cheap PC hunt - please help!

credit_crunch

Hi all!

my current pc is very old so it is time to get a new one. i have no idea what top look for so i would like some help please! i have no idea abouth the techie side of things.

anyway i have a budget between £300 and £500 (£500 absolute maximum). i would prefer a pc rather than a laptop. i use the computer mainly for the following:

• itunes - stores around 1000 songs or less
• pics for ebay etc
• general internet use
• i would like it to include keyboard & mouse, or else leave enough in my budget to pay for these as extras

i have no idea how much memory i need, or what to even look for, but i do need a new computer pretty quickly so any help and advise appreciated

i have looked on dell, currys, pc world and dixons and have found some reasonably priced pc but just not sure what exactly i should be looking for!

thanks in advance x

toriaterrier

Hello, my husband is a Computer Technician (computer guy lol) and he recommends you go to ebay and search "stone desktop pc". He says specifications wise (i.e memory) 2.8GHZ Processor Pentium 4, 512mb of ram. 60 gig hard drive. We have just looked on ebay and the first one we saw is £25 buy it now and £13.50 postage. He says you should pay less than £150 on ebay.
The one on ebay is a little less specifications than these but will work perfectly fine.

Good luck.

credit_crunch

thanks, im on dell at the mo - seen one for £329, includes widescreen monitor, keyboard & mouse and Intel® Celeron® 450 Processor (2.2GHz,800MHz,512k cache)
2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz [2x1024] Memory

250GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive

Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100

can anyone tell me what the difference is between the one i have found & the one on ebay! its like a new language at the mo lol!!!

alos on dell it is asking if i want to select wireless networking - is this wireless internet

spud17

This was in ebuyers email today, NB no operating system.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164667

toriaterrier

My husband says:

The difference is from Dell the machines are brand new and future proof probably for the next 6 months until something new comes along, BUT Dell do know how to charge and for that price it is really pretty steep, OK Ebay maybe second hand but parts are really cheap! I'd buy from Dell to save time upgrading parts in an older computer and to save on delivery if parts were coming from the internet. But that aside I think Dell are over priced.

I have found that Mesh have some of the best deals!!! Try mesh computers on google, also big pockets.

These are some of the best PC's I have come across speaking from a technicians point of view!!

Hth

Bowling_4_Gold

For what you will be doing, you don't need a particularly high spec, but it will be useful if you can future-proof your system.

Medion do a reasonable system;

MEDION® PC P6898 with 19" TFT Monitor
Genuine Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor E2180, 250GB HDD, 2GB RAM & 19" widescreen TFT Monitor

It is only £300 so is well within budget. It comes with the latest Microsoft Operating System (except Windows 7 but that is not fully out yet) and a good monitor. There are other good deals on the Medion website, so well worth a look.

Mobeer

Your PC needs are nothing special, so the machine from Dell would be ok, as would a lot of other makes as well.

The PC from Ebuyer listed by spud17 looks decent, but you would need to add a monitor, maybe:
http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?c=uk&cid=5212&cs=ukdhs1&dgc=AF&l=en&lid=122756&sku=189447&acd=6f4096e13674cedd8d4e741b6f282c48
and an operating system that you would install yourself, perhaps Windows 7 RC and then a pre-order of Windows 7 (£50 from Amazon and elsewhere) to install later.

But that dependes on you being able to do the installation yourself (which is not complicated but a little drawn out).

Returning to the Dell option as an example:
- Almost any processor would suit your needs, but a dual core processor might be nicer to have and more future proof - add £20 at Dell for this (look for processors with text like dual core, duo or X2 in the name)

- Microsoft® Works 9.0 is nice to have for office applications but once you have the PC you could install Open Office (or other software).

- 18.5" monitor is a reasonable size, though I would prefer the 21.5" screen (as linked above) for £70 extra - you will after all be looking at it all the time. I assume your old monitor is past its best and you want to replace it for sure?

- 2048 MB RAM (aka 2GB RAM) is plenty for your needs - the £20 extra I mentioned above for a faster processor also buys an upgrad to 3GB RAM, which would be of no real value for your needs

- 250GB hard disk is adequate

- Intel X3100 integrated graphics are useless for playing 3D games but adequate for anything else

Mouse and keyboard are included which you wanted

Windows Vista Home Premium operating system is included and installed for you

No security software is included - you should get some for free after you buy the PC - lots of posts of this forum about what to get


Regarding the PC on Ebay, this is the same specification of PC I have had at work for the past three years, and while a little slow it can do basic office tasks ok. It has the advantage of being very cheap, but it would not be a long term solution. You would also be recommended to have at least 1024 MB RAM, and would have to check if an operating system and monitor were included or available separately.

mattymoo

I've just bought a PC and laptop from these people - http://www.europc.co.uk/
Fast delivery and good customer service ime.

I've no connection with them.

credit_crunch

thank to everyone who has replied! all you suggestions really helped me make my decision

i decided to go for the dell one, worked out at £329 so not too bad i think. also went through quidco so should get 4% cashback (before vat & delivery)

as for the antivirus i have trend micro on mt current pc, so as far i can make out this can be used on a 2nd pc as well.

thanks again for all your help x