what do I buy?

terrierlady

:-/after 6 months on this old model its time to move on....problem
what is the best spec i should be aiming at, mine is 4 years old and i would imagine that 4 years in the computer industry is like 30 years of development in the car industry,
Any pointers please.

alexj2002

What spec is your current machine?

What do you use it for?

What is your average budget?

Do you need just a base unit (tower) or a screen,keyboard and everything?

terrierlady

spec unknown i am a novice after all  :-/windows 98 is installed .need to be able  to surf the net. to keep records on. have a tfscreen already and dont need new keyboard and mouse either. I thinks its basic machine i have not even a cd/dvd thingy and only two usb ports so know i need more, as to other spec?

lellie

spec unknown i am a novice after all  :-/windows 98 is installed .need to be able  to surf the net. to keep records on. have a tfscreen already and dont need new keyboard and mouse either. I thinks its basic machine i have not even a cd/dvd thingy and only two usb ports so know i need more, as to other spec?

hmm.. well processing speed/ram would be useful but not really necessary..

I don't think you'll need a high specced pc.. I'm sure you're coping fine as it is.. I'd go for an athlon as they're better value.. if you're not using it for games at all then get a motherboard that has onboard graphics and sound to cut down costs cd/dvd drives are pittence these days anyway

StrikeEagle

Ye I agree with lellie.

Ideally you want something like AMD XP 2400 or higher.
256 Megs of Ram (but 512 is always nice).
60Gig hard drive minimum.
Windows XP Home Operating System.

However it all depends on your budget + if you are a big gamer or not. How much are you looking to spend approx?

alexj2002

To find out the spec of your current PC :

Press and hold the Windows Key and press the Pause/Break Key (near numberpad). The Processor and RAM spec will be displayed at the bottom of that window.

LMck111

I know its only my opinion but...:

a good all rounder at a good price for general home use is on the Dell site.

From:
£379

9 days left at this price.

DimensionTM 2400 - LIST-D0925
Intel® Celeron® Processor (2.60GHz, 128 kB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

256MB DDR RAM (Was 128MB)

40GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

17" CRT Colour Monitor (15.9" v.i.s 0.28 dot pitch)

Integrated 10/100 NIC

Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics

Integrated Audio

48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive

1 Year Collect and Return (CAR) service


Due to End 25/08/2004.

lellie

hmmm avoid celeron if you can.. REALLY!! (pentium 4s are fine but expensive usually..)

and avoid athlon pros - they're basically renamed durons - much slower than an athlon XP..

StrikeEagle - that seems about right..

Go for a BARTON athlon XP chip though (2500+) as they have much larger cache so are faster.. and much better value!

HD - there's no point getting less that 120gb these days as there's about £10 difference between a 40gb and 120..

other than that, that's fair enough..

512 ram is better too - get a match pair of 256s and a dual channel DDR board and it will be pretty zippy..

oh yeah and get XP obviously..

alexj2002

For a novice I would recommend XP as well although make sure you order a Security Update CD from Microsoft's Website and have a firewall before going online with it.

terrierlady

thanks guys and dolls, info found via the keyboard (alexj2002thanks, ) was 128.0mb AMO-K7-9tm processor so looks like i do need as you say to upgrade.

Odyssy

Look here: http://www.savastore.com/pc/amd/default.asp

There's a good selection and great value, if you're happy with your existing screen and keyboard you can add or subtract different components to get the spec you want, Good warranty too.