New Desktop

[Gazzab]

Hi guys - I really am not up to date on my processors etc....
I need a new desktop at home.
Not too bothered re cost etc but dont want to get sucked into buying a roller where I only need a mini.
I tend to use for email, excel, word, browsing etc..
Also as a server for my music.
Also store photos and some video.
Download a reasonable amount of stuff.
So not a heavy user.
Current got 180 gig and starting to run out of room.

I dont want a massive screen.

I can put the cost through my ltd co.

I looked at the basic Dell XPS without screen or they do a slimline 500 gig in their normal spec.

Any tips on processors, memory etc....?

thanks
Gary

[BigAlinEmbra]

Dual Core processor and 2gb RAM would be my suggestion.
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.as...

500gb drive, and it's £264 delivered.

[Noger]

Might be worth thinking about an external server/NAS device for the music/photos etc ?

[gazzab]

Noger said:

Might be worth thinking about an external server/NAS device for the music/photos etc ?

Anything in particular that you would recommend?

[gazzab]

BigAlinEmbra said:

Dual Core processor and 2gb RAM would be my suggestion.
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellst

500gb drive, and it's £264 delivered.

Great thanks, any reason why you chose the Dell business ones?

[BigAlinEmbra]

IMO only diff between the dell home and business is that they give you a slightly prettier case with the home models. Higher end home ones sometimes have a tastier video card, but then it's hardly like you need an 8800GTX for watching films.
Had 2 dells at home over the past 8 years, and used them at work for the past 6 or so years and not one has died. The volumes that dell sell in means they are hard to beat for price.

Never had to use their customer service myself (as everything has just kept working!), but when my old man's pc got fried by lightning they had a new machine out to him by the end of the week. They're also patient enough to talk a 60 year old through upgrades step by step, so I really can't fault them.

You'll probably get some shiny top end machine with more storage, but then £150 buys you a terabyte on a usb drive so for £400ish all in you've got 1.5tb.

I don't use my pc for gaming, so really can't see how to justify spending the thick end of a grand when something costing a quarter or a third of that meets my needs.

[Scraggles]

Gazzab said:

Hi guys - I really am not up to date on my processors etc....
I need a new desktop at home.
Not too bothered re cost etc but dont want to get sucked into buying a roller where I only need a mini.
I tend to use for email, excel, word, browsing etc..
Also as a server for my music.
Also store photos and some video.
Download a reasonable amount of stuff.
So not a heavy user.
Current got 180 gig and starting to run out of room.

I dont want a massive screen.

I can put the cost through my ltd co.

I looked at the basic Dell XPS without screen or they do a slimline 500 gig in their normal spec.

Any tips on processors, memory etc....?

thanks
Gary

if going with vista, 2 GB is minimum, 4 GB is better, so is dual core 64 bit - running home premium

The extra ram is worth it, esp if into photos

external drives are good - running a freecom network drive but it is in usb mode atm as the network is so fast, from xp to vista that no big need

peerguardian2 does not work with vista 64 if you were using it to block spyware and stuff when downloading

only using 22" flat screen, makes laptop seem tiddly, which it is , but great for spreadsheets

if not into games, get onboard graphics or a cheap graphics card

Dell is nice, but if u want to expand it, forget about it