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Child Item

How to tell if a new desktop PC is a dud?

sapper

Hi all - sorry not too technical so hoping for some advice. I bought my son an Acer Aspire XC-1660 desktop pc for Xmas for around EUR450. Ive had good experience with Acer and have 2 of their laptops in my house doing a great job. The new desktop is reaaallly slow to respond/boot up/start anything - once its got the app whatever open it seems ok (still slow) but getting there takes ages - and I mean just opening up Microsoft Edge and opening up a website, nothing fancy.

My son (12) is really disappointed and hardly uses it - he had high hopes

Just timed it there and it took 3mins to get from the log in screen to irishtimes.com. On the Acer laptop (1 year old) it just took 30 secs. Doesnt sound much but a long time when you are sitting there.

Ive already sent it back to Acer and they sent it straight back with a note saying "system is fine, you need to make sure all updates are loaded when you first install windows". Ive done that and its still slow. Running performance monitor I get "High CPU load - 89% - top process group taskhostw.exe"

Ive done most of whats suggested on the web for this - ran and SFC scan etc but its still slow.

Id like to be able to call up Acer and demand a replacement/refund (or Argos where I bought it) but can I say for sure the hardware is the issue? How can I show that?

Thanks for any help....

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riclad

If you look at the minimum specs, eg video card, ram, processor, eg Intel, and cpu type, for a game your child wants to play it'll give you an idea of the pc you would want to buy . I think for gaming a second hand ps4 would be cheaper to buy and it works on any TV with hdmi interface older tvs only have 1080 or 1080i video display.

riclad

Get another 8gig ram , put it in the 2nd ram slot or buy 2 8gig ram modules they should be the same type spec as the current 4 gig ram module the problem is windows os takes up most of the ram memory leading to low loading of websites there's nothing wrong with that pc, it's under specced re memory if I was buying a new pc I'd expect at least 16 gig ram

Due to supply chain problems even basic graphics cards are expensive not a great time to build a gaming pc

I'd be inclined to buy a ps4 on adverts ie make sure and test it before you pay for it

A pc with 8 or 16 gig ram will play Minecraft fine or older pc games eg not the latest fps 3d games

don't buy a game without looking at minimum specs ram graphics card type

https://eu.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/how-to-upgrade-desktop-memory

Touch metal water tap or frame to discharge static electricity eg or you, ll damage the ram modules

deravarra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118615289#Comment_118615289

Delighted for you.

Please do ask those in the know about the right specced PC for your child's gaming needs.

Some of the advice you've been given here has been absolutely shocking, and serves to confuse and disinform more than cater for your needs.

You might go down the route of getting someone to build a gaming PC. There are plenty of folks who can do this, and would charge a modest fee for doing so.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118578060#Comment_118578060

yeah that's a terrible ad, should be minimum 8gb for light work

Ash.J.Williams

you could do with an extra 12gb of ram, the processor is not gaming level but is fine for web stuff

sapper

Hurray - Argos agreed to refund me!

Doodah7

No-one should be buying a laptop with a spinning HDD in 2022. SSD is a minimum spec item these days. As other have said, put a SSD in it and the difference will be night and day.

Quandary

Install an SSD

install at least another 4gb ram, dual running 4gb sticks if possible. Getting rid of the 4gb stick and buying twin 8gb dimms would be better again

Install a fresh install of windows 10 onto the SSD. Do not install windows on the 1TB HDD. Do not use recovery media that might have come with the pc. It has to be a clean install of windows, nothing else. After the install apply the latest windows updates.

If you do this I can almost guarantee the pc will be a different beast. it will never be suitable for gaming but most other tasks should be fine.

deravarra

OP, how much did you research into the PC before buying it?

Looking back at the comments, I would hazard a guess and say not very much.

Either way, that PC isn't really suitable for what your child wants, unless all they want is a negative PC experience.

Overwatch play requires a MINIMUM of an i3, but the developers recommend an i5 - meaning that playing with an i3 isnt good.

https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/overwatch/12955

For the next time you consider buying a PC, please ask someone who knows about these things. They will give you good, informed advice, and you are less likely to run into issues like this.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118577058#Comment_118577058

In this case, he is right. This PC does not have a graphic card so it is using part of that RAM for graphics. The higher the resolution and the more complex a program, the more memory will be used for graphics. That causes swapping to the HD. Replacing the mechanical HD with an SSD does not fix the problem of the PC simply not having enough RAM. It merely makes the swapping to HD faster.

