Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[Colin Bishop]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to replace my desktop PC soon as the existing one is beginning to labour a bit. I have considered upgrading but come to the conclusion that a new one is the best option as too many bits would need changing and it would be a hassle changing everything over. Basically the specification I'm looking for is:

Medium power processor
Around 450w power supply
Windows 7 64bit Home Premium operating system
4 GB RAM
500GB hard disk (or more)
Separate graphics card (not a gaming one)
Ethernet
Multi purpose optical drive
Plenty of USB sockets
Multiple card reader

Monitor is optional as I could use the one I’ve got.

I don’t do gaming but I do have a lot of photos etc. so I am looking for a reasonably high spec business machine with a budget of around £550. Mesh Computers seem to do what I need but there are some damning reviews on their after sales service. PC World could also fit the bill but their machines are a bit anodyne and not necessarily the cheapest. Dell is another option.

Alternatively I could ask a local PC shop to build one for me to the above spec, I don’t have the time to do it myself. Is this likely to be cheaper?

Any advice from knowledgeable Mayhemmers would be welcome.

Colin

[gondolier88]

Not sure of what make- though the HP laptop I recently bought is a VAST improvement over the Dell it replaces, and if you can go for the AMD Vision processor- it's so slick, and when you research it, far better at processing than the equivalent Intel (though I didn't compare the new Intel I5(?)).

Re. where to buy- ebuyer.com gets my full recomendation- got an ex demo HP laptop, top of the range Pavillion 7000 series, dual core, AMD vision, Win7 Home Premium, webcam, high def' screen and remote control for presentations and music for less than £600- I believe the RRP was £800+.

Good hunting.

Greg

[cos918]

Try Aldi they have desk top in ever so now and then. There prices are good and I am pretty sure they have a 3 year warranty.

John

[Colin Bishop]

Thanks but I've already got a laptop, it's the desktop I want to replace.

I also want quality components so a bit doubtful of Aldi.

Colin

[chingdevil]

I had my new PC built by these people, http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/index.php. You can choose exactly what you want, you also get a full Windows CD not just a restore piece of junk.


Brian

[Colin Bishop]

Looks good Brian, £601 for what I want including a 22 inch monitor. I assume you are happy with them?

Colin

[karls]

Try www.ebuyer.com loads of cheap pc stuff.
I use them all the time post is good too.

my laptop is by pcspecialist got it last year £1200  3 of the usb ports have packed up.
my sons new laptop was over £2000 and he still thinks it a slug  alienware m17x and its red  yuk
atb karl

[Martin (Admin)]

I bought this PC from DINOPC http://dinopc.co.uk/

.... but the Aldi range of Medion PC are highly recommended .... by me!

 http://www.medion.com/gb/electronics/

[riggers24]

I bought this PC from DINOPC http://dinopc.co.uk/

.... but the Aldi range of Medion PC are highly recommended .... by me!

 http://www.medion.com/gb/electronics/

Are you qualified to make comments like that

[dodgy geezer]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to replace my desktop PC soon as the existing one is beginning to labour a bit...

I'm not sure what you mean by 'beginning to labour a bit'. Is it running out of space? If so, get some more.

Is it generally going slow, and perhaps locking occasionally? In my experience, this happens with all Microsoft operating systems, as the disk storage becomes fragmented and the registry becomes crowded. The remedy is to rebuild the system from scratch (or load Linux.)

The other possibility is lots of spyware and other rubbish on your browser - a rebuild cures this as well, but if your web use makes you prone to getting this kind of stuff you will probably build it up again....


If you are looking for net PC suppliers my experience is:

1)  Ebuyer - very cheap but will sell low quality items, and are difficult to talk to if things go wrong
2) CCL Computers - more expensive but quality goods, and a good customer support service
3) Scan - sometimes offer good value, but watch out for postal charges....


 

[The long Build]

I built my own, after getting the parts only took me 30 - 40 minutes to put together.

Got the box from local pc shop,included power source, also got the cpu and board from the same shop, 1tb harddrive, dvd player all sourced from ebuyer or ,my memory also got some stuff from misco..
In all the whole lot cost about 400  3 years ago.

