New desktop PC advice

hubb

This seems brilliant for the price. What do you think folks ?

http://www.ebuyer.com/389624-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7873-1067

gonzo127

from what i can see http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=1318 is probably the same as the Duke previously mentioned (that no longer available) same upgrades for 8gb ram 1tb hard drive and the gt520 or gt610 and it comes in under £400

otherwsie the zoostorm is pretty good, however bare in mind you will need to purchase windows and install it yourself at an extra £70 ish, otherwise same as the previous zoostorms mentioned (low powered psu)

hubb

Why is a low power PSU considered not good ? I would have thought you would be saving on power consumption ;-)

I am using Windows XP on my current machine which I like. I would keep this and use it on a new machine.

Maddy25

What about this

NEW! Seismo i3 2120 Package (seismo2120p) -£410

Customizations:
CPU: Intel Core i3 2120
Operating System: No Operating System - I will install my own
Motherboard: NEW! Asus P8H61-MX USB3
RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz (1x 4GB)
Hard Drive: 500GB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Graphics card: NEW! NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 1GB
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
Internet: Wireless 802.11N 150Mbps MIMO PCI-E card
Keyboard and Mouse: Keyboard, mouse and speakers
Monitor: 21.5" Widescreen LCD
Case: NEW! EZCool Mesh ATX
PSU: 500W Xigmatek
Warranty: 3 Year SureCare Warranty

I added gt520 because it's the same as gt610. And I upgraded the PSU as the cheap EZCool is very loud and not very effective.

OR go for the cheaper AMD Gonzo127 mentioned

gonzo127

without going into all the ins and outs of psu's, the answer in general is, no a higher powered psu will not use more power because a system will only draw the amount of power it needs, but it is more of a case of do you wish to run your psu at 70-80% load all of the time, or run it at say 50% load, a bit liek running yoru car at 5000rpm all the time instead of 2500 rpm, just because it can run like it doesnt mean its overly healthy to do so, also a higher powered psu gives you more options in future if you wish to upgrade by say adding in more ram another hard drive or even a graphics card.

as to windows - is your copy a retail version, ie brought seperatly to your last computer or was it installed on the system when you brought it? if it was installed on it when you got it you have probably got a OEM copy of windows which is legally not transferable onto another computer, you can only legally transfer windows if you own a retail copy due to the licensing terms of each version

spenderdave

gonzo127 wrote: »

from what i can see http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=1318 is probably the same as the Duke previously mentioned (that no longer available) same upgrades for 8gb ram 1tb hard drive and the gt520 or gt610 and it comes in under £400

I bought the original Duke when it was mentioned on here, the listed system with no additions. Have been using it for a couple of months now and it suits me fine, no problems whatsoever. The new one does look more or less the same.

hubb

Maddy25 wrote: »

What about this

NEW! Seismo i3 2120 Package (seismo2120p) -£410

Customizations:
CPU: Intel Core i3 2120
Operating System: No Operating System - I will install my own
Motherboard: NEW! Asus P8H61-MX USB3
RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz (1x 4GB)
Hard Drive: 500GB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Graphics card: NEW! NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 1GB
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
Internet: Wireless 802.11N 150Mbps MIMO PCI-E card
Keyboard and Mouse: Keyboard, mouse and speakers
Monitor: 21.5" Widescreen LCD
Case: NEW! EZCool Mesh ATX
PSU: 500W Xigmatek
Warranty: 3 Year SureCare Warranty

I added gt520 because it's the same as gt610. And I upgraded the PSU as the cheap EZCool is very loud and not very effective.

OR go for the cheaper AMD Gonzo127 mentioned

Seems a bit expensive considering the spec. Where was this from ? Probably an i3 is too dated now. I would consider the i5

hubb

Dino PC have just quoted me this set up from my requirements:


C PU: Intel C ore i3 2120 (2072x) Included
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (11014x) Included
Motherboard: NEW! Asus P8H61-MX USB3 (4153x) Included
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 4GB) (5039) £18.70
Hard Drive: 1TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s (6028) £15.70
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA (7003x) Included
Graphics card: NEW! NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 1GB (8074) £31.79
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio (10001x) Included
C ase: NEW! EZC ool Mesh ATX (17045x) Included
PSU: 500W PSU (18027x) Included
Warranty: 3 Year SureC are Warranty (sc-1) Included

Total: £381.19 (not including £25 fee for postage)

Maddy25

hubb wrote: »

Seems a bit expensive considering the spec. Where was this from ? Probably an i3 is too dated now. I would consider the i5

It's from Dino PC aswell. It's similar to you're previously mentioned one but also has a better make PSU, a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers AND a wireless card.

Yeah i3 is outdated. But you want a LOT for £400

hubb

I already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse.