gift of new computer - should I switch or maintain 2 units

[Mary Fowler Leek]

I have been given a:

Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512 mb ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC DVD-RW dvd drive, DVD/CD drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio card.

I currently use a:

Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz, 512 mb ram, NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive, floppy, network card, iEEE 1395 firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card. This computer is networked with an IBM laptop here at home, where we share the DSL internet connection.

I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but this gift computer is not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like to work with archiving our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8 movies onto digital media. Would your advice be to move to the new computer now or just keep it in reserve to use with future digital video work? I've no idea how soon I can do the video work, probably months down the road. I know video editing is processor and hard drive intensive so maybe a dedicated computer would be best to use. I would have to either switch the firewire card or purchase and install another card in the gift computer if I keep two computers.

Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what I'd gain by moving, other than a little processing speed. I'm not certain if my old computer uses USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be an advantage to moving. It's been so long since I purchased the old computer, I've forgotten what USB speed it recognizes. This is what it says in the device manager list: Intel(R) 8280 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.

I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is slow. Would purchasing a USB 2 connector switch to use with the printer help speed up the printing process? If so, that would be an advantage of changing computers.

Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please comment as to the benefits of moving?

Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP home installations? The person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on his computer.


My sincere thanks for your help.

Mary
mary at arkwest.com

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Mary.

Lucky you! That sounds like a very nice new computer! ;<)

A couple of key comparisons between old and new should tell us most of what
we need to know:
Old: Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz -- I'm sure you mean 930 MHz
New: Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2

The Pentium 4 is much more capable than the Pentium 3, and even if that were
not true, 2.4 GHz is nearly 3 times as fast as 930 MHz, since 1 GHz is a
Billion Hertz, or 1,000 times the speed of 1 MHz, which is a Million Hertz,
so the comparison should be pretty clear.

DVDs will hold 4.7 GB, typically, which is about 7 or 8 times as much as a
CD, which typically holds about 700 MB. Again, a G is about 1,000 M, so the
comparison is clear. With the higher speed, plus the DVD drive's ability to
also easily read and write CDs, you gain a lot and lose nothing with the DVD
drive.

USB 2.0 is only about 3 years old, so your old computer is probably capable
of only USB 1.1 unless you've added a card to it. As you probably know, 2.0
is about 40 times as fast as 1.1, so your new one is definitely better.

Since, as you said, "video editing is processor and hard drive intensive",
your old computer probably would take hours to do a job that your new one
can do in minutes. You would gain much more than "a little processing
speed". You need a good printer, too. Parallel port is plenty fast, but
you may like other improvements built into newer printers.

I'm just one guy with one computer. I've never had a laptop or a network,
so I won't even attempt to deal with those questions.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

I have been given a:

Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512
mb ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC DVD-RW dvd drive,
DVD/CD drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax Integrated Digital
Audio card.

I currently use a:

Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz, 512 mb
ram, NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive, floppy, network card,
iEEE 1395 firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card. This computer is
networked with an IBM laptop here at home, where we share the DSL internet
connection.

I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but this gift computer
is not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like to work with
archiving our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8 movies onto digital
media. Would your advice be to move to the new computer now or just keep it
in reserve to use with future digital video work? I've no idea how soon I
can do the video work, probably months down the road. I know video editing
is processor and hard drive intensive so maybe a dedicated computer would be
best to use. I would have to either switch the firewire card or purchase and
install another card in the gift computer if I keep two computers.

Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what I'd gain by
moving, other than a little processing speed. I'm not certain if my old
computer uses USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be an advantage to
moving. It's been so long since I purchased the old computer, I've forgotten
what USB speed it recognizes. This is what it says in the device manager
list: Intel(R) 8280 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.

I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is slow. Would
purchasing a USB 2 connector switch to use with the printer help speed up
the printing process? If so, that would be an advantage of changing
computers.

Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please comment as to the
benefits of moving?

Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP home installations?
The person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on his computer.


My sincere thanks for your help.

