New Desktop

London_Girl_3

I’m looking for a new desktop having finally realised that my PC of many years just can’t keep up any more - it only has 20GB and that was brought second hand.

The main use of the PC is for the internet, downloading music, for photos and the odd bit of watching films. I really do want to spend as little as possible as I’d rather spend the extra towards a holiday J I have found it quite confusing when looking at the different options - hence why I'm here. I don’t have a modern monitor so will need to buy this.

What I have been pricing up is coming in at around £350 total. Is it possible to do it for less (without building my own)?

Would love to hear your comments and also your thoughts on what I have found so far:


This one is very cheap (£198) but is it any good? And if so, how much do I spend on Windows?
Extra Value Business Desktop, Celeron E1400 2.0GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, Card Reader, Keyboard and Mouse, NO OS
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159380

Is it worth paying a bit more for:
Zoostorm Home Desktop PC, Pentium Dual Core E2220 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, DVDRW, Keyboard and Mouse, Vista Premium (£267)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159370

I have no idea about monitors. They all seem the same to me. What should I be looking for and how much?
What about:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151386/show_product_reviews
Samsung SyncMaster SM923NW 19" TFT Monitor 1440x900 300cd/m2 1000:1 5ms 16:9 VGA Silver 3 Years Warranty
(£78)

All help is most very gratefully received. It seems a lot of money to part with on something I have no idea about

posted_2

If your old disk is full, a replacement disk would be much cheaper.

penrhyn

Have a look at the offers from Dell.

www.dmxdimension.com

This one is £349, has no monitor though.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=d045003&dgc=AF&cid=5212&lid=122756

I do a bit of video editing and find the 24" widescreen variety very good.

DatabaseError

given the choice of your 2...the zoostorm would be the one I'd buy (real dual core processor...not a nasty celeron)

bonzer

Windows is expensive to buy separately, about £130 sort of range to buy a retail box of Vista Home Premium. I'm sure people can tell you about ways of buying it cheaper. However generally if you want Windows I'd aim to buy it together with the PC because the manufacturers get massive discounts on it which are going to be hard to beat.

On monitors the one you've selected looks fine. Other than size, you might look at resolution (bigger numbers better), contrast ratio (bigger number is better) and response time (smaller number better) which tell you something about the quality of the image. However realistically anything on sale these days is going to be acceptable for what you want.

Pitchshifter

My dad got a Zoostorm from Ebuyer and it's pretty good. That monitor would work nicely with the one you listed. I strongly advise you to get the one with Vista Premium unless you're happy installing your own OS (operating stystem).
That Zoostorm Home Desktop PC is a lovely bit of kit for the money and well worth it.

macman

Best way to save money (if you're looking to get in for less than £350) is to buy a base unit without a monitor. You can use your old CRT monitor with any new system for now, you can always buy a TFT screen later. Yours may be an old fashioned and bulky monitor but it won't affect performance in any way.
I would also suggest the Dell Dimension 3100, which will do everything you need. Your requirements are minimal and will be served by any modern PC, just make sure you get Vista Premium, not Basic, and a minimum of 2GB RAM (preferably 3GB), and hard disk 250-320GB minimum.

London_Girl_3

Thank you very much for your responses, most helpful

LG