A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Need an opinion from more computer-oriented friends please ... (sm) - anon

Posted: Jul 27, 2010

I am looking to purchase a second computer to use for work. Can someone please tell me if this would be a really good and FAST computer to purchase? It is a Dell.

Processor: Intel Pentium D

Processor Speed (per core) 3.4 GHz, Dual Core

Memory (RAM): 4GB

Hard Drive Capacity: 500 GB

I get so confused with the processors and the hard drive capacity but I know that I definitely want the 4GB (have 2 now and it is toooooo slow).

Thanks so much in advance!!!!

pentium D - janet mills

[ In Reply To ..]
if you get a good price on it, go for it. just stay away from that intel atom processor and of course stay away from the celeron. they are both "lacking".

I think you will be very happy with it. and you definitely don't want to go with less than 4gb ram.

Need an opinion from more computer-oriented friends please ... (sm) - anon - dovestar

[ In Reply To ..]
The specs you mention appear pretty good. You might check the hard drive to see if it is an IDE or the newer SATA. The SATA is faster.
The biggest problem you have is the computer is a Dell. I would say the same thing if it were HP, or any other brand. This is because most of these brands design their components so that you have to go back to them, at premium prices, to upgrade, because only their components fit. If you have a friend who can build you a "clone" with those specs, youre probably better off.
First get the latest motherboard you can, then the fastest processor, then the most memory (RAM) then the largest and fastest hard drive.
One other suggestion. If you are using this for work, and occasional personal use, you might get a second physical hard drive, one which you use for work and the other holds your personal data. You can and should consider making one or both of these drives removable. This protects you from hackers. It's impossible to hack into a hard drive if it's removed from the computer. Plus, if you already have a computer you use for personal/pleasure, you can unplug its hard drive and insert your work one, and voila! You have a backup machine.
Also, don't save everything on your C drive. That's where your operating system is. If you ever have to reinstall it, you're going to have problems. You can build electronic walls to separate different "letter" drives on the same physical hard drive. I know that much of this may be "Geek" to you, and that's OK. My wife does transcription too and she has a mild case of cerebral palsy so she's limited to typing only with one hand. We just celebrated our 40th. I didn't have to wait for the TV series to be Touched by an Angel.
BTW, my email is dovestar at earthlink.net. Drop me a line if I can help.

Its bigger than what we use - RAH

[ In Reply To ..]
We have almost 2/3s that set up and it works fine. 4g would be a great upgrade, and that really should be enough. I use autoCad 3d and my partner uses unlimited dictation and neither one of us have any problems. I agree with the first response that drive speed will make the biggest difference, SATA. It sounds like he knows a lot more than me about it. Remember, retail is for suckers, so make sure you offer less then they are asking. Good luck

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