But doing it this way showed me how easy it is to replace items to keep it up to date..

I run the pc using a 320 gb drive , have a 1tb drive for the files and a 1tb back up which I tend to keep off site.

Even though I fitted all my own items they all came with at least  a 1 year warranty

I know this is not for every one but I enjoyed doing it.

Larry

[Colin Bishop]

DG,

I'm not sure what you mean by 'beginning to labour a bit'. Is it running out of space? If so, get some more.

Basically it is pushing at its parameters. hard disk storage approaching max capacity, power supply on the low side, processor behind the times, just generally getting a bit out of date. Spyware/Registry/Fragmentation not a problem but I can't be bothered with the hassle of a clean install and reloading everything just to get a rejuvenated PC which doesn't have the spec that you want these days. To me it's just a tool. not a hobby. I'd rather spend a bit of cash and start afresh.

Larry,

Yes, I did consider this but I'd rather spend the time modelling!

Cheers,

Colin

[wbeedie]

Aldi had a medion touch screen a few months back , heard good things about it, the Medion s are crackers

[dodgy geezer]

Basically it is pushing at its parameters. hard disk storage approaching max capacity, power supply on the low side, processor behind the times, just generally getting a bit out of date...

Sounds like what you mean is that you fancy a new computer..

There are lots around - Windows 7 is a lot better than Vista (though it does need a lot of memory!) Only problems I have experienced with it is that there seems to be a policy not to release drivers for old peripherals with W7, forcing you to buy new items. I tried to load it on a perfectly good machine with a Radeon 7500 series graphics card, and found there were no available video drivers...

[Colin Bishop]

Yes that's about it. I agree, must check peripheral drivers although sometimes close matches will work.

Colin

[barriew]

If you get a 64 bit machine, make sure any non-integral peripherals you want to use (scanner, etc) have 64 bit drivers. You can't use 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit PC, whatever operating system you use. I think W7 is a very good operating system - a world away from Vista.  Older peripherals may not have 64 bit drivers. If you get the local PC shop to build one, will he be here in 18 months when it goes wrong?

I have had Dell for the last two desktops, and bought my wife a laptop - never had any problems, but I notice their prices have crept up somewhat recently. PC World sell Dell so you can see what you are buying, if that's important.

Barrie

[essex2visuvesi]

Have you considered an imac? for what you want to do it might be a worth consideration.  It may take a little getting used to the different operating system, but in my experience (20+ years in IT support) they are a lot more Hassle free than PCs.
Granted they do have their faults but for the Average home user the mac is a better option as they useful lifespan of a mac is as much double that of a PC.  My Imac is getting on for 6 years old now and on some jobs it outperforms the kids PC (Bought new xmas 2009).
I dont want to get involved in the "Apple is better no PC is better" argument as both have advantages and disadvantages., just  that maybe it should be considered

[dodgy geezer]

...I dont want to get involved in the "Apple is better no PC is better" argument as both have advantages and disadvantages., just  that maybe it should be considered

Of course, once he has bought a new machine he can load Ubuntu onto the old one and see how Linux compares with his new commercial machine. I see that Maverick Meerkat is just out in beta....

[Bunkerbarge]

Colin, Just something else to think about in this day and age, a number of desktop computers can now double up as a television so although your budget may be low for a PC if you consider it as a combination it might be worth more to you.

I have a Sony, which has everything built into the back of the screen so I have a fantastic large screen, which I could also use as a TV if I wanted to plug a signal into it.  It is obviously limited when it comes to expansion but it's specification will keep it ahead of the game for a few years then, rather than mess around upgrading one or more components, that may or may not be compatible with the others, I will simply replace the whole machine.  It also has a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse so cables to the unit are limited to power and internet and the latest in wireless printers can take this even further.

Way over your current budget but if you are in the market for a TV as well who knows.  You also get quite a bit of your desk back where the horrible great box used to sit!!

