HELP!! techno-muppet looking for desktop bargain!

yoni_one

My current pc is so slow I am starting to get pooter rage :mad:

So I am looking for a new one, but I don't understand all the gobbledegook that is meant to inform me.





I know that I want which is -

• a case = to or less than 35 cm(ish) in length (or is it depth?? - from front to back anyway) to fit in my computer cupboard
• one that is fast and will stay fast (broadband provider is Be There and seems to be ok)
• one that will fit everything on ie music, photos, video clips etc and still stay fast
• one that will work wirelessly
• a bajillion easy access USB ports
• slots that will take every possible type of camera memory card or any other memory card that I cannot remember at the moment
• cd / dvd writer or rewriter or whatever you call it + / - <<<whatever does the + / - mean?
• one that does not have cd slots or other holes / ports / thingies that don't do anything and are not for anything obvious.
• one that cranks up quickly and fully shuts down when you ask it to instead of finding it semi shut when you get up in the morning ...
• one with a good enough graphics card for things I want it for but not good enough for things my 18 year old son wants it for
• one that will allow me to load Microsoft office home and student 2007 that I already paid an arm and a leg for and installed on my current desktop
• one that will do all the other things I will need and cannot think of
• one that will not do things I don't need and cannot think of

Oh, and I would also like a new monitor and keyboard and mouse as this snail of junk I have now will be finding it's way to my son's room, lock, stock and crumb-infested keyboard.

I have found this one, will it do what I want it to do please and if not can anyone point me in the direction of one that will for under £500 please??

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/574988/ACER-X3810-3GB

It is £329.99 for the base and bits only, or £399.99 including the monitor, is it worth buying the package or should I get the base and buy the monitor elsewhere?

Btw, I spend a lot of time on it mostly uploading and sending photos / videos and also just on the web ie here, lots of hours on msn, facebook (and of course playing bejewelled blitz) not to mention hours and hours refreshing ticketmaster on opening ticket sales day

Please someone respond ASAP before I smash this one to bits by jumping on it til it bleeds.

ta muchly

ps I am having it bought for me so that is why I am hoping not to take it to the max of the budget.

m5rcc

Seems you dont need anything super powerful so how about a HP Compaq CQ2000 which is cheaper and smaller?

yoni_one

m5rcc wrote: »

Seems you dont need anything super powerful so how about a HP Compaq CQ2000 which is cheaper and smaller?

I had a look at this and for most part seems suitable except for the small number of USB ports, I believe I could get something to sort that but I really wanted them inbuilt and accessible.

Also neither the acer or the HP have wireless inbuilt so I would need to buy that.

Is one make known to be more reliable than the other do you know?

m5rcc

Well I know this forum is a big fan of Acer (does ML get a commission from them!?) but stick to the large brands and you ought to be OK reliability wise. What about a Advent AIO-100?

If you are confident, then you could always build your own and choose exactly what you want.

RobTang

I think the acer would serve you better, the E5200 is a very good processor and will be a lot better than any atom based system.
Most pc components are all pretty decent these days you can't buy somthing truely awful these days.

HP comsumer products are about on par with acer.

yoni_one

m5rcc wrote: »

If you are confident, then you could always build your own and choose exactly what you want.

Lovely thought but .......... :eek:!!!!!!!!!!!!

yoni_one

RobTang wrote: »

I think the acer would serve you better, the E5200 is a very good processor and will be a lot better than any atom based system.
Most pc components are all pretty decent these days you can't buy somthing truely awful these days.

HP comsumer products are about on par with acer.

Do you think it is worth getting the package or just the base unit and a monitor elsewhere?

Also, I believe I would need a dongle <snigger at funny word 'dongle'> to make it wireless? Are they all much of a muchness or are some better than others?

Thanks

DCFC79

You want 9 usb ports, you can get a usb hub to use, have you checked the 1 you linked to is the right size

yoni_one

The one I linked to is tiny in size and quite sleek looking too. I just wasn't sure if it was up to much

balloo_2

AMD PhenomII940 12Ghz FAST 8GB/1TB & nVidia8200 1GB GFXQuadX4 Phenom II 940 @ 3.0Ghz + 1080p Blu Ray Support
AMD PhenomII Quad Core 940 12Ghz Power PC
Fitted With 8GB DDR2 RAM & 1000GB Hard Drive
With nVidia GeForce 8200TC 1GB Direct X10 Graphics
Max Res 2560x1600 Inc 1080p Blu-Ray Support
Galaxy 3 Case With Quality 450W PSU
9hrs to go on auction currently £102.00. i have bought off this company b4 and so far so good they do try and get extra money off you for things like postage insurance but keep telling them no and they do come down in price for extra's if you want. I managed to do a deal and they accepted it was 2 fans and an extra 2 megs of good ram for £20 i was happy anyway,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AMD-PhenomII940-12Ghz-FAST-8GB-1TB-nVidia8200-1GB-GFX_W0QQitemZ140338654974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_DesktopPCs?hash=item20acd5eefe&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
or this is the shop addy
http://www.palicomp.co.uk/pc-base-units/carbon-home-office-pc-base-units/cat_24.html