What PC? not sure where to post

[Puzzled1]

I am looking to buy a new pc and don't know where to start...

Only have a budget of about £350. I want a good basic pc for home use - browsing the net, running microsoft office, viewing & editing family photos, and video. Do want a reasonable speed though.

I have seen a few, but don't know whether to go for AMD or Intel. Vista or Xp (I know most new ones are Vista) etc. Or what manufacturer.

 

I was thinking of a min spec of 320Gb HD, 2Gb RAM.

Have seen one two Packard Bell pcs

iMax 3515 and iMedia 2426

 

Any thoughts/advice.

Thanks. http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/images/icons/icon5.gif

[Dalo Harkin]

Intel all the way and Vista -

[Puzzled1]

Thanks.

What do you think of Packard Bell as a manufacturer? Or is there some makes you rate more? I have heard mixed reports about Dell.

I have seen a couple of them (e.g. iMax 3515 £349) at reasonable prices

I seem to be going round in circles looking at them myself.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Well there's this from Curry's.

 

Currys - Shop for PC and Monitor Only - Acer Aspire M3201 Acer Aspire M3201 with 19" TFT

 

And AMD cpu's are fine.

 

This is what I have by the way.

 

Buy Cheap HP Pavilion Slimline s3431.uk PC - Reviews UK

[BeeCeeBee]

Your question really presents a dilemma that probably won't be resolved here.

 

You will get expert advice on the technical end as you already have from Dalo. In the end though you will have to make the decision. My first laptop had great specs and performed terrificly right until the top came off and the keyboard fell out.

 

I am personally very happy with the Toshiba I use but you will get similar reports from Sony, HP, Acer and Dell users.

 

After you know what you want to see IN the laptop make sure that it looks good to you and that it is sturdy etc.

 

Frankly I have not heard much being said about Packard Bell but sit here a day or two and you will.

[Puzzled1]

Well there's this from Curry's.

 

Currys - Shop for PC and Monitor Only - Acer Aspire M3201 Acer Aspire M3201 with 19" TFT

 

And AMD cpu's are fine.

 

This is what I have by the way.

 

Buy Cheap HP Pavilion Slimline s3431.uk PC - Reviews UK

 

Had a look at the HP - also found this one

HP A6355 AMD Phenom Quad Core £349

Cheap HP A6355 AMD Phenom Quad Core (Rework) - discounts & offers

spec available here

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/PDF/c01301840.pdf

It is a "rework" but is that a problem?

Thanks.

 

I am not space limited so don't mind a bigger case

[Dalo Harkin]

AMD CPU's are fine as Wolfey has said, but they are not as fast or as price competitive as Intel -

Intel are at the moment the best chip to have as you get more speed for your money.

Also dont think that you NEED a quad chip - it depends on the PC's primary use as to whether a double or quad chip is better

[DirtyPolo]

As Dalo said,

 

If you are looking to use this PC as just a general HOME PC, with no gaming or hard, resource-heavy tasks, then a Dual core chip will probably suit you better,

 

Off the block the dual cores are faster than Quads, and you really need heavy, load tasks to bring the best out of Quad cores, such as the latest games, or Video editing etc :)

[Puzzled1]

Thaks for that. I am getting a much clearer picture of what I need to be looking for.

I am thinking of a minimum of:

Intel dual core

320Gb HD

2Gb RAM

Vista Home premium

Any advice on graphics card?

Mainly for photos and video rather than games?

Many thanks for all the advice.

[BeeCeeBee]

I don't know why I thought you were looking for a laptop so my previous post in the beginning was useless. I will try to make up for it here. :o

 

Since you are on a budget I would put most of the emphasis on getting the best CPU, hard drive, ram, and Operating system you can within your budget. Most included graphics cards (onboard or separate) will be perfectly fine for any photos or videos including DVDs etc.

 

In addition graphics cards are easily upgraded later and a really high end card will destroy your budget.

 

Saying that, the guys who have been responding to you may want to give you some ideas as to either what to avoid in a graphics spec or what they know is available within that budget of yours.

[DirtyPolo]

Thaks for that. I am getting a much clearer picture of what I need to be looking for.

I am thinking of a minimum of:

Intel dual core

320Gb HD

2Gb RAM

Vista Home premium

Any advice on graphics card?

Mainly for photos and video rather than games?

Many thanks for all the advice.

 

That all sounds fine to me :)

 

As for graphics cards, you should look at ATI, this is said alot, but especially for low budget machines as you get more power for your money with ATI cards.

 

Nvidia cards, you end up paying alot of money and not getting much for it.

 

Have you looked around at some of the Intel Processors to see different prices?

[Puzzled1]

I have tried looking - my head is spinning now!

I have concentrated on HP/Compaq & Acer.