[Prophet]

I went through a buzz to have a top of the range PC all the gadgets you could think of a few years ago, i could send you to places to get the best, or send you to others and build a custom PC to your own spec, like i used to. but I'm not going to .. simply because its not worth it at present, for any of you that read up on the latest tech in production you will be aware of blue ray dvd's the new flat screen 3d LCD TV's, what people don't realise right now with all this with screen tech the quick move to digital, then flat screens becoming super cheap to buy, the reslease of 3d TV its not leaving you room for PC life length at the moment. until things settle i won't be building a new PC until I'm sure that no real major changes will be needed for a few years, its not the money side of things that worries me on a computer, once build its worthless always has always will. what worries me that you will spend anywhere up to £2000 on a decent PC and in a years time you won't be able to do what you want given the advances currently. so heres my suggestion of a sort... Get a free laptop with one of the wireless internet dongles, thats what i did at the beginning of this year. £30 a month for 5 gig of mobile internet and a free laptop and this one i use its pretty good for free. its a hp Pavilion, it has 8n hour battery. 15.4 anamorphic wide screen (silver and gloss black finish, 250 gig hd, win 7 amd 64 processor 4 gig ram hdmi imputes and outputs 6 usb's built in card reader and webcam, full keyboard with num pad, HD resolution screen and a dvd rw with LIGHT SCRIB built in. this laptop will do everything i want from it and even play most of th games i like even some of the new ones although they would play on a better PC with a better gfx card i won't let that bother me given the laptop was basically free  

when i was in town recently i spotted this laptop in one of the computer shops it cost of the shelf £899.

Although you may not be intrested in the £30 a month dongle contracts have a good think before you dismiss it.. £30 a month over 2 years =£720 total value and this is with out intrest payments for buying on credit, now the best thing i like about this method of owning a decent computer is this... every 2 years when the contract expires you have the option to renew, now with this renewal you get a brand new laptop upgrade for free this does a few things one of which is every 2 years get a new laptop with a decent set of components that will last the distance and its cheaper in your pocket to spread the cost of a new computer over 2 years with out intrest.

but until we get to a stable level of technology booms i will be using this method for a long time to come.

[malcolmfrary]

One retailer missed out of the list was  http://www.saverstore.com/
I have bought from them, their prices are competitive, and over the past few years have had one occasion to use their after sales service, which was good.

[Colin Bishop]

Thanks for the responses guys, although I'm beginning to think that I should have asked a question on which there would have been a more general concensus - such as the best way to lubricate your propshaft....

Colin

[Circlip]

Nother option to consider is a "Barebones" unit, this comprises a new case, PSU, Motherboard, Processor, RAM. You add your old CD/DVD drive, Hard drive and floppy? drive. What it does do is give you the latest choice of processor to suit you and also the ability to add extra hard drive/storage space.

  The 500 giggly bite drives now seem to be more reliable, but the single and multi terror bite drives are still going through the "growing" stages. If you're reasonably happy with your presant set up, there's always the external drive storage option. Even with all the "modern" energy saving electronics, 450 Watts for a PSU is a bit frugal.

  Good that you had a favourable response from CCL Dodgy, 5 miles from me and things are fine until you try to get things replaced in the warranty period, knotting smoke sometimes and NOT an isolated incident.

  Local "Computer fairs" are not to be dismissed.

  Regards  Ian.

[chingdevil]

Colin

I am very happy with my computer, I did not get a new screen as I already had a flat screen and I did not get a keyboard or mouse. As I said you get a full version of Windows plus all the drivers and manuals for all the bits inside, even the mother board.

Brian

[Popeye]

FOR PROPHET
Your  idea of committing to a dongle , inclusive of lap top, for £30pm sounds good sense to me considering that I'm paying £37 gross monthly (somewhat less in reality coz of TV/Phone/Broadband bundle discount) for a nominal 20mbps broadband service, and I have an increasing need to use my aging lap top off site , subject to having access to a secure wireless broadband service.

Couple of questions for Prophet however:-

(1) who have you signed up with?
(2) what download speed do you get?
(3) if applicable, what's service coverage like if used in a 'mobile' capacity

Regards