Mary
mary at arkwest.com

 

[Jim Macklin]

Both computers have USB 1.1, but you can add a USB 2.0 combo
card and add Firewire and USB 2.0 to both using only one PCI
slot.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| Hi, Mary.
|
| Lucky you! That sounds like a very nice new computer!
;<)
|
| A couple of key comparisons between old and new should
tell us most of what
| we need to know:
| Old: Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz -- I'm sure you mean 930
MHz
| New: Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2
|
| The Pentium 4 is much more capable than the Pentium 3, and
even if that were
| not true, 2.4 GHz is nearly 3 times as fast as 930 MHz,
since 1 GHz is a
| Billion Hertz, or 1,000 times the speed of 1 MHz, which is
a Million Hertz,
| so the comparison should be pretty clear.
|
| DVDs will hold 4.7 GB, typically, which is about 7 or 8
times as much as a
| CD, which typically holds about 700 MB. Again, a G is
about 1,000 M, so the
| comparison is clear. With the higher speed, plus the DVD
drive's ability to
| also easily read and write CDs, you gain a lot and lose
nothing with the DVD
| drive.
|
| USB 2.0 is only about 3 years old, so your old computer is
probably capable
| of only USB 1.1 unless you've added a card to it. As you
probably know, 2.0
| is about 40 times as fast as 1.1, so your new one is
definitely better.
|
| Since, as you said, "video editing is processor and hard
drive intensive",
| your old computer probably would take hours to do a job
that your new one
| can do in minutes. You would gain much more than "a
little processing
| speed". You need a good printer, too. Parallel port is
plenty fast, but
| you may like other improvements built into newer printers.
|
| I'm just one guy with one computer. I've never had a
laptop or a network,
| so I won't even attempt to deal with those questions.
|
| RC
| --
| R. C. White, CPA
| San Marcos, TX
| (e-mail address removed)
| Microsoft Windows MVP
|
| | I have been given a:
|
| Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 -
2.4 GHz SSE2, 512
| mb ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC
DVD-RW dvd drive,
| DVD/CD drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax
Integrated Digital
| Audio card.
|
| I currently use a:
|
| Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 -
930 GHz, 512 mb
| ram, NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive,
floppy, network card,
| iEEE 1395 firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card.
This computer is
| networked with an IBM laptop here at home, where we share
the DSL internet
| connection.
|
| I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but
this gift computer
| is not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like
to work with
| archiving our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8
movies onto digital
| media. Would your advice be to move to the new computer
now or just keep it
| in reserve to use with future digital video work? I've no
idea how soon I
| can do the video work, probably months down the road. I
know video editing
| is processor and hard drive intensive so maybe a dedicated
computer would be
| best to use. I would have to either switch the firewire
card or purchase and
| install another card in the gift computer if I keep two
computers.
|
| Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what
I'd gain by
| moving, other than a little processing speed. I'm not
certain if my old
| computer uses USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be
an advantage to
| moving. It's been so long since I purchased the old
computer, I've forgotten
| what USB speed it recognizes. This is what it says in the
device manager
| list: Intel(R) 8280 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.
|
| I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is
slow. Would
| purchasing a USB 2 connector switch to use with the
printer help speed up
| the printing process? If so, that would be an advantage of
changing
| computers.
|
| Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please
comment as to the
| benefits of moving?
|
| Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP
home installations?
| The person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on
his computer.
|
|
| My sincere thanks for your help.
|
| Mary
| mary at arkwest.com
|

 

[peter]

I have a small network at home and since RC covered the which is better part I
thought I would throw my 2cents worth in for networking.
I have comp.#1 with 2 network cards and #2 with 1 network card.All hooked into
Firewalled Router which is hooked up to a DSL modem.I can connect to the
internet directly with #2 without having to turn on #1 and I can connect from #1
to #2 directly and vice versa.
I would move the IEEE 1395 Firewire Card to the new system for future video
work. Then I would delegate the new unit as my main system and attach it to the
network.This way all of the stuff you have on the old system is accessible from
the new system.
Here is a website on
networking.........http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/net.asp
This way you get to use the new now and get familiar with all of its parts while
at the same time get to keep all of your work on the old and still be able to
access it.If you have the same programs you can access from the new computer.You
might find the new speed to your liking.
You dont even have to change OS to XP....2000 is a pretty good OS...but if you
aim to you do need to purchase another copy of XP..the license basically says
one copy per computer.
peter
I have been given a:

Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512 mb
ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC DVD-RW dvd drive, DVD/CD
drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio
card.

