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I replaced my home desktop last fall, and I'm pretty sure I made a big mistake. I bought a Lenovo ThinkCenter desktop with a 1tb SSD and 16GB RAM. That's all well and good, but the processor is an AMD E2-9000e Radeon R2. I'm pretty sure that means it's a 2 core instead of a 4 core. The machine runs a lot slower than I had hoped, and it is especially slow when I am running my appraisal software. Since I'm an appraiser, that's sort of the main thing I use the computer for.
My question is this: Do I have a 2 core processor instead of a 4 core? If so, what processor should I buy to upgrade to a faster unit? I'm not a good computer tech I'm more of a car mechanic, but I'm also not afraid to open the computer up and replace parts.
I am also in a rural area, and my home internet speeds average 15 down and 8 up. I doubt that the internet speeds are affecting how the software runs even though it does back up automatically to the software maker's database.
Any advice on what to buy and where may be a good place to buy it would be a huge help. Or, if I need to do nothing at all let me know that.
Thank you in advance.
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1st on the CPU...that's a (very) low end laptop CPU. 2ghz dual core...The only real benefit of it is low power draw, which is not a concern for a desktop. Why a desktop would run that CPU is beyond me. A little looking around shows me the model you purchased is made mainly for a small footprint...basic computing stuff like spreadsheets and browsing. A CPU upgrade is normally a pretty easy upgrade, but i'm not familiar with the socket (the actual spot the CPU plugs into the mainboard), AND the CPU may be soldered to the mainboard...cutting off any upgrade path you may have.
Specs on RAM and SSD are good. Even a slow SSD will not be a huge perceptible bottleneck for your uses.
I'm not sure what appraisal software you use or how it works, but i have a hard time believing even a low end CPU would have difficulty pushing that program. Does this program move large files back and forth from a server somewhere? The perceived slowness may be because of your slow internet. I'd look around and see if there's anything better in the area. 15down/8up is circa 2002 DSL speeds.
My advice is to try upgrading the internet first. There's no sense in upgrading if your bottleneck is in the internet. Once/if you do that, and it's still slow, you don't need a monster system for your uses. Same specs on the SSD and ram would be fine, but upgrading to a real desktop CPU/Socket like the AMD 3100, or 3200 would give you a god's plenty of power. (i actually used a 3100 briefly for gaming).