New Desktop (Could You Recommend This?)

Lady_of_D

Well after a 5 year love/hate relationship with my Dell Dimension 1100 I've finally decided to get a new desktop PC.

I only paid around £400 for my computer and it has lasted me well - and is still lasting. Problem is, my needs are quickly changing. I use Photoshop on an almost daily basis, I'm guilty of opening 5+ tabs in one window etc.

My current specs that I know of are:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600)
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.53 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
HD capacity: 160 GB


I'm not really fussy. I still use XP! I know many people are bothered about when Windows 7 comes out they'll be left stuck with Vista. But tbh I'd be still happy with XP! So I'm not really bothered about being "stuck" with Vista.

The main thing that pushed me to upgrade was the continual crashing, freezing and delays and also the fact that my niece cannot play the new Sims 3 game due to the outdated graphics card. Can anyone tell me if this particular PC would suit my needs?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1682301918.1246609688@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadehjidmikgcflgceggdhhmdfhm.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=089905&category_oid=-28485

Or if anyone could recommend a better one - refurbished or not. Preferably under £300 but upto £500 if you can convince me it'll last about 5 years (with possible upgrading in the future).

Edit: I've also just inherited a pretty much brand new 22" monitor so I'm only looking for the base unit.


Thanks!

4743hudsonj

Lady_of_D wrote: »

Well after a 5 year love/hate relationship with my Dell Dimension 1100 I've finally decided to get a new desktop PC.

I only paid around £400 for my computer and it has lasted me well - and is still lasting. Problem is, my needs are quickly changing. I use Photoshop on an almost daily basis, I'm guilty of opening 5+ tabs in one window etc.

My current specs that I know of are:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600)
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.53 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
HD capacity: 160 GB


I'm not really fussy. I still use XP! I know many people are bothered about when Windows 7 comes out they'll be left stuck with Vista. But tbh I'd be still happy with XP! So I'm not really bothered about being "stuck" with Vista.

The main thing that pushed me to upgrade was the continual crashing, freezing and delays and also the fact that my niece cannot play the new Sims 3 game due to the outdated graphics card. Can anyone tell me if this particular PC would suit my needs?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1682301918.1246609688@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadehjidmikgcflgceggdhhmdfhm.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=089905&category_oid=-28485

Or if anyone could recommend a better one - refurbished or not. Preferably under £300 but upto £500 if you can convince me it'll last about 5 years (with possible upgrading in the future).

Edit: I've also just inherited a pretty much brand new 22" monitor so I'm only looking for the base unit.


Thanks!

good find

i cant really fault it to be honest

3 cores (odd number) but will be handy for photoshop

ram will keep things snappy (this is still probably the weak point of the unit as its a low speed ram)

and a good low range dedicated graphics card that will handle sims


i would say avoid pc world but that is a great price and will be hard to beat elsewhere so go for it.

just need a monitor now

kippen_noedel

I'd probably just save the money and upgrade the ram to 2GB & add a decent gfx card.

can you post your motherboard details ??

isofa

I'd definitely echo avoiding PC World.

Try to see if there are similar specs and prices here: https://www.dmxdimension.co.uk

custardy

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/388178/packard-bell-imedia-quad-core-2412-/


what about that?

Strider590

I say that too, PCW is a no, no.

Packard Bell..... ewwwwww

I have here with me now a PB laptop made in 2006, on paper its a really good spec, dual core, 1GB ram, etc. But upon opening it up, the components are cheap rubbish. The 1GB memory is only PC2700 DDR333!!! The memory is slower than the processor.... In fact the motherboard has failed.
I have a 2005 IBM thinkpad and it's easily as fast on a single core 1.6ghz and 768MB ram (PC4200 DDR444).

Consumers will always go for spec over quality, but it's foolish.

Oh and the AMD tri core is currently inferior to the Intel Dualcore, it sells really well because the money "saved" on the processor, goes into boosting the spec of the other components (see above comment).
Ive been forced to rethink my sales strategy around selling cheap and apparently high spec PCs rather than decent PCs that id want to use myself

Marty_J

If you're into photography, you really should consider a Mac; perhaps a Mac Mini.

RAW support out of the box, superior colour management options, and Photoshop on a Mac is just better than Photoshop on a PC. You also have the option of using the excellent Aperture.

I know quite a few pro photographers, and not a single one of them uses Windows. Check out the Apple Refurb Store for some bargains.

-TangleFoot-

Would something like this do?

quinns2003

-TangleFoot- wrote: »

Would something like this do?

i too like that pc but reviews of mesh leave me wondering

-TangleFoot-

Which reviews are those then? The ones I've read tell a different story.

quinns2003

-TangleFoot- wrote: »

Which reviews are those then? The ones I've read tell a different story.

i was talking about the customer reviews seems to be late delivery cheap components and bad customer support.. but they do seem to do some wicked deals