My main pc desktop is dying

When it cranks up, if the vitus update turns up it seems to make the whole PC hang, even the clock forcing a hard shut down (Finger on powe button until it switches off).

Even when it is rebooted it is slowed down

Although I use a laptop as well, even more so inlight of my desktop issues, I need a desktop to run the printers and to use the ancient dialup to keep certain internet accounts on pay as you go alive. For those in the UK I do not have a BT line so could not make use of certain broadband deals. My broadband is with my cable telephone company.

I got the desktop in 2002, which I am informed is old for a desktop.

I looks like I am having to replace the entire desktop pc

The problem is, apart from trying to find one with enough USB ports and a dial-up modem, is that they all seem to have Celeron processor,

In the past I have been told avoid Celeron like the plague

Is that still the case?

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A year and a half later and you're still looking for that laptop?

Well; if celeron was bad then, and was being obsoleted (or phased out, or whatever), I would say that even if they improved, it probably wouldn't be wise to go with something that's definitely going away.

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Caveat: it depends on what you want to do with your machine. A celeron, even a celeron M (mobile) is a decent chip. you won't be setting any records with it - but don't think its useless. its a bit like the Sempron offered by AMD.

Read up on sites like HardOCP and such about CPUs. There is a *ton* of info out there about what they are capable of. Most people don't even need the power of a celeron (sometimes called a 'celery'). Most people *way* over-buy a PC. One thing I can say is don't skimp on the RAM. But don't sweat the CPU if you are just doing day-to-day things with your computer.

I run a quad-core system. And yes I make use of them from time to time. But its pretty rare that I need all 4 cores pounding at the same time. In fact most of the time (aside from BOINC) I'm insanely under-utilizing my computer.

So I guess what I'm saying is don't think you need some huge multi-core thing.

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The new multi-core Celeron isn't as bad, relatively speaking, as the older Celerons. It has a much smaller L2 cache, which hurts it on games and memory intensive apps (ie decompressing). The clock speed is also reduced considerably from what the Allendale core is capable of--but that means it overclocks pretty well if you're into living dangerously.

The silly thing is--the Celeron E1400 is about $62 right now, whereas the Pentium E2180 is about $69. So, for $7 more you get 1MB L2 cache instead of 512K. It makes me wonder why anybody would use the Celeron, but I guess $7 per PC is a lot of margin on the low-cost systems.

Anyway, I'd continue avoiding single-core Celerons like the plague, and Celerons in general if you have any intention of gaming on your PC.

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I've been running my home desktops (replaced in 2001, replaced in 2005) with Celerons for several years, now. I don't have any complaints.

Even my current 2005 motherboard is considered "old", but so long as it keeps running Mr. Gates' operating systems with reasonable speed, I won't need a complete replacement. I just recently (finally) upgraded from Win2000 to XP. In 5 more years when I decide to take the leap to Vista, and this PC doesn't like it, THEN I'll replace the whole PC.

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You simply don't need a high end computer unless you're a hard core gamer or doing something with specialized needs (in which case, you don't need my advice.)

If you're not into gaming, then as long as you have enough RAM, you're good. (1 gig minimum for XP, 2 gigs minimum for Vista, and in either case, twice the minimum is enough.)

Any single core processor with a clock speed greater than 1 gigahertz can handle typical day-to-day business or home use comfortably if it's set up and maintained properly.

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So I do not need to avoid Celeron as I do not do computer games. With all the time I spend on BAUT I do not have the time.

I tend to use my PCs for word processing / Desktop publishing, making movies with Windows Movie maker and simple webwork

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Well, then I have to revise a bit, Sticks. Movie making (because of the compression/decompression) and how much data is involved falls into "specialized use", and would benefit from a better processor than what you're considering. Still, if the choice is between a Celeron you can afford or no machine at all, take the Celeron.

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I tend to do my movie making on the laptop which has a pentium dual core

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Okay, Celeron it is. It'll do everything else just fine.

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but don't be shy on ram, as stated before, especially for video editing.

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That's one of the things i use mine for, Nicolas. Currently with HD (1080i) video. Its pretty amazing how much it takes to edit HD.

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---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
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Yeah, you certainly can use some gigs of ram for that.

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I remember back in the day... I could edit video (NTSC) on a PII 450 with 160 megs of ram. Ahhh those were the days.

Also - Amigas could edit video. the 2000 and the 4000. The 4000 was the fastest at 25mhz. Imagine... editing and doing effects at 25mhz. In real-time. I mean good lord.

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---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
"Because space is a vacuum and that's a lot of suck." I replied.
(Actual quote)---

Frankly, I'd go with a low-end Core 2 Duo.

For a desktop it beats the socks off lots of things, the dual core allows you to avoid a lot of lockups, since there is still a processor available when the other one is maxed out, and they are cheap, cheap, cheap nowdays.

Also, they beat the socks off the pentium architecture, clock speed is not comparable at all.

If you don't do any gaming, you can get a decent 'on board' video chipset, onboard audio, on-board modem AND on-board 1000baseT. For cheap, even.

Just make sure you stuff up to 2 gig memory and you might as well get at least a 320GB disc, that's the sweet spot in cost over here.

Oh, and if you're a windows user, stick to XP. Use the license from your old machine, and if you have to, call them to get the activation.

Oh, movie making? Get something with a SATA drive, then, and make sure you've got a decent-speed front side buss. You'll be surprised at just how "whoosh" you'll go for little money.

One suggestion that has come into play is I just decommission the desk top and move the lap top in to its place. I have a four way USB hub, which would deal with the low number of USB ports for my running of 2 printers for church work. I also try and work out how to use the dial up modem function in the laptop.

This is the cheapest option, however it is putting all ones eggs in one basket, especially when I take the laptop out, when I am travelling to places like my parent's my sister's place or if I ever use it off site.

The laptop has a pentium dual core as it is a Toshiba Satellite

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