Refurbished Desktop Advice: Which one to buy?

jock1967

Am on very strict budget of around £300 (the less the better). Want a machine to web-surf, email, play FM09, store/crop photos/documents for family history package, maybe watch football online. No video-editing, photo editing, graphic design, up-to-date games etc will be used on this machine.

Have heard refurbished from reputable company with 12 month warranty is a good way to get a decent machine cheaper. Am unsure if quad is necessary but my thinking is that it may extend it's usable lifetime over a dual-core.

At PCWorld they have the following:
Packard Bell iMax 3515 - £310
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache) Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
2GB Memory
320GB Hard Drive Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD Re-Writer
256MB nVidia GeForce 7050MB
21-In-1 Card Reader
4 USB Connections

PACKARD BELL X2326 - £290
AMD Phenom X3 8450 processor (2.1GHz, 1.5MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
3GB DDR2 667MHz memory
320GB SATA hard drive (7200rpm)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce 8200 graphics
Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
6x USB, 1x IEEE 1394 FireWire® ports

ACER M3201 - £270
AMD Phenom X4 9150e quad-core processor (1.8GHz, 2MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
2GB DDR2 800MHz memory
320GB SATA hard drive (7200rpm)
ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics
Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
6x USB, 1x IEEE 1394 FireWire® ports

Would tend to opt for the Acer but the 1.8GHz sounds slow compared to the others. The iMax is a 'space saving' machine so I'm guessing that updating (something I've never done!) in the future may be problematic. And the 1.5MB cache on the X2326 doesn't compare well to the others.

But it's all just numbers to me and I haven't a clue which of these to choose. Can anyone offer advice?

Psychofly

Depends on what you want for the future. None of them are going to play any recent games from the past couple of years. The Q6600 on the iMax will be the best performing when it comes to working with your photos even if it is just cropping but the difference between that and the other machines will in all honesty be negligible. The ACER M3201 (being the cheapest) might be your best option. The £40 extra for the iMax probably isn't worth it for what you plan on doing on the machine.
If you are looking at getting a machine that will be the most upgradable in the future then the iMax is your best bet since socket 775 which the Q6600 processor uses is more likely to still be in use in a few years than the AM2+ that the AMD processors use.

macman

Nothing wrong with a refurb as long as it has the same 12m warranty as a 'new' machine. So why are you only looking at PCW? I would avoid buying from them like the plague.
For your requirements a Quad-Core is completely OTT, Dual Core/Core Duo will be fine. Quad is really only useful for intensive processing-things like video editing.
You want a basic spec of something like: min 2Mhz Core Duo, 320GB HD, 2GB (preferably 3GB), Vista Home Premium.
If you just want a base unit, have a look at the Dell Outlet site, or EuroPC site. An Inspiron 530 or 530S should be within your budget on those specs.

Psychofly

lol... yeah I forgot that bit. I meant to say that at the end. Avoid PC World like the plague !

You could try https://www.mcscom.co.uk.
The Optiplex machines they do are good value but remember to add VAT to the price you're looking at. My mate bought a 27" Dell monitor from them and it was stunning.. especially since he paid £300 less than what Dell wanted for it brand new. It was refurbished apparently but you'd never know.

Strider590

Firstly spec is not the most important thing, all PC's slow down with age, just like us.
The only exeption is gaming PC's, where top spec is an absolute must.

Refurb's are very good value for money, avoid PCW like the plague because you'll spend ££££ on the phone trying to convince them there's a hardware problem (they never cover software) before they'll even think about honouring any warranty. Same goes for new PC's too.

Did the above prices include montor/keyboard/mouse by the way?

A Dell would make a pretty good refubished machine, really fast too if you get one of the business machines as they have less rubbish running in the background. You'd need to check the spec for running FM09.
I've sold a number of Dell GX620's recently for under £200, but I doubt the GFX card on those would by upto spec for games.

jock1967

macman I had a look on ebuyer, DellOutlet, PCW, PCNextDay, Amazon, CustomPC, Student Computersand EuroPC and the PCWorld ones seemed to be best value. In fact I was hard pushed to find a Dual Core/Core Duo machine for much less! Why would you avoid PC World?

macman

jock1967 wrote: »

macman I had a look on ebuyer, DellOutlet, PCW, PCNextDay, Amazon, CustomPC, Student Computersand EuroPC and the PCWorld ones seemed to be best value. In fact I was hard pushed to find a Dual Core/Core Duo machine for much less! Why would you avoid PC World?

Because they're the worst shop in the world? Don't take my word for it, scan this forum for other's experiences. Half the problem posts on this board start with the dreaded words 'I bought this computer from PCW...'

jock1967

Strider already have monitor, keyboard and mouse. Games not a priority for me so not too fussed if machine wasn't up to FM09.

Had a vague notion that Dual Core/Core Duo, Vista Home Premium, at least 2GB Ram, 250GB HDD, Dual Layer DVDRW, at least 128mb graphics card/on-board graphics were minimun requirements these days for basic usage. When I looked most suitable machines were £270 upwards and thought that for the extra £30 maybe a quad would extend it's life somewhat.

Psychofly

They offer no value for money whatsover.... there are very very very odd exceptions where you can get a good deal but it's like going to Kwik Fit instead of a local garage. You'll end up paying over the odds.

Psychofly

There's not a lot of program, apps and games around that make use of quad core or can benefit from it. There will probably be in future but dual core is more than good enough for what you want and quad core won't really extend the useful life of your PC.

Wench

I have to second/third and forth the Do not buy from PC world brigade, pc world is a lot more hassle that you'd expect.

Anyway, looking through the stats of the pc's you've been looking at. and have found one similar at Tesco ( so you have the full warrenty/guarentee wotsit ) and under £300.

Have a looksie.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-1021.aspx