Also some older motherboards have only two RAM slots and can max out at 16GB.

Regards...jmcc

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118577759#Comment_118577759

Sorry if I went on a playstation tangent but the exchange just went that way. You said 'gaming is all he wants' and didn't mention his xbox and with that in mind I think my advice was perfectly reasonable. Anyway.

I don't think the PC is faulty but its simply not fit for purpose. You could argue the two are the same thing and that would be my angle if I was making a case for returning the thing.

A 4GB RAM PC with current windows and a few addons installed like antivirus will simply be THAT slow. You would be able to tweak it to some degree, but it will only ever be barely fit for purpose.

Try to return it or if that doesn't work increase RAM, even 8GB would make a big difference. Additionally replace the hard disc with an SSD if it doesn't already have one (I assume not). With those two changes it will be decent for every day tasks even some basic coding.

But it will never be fit for any gaming except very basic stuff and for any games like overwatch he will have to use a console or else get a much more expensive PC.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118578060#Comment_118578060

Certainly nothing to be lost in trying.

But advertising in this country seems a free for all.

Spear

I suggest coming at it from an angle of it not being suitable for the purpose for which it was sold. The ASAI, useless shower that they are, will come to late to help.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118577058#Comment_118577058

Like I said one 8GB is what it needs., You can keep using it unless you go up to 32GB.

OP just make sure you don't get an 8GB kit that contains a pair of 4GB's

sapper

ok - feeling I might have a case with the Advertising Standards people then - this from the listing on Argos.ie

"The sleek and powerful XC-1660 is compact on or under your desk making it the ideal home office PC. You can glide between tasks effortlessly with the powerful Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM, allowing you to run demanding programs and multitask with ease.

The XC-1660 allows you to connect to the internet faster than before with its built in Wi-Fi 6, plus the 5.1 audio and HDMI port mean it can handle all your multimedia needs."

Anyway I can always write to the Irish Times if they knock me back....

Spear

It's not faulty and Argos will send it back to you saying the same. It's badly underspecced in terms of its RAM, this leads to large levels of disk access as it swaps to the hard drive, which in turn exacerbates the slowness due to being an old fashioned spinning rust disk.

You can either keep it, and attempt to address the shortcomings, which may be a false economy.

Or you can return it, if that's still possible, and opt for something more powerful, which means paying out more in the short term.

sapper

ok as is often the case in Boards its gone off the original question..... which was how can I tell (and then evidence) the PC I bought is faulty as it appears to be by taking 3 minutes to open a browser and access a website. Remember we havent gotten past opening www.irishtimes.com yet - which it should be able to do easily. Im now worried the guy in Argos is going to say the PC is fine and I wont really be able to argue...oh well

I probably should have come here before forking out...

Hes hoping to primarily play Minecraft and first person shooters like Overwatch but hes already got an xbox so Im hoping to steer him to using it as an office PC and get into coding etc. What we have now couldnt even do that so if were stuck with it we'll go with the extra RAM. He wont be delighted but with an xbox and an office PC at 12 years old hes doing alright

Flinty997

A decent gaming PC is €1200-€2500

More RAM and SSD well make the OP computer a decent office PC. It will never be a gaming PC. It's that what they want?

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118576675#Comment_118576675

What is your fascination thinking Ram is the answer to all problems.

Why would the OP ever need 32GB Ram in that system?

Op you just need another 8gb stick of ram that costs like 30 euro and a SSD that costs 30 euro and the PC will be as fast as lightning..

Since it's SFF as well I doubt that it will take a graphics card.

For a decent gaming PC probably looking at 1200 euro.

deravarra

I'm sorry folks, but advising the OP to upgrade this system is not the way to go.

Also, advising to get the child a console instead of a PC is also not the way to go.

I am sure that the child specified a PC for gaming, as it's what their friends are most likely gaming with at the moment.

The unfortunate thing for the OP is that for a number of reasons, getting the system needed to play the games their child wants to play could end up costing far more than the OP would like to pay.

But adding a few gb of ram to an i3 for gaming? not the best idea.

OP, could you at least tell us what kind of gaming your child would like to do on a PC? That way, we can offer advice on what kind of system is needed.