I currently use a:

Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz, 512 mb ram,
NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive, floppy, network card, iEEE 1395
firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card. This computer is networked with
an IBM laptop here at home, where we share the DSL internet connection.

I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but this gift computer is
not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like to work with archiving
our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8 movies onto digital media. Would
your advice be to move to the new computer now or just keep it in reserve to use
with future digital video work? I've no idea how soon I can do the video work,
probably months down the road. I know video editing is processor and hard drive
intensive so maybe a dedicated computer would be best to use. I would have to
either switch the firewire card or purchase and install another card in the gift
computer if I keep two computers.

Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what I'd gain by moving,
other than a little processing speed. I'm not certain if my old computer uses
USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be an advantage to moving. It's been so
long since I purchased the old computer, I've forgotten what USB speed it
recognizes. This is what it says in the device manager list: Intel(R) 8280
1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.

I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is slow. Would purchasing
a USB 2 connector switch to use with the printer help speed up the printing
process? If so, that would be an advantage of changing computers.

Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please comment as to the
benefits of moving?

Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP home installations? The
person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on his computer.


My sincere thanks for your help.

Mary
mary at arkwest.com

 

[David Nimon]

Why would you say the 4600 has USB 1.1? Mine has 2.0.

 

[Jim Macklin]

A friend has a 4600 and it is 1.1, so I guess Dell made the
change w/o changing the model number.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| Why would you say the 4600 has USB 1.1? Mine has 2.0.
|
| --
| David Nimon
| dnimonREMOVE@##sympatico.ca
|
| --------------------------------
in message
| | > Both computers have USB 1.1, but you can add a USB 2.0
combo
| > card and add Firewire and USB 2.0 to both using only one
PCI
| > slot.
| >
| >
| > --
| > The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| > But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
| >
| >
| > | > | Hi, Mary.
| > |
| > | Lucky you! That sounds like a very nice new computer!
| > ;<)
| > |
| > | A couple of key comparisons between old and new should
| > tell us most of what
| > | we need to know:
| > | Old: Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz -- I'm sure you mean
930
| > MHz
| > | New: Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2
| > |
| > | The Pentium 4 is much more capable than the Pentium 3,
and
| > even if that were
| > | not true, 2.4 GHz is nearly 3 times as fast as 930
MHz,
| > since 1 GHz is a
| > | Billion Hertz, or 1,000 times the speed of 1 MHz,
which is
| > a Million Hertz,
| > | so the comparison should be pretty clear.
| > |
| > | DVDs will hold 4.7 GB, typically, which is about 7 or
8
| > times as much as a
| > | CD, which typically holds about 700 MB. Again, a G is
| > about 1,000 M, so the
| > | comparison is clear. With the higher speed, plus the
DVD
| > drive's ability to
| > | also easily read and write CDs, you gain a lot and
lose
| > nothing with the DVD
| > | drive.
| > |
| > | USB 2.0 is only about 3 years old, so your old
computer is
| > probably capable
| > | of only USB 1.1 unless you've added a card to it. As
you
| > probably know, 2.0
| > | is about 40 times as fast as 1.1, so your new one is
| > definitely better.
| > |
| > | Since, as you said, "video editing is processor and
hard
| > drive intensive",
| > | your old computer probably would take hours to do a
job
| > that your new one
| > | can do in minutes. You would gain much more than "a
| > little processing
| > | speed". You need a good printer, too. Parallel port
is
| > plenty fast, but
| > | you may like other improvements built into newer
printers.
| > |
| > | I'm just one guy with one computer. I've never had a
| > laptop or a network,
| > | so I won't even attempt to deal with those questions.
| > |
| > | RC
| > | --
| > | R. C. White, CPA
| > | San Marcos, TX
| > | (e-mail address removed)
| > | Microsoft Windows MVP
| > |
message
| > | | > | I have been given a:
| > |
| > | Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium
4 -
| > 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512
| > | mb ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X,
NEC
| > DVD-RW dvd drive,
| > | DVD/CD drive, floppy drive, built in network and
SoundMax
| > Integrated Digital
| > | Audio card.
| > |
| > | I currently use a:
| > |
| > | Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium
3 -
| > 930 GHz, 512 mb
| > | ram, NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive,
| > floppy, network card,
| > | iEEE 1395 firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio
card.
| > This computer is
