IT type question ....sorry!

[kentishs2]

Sorry to those who have no interest in anything IT related but my pals in the S forum are very helpful and don't always stray into other PH forums such as general gassing.

I have a question, which is:- Do you know where I shuld go to buy a good spec workstation but just the box as I have a good monitor, keyboard etc and I'd rather spend the £100 on the box of tricks rather than the brandname and other bits that I already have?

Many thanks in advance.

Humble aplogies for the forum hi-jack!

[WildfireS3]

I'll build one for you. No charge. Any spec/price you want.

>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Wednesday 6th October 13:46

[PetrolTed]

A post in the computers forum will get you plenty of expert advice

[kentishs2]

PetrolTed said:

A post in the computers forum will get you plenty of expert advice

Lot's of IT bods here too you see and they know my level of intelligence when it comes to PC's

Good idea tho, I'll post there too.

Cheers Ted!

[WildfireS3]

Ted are you omnipresent? How do you manage to be everywhere at once?

[PetrolTed]

It's my job

[Podie]

WildfireS3 said:

I'll build one for you. No charge. Any spec/price you want. >> Edited by WildfireS3 on Wednesday 6th October 13:46

Ditto... if you make Sunday, we can have a chat about specs.

[kentishs2]

PetrolTed said:

It's my job

He's always there!
PetrolGod?

[kentishs2]

Thanks Chris, thanks Podie.

We'll have a chat (price war)

I won't make it this Sunday but I should be OK for the next one as the VW will be Ok by then even if the S is still laid up.

[WildfireS3]

Athlon 64 Newcastle 3200
512mb DDR 400
MSI K8T NEO FIS2R
Maxtor 80Gb 7200 SATA
Geforce 6800 or ATI X800 Pro

Cool.

[kentishs2]

WildfireS3 said:

Athlon 64 Newcastle 3200 512mb DDR 400 MSI K8T NEO FIS2R Maxtor 80Gb 7200 SATA Geforce 6800 or ATI X800 Pro Cool.

Let's see ...the first one is a new incarnation of the famous ale?

And the others are what ....motorbikes?

[Podie]

Nah, not a price war… I'm sure Chris is more than capable of building you a bloody good PC.

A lot depends on what you're going to use it for… is it just a few office things and surfing (in which case go for a shuttle) or do you need something with greater power and expandability…?

[WildfireS3]

kentishs2 said:

Let's see ...the first one is a new incarnation of the famous ale?

The ale is nothing to shout about. Last time I drank it felt cr*p the next day.

That's what I would reccomend for a good budget system, nice and fast, graphically powerful and stable.

[sotonS2]

kentishs2 said:

and I'd rather spend the £100 on the box of tricks rather than the brandname and other bits that I already have?

WildfireS3 said:

Athlon 64 Newcastle 3200 512mb DDR 400 MSI K8T NEO FIS2R Maxtor 80Gb 7200 SATA Geforce 6800 or ATI X800 Pro Cool.

For a ton ??

At THAT price, Chris, I'll take a dozen !!

[kentishs2]

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop which is pretty good.
http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/ps_6676559/113501.html

But I'd like to have a more expandable PC too, something with a few USB connections, a fair bit of memory as I take a lot of digital hi res photos now and fairly quick, at least 2.5ghz.

That's probably very basic these days!

[WildfireS3]

The above spec will have 80Gb of storage space, plenty. The MSI board comes with all you need, LAN, sound, USB 2.0 and IE1394 connections. Probably around 6-8 USB ports. Very expandable, and you will have 64 Bit processing for when Microsoft eventually offer the 64 Bit Upgrade to Windows.

That's what I would buy for myself.

I would also add a Dual Layer DVD RW. I think you're looking around £600 odd for the above, case and all. I'll need to have a proper look and total up some things.

[Podie]

WildfireS3 said:

The above spec will have 80Gb of storage space, plenty. The MSI board comes with all you need, LAN, sound, USB 2.0 and IE1394 connections. Probably around 6-8 USB ports. Very expandable, and you will have 64 Bit processing for when Microsoft eventually offer the 64 Bit Upgrade to Windows. That's what I would buy for myself. I would also add a Dual Layer DVD RW. I think you're looking around £600 odd for the above, case and all. I'll need to have a proper look and total up some things.

Personally I'd go for the Abit NF-7S… offers RAID for a start and a lot more solid board (IMHO)

Not sure on Dual Layer DVD just yet.. Still see too many incompatiability errors for my liking to recommend it…

Not a fan of Maxtor either… but that's personal experience...

[shmern]

kentishs2 said:

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop which is pretty good. <a href="http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/ps_6676559/113501.html">http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/ps_6676559/113501.html</a> But I'd like to have a more expandable PC too, something with a few USB connections, a fair bit of memory as I take a lot of digital hi res photos now and fairly quick, at least 2.5ghz. That's probably very basic these days!

Not meaning to annoy Wildfire or the Pod-ster but can I suggest if you only want a basic spec pc for surfing etc...

Then look at Dell (Both standard site and Outlet)

I recently got a PC for a mate for £261 All in (Inc Vat and Delivery)

Now spec will not make people jump up and down, but for web surfing etc... it's fine !

Spec is

Dell Dimension 2400
2.6 Celeron
256Mb Ram
40Gb HD
DVD-CD/RW
XP Home
17inch CRT monitor

like i said basic, but very capable...... and for the money a bargain !

Just checked, today is the last day of the 'Free Delivery' period, so without that your talking +£57+vat

And I have a voucher code for £40 off which brings the price down to the £261
Shmern

>> Edited by shmern on Wednesday 6th October 14:39

[kentishs2]

To give you an idea, this is more than I need and around £450: -

Dell Dimension 4700.
Powered by the latest generation Intel® Processor technology, DDR2 memory and latest range of graphics solutions, the DimensionTM 4700 is an excellent balance of affordable technology. Eight USB 2.0 ports, 2 of which are in front, connect all your USB peripherals, and two optical drive bays allow for variety for entertainment, creativity, work, and play.

Featuring Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition
Up to 4096MB PC2-3200 dual channel DDR2 for improved productivity when running power-hungry applications.
Up to 400GB 7200RPM hard drive
Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator and optional upgrade to 128MB PCI Express ATI RadeonTM X300 SE video card
Integrated Intel® 10/100 Pro network adapter

[WildfireS3]

Podie said:

WildfireS3 said: The above spec will have 80Gb of storage space, plenty. The MSI board comes with all you need, LAN, sound, USB 2.0 and IE1394 connections. Probably around 6-8 USB ports. Very expandable, and you will have 64 Bit processing for when Microsoft eventually offer the 64 Bit Upgrade to Windows. That's what I would buy for myself. I would also add a Dual Layer DVD RW. I think you're looking around £600 odd for the above, case and all. I'll need to have a proper look and total up some things. Personally I'd go for the Abit NF-7S… offers RAID for a start and a lot more solid board (IMHO) Not sure on Dual Layer DVD just yet.. Still see too many incompatiability errors for my liking to recommend it… Not a fan of Maxtor either… but that's personal experience...

Never had a problem with either Abit of MSI, just find the MSI laden with more features. Will never use Asus again.

Maxtor, not had any problems, have had many problems with Western Digital, Fujitsu and IBM.

DVD-RW wis mine's just packed up so I'm not too keen on any of them but may as well go dual layer.


Kevin, best bet is to have a word with Podie this weekend. For the money I'm sure both Podie aand I could build you a system that is better for the same money or the same system for a lot cheaper.

I'm not too keen on Intel intergrated graphics and am not impressed by the X300. Also doesn't say how much RAM you actually get with the system.