What is entry level these days?

[Quacker]

Firstly apologies if posted in the wrong area but I cannot find anywhere more suitable (mods feel free to move as necessary).

 

What is entry level or minimum spec these days. It is a few years since I last bought me any PC toys and although not entirely necessary I fancy an upgrade.

 

What speed processor are we looking at, minimum ram, hdd, should I get an external hdd? should there be a minimum of usb ports, is a built-in card reader a necessity etc.

 

Currently have AMD Sempron 2600+

1.83GHz

and 0.98 GB Ram

Card reader and extra USB ports are all "add-ons"

especially unsure of sound and graphics requirements.

 

Any pointers (aside from the usual advice of the best you can afford etc.)

 

Steve

[Match]

I think the first Key question is what budget do you have? and what do you want to use the PC for?

[Dalo Harkin]

Entry level - not including a new monitor, you are looking £300-£500

[DirtyPolo]

Any pointers (aside from the usual advice of the best you can afford etc.)

 

Hey, as you have stated this and both rpelieshave been linked with prices, just thought I'd add in some simple specs for you too be able to link with those prices.

 

I am not sure exactly what Dalo was thinking of when he gave that price so these specs and his price are not directly linked.

 

I would class a basic system at the moment to have around this:

 

 

• Dual Core Processor @ about 2.5 - 3.0GHz or a little below/above.
  
• 2GB of RAM as it's not very expensive to upgrade compared to other componants.
  
• 150GB Hard Drive SATA
  
• Windows Vista, as it is becoming the "norm" of OS's on shop bought and hand built PCs.
  
• 256Mb Graphics Card, possibly a 512Mb in some cases.
  
• Sound cards are not needed as modern mobos have very good built in sound.
  

I hope this is kind of what you were looking for, and I invite anyone to correct me if they believe i am extremely wrong in some section, but given that there is no exact defiinition of a basic system, I guess anyone can be right :P

[Match]

Hey Dirtypolo you pinched my spec that I put together for under £300

[DirtyPolo]

Lol oops, all that is just off the top of my head :P

[Tootech]

Here's a couple of entry level systems, the Acer could do with another 1GB RAM, at about £15 its not an issue.

 

Zoostorm Versatile Premium PC, Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz, 250GB HDD, 2GB RAM, DVDRW, Keyboard and Mouse, Vista Premium - Ebuyer

 

Acer M1610 Desktop,Intel Dual Core E2160 1.8GHz, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, DVDRW, SIS Mirage, Keyboard and mouse,Vista Home Premium +19" widescreen Monitor - Ebuyer

 

And a couple of faster systems

 

Zoostorm Advanced Premium PC, Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz, 500GB HDD, 4GB DDR2 RAM, DVDRW, Keyboard and Mouse, Vista Premium - Ebuyer

 

Zoostorm Advanced Premium PC, Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz, 640GB HDD, 4GB RAM 800MHz, DVDRW, Card Reader, Keyboard and Mouse, Black Gloss, Vista Premium - Ebuyer

 

All Intel CPU's - they are the biz for speed and value at the moment.

[Dalo Harkin]

Whichever route, you wish to proceed down - you need to have an INTEL CPU and an ATI GPU at the heart of it - all the rest is personal preference

[Quacker]

Hello all - and many thanks. I should have pointed out it was not in any way linked or related to cost. Perhaps I used the wrong term when I said entry level and should have used minimum spec :)

 

So from what I read, Intel is the way to go over AMD these days?

 

Must be dual core processor and at least 3.0GHz

 

A minimum of 2GB RAM but more preferably

 

512MB Graphics Card - preferably ATI

 

150 GB Hard Drive SATA

 

19in Monitor

 

and Windows Vista

 

I've never used Vista - just XP, presumably not such a great step?

 

I also imagine most cases to have multiple drives, ports, readers as standard these days.

 

Cheers

 

Steve (who is now taking a closer look at those specs lol)

[DirtyPolo]

Lol hey steve, for the RAM 2GB is plenty, anymore and you wont really notice the difference so it's worth saving the money and sticking with 2GB.

 

The Hard drive size just depends on how much you will store on the PC, 150 is a nice number for general everyday use and for a home PC that will have files, music and pictures stored on it :)

[shrimply]

Hi, obviously I have very little idea about what I'm talking about, but I wanted to questions a few things, hopefully it's considered on topic.

 

But, baring in mind the question was about an entry level system surely there is very little importance between AMD and intel, I know that if your wanting a higher end system this may be important, but I can't really see it being an issue.

 

The same applies to the graphics card being ATI

 

My interpretation of entry level may be wrong.

 

For instance my laptop, now about a year and a half old is 1.7 Ghz containaing the intel centrino duo ( so everything inside pretty much is intel from my understanding). 2Gb of ram, and the graphics memory is 128mb I think.

 

Now, this does everything I need, its as fast as it could be pretty much, it certainly rarely keeps me waiting. And if I wanted a new PC I would be happy to buy one with similar specs.

 

Just seemed to me that some of the advice was getting a little bit away from entry level. Not that I wouldn'd spend as much as I could on a new system of course but what is entry level actually classed as.

