Help Finding a Cheap Computer?

dlpugh

Hi
I wonder if anyone could offer any help? I am looking for a reasonably cheap computer, we don't need anything fancy, just to run microsoft office and to have reasonably fast times on the internet, we dont use it for anything else. We do tend to keep a lot of digital photos etc though for file space.
I was hoping to spend as little as possible, certainly not much more than £350 - £400 if possible.
I have no idea at all what kind of specs we want though or where we are best looking!
Can anyone please offer any help???
Many many thanks!!!!!

isofa

https://www.dmxdimension.co.uk lists all the best deals from Dell at the moment, look at the Inspiron range for desktops and laptops, and for best go for a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo.

DCFC79

If your confident then you could build your own,

DatabaseError

'the internet' will be the same speed regardless of your computer, it is as fast on a 15 year old 486 as it is on a new quad core.
someone posted a link to a tescos £300 machine which is ok for the money

isofa

tonyhague wrote: »

'the internet' will be the same speed regardless of your computer, it is as fast on a 15 year old 486 as it is on a new quad core.
someone posted a link to a tescos £300 machine which is ok for the money

I know what you meant but... I couldn't resist... surely joking? :beer:

Which ancient 486 will you be able to run Windows XP or Vista on and a modern browser like Firefox or IE7?! :rotfl:

Back to what Tony meant, an all singing all dancing Quad Core PC will be a waste for what you need, but a good Core Duo running Vista and the latest software for 300 to 400 will be a good investment, as everything will be fast, and it'll keep up with new software for many years to come.

DatabaseError

'the internet' does not require xp or vista, just an os and a browser, and will be no faster on the newer machine

timbim_2

But an old OS and browser may well not support many of the plugins we have now...

DatabaseError

some linux distros run happily on 386 or 486, with (i believe) modern browsers.

....but I wouldn't like to do it

esuhl

The problem with 386s and 486s is the performance of the web browser and OS. I have an old P3 on my network, and whilst the data transmission speed over the Internet is the same for all PCs, browsing the web does seem slower as the old PC takes longer to page data in and out of RAM, load the browser, draw the screen, etc. and I certainly wouldn't want more than 4 or 5 web pages open simultaneously.

For surfing the web, using office applications and viewing photos, you can probably pick up a refurbished P4 for about £100 on eBay (without a monitor) or have a look here: http://www.cclonline.com/systems

isofa

tonyhague wrote: »

'the internet' does not require xp or vista, just an os and a browser, and will be no faster on the newer machine

I'm well aware of that, having worked in the industry for many years.... My 486DX2 66 was my pride and joy at one time, but a decent internet machine, crawling with Windows, or a Linux it isn't, it was recycled in the mid 1990s.

The OP wants a cost effective PC (not Mac as won't fit into the budget), hence my mention of Vista - which all new PCs nowadays will come with (or possibly XP if you specifically want the downgrade). How many home users buy systems with Linux?

Browser speed, rendering and all sorts, will be faster on a modern machine compared with a 486 - as esuhl mentions - I cannot believe where this is going - totally random discussion! Obviously the actually connection speed won't be different, but not only will the OS affect all sorts, the processor will affect the browser speed, not to mention throughput can easily be affected by the interface, OS stack, all sorts.

In my experience, with older machines running OSes compared with newer machines (say in the past 3-5 years) the newer ones, with similar browsers run faster, also many of the new web technologies are only supported on the latest browsers.

By an old machine today, and in 3-5 years time, new versions of browsers and technologies will crawl along.

I have a 10 year old Mac that runs fine, but is hopeless on the internet with ancient IE and Netscape.

However, none of this is very helpful to the OP - who wants a new cheap computer, so as Dell and other companies have Core 2 Duos for £300 to £350, as per my original posting...

flojan

I have just purchased this Acer Aspire 5920 form Amazon to replace my desk set. and am well pleased with it. 2GB Ram and 250 hard drive
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001HK20ZA/300002306-21/?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE