Can anyone help me compare these desktop models?

suzi_69

Hi,

Having missed out getting the Aldi pc this week, I need to replace my desktop PC & was hoping someone could give me the benefit of their knowledge on these pc's:

ACER ASX1300 £293
PHENOM 8550 Triple Core
4GB
1TB SATA
DVDRW
VISTA HOME PREMIUM (Windows 7 ugpragde for £12.50)
Full tech spec here

or

Acer Aspire X3300 £320
AMD Phenom II 720 Triple Core
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (Windows 7 Upgrade for £12.50)
nVidia Dedicated Graphics - 512MB
4gb (2*2048mb) RAM
500gb Hard Drive
BluRay/DVD Drive
9 USB2 Ports
High Definition 5.1 Audio
Standard Keyboard and Mouse
Gigabit Ethernet
Full Tech Spec here

or

Acer Aspire M3800 Tower Desktop PC £345
Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz
4GB RAM
750GB HDD
DVDRW
GMA X4500
Vista Home Premium *WINDOWS 7 UPGRADEABLE*
Full Tech Spec here

or

Packard Bell I-Media A4521 £333
AMD Phenom Triple Core
4GB RAM
750GB HDD
GF G210
Vista Home Premium (Windows 7 Upgradeable)
Full Tech Spec here

I need a decent desktop, but only for general internet use (no gaming) the occasional work document, storing photos/music, etc. I know I don't need an "all singing, all dancing" one, as I don't use it for gaming, but to keep up with technology (& also to keep up with me, when I have about 15 screens open when shopping online) I was looking at a triple/quad core, with the most storage possible for the price. I don't need super graphics cards or great speakers! All the ones above seem to have a 1yr warranty, no monitors, Windows Vista (Upgradeable), so its just knowing how the techy bits inside compare that I need help on!!

Any comments/opinions appreciated. I'm trying to keep the price as low as possible (obviously!) but I also need to get a new monitor, too, as my current one is an old CRT one. Any packages under £400, with the same type of spec would also be considered!!

TIA!!

S xx

suzi_69

Sorry for bumping this post, but the discount code for one of these expires tonight!!

Any help appreciated!! I'm a female......need I say more???

S xx

macman

Why are you only looking at PC's with Vista on? Any 'new' PC should now come with W7 pre-installed. If not, it's old stock for clearance.
You can upgrade for not much, but why give yourself the hassle?

manutd99

Dont really need windows 7. Vista is good enough. Software packages and pc is not going to stop working for Vista.

Just my opinion.

If you're mainly going to use for internet. The main two components you need to look out is the CPU - which the GHZ. The higher the CPU the faster the PC will be. You also need to look the RAM. The more RAM the more stable the PC will be when running the PX. As all have 4GB RAM. That is sufficient.

If you dont want to spend too much money you dont really need the bottom two if only for Internet.

Depending on GHZ on the first one it may be sufficient. If Dual Core or Triple its ok as on the link they have various processors and it doesnt state the one you've seen.

The second one is higher priced than the first one is because it has a blue ray player. Handy for watching Blue ray movies if you are going to.

manutd99

Just checked on Amazon and the same model number ACER ASX1300 PHENOM 8550 has triple core. So if the one you saw does as well. Id say just go for the first one.

As i said 2nd is higher than 1st because of Blueray player

3rd one higher than first one because better branded proccessor. Made by Intel and first one by AMD. Will do the same job

4th v similar to 1st one. probably just graphic card may be different.

So 1st one will do the same job at a lower price than all and cheaper

suzi_69

macman wrote: »

Why are you only looking at PC's with Vista on? Any 'new' PC should now come with W7 pre-installed. If not, it's old stock for clearance.
You can upgrade for not much, but why give yourself the hassle?

I'm not "only looking for pc's with Vista" - I'm looking for triple/quad core with a high HDD & these are all that I've found. None of the ones I've sourced, without going up to well above £350, have come with W7. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places! As I said, I'm no expert.

