Minimum Computer

landbeforetimelover · **on:** July 08, 2008, 07:48:13 AM

What is the crappiest (for lack of a better word. Sorry, but I'm quite tired.) computer you can live with for what you do? I know there is a great variation in what people do and therefore some need a lot more than others. Here's what I'd need at the VERY MINIMUM:

1.6ghz processor (single core)

1gb ram

120gb hard drive

XP Pro

I need at least a gig of ram because I want to run photoshop CS3 extended and I also want to run MS office 07. I can't live without 120gb because just my LBT stuff is about that much, and I can't really live with under 1.6ghz. I've tried before, but the last time I could live with 1.6ghz was 3 years ago when that was pretty good.

I used a computer with these EXACT specs 3 or 4 years ago as my master.

I had better ones, but just like now I'm pretty lazy when it comes to switching my master around. The master I have now has these specs:

3.2ghz dual core processor

4gb ram

2 HD's, each is 500gb

Windows XP pro

I keep changing the HD configuration around. Last time I posted, I think I had like 1775gb or something, but now I've only got 1000gb. I've got MUCH better computers, including one that can handle 24gb of ram and has 8 installed, but I'm lazy and I don't feel like switching it since I don't even need all the power I've got right now.

I'd say that people who don't want to do anything but surf the web and email, they need about this much minimum:

1ghz processor (P3 or P4)

512mb ram

20gb hard drive

XP Pro

Of course, that is very minimum. I'm sure most people here have much more than that.

Mumbling · **Reply #1 on:** July 08, 2008, 07:56:00 AM

Hmm.. I can live with a computer a bit faster than my old laptop.

Lets say:

(I dont know about proccesors)

I think 512MB RAM would do it for me

70gb hard drive, at least. (Music, drawings)

Windows XP, any version.

And yes I am using a better computer than this

except for my laptop which has got less RAM.

The Dark Patriot · **Reply #2 on:** July 08, 2008, 07:56:28 AM

Me, I'd need something with at least a 2GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a video card equivalent to an X1600, Windows XP (version doesn't matter) and an HD of at least 250GB capacity. My old machine fit that bill fairly well, though my new one far exceeds it (though it has Vista, which makes it a bit of a double-edge, I think...)

Kor · **Reply #3 on:** July 08, 2008, 11:52:14 AM

I'd say the minimum is my eeepc. It's subnotebook.

900hz processor underclocked to 630mhz
512meg of ram
4g solid state hard drive
a 7" screen, but a monitor port for using an external monitor,
3 usb slots
1 sdhc card slot
xandros [linux] os

I'd miss most of the pc video games, but I do have a dslite so could make do with only being able to play video games on that, or do without video games totally if I had to.

action9000 · **Reply #4 on:** July 08, 2008, 12:40:29 PM

I absolutely need a fairly high-end computer for my audio work. With enough effort and willingness to render tracks as I produce a piece of music (converting them from real-time processing into a prerendered .wav file), I technically could work with something as low-end as

Intel Core2Duo 2.4 GHz (I Need a dual-core for some of my virtual instruments...it's actually a system requirement).

2GB RAM (any less is incredibly painful. Even this is painful

I'm running 8GB)

1x250GB hard drive or 2x120GB hard drives

Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card + Audigy-series sound card

ATi Radeon X1600 graphics (going any less would mean I couldn't run some of my games at all)

Windows XP home

One 17" monitor but that would also be painful. Audio stuff takes up a Lot of screen space!

Petrie. · **Reply #5 on:** July 08, 2008, 04:17:03 PM

I need what I have since I do video and audio editing for our school website. So the processor and ram come in handy to keep things from choking up.

Loofah · **Reply #6 on:** July 08, 2008, 05:59:04 PM

I have a lot of older PC parts around here that i have from friends or from my older one.
So i decide me to build two PC¥s for listening music, chatting, Internet, and some other Stuff. My main PC must not run hours and hours for such things!

So, the slower Machine have following specs:

AMD Duron CPU with 1600 MHZ
512 MB RAM ( maybe i upgrade up to 1 GB )
2 old 40 GB Hard Drives ( I like the sound of old HD¥s )

ATI Radeon 9250 Grapic Card

The other one have:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ with 2200 MHZ
1 GB RAM
250GB HD
ATI Radeon X 1900 XT Graphic Card

Tyrannosaur · **Reply #7 on:** July 09, 2008, 03:00:01 AM

the minimum i could probably live with is the following:

2GHZ P4

1GB DDR RAM

AGP (at least) motherboard

80GB HDD

128MB GPU

Windows XP Home Edition SP2

2MB broadband connection.

just about the only thing i do on my PC that requires any sort of power is play World of Warcraft. so as long as a computer can do that for me, im pretty much sorted

. my ideal computer would obviously be way more powerful than this. but this is just a minimum, after all

.

Quote

I'd say that people who don't want to do anything but surf the web and email, they need about this much minimum:

1ghz processor (P3 or P4)

512mb ram

20gb hard drive

XP Pro

for web surfing and email only, even this is overkill

.

i used to have a laptop that had a 600MHZ P3, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP Professional SP2, 4. yes 4 (four) GB HDD and it was awesome

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #8 on:** July 09, 2008, 04:16:57 AM

Well, let's just say browse the internet SAFELY. You need antivirus and other spyware protection devices, firefox (IE is a security nightmare), and you need a decent internet connection (1.5mbps or higher). High speed modems usually require at least 512mb of ram to work with your computer. I'm sorry, but no one can live with dialup. It takes about 3 minutes straight to load GOF's home page.

:

Clawandfang · **Reply #9 on:** July 09, 2008, 05:04:47 PM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Jul 9 2008 on 09:16 AM

I'm sorry, but no one can live with dialup. It takes about 3 minutes straight to load GOF's home page. :

Heh....I remember living with dialup not too long ago. I got by.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2008, 08:54:49 PM

When I do in-home repair sometimes and my client has dialup, I have to tell the people that I have to take it to my shop. AVG antivirus is almost 50mb. Do you have any idea how many hours it would take just to download that??!?!?!?! There's no practical way to live with dialup anymore. Web designers and the internet in general has made that a reality. Nowadays, you can't really live without 1.5mb (1,536k) download and 512k upload speeds. Now, on dialup, you're lucky to get 56kps. Realistically though, you get about 14-20kps.

:

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2009, 10:53:52 PM

Well....thing's have changed a bit. Now my minimum requirements for a computer are:

1.8ghz AMD Athlon X2 Processor
3gb DDR2 ram
250gb hard drive (anything less would be impossible, but I might get by with all the other computers I have)
Windows XP/Vista/7
256mb graphics

That's pretty much it. I can't live with any less than a dual core AMD and I would NOT live with less than 3gb of ram since it's so cheap nowadays to upgrade.