Home PC : Make, spec & where from?
Discussion
Advice sought please...
Our home PC is now just about knackered after 7 years- so looking to replace at present.
The only thing is that not sure what we should be going with? Budget = £500 and i want 3Gb RAM & a decent-sized hard-drive in a desktop format rather than a laptop. Are there any other 'must-haves'?
What make should I go for? So far, best deals found are on Compaq, packard Bell & Dell- are they all much of a muchness nowadays or are there any to steer clear of?
Also, what are the likes of PC World & Currys like to deal with- or is going direct from the likes of Dell more effective?
Any help much appreciated- we don't need anything too fancy- but would be handy if it will last another 5 years or so...
Cheers
Charlie
Our home PC is now just about knackered after 7 years- so looking to replace at present.
The only thing is that not sure what we should be going with? Budget = £500 and i want 3Gb RAM & a decent-sized hard-drive in a desktop format rather than a laptop. Are there any other 'must-haves'?
What make should I go for? So far, best deals found are on Compaq, packard Bell & Dell- are they all much of a muchness nowadays or are there any to steer clear of?
Also, what are the likes of PC World & Currys like to deal with- or is going direct from the likes of Dell more effective?
Any help much appreciated- we don't need anything too fancy- but would be handy if it will last another 5 years or so...
Cheers
Charlie
spikeyhead said:
What are you planning on doing with this PC?
Usual home internet stuff, down-load music & videos, manage photos- home office stuff and that's about it...Video camera is next on my list of toys- so that will probably be a factor in next 12 months?
Anything will be better than present PC- takes nearly 10 minutes to warm-up!
Must admit that I did look in the Computers section on PH- all the threads seemed a tad technical & slightly geeky - so thought I'd try P&P for a more 'down-to-earth' opinion.
Charley Farley said:
spikeyhead said:
What are you planning on doing with this PC?
Usual home internet stuff, down-load music & porn, manage porn- home office stuff and that's about it...Video camera is next on my list of toys (to make porn)- so that will probably be a factor in next 12 months?
Anything will be better than present PC- takes nearly 10 minutes to warm-up!
Must admit that I did look in the Computers section on PH- all the threads seemed a tad technical & slightly geeky - so thought I'd try P&P for a more 'down-to-earth' opinion.
Acer are generally agreed to be good for cheap PCs.
Personally I built my own - I haven't got the faintest clue about computers but it's so easy and cheap im annoyed i havent done it in the past now. my current build cost about £600 and will monster any current game out there - but I'm using my 'old' screen/keyboard/mouse/speakers.
It's also good because I've kept elements of my old system - such as the case and harddisks (although i did by another as well), these bits haven't really moved no much so its good to save the cash and put it into the motherboard/processor.
The thing about building your own system is simply to figure out which bits go together, once you've done that it's as easy as clipping/screwing everything to everything else, it really is very hard to mess up.
I found http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ to be quite good, they do 'packs' of motherboard/RAM/processors which enable you to get a good discount and you can be confident that everything fits together.
It's also much easier to upgrade, I'm about to go for 4GB of RAM (for £25) and i know where it goes, what type to get etc cos I'll just buy the same as I have already got.
definitely worth looking into, at the very least.
Personally I built my own - I haven't got the faintest clue about computers but it's so easy and cheap im annoyed i havent done it in the past now. my current build cost about £600 and will monster any current game out there - but I'm using my 'old' screen/keyboard/mouse/speakers.
It's also good because I've kept elements of my old system - such as the case and harddisks (although i did by another as well), these bits haven't really moved no much so its good to save the cash and put it into the motherboard/processor.
The thing about building your own system is simply to figure out which bits go together, once you've done that it's as easy as clipping/screwing everything to everything else, it really is very hard to mess up.
I found http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ to be quite good, they do 'packs' of motherboard/RAM/processors which enable you to get a good discount and you can be confident that everything fits together.
It's also much easier to upgrade, I'm about to go for 4GB of RAM (for £25) and i know where it goes, what type to get etc cos I'll just buy the same as I have already got.
definitely worth looking into, at the very least.
(Same thing I always say on these threads...)
Seriously consider a Dell. You cannot save any money by building your own these days, and it doesn't sound like you have real high performance in mind (the only real reason to get picky about the internals). Cheap, easy, and normally hassle free (though I don't doubt some have had a nightmare with them).
Seriously consider a Dell. You cannot save any money by building your own these days, and it doesn't sound like you have real high performance in mind (the only real reason to get picky about the internals). Cheap, easy, and normally hassle free (though I don't doubt some have had a nightmare with them).
At that budget you'll find it hard to beat Dell - they are remarkably good value at that price point (it's only when you get to the XPS sort of levels they become a rip off).
People slag them off, but if you just want a basic sort of machine to do office-like tasks and aren't too worried about playing the latest games then they're brilliant. Sometimes I look at the specs and I couldn't build their machines for any less myself if I did it at home!
We've had a few Dell machines over the years and the only thing to kill them has been lightning strikes.
People slag them off, but if you just want a basic sort of machine to do office-like tasks and aren't too worried about playing the latest games then they're brilliant. Sometimes I look at the specs and I couldn't build their machines for any less myself if I did it at home!
We've had a few Dell machines over the years and the only thing to kill them has been lightning strikes.
Edited by wiffmaster on Tuesday 30th December 16:09
Not worth making your own at that price for what you need it to do.
This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
A quick 'Configure' at www.dell.co.uk found me a 530s, 3Gb, 500Gb, wireless, with 17" screen for £469, and you could save some money if you went for the bigger cased 530. Hard to see you beating it.
NB. That configurator is a tricksy bugger, so I'd recommend speccing the PC two or three times with different base models (you don't necessarily get offered the same choices/prices)!
NB. That configurator is a tricksy bugger, so I'd recommend speccing the PC two or three times with different base models (you don't necessarily get offered the same choices/prices)!
Dave200 said:
Not worth making your own at that price for what you need it to do.
This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
Just as a guide to hosw slow and knackered ours is... struggling to iopen these links sent by Dave (5 mins so far- so given up hope!)This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
Charley Farley said:
Dave200 said:
Not worth making your own at that price for what you need it to do.
This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
Just as a guide to hosw slow and knackered ours is... struggling to iopen these links sent by Dave (5 mins so far- so given up hope!)This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151911
plus this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135026
should cover almost all eventualities, and comes in under budget by a few shekels.
Considered a Mac Mini? Just over £500 gets you a top of the line one with 2GB of RAM which should be more than sufficient for what you need (assuming that you have a monitor and keyboard already).
Not wishing to get into a Mac vs. PC argument but if you don't need to run any specific windows stuff and just want a reliable day to day machine I'd recommend taking a look.
Not wishing to get into a Mac vs. PC argument but if you don't need to run any specific windows stuff and just want a reliable day to day machine I'd recommend taking a look.
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