Need new computer advice appreciated

[lynall]

I need a new computer as my ancient one is getting slower and driving me and the wife nuts
I dont want a screen keyboard or a mouse as i like the ones i have.

So i just need the box with some decent bits inside.

My rough requirements are :-
1, decent memory for pics music etc.
2, reasonably fast on the net
3, easy to use ish
4, ability to burn cds not used often
5,prefer xp
6, i want to press the on button and then i want it to start pdq and do its job

Im not to bothered what it looks like.

Any advice? i was thinking of popping into town and going to maplins



Lynall

 

[Chris Akabusi]

Not sure what your budget is, but have you ever considered a mac mini?

Mac mini - Apple Store (U.K.)

I know you can get a lot of PC for the same money, but i converted to a Mac 18 months ago having never even used one ( ijust liked the look of them :-D ) and i have not had one single issue with it.

Boots up and ready to use in about 15 seconds and is more then powerful enough for what ill ever need it for.

 

[Stratman]

pcspecialist. Configure your own PC from one of their starting points. I've just bought a laptop from them and my youngest son is very pleased with his high-end tower system. They also have good after sales support. The HDD in said son's PC went faulty after several months. He called them, performed a few simple tests over the phone and they sent him a new one the same day, together with a reply paid Jiffy Bag to return the old one.

If you wait for a couple of weeks, they will be offering Windows 7 pre installed. Every report I've read about W7 has been good.

 

[Sp!ke]

Steer clear of maplins as they are very overpriced.

Get something dual core, make sure it has 4GB of ram, and at least a 320Gb HDD. Suggest waiting until you can get it with windows 7. £400 from Dell and you get something pretty damn good. If you are in a rush you can buy from Dell in PC World, who seem to have improved considerably these days.

 

[lynall]

Thanks for all the advice.
Spike what does dual core mean?



Lynall

 

[Sp!ke]

The CPU is dual core. Basically its a little like running dual CPU's.

 

[lynall]

Just printed of your advice list and i think i will go for a wander around town tomorrow and maybe pc world.



Lynall

 

[Sp!ke]

Steer clear of Packard Bell stuff imho.

 

[spock500]

I have heard good reports about Medion ALDI - Sunday Special Buys 27th September 2009

Usually get a few PC mags write ups also but only available instore at Aldi

 

[Donbronski]

IMHO it really doesn't matter the brand of the PC, it's what's inside that matters.

Similar to what Spike has said really...

Dual core 3Ghz+ (I prefer AMD over Pentium)
RAM 4Gb+
HDD around 500Gb

 

[Sp!ke]

You are right, that Medion is not bad value at all.

 

[Dryce]

The CPU is dual core. Basically its a little like running dual CPU's.

It's a *lot* like running dual CPUs.

The dual core stuff puts two CPUs on the same chip. There are several variations on exactly how this is configured internally.

The advantages are mainly that your system will do several things at once rather better - and these days even if you think you are running a main application and not much else there can be various internal housekeeping activities running at the same time.

 

[Dryce]

I have heard good reports about Medion ALDI - Sunday Special Buys 27th September 2009

Usually get a few PC mags write ups also but only available instore at Aldi

The main advantage is that you normally get a 3 yr warranty with these systems at Aldi.

 

[wemorgan]

This offers a lot of bang for your bucks:

Dell Studio 540 MT Intel Core 2 Quad 2.33GHz 4GB Ram 640GB HDD Blu-Ray 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 Vista Home Premium 3 Year Dell Onsite Warranty|Buy Discounted sale IT - Famous ITC Sale Of laptops Computers and Printers HP & Dell

 

[jaylam]

IMO I would build it your self, I build all my own pc's. The reason being is most branded pc's use crap parts (trust me I worked for a well know branded pc company). Building your own let's you pic the best parts. If you can service a car you over qualified to build a pc. However if you HAVE to buy a branded one, I would go with HP. HP's have a massive presence with supplying businesses so they tend to be more robust and use better parts plus the support is a lot better then the rest.

 

[Dryce]

IMO I would build it your self, I build all my own pc's. The reason being is most branded pc's use crap parts (trust me I worked for a well know branded pc company).

It depends on what you're looking for, price, and hassle.

And by hassle I include the decision/procurement process to get all the stuff you want.

As for the 'best bits'. There's a lot of mythology as to performance differences. People rave over 1 or 2% improvements.

And give it a few months and the good bits of today are long forgotten asn attention shifts to the next incremental generation.

I can't be bothered these days.

 

[stevesey]

I can't be bothered these days.

Ditto - I've never bought a whole PC - my first was a 8088 with a 10Mhz hard disk from a skip circa 1993 and I'm still typing on the keyboard I bought to go with it. Since then it's just been a continual stream of upgrades and home builds for myself and the kids.

Having got rid a couple recently we are left with a 1Ghz server and 3 PCs of the 2 - 2.5GHz Athlon era all with a couple of gig of RAM. Don't play games or do (much) video editing so they are perfectly adaquate.

When I do need a new PC it will probably be the bottom spec Dell as it's difficult to see why I'd need a higher spec and I can't be bothered to build one in that price bracket.

 

[masqueraid]

IMO I would build it your self.

Yes, but isn't it a tad unfair to ask someone who needed to check what dual core means to build their own PC?

I've just put an i7 gaming rig together & it wouldn't power up initially, took another 20 minutes of troubleshooting to fix and then an intermittent problem with a single 2GB stick of (Corsair) RAM that took a couple of days to track down.

I'm sure we enjoy the masochistic thrill of chasing down the problems and fine tuning our PC's but that doesn't necessarily put us in the mainstream of society .

Another vote for Dell Studio from here.

Wait for a week and a bit to get it supplied with Windows 7 (or if you fancy having Vista AND Windows 7 for an extra £30 or so buy now and get an upgrade voucher).

 

[Piff]

Seen good write ups for Medion in the past but the deals have never been around when I wanted to buy.
I've built the last couple of pc's I've needed and used the valuable advice provided by the knowledgeable people on this forum and components from Aria.co.uk
Aria also seem to have some pre-built systems that may be of interest

 

[ririsko]

Hello there,
I am building my (and brothers, neighbours, friends,...) PCs from 8086 age, but... There is many reason to buy final product in shop - not enough practice or knowledges, warranty, easy to "pay and go". But there is a many reason to buy components and build your own - you know what is inside, price, "relationship" between you and PC

Somebody mentioned DELL - I think it is good choice (DELL) - especially for warranty -NBD (onsite) is good if you need your computer "24/7"

If you dont need this kind of warranty - any brand is fine (HP, ACER, ...) there is a warranty for 12 months at least...

Next, important, thing is your budget...there is a difference between i7 for gaming and E4400 (enough for browsing) as well as between shared graphics card and some of new gaming nVidia cards...

Richard