MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - New PC for my 76 yo mother - need opinion on Dell Zino from you tech-types

Ea · 01-01-2010, 10:03 AM

It's been years since I last bothered with hardware specs, but now I'm looking for something for my mother (who's 76) who has a 6-7 year old computer. With a - I think - Celeron processor (I don't know exactly how fast - slow! - it is*), but I know it has only 256 MB RAM. I guess I could add RAM, but at best that would still only be a band-aid until it inevitably would need to be replaced. Anyhow, I don't live in their neighborhood and generally would prefer not to have to mess too much with other people's computer hardware.

So a new computer it should be. My mother's needs are primarily Internet, email, Word and so on. No gaming, no media files - except she sometimes will watch a DVD - a few varied applications (local and Internet).

I've had a look at one of Dell's new mini-desktops; the Inspiron Zino. I've had good experience with Dell so far, and it has a good price tag, too. I just wondered whether or not it's worth it to upgrade from the basic specs of the processor and RAM. The OS will be Windows 7 Home. My own opinion is that, at length, RAM is more important than processor power. I would expect that this computer should last at least the next 6-7 years.

Processor:
AMD Athlon 2650e (512K L2, 1.6GHz)
or
AMD Athlon 2850e (512K, L2, 1.8GHz) - adds 5% to the initial base price (adds 150 DKK to the initial 2990 DKK)
or
AMD X2 3250E, 1,5 GHz, 512 KB - adds 10% to the base price. The next and final option will add 30% to the price (too much).

Memory
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM
or
3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM - adds 12% to the initial base price. If I go up to 4GB RAM it'll add almost double of this amount.

Do you think it's worth upgrading any of the options from the base option?

* I actually do know how slow it is - glacial speed.

01-01-2010, 10:03 AM	#1
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	New PC for my 76 yo mother - need opinion on Dell Zino from you tech-types It's been years since I last bothered with hardware specs, but now I'm looking for something for my mother (who's 76) who has a 6-7 year old computer. With a - I think - Celeron processor (I don't know exactly how fast - slow! - it is), but I know it has only 256 MB RAM. I guess I could add RAM, but at best that would still only be a band-aid until it inevitably would need to be replaced. Anyhow, I don't live in their neighborhood and generally would prefer not to have to mess too much with other people's computer hardware. So a new computer it should be. My mother's needs are primarily Internet, email, Word and so on. No gaming, no media files - except she sometimes will watch a DVD - a few varied applications (local and Internet). I've had a look at one of Dell's new mini-desktops; the Inspiron Zino. I've had good experience with Dell so far, and it has a good price tag, too. I just wondered whether or not it's worth it to upgrade from the basic specs of the processor and RAM. The OS will be Windows 7 Home. My own opinion is that, at length, RAM is more important than processor power. I would expect that this computer should last at least the next 6-7 years. Processor: AMD Athlon 2650e (512K L2, 1.6GHz) or AMD Athlon 2850e (512K, L2, 1.8GHz) - adds 5% to the initial base price (adds 150 DKK to the initial 2990 DKK) or AMD X2 3250E, 1,5 GHz, 512 KB - adds 10% to the base price. The next and final option will add 30% to the price (too much). Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM or 3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM - adds 12% to the initial base price. If I go up to 4GB RAM it'll add almost double of this amount. Do you think it's worth upgrading any of the options from the base option? I actually do know how slow it is - glacial speed.