[Dalo Harkin]

Hi, obviously I have very little idea about what I'm talking about, but I wanted to questions a few things, hopefully it's considered on topic.

 

But, baring in mind the question was about an entry level system surely there is very little importance between AMD and intel, I know that if your wanting a higher end system this may be important, but I can't really see it being an issue.

 

The same applies to the graphics card being ATI

 

My interpretation of entry level may be wrong.

 

For instance my laptop, now about a year and a half old is 1.7 Ghz containaing the intel centrino duo ( so everything inside pretty much is intel from my understanding). 2Gb of ram, and the graphics memory is 128mb I think.

 

Now, this does everything I need, its as fast as it could be pretty much, it certainly rarely keeps me waiting. And if I wanted a new PC I would be happy to buy one with similar specs.

 

Just seemed to me that some of the advice was getting a little bit away from entry level. Not that I wouldn'd spend as much as I could on a new system of course but what is entry level actually classed as.

 

Hi Shrimps,

 

All good points - AMD chips are no where near as powerful for the money - Most AMD chips now are slower than there Intel counterparts and cost more - so its a no brainer really.

 

ATI again are cheaper and faster than Nvidia at the moment

 

Entry level laptops and towers are seperate things - you are very limited in with laptops unless money is no object, there are not really that many customisable parts, where as with a tower you get to choose the fastest parts and bang them all together for a reasonable amount - laptops are different as you cant really choose anything to be replaced other than the CPU and GPU and RAM.

[Quacker]

Hi, obviously I have very little idea about what I'm talking about, but I wanted to questions a few things, hopefully it's considered on topic.

 

But, baring in mind the question was about an entry level system surely there is very little importance between AMD and intel, I know that if your wanting a higher end system this may be important, but I can't really see it being an issue.

 

The same applies to the graphics card being ATI

 

My interpretation of entry level may be wrong.

 

For instance my laptop, now about a year and a half old is 1.7 Ghz containaing the intel centrino duo ( so everything inside pretty much is intel from my understanding). 2Gb of ram, and the graphics memory is 128mb I think.

 

Now, this does everything I need, its as fast as it could be pretty much, it certainly rarely keeps me waiting. And if I wanted a new PC I would be happy to buy one with similar specs.

 

Just seemed to me that some of the advice was getting a little bit away from entry level. Not that I wouldn'd spend as much as I could on a new system of course but what is entry level actually classed as.

 

Some fair points Shrimply. On reading my original post I realised I had used the incorrect term when I said "entry level" - I then amended it to "minimum spec". - indeed I could have (should have?) amended it further to "decent spec" lol.

 

I've had several PC's over the years (still know nowt about the insides) and have a couple of laptops too. I'm in the fortunate position of not having to worry whether the PC costs £300 or £900 - but what is imperative to me is whatever I purchase I KNOW it will be a worthwhile upgrade from what i already have - and in my individual case, that means bigger, faster, larger, more efficient etc.

 

Looking at the specs of my current machine (in my original post) I needed to justify the purchase by having something much improved over the existing kit - if that makes sense?

 

Apologies if I misled with the original title or suggested a budget purchase:o

 

May I just query one point please fellas? 3.0GHz - is that not a little high? - I look around for complete systems (would never build one myself) - and my local emporium would build it for me. I quite like the idea of a machine built to my specs:D

 

Steve

[BeeCeeBee]

What you need to do, Quacker, is to tell us why you want bigger, faster etc., how you will make use of it, and I am sure you will get some very useful suggestions.

[Match]

well if you can afford it I'd go with a Intel core 2 duo at 3.0Ghz, the question is how long before your next upgrade, and if you think back to when you bought your present machine it was probably one of the fastest processors then! and how far have processors moved since then?

[BeeCeeBee]

I would take all suggestions on board but ultimately I would wait for a reply from Dalo Harkin (Darth Stewie.) He is a build expert and knows his high spec componants, even thought you won't be building it yourself, the end result is the same. Take a look at the pictures posted in his profile.

Computer Support & PC Help Forums - Provided By Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help - Dalo Harkin's Albums

[Quacker]

Just to resurrect (sp?) this thread. I do tend to upgrade every 4/5 years - so not a chaser of the immediate technology. SO yes it may seem like overkill now, but in a few years....

 

I do like the idea of improving on what I already have. I do also have a lot of photos and experimenting more with my Canon DSLR and especially Photoshop Elements.

 

I do most "normal" stuff, listen to music, watch movies, the odd MP4, Itunes (Grrr) as well as unhealthy amounts of hours online, email etc. - the only thing I don't do is play games.

 

I do however want to try a few Simulator-type games (if that is the correct term) such as Flight & Train sims. I know the current spec machine I have will not run my PC Rom - though that may be as is is better suited to Vista and not XP as suggested on a forum.

 

Finally I use a lot of CD & DVD roms related to one of my main hobbies (Birding) - again not particularly memory-hogging.

 

I appreciate in the month or so since I began this thread things may have moved on already lol.

 

On the plus side, the existing machines will be handed down in time-honoured tradition.

 

Thanks again

 

Steve