What do I need?

[samwilliams]

I'm looking for a new PC, but have very little idea about what spec I should be looking for to do what I want.

Essentially I want to use the PC for general work stuff, some games (mostly Football Manager, so not particularly strenuous graphics wise, but would like it to not struggle with the odd driving game here and there), some photo editing, tv connection to a HD LCD, possibly some TV recording stuff.

The main bits I have no idea about are what speed processor do I need (dual core?), how much ram would be recommended, and what I would need in a graphics card. Hopefully one of you knows more than me!

I don't need to get a monitor or operating system with it, so I suppose that gives me more freedom as to where to get it from, but whaty do you reckon I should get, and do you have any suggestions as to where might be the best place to get it?

Thanks for your help.

Sam

[flossythepig]

What is your budget?

[samwilliams]

flossythepig said:

What is your budget?

To be honest, as little as possible. Ideally under £500, but would go higher if persuaded that it was necessary.

Sam

[neil_cardiff]

samwilliams said:

flossythepig said:

What is your budget?

To be honest, as little as possible. Ideally under £500, but would go higher if persuaded that it was necessary.

Sam

Simple really: www.dell.co.uk

Nuff said.

[samwilliams]

neil_cardiff said:

Simple really: www.dell.co.uk

Nuff said.

What kind of spec should I be looking for though?

Sam

[neil_cardiff]

samwilliams said:

neil_cardiff said:

Simple really: www.dell.co.uk

Nuff said.

What kind of spec should I be looking for though?

Sam

Whatever you can get - Dells offers are pretty much always the best you can get for your money. I saw something yesterday that was pretty good, although I don't have it to hand.

Expect over 3Ghz, 250Gb +, at least 1Gb memory, and a 17" TFT.

[beano500]

The only prob with the Dell route is you're paying for screen and O/S which you don't actually need?

But apart from that it's difficult to go wrong with Dell, I suppose?

[samwilliams]

Are any of the deals you can get on ebay worth looking at? They look to me as though they're quite good, but then I don't really know the differences between the components that make them up (other than, generally, a bigger number is better!).

Sam

[neil_cardiff]

beano500 said:

The only prob with the Dell route is you're paying for screen and O/S which you don't actually need?

But apart from that it's difficult to go wrong with Dell, I suppose?

Most likely if the user needs a Windows Environment they do - as pretty much most people either have OEM licensing which is non transferable, or pirated stuff which is worse.

You'll not be paying much really for the OS, and the screen - well - if he has a 17" TFT then I can't argue. Mind most don't and to be honest most people want a shiney new 17" or whatever to replace that mahooosive CRT they have belching out heat in the corner...

[samwilliams]

neil_cardiff said:

Most likely if the user needs a Windows Environment they do - as pretty much most people either have OEM licensing which is non transferable, or pirated stuff which is worse.

You'll not be paying much really for the OS, and the screen - well - if he has a 17" TFT then I can't argue. Mind most don't and to be honest most people want a shiney new 17" or whatever to replace that mahooosive CRT they have belching out heat in the corner...

You're probably right for most people, but I've got the OS through some deal thing via my mum's work (the one where you get 5 licences and various other bits, not sure the details), and have a 15"lcd, and am considering connecting it to an lcd tv for bigger things (although, having said that, I wouldn't be against getting a 17" screen, but it's definitely not necessary)

Sam

[neil_cardiff]

samwilliams said:

neil_cardiff said:

Most likely if the user needs a Windows Environment they do - as pretty much most people either have OEM licensing which is non transferable, or pirated stuff which is worse.

You'll not be paying much really for the OS, and the screen - well - if he has a 17" TFT then I can't argue. Mind most don't and to be honest most people want a shiney new 17" or whatever to replace that mahooosive CRT they have belching out heat in the corner...

You're probably right for most people, but I've got the OS through some deal thing via my mum's work (the one where you get 5 licences and various other bits, not sure the details), and have a 15"lcd, and am considering connecting it to an lcd tv for bigger things (although, having said that, I wouldn't be against getting a 17" screen, but it's definitely not necessary)

Sam

Then if thats the case (apart from you should really have said so) you want a self build.