| > | networked with an IBM laptop here at home, where we
share
| > the DSL internet
| > | connection.
| > |
| > | I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer
but
| > this gift computer
| > | is not networked with our home network. One day, I'd
like
| > to work with
| > | archiving our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8
| > movies onto digital
| > | media. Would your advice be to move to the new
computer
| > now or just keep it
| > | in reserve to use with future digital video work? I've
no
| > idea how soon I
| > | can do the video work, probably months down the road.
I
| > know video editing
| > | is processor and hard drive intensive so maybe a
dedicated
| > computer would be
| > | best to use. I would have to either switch the
firewire
| > card or purchase and
| > | install another card in the gift computer if I keep
two
| > computers.
| > |
| > | Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure
what
| > I'd gain by
| > | moving, other than a little processing speed. I'm not
| > certain if my old
| > | computer uses USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would
be
| > an advantage to
| > | moving. It's been so long since I purchased the old
| > computer, I've forgotten
| > | what USB speed it recognizes. This is what it says in
the
| > device manager
| > | list: Intel(R) 8280 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host
Controller.
| > |
| > | I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It
is
| > slow. Would
| > | purchasing a USB 2 connector switch to use with the
| > printer help speed up
| > | the printing process? If so, that would be an
advantage of
| > changing
| > | computers.
| > |
| > | Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please
| > comment as to the
| > | benefits of moving?
| > |
| > | Is there a problem with running two different Windows
XP
| > home installations?
| > | The person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000
on
| > his computer.
| > |
| > |
| > | My sincere thanks for your help.
| > |
| > | Mary
| > | mary at arkwest.com
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

My thanks to everyone for all the helpful suggestions and the helpful website location.

Regarding the OS, the gift computer has WindowsXP home edition already installed. The prior owner of this box prefers Windows 2000, which is what is on the other computer that he kept.

Do I need to buy a new edition of windows XP to reformat and reinstall windows xp on the gift machine? It already has windows XP home edition on it but it's registered to him. I'd like to remove all of his files and start fresh with my own software installs (and how I dread having to reinstall everything). If I'm not going to keep both of my computers running, can I just use my own copy of Windows XP home edition to refresh my gift machine? I don't mind buying another copy if that's the proper thing to do, but don't want to waste money, either.

Thank you for taking the time to help.


Mary
(e-mail address removed)


: : I have been given a:
:
: Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512 mb
: ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC DVD-RW dvd drive, DVD/CD
: drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio
: card.
:
: I currently use a:
:
: Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz, 512 mb ram,
: NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive, floppy, network card, iEEE 1395
: firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card. This computer is networked with
: an IBM laptop here at home, where we share the DSL internet connection.
:
: I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but this gift computer is
: not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like to work with archiving
: our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8 movies onto digital media. Would
: your advice be to move to the new computer now or just keep it in reserve to use
: with future digital video work? I've no idea how soon I can do the video work,
: probably months down the road. I know video editing is processor and hard drive
: intensive so maybe a dedicated computer would be best to use. I would have to
: either switch the firewire card or purchase and install another card in the gift
: computer if I keep two computers.
:
: Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what I'd gain by moving,
: other than a little processing speed. I'm not certain if my old computer uses
: USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be an advantage to moving. It's been so
: long since I purchased the old computer, I've forgotten what USB speed it
: recognizes. This is what it says in the device manager list: Intel(R) 8280
: 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.
:
: I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is slow. Would purchasing
: a USB 2 connector switch to use with the printer help speed up the printing
: process? If so, that would be an advantage of changing computers.
:
: Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please comment as to the
: benefits of moving?
:
: Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP home installations? The
: person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on his computer.
:
:
: My sincere thanks for your help.
:
: Mary
: mary at arkwest.com

