New Computer while Windows 7 is still available...

[rpcrowe]

My wife needs a new computer and would like a small footprint desktop. She is presently working with a Lenovo notebook with an Intel I-5 processor. She is very happy with the Lenovo brand and considers her notebook fast enough for her needs.

She wants a second computer. A large portion of my wife's computer needs are in conjunction with our Maltese Rescue work. She cannot afford to have her computer down for even one day.

I am not sure if we are correct in this reasoning but, we don't want Windows 8 and would rather remain with Windows 7. We have heard a lot of horror stories about Windows 8 compatability with programs which are presently running under Windows 7. This limits our choices a bit since many retailers are now selling computers only with Windows 8.

Although we will load Photoshop CS6 on thew new computer, I will still do most of the image processing on my desktop computer. However, since we are allowed to install Photoshop CS6 on two computers, we will take advantage of that and have her desktop as a backup for image processing.

We will be running Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and have the disk with the ability to load it on one additional computer. I don't see us upgrading to 2010 because the 2007 fills the bill for my wife's needs.

Here is the computer we are seriously considering. What do you think? Will we be havng any problems running our programs under Windows 7 Home Premium as opposed to the Windows 8 Professional?

This setup is available from several U.S. merchants for between $500 and $550 USD. Price is not a limiting factor and we could increase our computer budget by two or three hundred $USD if that would give us increased capability that she would use.

I need to mention that we have no desire to play video games but would like to do some very simple video editing with the computer...

Lenovo IdeaCentre H520S 25611LU Desktop PC:

Key Features and Benefits:•Intel Core i5-2320 processor
3.00GHz, 6MB L3 Cache


•6GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory
Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work


•1TB SATA hard drive
Store 666,000 photos, 285,000 songs or 526 hours of HD video and more


•DVD Reader/Writer
Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats


•10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Connect to a broadband modem with wired Ethernet or wirelessly connect to a Wi-Fi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your PC


•Intel HD Graphics

Additional Features:•7-in-1 memory card reader
•6 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone jack, 1 x microphone jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x HDMI port

Software:•Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition (To learn more about the features of Windows 7, click here)
•Microsoft Office Starter 2010: Includes reduced functionality versions of Microsoft Word and Excel, with advertising. PowerPoint and Outlook are NOT included. Purchase Office 2010 today and get the most out of your new PC.
•Lenovo Rescue System

We would also like some way to mirror the files on each computer...

[James G]

Richard, must admit I'm getting a bit fed up myself with 'backward' compatability issues of Microsoft upgrades. In fairness to them it is more down to 3rd party software not keeping up, or failing to provide 'non chargeable' patches to enable use of the latest windows release.
OK moan over.... :-)

You can run a compatability report from your current system to find out what will work. Just go to the Microsoft Windows 8 pages. It doesn't take long and gives you a detailed report of what is totally compatable and what may need upgrading or replacing entirely. (it does not need you to proceed further than getting the report.)

Taking a quick look at your config, I think you may not find it too difficult to take on Windows 8. As a comparison, on my system, I was advised that :-
#Secure Boot (which I doubt you use) iss not available since my motherboard is not compatible. (does not prevent Win 8 in stallation though)
#Windows Media Centre, is not preinstalled on Windows 8, so needs to be reinstalled if you move to Windows 8. This will be chargeable, but for a while, you can obtain it for free at present from the widows website.
#Adobe media player is currently not compatible but a solution from Adobe is available (presumably free)
#Corel Win DVD pro 11, which I use, is not compatible but Corel provide a chargeable :-( upgrade.
#iTunes, if you use it, may require you to remove previously authorised PC's (usually because you exceed 5 devices limit on the upgrade)
#Microsoft Camera Codec Pack will need reinstall on windows 8 (but free)
#Nero10 will need to be upgraded (paid of course).
#I use Trend Security software for Firewall and internet security. I am advised that a solution to continue with my licence is available (think its free)
# If you use Bluetooth, there may be a need to refer back to the manufacturer for a patch.

Adobe Air, CS6, Adobe Reader, Canon Raw codec & utilities, also my Epson scanner and Printer software & utilities are all compatible.

Since I'm not interested in any of the new capabilities that 8 is designed to address, I am not to keen on the upgrade. But I'm retired from a career in IT, and old habits die hard, so my intent is to upgrade my laptop (win 7 ultimate 64 bit), which is the backup for my desktop, and has the same software suite.
Compared to upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 it looks a lot less of a hassle. IF everything pans out I'll then consider upgrading my main system once Win8 has had time to stabilise a bit, probably in six months time.

Hope this helps a little with your decision. James

[James G]

Sorry Richard, missed your last requirement. Can't help much with that, As I indicated earlier, I maintain my laptop as a 'mirror' of my Desktop in software terms. for my dayta though I back up all my files to seperate hard drives on my descktop and then cascade to tertiary external hard drives. (they have become relatively cheap over the last few years).

I did investigate usinf mirrored drives, and various RAID alternatives, but decided they were overkill for my purposes. Basically once a week I back up my current shoot/general files overnight to the offline backup drives. And on a monthly basis I consolidate my recent shoots etc, to my archive set and then back this up to my Offline drives. Rather anal of me, but not to arduous since it is all done overnight, and as I said works for me.....
James

[Geoff F]

When I last purchased a computer, I went to a company which assembles them as required. Often cheaper than getting something off the shelf from some retailers.

I was offered Vista but told them to install XP instead.

After looking at 7, and the problems it would cause; particularly as my photo working computer isn't connected to the internet, I would do the same thing again and have XP installed. Definitely not 8.

Although a new laptop for internet use and new equipment like printers etc would probably work OK with 8.

[Melkus]

I would never buy a store computer from places like Wal-Mart, Best Buy if I can help it and the reason not to buy a store computer is easy; the only thing that is easy with a computer bought from a store is that you only need to plug in the cables outside the case and start the computer. As long as everything is going fine there should be no problems with a computer from the store; however, the moment something starts to go wrong the problems start.

The computers from the store have usually the minimal power supply and other parts are not the best neither. The manufacturer tries to save as much money as possible by using the cheapest parts in the computer possible; the quality of the computer will not be that great compared to one you can built at home.

Some of the computers from the store seem to have a nice set up; thus they seem like something you would want to buy. The problem is that for some of these computer the warranty only exists if the computer case will never be opened; not even cleaning up the case from dust is allowed. Other problems that might occur are the bad temperature control; not enough fans to bring fresh air inside or the CPU cooler might not be the best possible. The weakest link is always the graphic card, rarely you will have enjoyable time to use it for playing games if you do.

In short, the computers from the stores seem to have good offers; however, they have more than enough problems coming with them. Also I found in a store computer the manufacturer loads it up with a lot of software you will never use and most are only trial versions so when the time runs out you have to pay to keep using it. Manufacturer load these computer up so you think you getting more for your money but you really not.

[jcuknz]

I was faced with this with my last computer purchase in that I prefer to work in XP but the machine came with W7. My Guru organised the boot-up so that the machine passes through a stage where I have the option of getting W7 or XP as my operating system though it defaults to XP if I do nothing. It is not perfect, changing over is time consuming and I have to close everything down in the OS I am leaving , but I can access all my files from either OS

I guess I was lucky to find my geek to be my Guru

[rpcrowe]

We have decided to buy the computer directly from the Lenovo website. We want a few additional bells and whistles such as third generation I5 processor and Windows 7 Professional as well as extra USB ports (it seems that I can never have enough of those)...