See the other thread for info on the Pentium D805 - it really is a bargain if your overclock it.

[samwilliams]

neil_cardiff said:

Then if thats the case (apart from you should really have said so) you want a self build.

I did!!

[FunkyGibbon]

You can buy just the base unit (i.e. no monitor) for all models sold at Comet, with the benefit of a a pukker OEM version of XP.

They do good deals on Gateway PCs. I've got one of these about 6 months ago:

www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/567_313572.html

(looks like they've hiked the price as I only paid £360).

But a while later my old 17" monitor died so I treated my self to this:

www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/571_281913.html

all suites me fine.

[neil_cardiff]

samwilliams said:

neil_cardiff said:

Then if thats the case (apart from you should really have said so) you want a self build.

I did!!

My bad

[samwilliams]

neil_cardiff said:

My bad

I suppose I'll let you off!

So then, if I do go down the self-build route, what should I look out for/avoid?

That pentium d805 thing certainly looks interesting. From the other thread, I presume I'd also need quite good cooling if I went for it and overclocked it?

As for other bits, is it worth going for 2gb RAM, or would 1 be enough?

With graphics cards, for photos, a little bit of games, and some tv stuff, what kind of spec should I be looking for?

What components (other than case, processor, memory, hard drive, cd-drive, graphics card) do I need?

I presume most of the ones on ebay are essentially self-builds by someone else. As I don't have much of a clue what I'm doing, that's quite an attractive option, but how much extra (approximately) would I pay? Could be entertaining to see if I can work my around it myself though, i suppose!

Sam

[CommanderJameson]

I've recommended Mesh PCs to a couple of people now and they're very happy with them. An awful lot of bang for your buck. I used to recommend Dell, but since the home technical support went to India, I've stopped. Plus they're an Intel-only supplier, which limits the choice a bit.

Here's their low-end stuff. Tastier than the equivalent Dells in my opinion:

www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODCATEGORYVIEWPAGE&USG=APPLICATION&ENT=APPLICATION&KEY=71412

[neil_cardiff]

samwilliams said:

neil_cardiff said:

My bad

I suppose I'll let you off!

So then, if I do go down the self-build route, what should I look out for/avoid?

That pentium d805 thing certainly looks interesting. From the other thread, I presume I'd also need quite good cooling if I went for it and overclocked it?

As for other bits, is it worth going for 2gb RAM, or would 1 be enough?

With graphics cards, for photos, a little bit of games, and some tv stuff, what kind of spec should I be looking for?

What components (other than case, processor, memory, hard drive, cd-drive, graphics card) do I need?

I presume most of the ones on ebay are essentially self-builds by someone else. As I don't have much of a clue what I'm doing, that's quite an attractive option, but how much extra (approximately) would I pay? Could be entertaining to see if I can work my around it myself though, i suppose!

Sam

Keep an track on my posts - I'm just off to reboot for 4.0Ghz overclock on a Arctic Cooler CPU Fan

[beano500]

samwilliams said:

As I don't have much of a clue what I'm doing, that's quite an attractive option, but how much extra (approximately) would I pay? Could be entertaining to see if I can work my around it myself though, i suppose!

Sam

I can't even stick a shelf up straight but I have had a go building and re-building PCs. It's quite fun (when they actually work! - Well this one has for eighteen months anyway!!) - but NOT the cheap option.

I ended up spending some extra on cooling and soundproofing the case which probably wasn't necessary - but made me feel good.

Personally, I'd aim for mid-range mobo, processor and graphics - all to suit budget, all good names, then add as much RAM as you can afford (especially now it's so relatively cheap). But, by the time you've done that a ready assembled box from the likes of the other recommendations will be cheaper simply through economies of scale!

Now upgrading bit by bit, that might make more budgetary sense?

[xiphias]

I would say self building is cheaper. It's just that you end up buying more quality parts...