Can't seem to find a system that meets my spec in my budget!

Did find a few pcs but none were exactly what I was looking for:

Compak Presario SR5606uk

 

HP Pavilion Slimline s3621uk Desktop PC

Processor type

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core processor E2200

Operating system installed

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 32-bit

Chipset

NVIDIA® nForce™ 630i chipset

Standard memory

3 GB

Memory type

DDR2-SDRAM

Memory slots

2 DIMM sockets

Internal drivesInternal drives

320 GB

Hard disk controller

SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive

Hard disk drive speed

(7200 rpm)

 

 

Inspire XM5200CT

Intel® Dual Core™ E5200 Processor

</STRONG>Windows Vista™ Home Premium SP1

4GB Memory + 500GB Hard Drive

256MB nVidia Integrated Graphics

19" Flat Panel Display w/speakers

DVD Writer + Media Card Reader

Desktop Keyboard & Optical Mouse

 

 

I can understand why people prefer to self build - at least you don't have to trawl through lots of specs! However, I wouldn't know where to start, and would hate to get it wrong.

 

I know that our budget is limiting - I would like to get a system including office for £400.

 

 

[DirtyPolo]

Okay well, first of all, by that "inspire" system, do you mean a Mesh Elite XM5200?

 

That is not a bad system at all. the problem is to add Office, they ask for another £89 but you can buy Office yourself and install it [just put in a disk] for £49.60 here at ebuyer.com

 

Also depending where you buy it from depends if it comes with Office installed or not, some places will put Microsoft Works on because it's cheaper and not as good :P so watch out for that

 

Overall, the Mesh out performs the Compaq for price and performance

But it's a close call between the Mesh and the HP.

Edited January 15, 2009 by DirtyPolo

[Puzzled1]

Actually saw it here:

MESH Computers - Award Winning Review PCs Since 1987

 

Could lose monitor and upgrade graphics and still get for £370?

I do have a monitor so don't need to get one.

Is it easy enough to remove MS works and replace with MS office?

 

Is it better to order from Mesh than Comet (easier to return to comet?)

[DirtyPolo]

If it is easier to return to comet then there shouldn't be any problem with buying it from them as it is the same price, but as you will be buying not directly from the makers, they will add their own prices onto upgrades.

 

Such as a graphics card upgrade is about £5-£10 dearer at comet, and also they will add Office in for an extra £102 as opposed to buying it for £50

 

and yes it's very easy to install MS Office and uninstall Works, you don't even have to uninstall Works if you want to keep it on for any unknown bizarre reason :D

Edited January 15, 2009 by DirtyPolo

[Tootech]

The Intel E5200 chip is way way quicker than the E2200 chip.

 

The HP is a slimline unit - probably more difficult to upgrade at a later date.

 

Looking at your budget, you won't get everything that has been talked about/suggested for £400.

 

I'd say stick to a standard size tower and onboard video. That way upgrading at a later date is less problematic. Onboard video is very good for most everday computing tasks. Course the gamers turn their noses up at it :)

[Tootech]

Take off all the extra options and this Mesh would suit your budget

 

MESH Computers - Award Winning Review PCs Since 1987 - Elite Essential

[DirtyPolo]

Or an alternative to tootechs idea is this

 

click on customise, and take off the monitor, then the whole price is £330 and with keyboard etc.

 

funny thing is, it is the exact same PC and spec as the one you said scott, but for some reason, once you take the monitor off, it drops to £330.

[Dalo Harkin]

Have a look at my build guide in terms of actually making a pc yourself we would be here to help you every step of the way and you could customise components and save some cash

[Puzzled1]

Ok. Worth pricing. Would you be able to help tell me what I need to get and where from? i.e could you come up with a spec for a system?

[DirtyPolo]

yes we can, dont worry :)

 

Just tell us your budget, and what you want to use the PC for, which you have done both of these already.

 

Also, which parts do you not need, such as monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.

 

as soon as we know these details we can root out a nice worthy spec for you to take a look at. :D

[Puzzled1]

Ok.

Don't need a mouse.

key board wouldn't be a bad idea. I have a flat screen monitor so that is okay.

Budget - £400 to include office (so that is £350 for the computer - anything less is a bonus).

Will go with advice on xp or vista

MS office programs, photos (photoshop elements probably), video editing (but only home video). Need to be able to copy onto DVD.

Maximum RAM, min 320gb HD.

Min dual core (don't know difference between dual core and core 2 duo?) as fast as possible within budget

Anything else you need to know?

Thanks.

[BeeCeeBee]

Puzzled if you decide to go with a build please start a new thread once you get your specs sorted out here. Many members (myself included) would like to follow your progress.

[DirtyPolo]

Just posting to check if you still require this spec to be drawn up for you or not?