New Desktop computer

roker said:
Why can I not fit a new mother board to my desktop
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You'll probably need to provide a bit more information? What desktop, what motherboard, what exactly are you trying to do?
If it's upgrading an existing desktop to one with a motherboard that is compatible with Windows 11 then that will probably cost almost as much as just buying a new Windows 11 compatible PC with the added fun of the chance of things going wrong if you're not accustomed to building PCs.
After all the motherboard (plus CPU + cooler + RAM + SSD etc.) is the bulk of a PC other than, say, the power supply, GPU (if applicable), etc.
 
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The new Mac Mini is €609 with the education discount and you might be able to use your current monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.

www.apple.com

Buy Mac

Receive a discount on a new Mac for your studies with Apple Education Pricing. Available for students, teachers and staff.
www.apple.com

It's getting great reviews.
 
AndroidMan said:
I assume Office 97 is on a cd.
Modern machines dont have cd drives so you wont be able to install it from cd, however it will be downloadable from obscure websites no doubt.
Also with Office 97 when people email you documents or you download files that are created in newer versions, you will have compatability issues.
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Just copy it to usb...
 
roker said:
Thanks for your reply. I thought a desktop would be Easier to upgrade or repair, I previously had a laptop that couldn't be repaired .
If I was to purchase a later version of Office, would it be backward compatible for old Office files
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How often did you upgrade and repair your previous desktops and laptops.

You can buy laptops and desktops with no serviceable parts. You can buy laptops and desktops with serviceable parts.

We are in an era when you can buy a newish used desktop for 100-200 that's enough computer for 99% of office work.

If you've survived this long on office97 I wouldn't be rushing to change it, or move away from windows..
 
roker said:
Why can I not fit a new mother board to my desktop
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You can, if you know what you are doing.

Cheaper to buy a more recent used desktop. The requirements for Win11 are not just the motherboard. Theres also the CPU and TPM.
 
gipimann said:
Windows 10 won't be supported or updated by Microsoft after October 2025, I'm guessing this is the reason behind the move.

I'm in a similar position - PC is less than 3 years old, it's not compatible with Windows 11 (runs Windows 10 at the mo), so I may have to update too.
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It's crazy that Microsoft is making a 3 yr old machine obsolete in the eyes of the consumer.
 
Fortune said:
What about the other monitor? And then you've paid extra for a laptop that you can't upgrade parts on later.
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Many laptops can support more than one monitor. If not directly then maybe via a vendor specific or generic docking station/port hub.

What parts would you want to upgrade on a laptop other than, say, RAM, SSDs etc.?
 
AlbacoreA said:
It's crazy that Microsoft is making a 3 yr old machine obsolete in the eyes of the consumer.
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The alternative is that the 3yr old machine was built with components that were old or low spec at the time. 1 GHz dual core CPUs have been around a long time as have the other pre-reqs like Secure Boot support, TPM 2.0, etc..

It'd be interesting to see the actual specs and see if something as simple as a new graphics card address the shortcomings.
 
Fortune said:
What about the other monitor? And then you've paid extra for a laptop that you can't upgrade parts on later.
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I'm not saying he should buy a laptop. I'm just saying the ergonomic argument is a bust. As it's the monitor argument.

Which parts will you want to upgrade for "office use". Majority of people don't upgrade.

No upgrades on a Mac mini. That's a desktop. Amazing little machine. But you don't need to spend €600 to get around Win11 issue.

That said putting windows 11 on an unsupported machine require a little technical knowledge, but no more than the learning curve to swap a motherboard, more to switch to Linux or Apple.

No offense to anyone but people using office 97 or old computers don't strike me as terriblely interested in learning any of that stuff. If you've managed to be virus and hack free to this point, it's unlikely to change.

If I was the OP I'd just buy a newer used machine with Win11 already in it.
 
AlbacoreA said:
I'm not saying he should buy a laptop. I'm just saying the ergonomic argument is a bust. As it's the monitor argument.
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A few years back I would have argued strongly in favour of a desktop for users who only ever use their machine at the same old desk. That was primarily driven by the price difference between desktops and laptops, but that's no longer the case.
 
AlbacoreA said:
It's crazy that Microsoft is making a 3 yr old machine obsolete in the eyes of the consumer.
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In fairness to Microsoft, it's hardly their fault that hardware manufacturers use cheap, low-end components to keep computer costs down. Microsoft makes its software up to its own performance, compatibility, upgradability, and usability standards and not those needed by the box floggers.

Apple, as the hardware and software produce, does its own thang of course, and enables users to continue to run older software transparently on new hardware using their Rosetta emulator. I don't think we know for sure how long that'll continue, but for now, it seems like a nice user-friendly compromise.

The UNIX brigade seems to have software that can power anything from a Sony WalkMan to a space-station. They're sticking close to the mantra of a former employer of mine, the baseline operating system for any device is the network.
 
mathepac said:
In fairness to Microsoft, it's hardly their fault that hardware manufacturers use cheap, low-end components to keep computer costs down. Microsoft makes its software up to its own performance, compatibility, upgradability, and usability standards and not those needed by the box floggers.

Apple, as the hardware and software produce, does its own thang of course, and enables users to continue to run older software transparently on new hardware using their Rosetta emulator. I don't think we know for sure how long that'll continue, but for now, it seems like a nice user-friendly compromise.

The UNIX brigade seems to have software that can power anything from a Sony WalkMan to a space-station. They're sticking close to the mantra of a former employer of mine, the baseline operating system for any device is the network.
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Nothing wrong with the hardware Microsoft are obsoleting it's not all cheap hardware either. No idea where you got that from.

Apple obsolete stuff all the time. They are no different. Probably worse since they make things unrepairable with no upgrades possible.

Interestingly that new Mac mini is an extrusion not milled from a block. Which is clever manufacturering.
 
I really like that Mac mini, the internal power supply is much more compact and reduces cable clutter. I'd like one. But I use my windows more than I do my MacBook. I may be too old to change habits. I fear I wouldn't use a mini if I bought one.
 
AlbacoreA said:
I really like that Mac mini, the internal power supply is much more compact and reduces cable clutter. I'd like one. But I use my windows more than I do my MacBook. I may be too old to change habits. I fear I wouldn't use a mini if I bought one.
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There are two negatives (i) no USB-A ports so you cannot connect a usb stick without a separate usb hub and (ii) the power button is in a really awkward place.

There is some software that only runs on Mac and that is why I have one.

In this day and age I would only be using cloud based office software e.g. Google Docs unless there is a good reason not to.
 
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