New PC Required

Miroslav

Have been given a little bit of money from my nans will, of which she left a note for me saying I must spend at least 50% of it on myself and not on bills/other people for once!

So, a new PC is what I want to spend it on.

So I can spend about £450

Just want a basic PC for Internet, 40 GB HDD, 256 Ram minimum, and a fairly swift processor would be nice. No need for monitor as have a suitable one already. DVD re-writer would be very handy too, although I could get an external one? CD/RW absolute minimum.

Best place to buy? Best aftersales? Best quality for my price range?

Will be for DVD/CD use, Internet and maybe a Championship/Football manager game or two, which is mainly text based anyway.

Will not be using for all these up to date games.

Any help appreciated.

smashed

Well, if you want that spec.. and no monitor... you will be looking at nearer £200

Miroslav

smashed wrote:

Well, if you want that spec.. and no monitor... you will be looking at nearer £200

Really? That would be great Was going to say smashing, but thought you'd think I was taking the Michael

smashed

as an example..

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=89079

That is £150 plus delivery. (out of stock at the mo)
It has 256MB ram (you could upgrade it to 512mb for £25 max if it has a spare slot)
40gb HD
Intel Celeron D 315 (2.26, 533, 256MB)
CD writer... but you can buy a new 16X dvd writer for about £25
Intel Extreme graphics built in..
It doesnt have Windows XP.. but Im sure you could source a copy from somewhere
This would do a basic job for a PC to just surf the net.. do your documents.. play games like Championship Manager... it would run fine.

However, upgrading later wouldnt be so easy.. but then, you can only lose £150 max anyway.. which probably makes it cheaper .. you could do the same again next time.


No doubt there are other good deals.. will have a look

Miroslav

smashed wrote:

as an example..

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=89079

That is £150 plus delivery. (out of stock at the mo)
It has 256MB ram (you could upgrade it to 512mb for £25 max if it has a spare slot)
40gb HD
Intel Celeron D 315 (2.26, 533, 256MB)
CD writer... but you can buy a new 16X dvd writer for about £25
Intel Extreme graphics built in..
It doesnt have Windows XP.. but Im sure you could source a copy from somewhere
This would do a basic job for a PC to just surf the net.. do your documents.. play games like Championship Manager... it would run fine.

However, upgrading later wouldnt be so easy.. but then, you can only lose £150 max anyway.. which probably makes it cheaper .. you could do the same again next time.


No doubt there are other good deals.. will have a look

Thanks, I spotted that one, as it says Linux, and I have no idea what that is (I assume a different OS?)

If I can get one for around 200/300 that would be great, alot of places seem quite expensive though.

smashed

another example on dell..
D11111 is the evalue code..change the spec down to 90 day collect and return under "Cover it with Dell Support Services"...
and its £221 for a base unit..
Windows XP
512MB Ram
80gb HD
CD-Rom (get a DVD/CD writer for £25)

Sure there are better offers.

Possibly... you could buy an all in 1 deal.. with TFT monitor.. then sell on the flatscreen... it may bring the cost down if you do it that way.

smashed

Linux is a different OS yes. It would cost around £70 i believe to get XP ..

gizmoleeds

Miroslav wrote:

Thanks, I spotted that one, as it says Linux, and I have no idea what that is (I assume a different OS?)

Yes, Linux is a free operating system. I wouldn't recommend it for a non-PC expert.

Try ebay for a legal OEM copy of Windows XP for around £40.

Edit: make that £50: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Windows-XP-Home-OEM-free-P-P_W0QQitemZ7196501068QQcategoryZ41887QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Miroslav

smashed wrote:

another example on dell..
D11111 is the evalue code..change the spec down to 90 day collect and return under "Cover it with Dell Support Services"...
and its £221 for a base unit..
Windows XP
512MB Ram
80gb HD
CD-Rom (get a DVD/CD writer for £25)

Sure there are better offers.

Possibly... you could buy an all in 1 deal.. with TFT monitor.. then sell on the flatscreen... it may bring the cost down if you do it that way.

evalue code? Is that some sort of online voucher code?

£221 sounds good

Although I have no real idea, what is of value and what is not.

Could buy the monitor too. But I have approx £450 to play with, so could get even better PC if it came to it.

smashed

For an example on a better spec.. that you could sell part of..
D11115a..
Intel® Celeron® D Processor 325 (2.53GHz, 533fsb, 256K cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
512MB Dual Channel DDR400 (2x256MB)
Dell 15" Value Flat Panel (E153FP)
80GB (7,200rpm) Hard Drive
48X DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

£299 delivered from Dell.
If you sold the 15" flat screen.. for say £70...
it would cost £230..

Miroslav

gizmoleeds wrote:

Yes, Linux is a free operating system. I wouldn't recommend it for a non-PC expert.

Try ebay for a legal OEM copy of Windows XP for around £40.

Edit: make that £50: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Windows-XP-Home-OEM-free-P-P_W0QQitemZ7196501068QQcategoryZ41887QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks. As a non PC expert, maybe I will avoid Linux!

£50 sounds good, I take it, it installs easily for a PC novice?

Would upgrade the CD Rom to DVD R/W too - will they do that before shipping, or would I have to do it?