With having a limited budget (total of circa £400) & wanting to buy a monitor within the budget, too, these are just the ones I've found that either aren't just dual core or only come with 250gb HDD. As I'm aware technology moves forward quickly, I wanted the best spec at this point in time, without paying for unneccessary items like high graphics, in the hope it will last me for a couple of years without becoming extinct!

Thanks for all the help Manutd99, knowing the order of the spec makes the decision a lot easier & knowing the things to compare, I'm off to check the GHZ next!!

S xx

macman

Triple or quad core is completely unecessary for the tasks you have listed, why not go for a good Core Duo machine with W7 installed? Once you drop the processor spec you will open up more options within your budget.

Marty_J

suzi_69 wrote: »

I'm not "only looking for pc's with Vista" - I'm looking for triple/quad core with a high HDD & these are all that I've found. None of the ones I've sourced, without going up to well above £350, have come with W7. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places! As I said, I'm no expert.

With having a limited budget (total of circa £400) & wanting to buy a monitor within the budget, too, these are just the ones I've found that either aren't just dual core or only come with 250gb HDD. As I'm aware technology moves forward quickly, I wanted the best spec at this point in time, without paying for unneccessary items like high graphics, in the hope it will last me for a couple of years without becoming extinct!

Thanks for all the help Manutd99, knowing the order of the spec makes the decision a lot easier & knowing the things to compare, I'm off to check the GHZ next!!

S xx

Any computer with an enormous HDD and a quad core processor that costs £350 is likely to be trash. Think what corners have to be cut elsewhere in order to get those specs. A decent Core 2 Duo machine in that price range is likely to be better quality, and last you longer.

suzi_69

macman wrote: »

Triple or quad core is completely unecessary for the tasks you have listed, why not go for a good Core Duo machine with W7 installed? Once you drop the processor spec you will open up more options within your budget.

Hi Macman - I'm probably totally wrong, but I thought that with the triple/quad core, the computer would be able to cope better with my mega shopping (whilst I listen to/download music, email, facebook, etc & other tasks!) without grinding to a halt.

With my old (duo core) machine, after a couple of hours of looking up numerous Ebay item, which usually involves keeping many screens open at the same time, the computer would eventually go sooooooo slow, the only option was to close all the windows & restart the machine. It was just soooooooo annoying!! :mad: I can't ever only look for one item at a time, I always end up diverting to something else & going off on a tangent, so multi-taskingfor me is an understatement.

It just seemed to be that the more up-to-date pcs seem to have the triple/quad core & that its the way forward. I want to invest wisely now, so that as the technology advances in the next couple of years, my pc can keep up, without me having to pay for someone to fit new components.

I'm not bothered about having to install W7 upgrade on a disc (or the associated £12.50 cost) if that means I can have a better powered machine from the outset. Is there is a reason why you recommend a lower spec, over me upgrading to W7? I'm genuinely asking, cos I really don't understand!! I'm probably showing my complete ignorance! As I said, I'm female.....!! :rotfl:

As for opening up the other options, are there any makes/models or other specs that I'm not taking into account, that you feel I should be considering? I've really no idea what is good & what isn't!! I suppose I started looking at machines with similar spec's to the Aldi Medion one, and with these ones being from (IMHO!) reputable suppliers, I assumed they would be a decent buy.

S xx

Marty_J

A quad core processor won't really benefit your web browsing. What might make a big difference is the amount of RAM you have.

Also, some browsers are better than others. Google's Chrome is pretty fast, as is Apple's Safari.

BillScarab

If you're computer is grinding to a halt when you have a lot of programs opened it's most likely to be a lack of ram.

A good Core 2 Duo would be fine for your needs. The only software that reallymakes use of triple or quad cores for most people is Video Editing. There aren't even many games that exploit them properly yet.

EDIT: Forgot to day have a look at https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk and you can spec one up to your requirements.

Also don't get too hung up on hard drive size. they're cheap to buy and very easy to add later on if you start to run out of space.