OK computer guys, looking for a new desktop

[220_SWIFT]

And I have LOTS of questions.  Any and all advice is welcome. 

It is getting time to replace my desktop.  It simply is no longer up to the tasks that I ask of it.  Currently I have:

Dell Vostro
Windows XP Pro
Intel 2160 @1.8 GHz
1.99 GB Ram
75 GB Hard Drive that currently has 57 GB on it. (After removing 14 GB last week)

I use Quickbooks Pro 2010, with Avalara Avatax running with it.  My current setup barely meets the minimum requirements for Quickbooks, let alone Avatax and everything running in the background.  Normal activities are fine.  But start working in Quickbooks and the brakes get applied hard and fast. 

The requirements for Quickbooks are

At least 2.0GHz processor; 2.4GHz recommended
At least 1 GB RAM for single user, 2 GB RAM recommended for multiple users

Is processor speed the same, or do different processors work overly better than others?  I noticed quite a selection out there.  A Quickbooks tech once told me some processors work better with accounting programs than others, even though they are rated at the same speed.  Any truth to this?  Also, right now we run Quickbooks on two separate computers, and backup/restore between the two machines.  Sometime within the next year we will be setting it up on a network.  Should that play into computer selection now in any way?  The other computer is an Asus Essentio Desktop with Windows 7, and I believe it has the i5 processor 2.8 GHz?/8 GB Ram/1 TB hard drive.  I am going off of memory, but I know for sure the RAM and Hard drive are correct.

Also, I was thinking about getting an external hard drive now.  Then moving stuff from my desktop to the external drive so that it is simpler when switching over to a new desktop.  Does that sound feasible?  Also, what would be a good one to get?  Any brand better than the others?  Is it is as simple as plug and play, or is there more to it?  Last time I burned all documents/pictures/etc onto a CD and transferred it that way.  It took a very long time.  And now, the DVD Rom I have will not burn a CD, and has not been working for quite a while.  It still reads fine, but will not write.  The external seemed like the easiest way to transfer files.

Anything else I am missing?  Just looking for some general input.  It has been quite a while since I have upgraded desktops, and there seem to be a ton more options available this go round.  Thanks for any help.

[coppertales]

I just bought a ZT from Costco.....700 bucks.  It  has an AMD 3.2 hz processor, 16 g memory, ant 2 T hard drive.  I love it.......The best thing is ZT does not put all that propriatory crap on their computers.  Mine has Windows 7 home....chris3

[Jim147]

The specs on your Asus should be a good place to compare for a new one.

I would think using the external drive to move things to the new system should work. Then you could hook the external up to the network and map it for Quickbooks.

I don't know much about the Brand name systems but I would think most systems with multi core cpus and 4+ gig of memory running Win 7 should do about all you would want and then some.

jim

[Brad Johnson]

Dell outlet.  I got a screaming deal on a 2.6 GHz quad core machine with a 500 Gb drive, Win 7 64 bit, a pretty healthy vid card, and 4 Gb RAM.  After adding additional RAM (to 8 Gb) and a couple other goodies I wanted, I was still under $700 and the thing frikkin hauls.

Brad

[Perd Hapley]

Is processor speed the same, or do different processors work overly better than others?  I noticed quite a selection out there.  A Quickbooks tech once told me some processors work better with accounting programs than others, even though they are rated at the same speed.  Any truth to this?  Also, right now we run Quickbooks on two separate computers, and backup/restore between the two machines.  Sometime within the next year we will be setting it up on a network.  Should that play into computer selection now in any way?  The other computer is an Asus Essentio Desktop with Windows 7, and I believe it has the i5 processor 2.8 GHz?/8 GB Ram/1 TB hard drive.  I am going off of memory, but I know for sure the RAM and Hard drive are correct.

A lot of the newer processors are dual-core, quad-core, and so on. That means that one processor acts like 2 or 4, or more. So a quad-core processor could be running at 1.8 GHz, and run circles around an old single-core chip. I'm probably leaving out a lot of important factors I don't know about.

The i5 mentioned above is of the multi-core variety.

[Waitone]

Tiger Direct has some screaming refurb deals.  I would assume the same goes for Newegg.  If you are sufficiently geek, build it yourself.  That way you get exactly what you want.

[never_retreat]

You can get these cheep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9u2X_HnNU8

[Phantom Warrior]

Also, I was thinking about getting an external hard drive now.  Then moving stuff from my desktop to the external drive so that it is simpler when switching over to a new desktop.  Does that sound feasible?  Also, what would be a good one to get?  Any brand better than the others?  Is it is as simple as plug and play, or is there more to it?  Last time I burned all documents/pictures/etc onto a CD and transferred it that way.  It took a very long time.  And now, the DVD Rom I have will not burn a CD, and has not been working for quite a while.  It still reads fine, but will not write.  The external seemed like the easiest way to transfer files.

It is that simple.  I've always had good success with Western Digital.  If you are moving the hard drive around a lot or taking it with you places consider getting one that is powered directly from the USB port and doesn't need to be plugged into an outlet.  A good sized portable external can be had for less than $100.  Like the 500 GB Western Digital My Passport here.  This is exactly what I got for deployment and I've been very happy with it.

[Brad Johnson]

You can hit 2 Tb for around a c-note now.

Brad

[Perd Hapley]

You can get these cheep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9u2X_HnNU8

How have I never seen this? That is unbelievable. Love the torches next to the laptops. 

[220_SWIFT]

Thank you very much for all the input.  As for the youtube computer pitch, I think I'll pass. LOL 

First thing I am going to do is get the external hard drive, and start getting files backed up to it.  Then I will start shopping.  It is much nicer to go through this process at my leisure, as opposed to my computer just died and I have a weeks worth of work backed up. LOL 

Thanks again for all the input, and if I have any more questions I will direct them here.

[KD5NRH]

The requirements for Quickbooks are

At least 2.0GHz processor; 2.4GHz recommended
At least 1 GB RAM for single user, 2 GB RAM recommended for multiple users

Holy crap.  That's some serious bloat.  I remember running QB on a Pentium 90.  Have they added anything that actually justifies the mess it's become?

[Perd Hapley]

I saw this thread in the stack just now, and thought we were talking about Radiohead.

[CSM Kersh]

You might like this:

Inspiron 570Market
Value4 $563.99
Total Savings $59.00
Dell Price $504.99
As low as $20 / month1
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Total savings includes:
Dell Inspiron 570 price includes $59 instant discount.Estimated Ship Date:4/21/2011Customize Add to Cart Processor  AMD Athlonâ„¢ II X2 245 (2.9GHz/1MB cache)
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Memory2 6GB2 DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
Hard Drive  1000GB3 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
Video Card Integrated ATI Radeon HD4200 Graphics
Warranty 1 Year Basic Service Plan


There's a lot of change between XP and 7 but not the complaints Vista got.  Order the Beltin easy link cable to transfer file directly from one machine to another or, if you've got an external HD, & can work with that was well. 

[zxcvbob]

I saw some pretty serious refurbs at either geeks.com or ecost.com (I think it was geeks) recently for about $200.