Advice on building a new PC

siren13577

Hi There,

We'd like to build a new computer, to keep costs down, we already have a decent printer and tft monitor but need advice on all the other stuff. We are happy with the mouse and keyboard but would like something with integrated speakers, if such a thing is possible. This is the first time we will do something as major as this, we have rejigged our computer with a few upgrades but nothing like building from scratch.

What we would like is something that is fast, for playing games accessing the internet, storage of pictures etc, more or less the usual but we would like it to be fast as possible. We'd like to pay around £350 if possible and would prefer a dvd-rw too.
Is it best to do this or would anyone advise us to buy one from a retailer? We have back up help and advice readily available should we need it. Obviously being a member of MSE I need to keep costs down. If we could get something through quidco etc that would be great.

Thanks everyone

:beer:

hybrid

I actually decided that I wanted to build a computer yesterday. Maybe we could keep each other updated on where we stand.

The first thing I've done is taken stock of everything I already have. it might be worth seeing if you have any old computers and is there anything in those that is salvagable (ie Memory, case, etc.) This will keep some other costs down.

Andy_L

Generally you don't save much money building your own compared to buying (because you don't get the bulk buying price that manufacturers do). I'm in the middle of building mine & I feel the advantage is being to able to get the combination of exact components I want. Unless you know why you want a Seagate Barracuda Harddrive & a Asustek P5WDG2 motherboard instead of whatever an off the shelf PC comes with I wouldn't bother

Plenty of manufacturers will sell you just the box (ie no monitor & keyboard)

For parts dabs.com give a 3% cashback through rPoints.

Playing games is going to be the major driver on spec. Look at the recomended spec (not the minimum - coz that'll be pants performance) for the sort of games you (want to) play and price it up from there.

Andy

nintendosensei

what games will you be playing? If you want to play current games on good settings £350 isn't a realistic budget

David_B_2

Andy_L wrote:

Generally you don't save much money building your own compared to buying (because you don't get the bulk buying price that manufacturers do). I'm in the middle of building mine & I feel the advantage is being to able to get the combination of exact components I want. Unless you know why you want a Seagate Barracuda Harddrive & a Asustek P5WDG2 motherboard instead of whatever an off the shelf PC comes with I wouldn't bother

Plenty of manufacturers will sell you just the box (ie no monitor & keyboard)

For parts dabs.com give a 3% cashback through rPoints.

Playing games is going to be the major driver on spec. Look at the recomended spec (not the minimum - coz that'll be pants performance) for the sort of games you (want to) play and price it up from there.

Andy

Some very good advise here.

I build mine, not to save money but to meet my higher spec's and prefered brands of motherboard.

If it's the fastest for cheapest price you want I would buy and not build. Internet, photo's and general will not take a lot of resources up so depends on games you plan on playing and yet again you can buy these machines minus the montior for gaming.

For example if you want the latest (fastest) processor, this is alone is around £345 and then you'll need a motherboard to match etc....

bongobongobongo

hi I've found going to a computer fair the best way - they will knock you one up as you wait - whatever spec you want

http://www.computerfairs.com

it'll cost about £4 to get in but the prices are cheap and you can compare different traders - most have shops somewhere so its not as daunting as it seems

wolfman

Yeah, I always find if building a base unit £500 is an absolute minimum. When you get towards £700 it really starts to benefit. I've always built my own so I can choose the exact components I want (best for my money) and I enjoy putting it all together.

nickmack

Your budget is at the low end of any new PC specification, so 'fast as possible' is not that fast.

The functionality of a games playing machine usually pushes the price up very rapidly, so you should drop this from your spec or reconsider your budget.

As others have said, at that price, with the bulk buying power of manufacturers, you would probably be better off purchasing a system rather than building.

mjr600

For less than £350 you can pick up this well specced Acer at Ebuyer.

Read the reviews, building one from bits would be a challenge for the price and it ships with Xp Media Centre.

Only really need faster graphics for the latest games.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/116052

siren13577

Thanks to everyone for your advice, we are thinking of going for this one:
http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=355232&summary=true

but I think the one from Aldi looks really good and sounds like it would do the game thing I wanted it too and I know it's £549 but I really want something with some substance, especially after peoples' comments here. Also oh has loads of itunes and stuff so we'd have no problem with storage as it has 320gb hard drive. What's the consensus on that PC then? Anything similar online?

http://www.aldi.co.uk/images/data_product/73101064456db07ac4b86.pdf

Thanks everyone

:beer:

browolf

that acer has onboard graphics. no good for games. a reasonable (mid-range) gaming graphics card is gonna cost about £100 alone. Budget graphics cards are ok for a year or 2 but after that new games dont work properly or go slow. Sounds ok that medion, but i've seen one of them before that someone brought to work to fix and it wasnt easy at all. getting hold of the drivers is somewhat tricky which isnt a good sign. if you get one from pc world you have to go to some 3rd party company site to try and find them. how wierd is that.
i'd recommend mesh
http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODCATEGORYVIEWPAGE&USG=APPLICATION&ENT=APPLICATION&KEY=71413

they're not wildly cheap but they use decent known branded parts. not ones made in china for like 10p each.