Originally Posted by
SteveNelson46
I would highly recommend Windows 10 over Windows 7. Much more stable.
You are probably getting gui crashes because you have too many patterns in your pattern list. I know it sounds crazy but the entire pattern list is loaded into memory when the program is started and if it takes up the memory space that is needed to do a requested task the whole program crashes. Ostensibly, there will be future Designer programs that will be better optimized for Windows 10.
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a low to middle of the road laptop with a 15" screen measured diagonally. The Intel i5 core processor is relatively slow when compared with the i7. Especially when compared with faster megahertz speeds and multiple core processors. 8 gb of ram will do the job but 16 gb is better. All tasks are loaded into memory when executed. If there isn't sufficient memory to load the entire process, Windows will swap parts of it to the HD which is much slower than memory.
A 1 tb hard disk (a 1 and 12 zeros bytes or 1000 megabytes) is probably enough disk space unless you store a lot of large graphic files and videos. The 5200 rpm is relatively slow. 7200 rpm is better. Better yet are the Solid State Drives (SSD) disks. The technology is base on data that is stored on interconnected flash memory chips that retain the data even when there's no power present (non-volatile). There are no moving parts to wear out so they generally last longer and have faster access speeds.
The video card is built in so it really can't be upgraded afterwards. It would be adequate but not really built for high-end graphics.
Overall, the Dell Inspirion 15 with Windows 10 is a good computer OS combination for general use and will certainly do the job. However, if you like speed there are better computers for high-end graphics. They are also more expensive. I hope this helps you with your decision.
Steve Nelson
Former IT manager, University of Arizona (retired)