Computers again-HELP PLEASE

oysterman

Looking for a new desktop, keep reading you need minimum 512mb+80gb, but still none the wiser on what to buy, the families requirements are as listed.
1. Internet browsing (alot)
2. E-mail
3. Broadband- we have ntl
4. daughter wants to download music (is that where the cd rom comes in)/

Later this year we are thinking of getting a camcorder- what do we need on the computer to store pictures/film, is that a dvd-re-writer.
Not into games thou. Can anyone please suggest a pc that could do all that for about £500.
Cheers

pedro143

Good System available from Dell and slightly under budget.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=305&l=en&oc=D02505&s=dhs&sbc=dimen_5000

Malestrom

More info in this thread too.

coolagarry

Oysterman. even the cheapest PC will do what you want (make sure it has a cd burner if daughter wants to make her own cd's.) spend more and it will do it faster/better. I would strongly recommend that you get a tft screen (flat screen). While the old CRT's are excellent and much better value for money, they are extremely large and becoming outdated. I have no doubt that CRT's will be in the £25 region in a few years if you want to change back.

ShaunPenton

Hiya

You need to get as much RAM as possible - 512 should be fine, but get more if you can afford it. Also, a big hard disk is important if you're going to be playing with movies - they can take up a lot of space.

If you have a digital camera, you need an IEEE 1394 port (also known commonly as FireWire). This lets you plug your camera straight into the PC and capture the video straight onto your PC. You can do it with USB, but I think this is generally slower, and not supported by as many cameras. If you have an analogue camcorder, look for an analogue capture card - Miro do these relatively cheaply (I bought a CD-10 years ago, but no doubt these have been superceded many times by now).

A TFT is good advice, but if space isn't a big problem, a decent CRT will be cheaper, and leave more money for the spec of the PC itself - you can always upgrade to a TFT later.

An on-board graphics card should be fine if you're not a big gamer - this will also keep costs down and leave more cash for RAM and disk etc.

Hope this helps!

Shaun

P.S. Forgot to say - yes, go for a DVD writer. You can get a 16x DVD+/_R for around £50 if there isn't one included with the machine you eventually buy. The +/- refers to the format - there was a format war originally, and some DVD players only read one or other format. You would need to experiment to find out which format works for you.