Looking for Desktop: Budget £500

clkaz

I'm looking for a good desktop for about £500, I already have an LCD monitor, so it's really just a base unit.
I am thinking of having it custom-built but don't know of any reliable places/websites that do this. :mad:

Also, is this overpriced or decent or what? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186623

or this http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/irush.html but this one doesn't seem to have HDMI which I want.

or from PC Specialist, how does this custom PC seem for £585:

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK FUSION CASE inc. 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache)

Motherboard
ASUS® P7H55-M SI: MICRO ATX VALUE MAINBOARD,USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5670 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 113rd Memory Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

DVDDrive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)Power

Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARDModem

Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)

Knarf44

The PC Sp!cialist one would be a good setup but you haven't included an Operating system, so add another £100 for an OEM version of your preferred Windows OS.

Alternatively, look at the Dell UK site or Arbico, or Novatech for prebuilt systems.

These days there isn't a lot of difference in price between building yourself and buying pre-built. For £500 the specs are not going to be so different.

clkaz

Knarf44 wrote: »

The PC Sp!cialist one would be a good setup but you haven't included an Operating system, so add another £100 for an OEM version of your preferred Windows OS.

Alternatively, look at the Dell UK site or Arbico, or Novatech for prebuilt systems.

These days there isn't a lot of difference in price between building yourself and buying pre-built. For £500 the specs are not going to be so different.

I already have Windows 7 at home, I pre-ordered it from PC World ages ago when it came down to £50 approx.

So it's just a base unit.

I have read good stuff about PC Specialist but not sure about arbico.

which of the PCs above seems best?

spud17

You don't say what you use it for, plenty of people here love to get a spec under a budget.

clkaz

spud17 wrote: »

You don't say what you use it for, plenty of people here love to get a spec under a budget.

Just general home-use, internet, word documents, no gaming or CAD or anything too extreme

I could just go into PC World and pick a base unit up but with my budget, I want to make sure I get the best possible.

Knarf44

Based on the info you provided I'd go for the PC Specialist specs you included in your original message.

That base unit would be as future proof as any at this time and can easily be upgraded in the future if needs be.

clkaz

Knarf44 wrote: »

Based on the info you provided I'd go for the PC Specialist specs you included in your original message.

That base unit would be as future proof as any at this time and can easily be upgraded in the future if needs be.

Thanks for the advice. The only problem now is that none of the cases available aren't particularly appealing and I'm not too keen on buying one then sending it off to them, it just adds to the cost.

Knarf44

clkaz wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. The only problem now is that none of the cases available aren't particularly appealing and I'm not too keen on buying one then sending it off to them, it just adds to the cost.

So how about purchasing the individual components from Ebuyer and/or other sources and assembling them yourself in the case of your choice?
No technical knowledge is required to assemble a PC, just patience and the ability to use a small screwdriver.