how fast your processor is and how much memory you have right click on the My Computer icon and select properties in XP you’ll see a graphic like this:-

 
In Vista it looks a little different but the information is all displayed in the same place.
So, what to do with all this information? Make a note of the infromation you’ve gathered together then proceed to step 2: Review.

Step 2 – Review

Your hard disk capacity and details of how much space is free.
Your processor type and it’s speed
The amount of memory your computer has installed

In order to review this information you’ll need a little background info on exactly what it all means and how it affects your choice of whether to upgrade or replace your computer.

Hard Disk

If you hard disk is 80GB or less it’s not only small but probably very old and you should replace it to avoid almost its almost certain failure at some point in the future. If you haven’t backed up your data then you run the risk of irretrievable data loss which, depending on what you have on your hard drive, can be a very bitter pill to swallow. There are many free  online backup solutions so you have no excuse for not backing up – one of the best free backup solutions is Microsoft’s Skydrive at www.skydrive.live.com.

If your hard disk is at least 160GB it may still be old but it’s big enough for the requirements of today’s current software applications and operating systems.

You should bear in mind that most new PCs come with hard drives that are at least 500GB and to buy a new hard drive of 1TB (1024GB) is likely to set you back around £60. So, as you can see the price of the latest technology is relatively cheap.

Processor

A computer processor is the ‘brain’ where all of the hard work is done. It used to be relatively easy to work out its speed since a number was assigned to tell you how fast it was in MHz or GHz. But today’s new breed of processors have changed so much that there are multiple things to consider. I’m not going to wade into the intricacies of processor design or how the technology has moved on but I will give you a very brief overview so you know where your processor is in the hierarchy of performance and power.

Briefly, and in general,  here is the time line of current processor types on the market:-

Pentium 4 - Dual Core - Core Duo - Core 2 Duo - Core 2 Quad – Core i7 - Core i5.

The processor in a PC does not offer a simple DIY upgrade option for the non-techie user. So if the following table identifies your processor as being old, then I recommend replacing your PC if you want to run Windows 7 or newer applications with acceptable performance.

The following chart is a summary of my recommendations based on your processor type and speed.

Processor type	Speed	Rating	Recommendation
Pentium 4	Any	Old	replace
Dual Core	Any	Old	replace
Core Duo	Any	Old	replace
Core 2 Duo E6320 or lower	1.86 GHz	Average	Sufficient
Core 2 Duo E6400 or higher	2.13 GHz – 3.33 GHz	Good	Sufficient to very high spec
Core 2 Quad	Any	Very good	Very high spec
Core i7	Any	Excellent	Cutting edge
Core i5	Any	Excellent!	Cutting edge

Memory

Where hard disk is long term storage memory is short term storage. Memory holds the data that the processor is working on at any given time. The more memory you have the more programs you can run simulatneously and the faster they will run. To run Windows XP comfortably I recommend you have at least 512MB of memory, to run Windows Vista or 7 it should be at least 1GB (1024 MB). These are recommended minimum requirements but more memory is always better: I advise clients that they should have 2GB of memory.

The good news is that providing your PC has a good enough processor then a memory upgrade is a relatively cheap and simple thing to do and can have a noticeable effect on the performance of your PC.

Conclusion

In brief I recommend that you have a PC with a hard drive of at least 160GB, a Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of memory. A PC with this specification will be able to comfortably run current programs and will probably be sufficient for a another 2 to 3 years.

Now that you have the details of all the hardware installed in your computer you can decide whether it’s good enough for your means. If you’re not planning to upgrade to Windows Vista or 7 then, providing you have at least Windows XP, your PC will probably be fine for several years. Of course you should still bear in mind that hard disks will fail so you must back up your data. Also remember that more memory equals better performance whatever computer you have and whichever version of Windows you have installed.

If you are planning to upgrade to Vista or Windows 7 then unless you have recently purchased your PC you’re likely to want to replace it or at least upgrade.

Microsoft has published details of the minimum system requirements for Windows 7 butI advise you to take these with a pinch of salt: minimum means absolute minimum and your experience with a minimum rated PC will be less than satisfactory!

In general, to run Windows 7 (I’m assuming you’d prefer Windows 7 to Vista – and who wouldn’t!) you’re going to want a PC with what I’d consider the minimum specifications to run everything at a more than acceptable level:-

Hard Disk: minimum 160GB
Processor: Core 2 Duo E7400
Memory: 2GB

With harware like this inside your PC Windows 7 will run smoothly and your programs will perform at the very least in an acceptable manner.

Further considerations when buying a new PC