 

[peter]

Mary
#1.....Your Friend can transfer ownership of the NEW XP to you by simply giving
you the product and the key and declaring that he does not have that OS on any
machine that he owns........then you will own 2 copies of XP
#2......If you are only running one machine..say the new one ..you could delete
your Copy of XP off the old machine and install onto the new machine with your
Key
#3....if you friend is still using XP on another machine that he owns and you
wish to run both old and new machines then you do need to buy new
version of XP and install it onto the new machine
hope this helps
peter
My thanks to everyone for all the helpful suggestions and the helpful website
location.

Regarding the OS, the gift computer has WindowsXP home edition already
installed. The prior owner of this box prefers Windows 2000, which is what is on
the other computer that he kept.

Do I need to buy a new edition of windows XP to reformat and reinstall windows
xp on the gift machine? It already has windows XP home edition on it but it's
registered to him. I'd like to remove all of his files and start fresh with my
own software installs (and how I dread having to reinstall everything). If I'm
not going to keep both of my computers running, can I just use my own copy of
Windows XP home edition to refresh my gift machine? I don't mind buying another
copy if that's the proper thing to do, but don't want to waste money, either.

Thank you for taking the time to help.


Mary
(e-mail address removed)


: : I have been given a:
:
: Dell Dimension 4600 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 GHz SSE2, 512 mb
: ram, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 mb ram) w/ AGP8X, NEC DVD-RW dvd drive, DVD/CD
: drive, floppy drive, built in network and SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio
: card.
:
: I currently use a:
:
: Dell Dimension 4100 w/ Windows XP home, Intel Pentium 3 - 930 GHz, 512 mb ram,
: NVIDIA GeForce2, CD-RW drive, DVD/CD Rom drive, floppy, network card, iEEE
1395
: firewird card and Creative SB Live! audio card. This computer is networked
with
: an IBM laptop here at home, where we share the DSL internet connection.
:
: I have an old monitor attached to the gift computer but this gift computer is
: not networked with our home network. One day, I'd like to work with archiving
: our old video tapes and move the 8mm and Hi8 movies onto digital media. Would
: your advice be to move to the new computer now or just keep it in reserve to
use
: with future digital video work? I've no idea how soon I can do the video work,
: probably months down the road. I know video editing is processor and hard
drive
: intensive so maybe a dedicated computer would be best to use. I would have to
: either switch the firewire card or purchase and install another card in the
gift
: computer if I keep two computers.
:
: Is one computer superior over the other? I'm not sure what I'd gain by moving,
: other than a little processing speed. I'm not certain if my old computer uses
: USB 1 or 2. If USB 1, I guess that would be an advantage to moving. It's been
so
: long since I purchased the old computer, I've forgotten what USB speed it
: recognizes. This is what it says in the device manager list: Intel(R) 8280
: 1BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller.
:
: I do have a color laser that uses a parallel port. It is slow. Would
purchasing
: a USB 2 connector switch to use with the printer help speed up the printing
: process? If so, that would be an advantage of changing computers.
:
: Would you guys who are technically knowledgable please comment as to the
: benefits of moving?
:
: Is there a problem with running two different Windows XP home installations?
The
: person who gave me the computer uses Windows 2000 on his computer.
:
:
: My sincere thanks for your help.
:
: Mary
: mary at arkwest.com