New PC advice please :)

LE3

Ok, I have finally accepted that my beloved PC needs upgrading/replacing! I have the skills to do a build, I just don't really have the time to source all the components so I am probably looking for a partial build really ... I did look on dabs.com & novatech & found some barebone pcs which may suit - anyone got any experience? Or anything else that's a decent starting point for me to work from?

For reference, I am currently running: AMD Duron 1.20 GHz 2.5Gb RAM with 2 HDDs - one is around 60Gb & holds the system data, the other is 200Gb and holds data. It's running Win XP.

What I need:
Win 7, 500Gb minimum HDD, plenty of RAM
I mostly use the desktop for internet, Office, some photo processing - nothing mega fancy!

Ideally I need a small case - my existing one is quite a hefty tower - if I can get a nice neat box that would be fab

closed

Is there anything in particular wrong with the one you have, apart from the case size?

LE3

I s'pose I could change the HDD (it is far too small esp the small drive!), upgrade to Win7 & add more RAM ...

Im_just_careful

from the Microsoft site and see if it thinks your current system would be OK on Windows 7.

If so, most of £200 (disk, RAM & OS) will buy you a couple of years and you could buy a Windows 8 machine once that has had the bugs fixed.

If you can get Windows 7 free (some firms have a licence which allows employees to also get Microsoft software) then the decision might be easier than buying Windows 7 retail.

closed

60GB should easily hold the OS and programs, XP with service packs is only around 3GB

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/portable

http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/windirstat_portable/

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849


Little point adding more ram (2.5GB is more than enough for most purposes), and windows 7 to it, you may as well buy a new one if you want a new OS. Windows 8 is not far off. http://www.extremetech.com/computing/132509-windows-8-release-confirmed-for-october-heres-how-to-get-the-best-upgrade-deal

If hard disk space is the only reason, then a new hard disk (internal or external) is far cheaper than a new machine, assuming your disk is currently full of things you need to keep - you could buy a 500GB-1TB portable hard disk, and use the 200GB for the os and essential data, and the external for extras and backups.

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Desktop-PC

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

robmar0se

Your Duron Processor, was introduced in 2001, so if you're still using it you're ahead of the game - it certainly doesn't owe you anything. I suspect that as the mobo is of a similar vintage, you are restricted in terms of the RAM you are able to add.

The passmark rating of the Duron is (relative) 268, whereas a current cpu, good value for money would be the Intel i5 2500k (3.3GHz), rated at 6739,

I'm confident that any check will confirm that your current system won't be capable of (i) using win 7 (preferably the 64 bit version), and (ii) won't be able to handle some of the modern photo processing suites, and even they did load, you'd probably have to make a cup to tea between each keystroke!!

PS Just checked the min system reqs for win 7/32 - I stand corrected, it states that the CPU must be be rated at 1GHz or above, with 1gb ram, 16gb hdd space, and Directx 9 grahics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher. However I expect it would run like a three-legged dog at these lower levels.

Note also that Photoshop Elements 10 requires a CPU rated 1.6MHz or higher.

gonzo127

what sort of budget are you looking at?

Cisco001

AMD Duron!!! That's old. You'd better off to new PC.

Cisco001

http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Mass-Effect-i5-3450-94p1369.htm

I don't have experience with them, but it is good price with the spec given.

If you don't want to spend that much, probably this
http://www.ebuyer.com/362648-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7873-1058
http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050

gavpowell

Personally, I wouldn't touch Windows 8 until Microsoft stop this idiotic idea of using the same interface on a desktop as it will on a phone or a tablet. I would also say for what you're doing, there's no immediate benefit switching from XP to 7 - you could get win7 64bit and it would allow you to use more RAM, but XP supports 3GB and that's plenty if you're not gaming or doing anything demanding.

Here's a quick spec I've thrown together, which you could modify by adding a new hard drive and/or OS. You could also double the RAM to 4GB if you intended to upgrade to win7, but bear in mind you'll be starting from scratch as you can't upgrade XP to 7.

From Ebuyer.com:

AMD Llano A6 A3500 2.1GHz Socket FM1 3MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor 281336
£54.56 Gigabyte GA-A55M-DS2 A55 AMD FM1 7.1 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard 344016
£45.08 Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333MHz i5 Memory Module CL9 1.5V 147903
£9.99 Coolermaster Elite 330 Case With Coolermaster eXtreme Power 500W PSU 220863
£54.99
Free 5-day delivery £164.62

Rav3n

Doing a full build doesn't take very long. You'll probably have the machine built within the hour and that way you can tailor the PC to fit you.

You said you don't have time to source all the parts, but you can order them online in one go and have them delivered at the same time from a site like Scan or similar.