I recently built a system with an i9, 64 GB ram, RTX2070 super, kraken aio, and phanteks evolv enthoo case, and the whole lot must have cost near enough to 2.5k... i had a decent mobo, 2 TB M2, and a 6TB HD.

The only bottleneck on my system is the GPU. It'll still pull decent fps and play any game I want to, but there are bigger, better and faster PC's out there than mine.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118576065#Comment_118576065

If gaming is all he wants I'd forget about PC altogether. Get a 2nd hand playstation. For well under €450 you'll get a good PS4 with enough hard disc space, a couple of controllers and a few games on top.

Something like this: https://www.adverts.ie/playstation/ps4-1tb-ssd/25996232

You'll know the games will run fine cos a playstation is a playstation and the games are written for it whereas gaming PCs can be put together in any number of combinations. Like this screen, that much RAM, thisthatortheother graphics card, windows version etc. Too many variables.

With a playstation you know the games will run smoothly with no fiddling with settings and drivers and whatnots and there are no follow on costs.

You need deep pockets for gaming PCs and you need to know what you're at to some degree. Too much can go wrong especially with a kid having his hands on the keyboard. Whereas playstation is comparably cheap and designed to be used by kids. UI is easy you just a press a button and you're off and controllers are virtually unbreakable.

Its what I replaced my PC with a few years back and I never looked back. For my actual PC needs I have a laptop but my gaming is done on the PS4 alone.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575535#Comment_118575535

Better off adding an 8GB as this means you end up with 12GB now. And can keep using it until you decide to go to from 24GB (8+16) to 32GB.

Buying a 4GB now means taking it out if you want to go to 12GB later.

smuggler.ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575477#Comment_118575477

yeah, just about in that time :D

When you see 450 pricetag its already "fishy", when its argos....

Sympathy to OP.

deravarra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118576065#Comment_118576065

far far underpowered for anything gaming, am afraid.

I would return that PC, leave the young chap without a PC for a bit, and then spend with the confo money to buy something decent. Or better still, if you know someone who could do a build for you, you would get more bang for your buck.

Just a word of caution: GPU's are nigh on impossible to get at the moment - and if they can be got, silly prices are being charged for them.

Supply chain, crypto mining have a part to play in the issue

sapper

Oh games is all he wants to do (!) but the price of gaming pcs are out of Santas range...Now he has a confirmation coming up so maybe combine the two...

Thanks all - I really dont want to be opening up the back of this thing when its brand new, so Ive brought it back to Argos and they are going to get it inspected.

It sounds like to might be performing to spec (in which case theyll knock me back) but Ive flagged the 3 minutes to open up a website so fingers crossed...

Otherwise if its ours to keep there are some good suggestions above...thanks all

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575237#Comment_118575237

That's the problem right there. I assume it has Windows 10 or 11 and with that kind of RAM you just boot the thing up into the naked OS and its probably near to maxed out already.

Windows is a hungry beast and once you add a few things like virus scanner etc there isn't much air left in the balloon to get any apps off the ground. If you google Windows minimum requirements you will see that its 4GB and minimum is never going to be satisfactory.

You'd be fine with somer other operating systems but knowing that is no good to you either.

I'd try and return it and get something with 8GB at least. Or upgrade to 8GB. RAM is the thing you can never have enough of, but your kid should be ok with 8GB. Until he wants to play games (which will be like .... tomorrow)

[Deleted User]

Processor is perfect. Let's rule that out.

4gb of ram wont cause that slowness but you do need to upgrade it to at least 8gb,.

.The main culprit here Is m the mechanical hard drive. Easily replaced with a 30 euro SSD

If I were you though in all honesty I'd return it and her a better deal online

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575237#Comment_118575237

Not enough RAM. With the various bloatware and other programs, it is going to be swapping to harddive quite a bit. The shared graphics will also take some of the RAM. The HD activity LED on the case may show that.

About 8GB is the minimum for Windows. Even though the minimum specification for Windows is 2GB (for a 64 bit version), there is so much junk loaded at bootup in retail PCs that it would struggle. Most of the PCs available through chains like Argos are good value for the low end of the market but they are often about two years behind the market.

Regards...jmcc

Spear

It only has two DIMM slots, which is unfortunate. I have spare RAM I could offer, but it's 4x4GB, which wouldn't fit.

Another 4GB of RAM for it as cheap as €20 or so at least.

Wickan3080

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575422#Comment_118575422

Still should manage to open a website in under 3mins should it not?