Opinions on these 2 PCs

RichardD1970

As title really, any advice, opinions on these two PCs.

Have a budget of £600 for the computer itself.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151401571022?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370949078502?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Main uncertainty is over the "Intel Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition 4.6GHz OC Dual Core Processor" with claims of it being comparable to Core i7 for gaming.

Thanks.

Strider590

If your intending it gaming or high intensity usage, then a cheap PC is going to let you down very quickly. Whilst the main components may be of a good quality (CPU and Mobo), you can guarantee the power supply, memory and GFX card will be cheap and nasty.

The first link, 550W is NOT enough, you only need add in a couple of hard drives, some external devices, etc and it's going to squeal like a stuck pig.

maas

I would get the i5 myself.

There's a review of that new processor on anandtech and they didnt make it sound like an i7 to me.

RichardD1970

Strider590 wrote: »

If your intending it gaming or high intensity usage, then a cheap PC is going to let you down very quickly. Whilst the main components may be of a good quality (CPU and Mobo), you can guarantee the power supply, memory and GFX card will be cheap and nasty.

The first link, 550W is NOT enough, you only need add in a couple of hard drives, some external devices, etc and it's going to squeal like a stuck pig.

Light gaming, mainly Steam stuff, no intention of adding lots of external devices or extra hdd and if needed fitting a new PSU later is no problem.

GFX card (Nvidia GTX 760), from what I've read is one of the better mid range cards for the money.

Unfortunately my budget is what it is and I can't afford/justify to SWMBO a high-end system.

Dale122

I would advise you to buy the components seperately and build your own gaming pc. I did this for the first time last year quite easily (with no prior knowledge). Not only is it cheaper, you gain a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge of being able to swap out components for upgrading in the future. Just make sure you do your research on what components go with eachother and the cheapest prices you can get.

My system cost me around £400 and runs BF4 on ultra (I also have the gtx 760, a pre-OC version)

Cisco001

G3258 is not comparable to i5 or i7. When you overclock it, it can compare to i3.
None of these include OS. The G3258 is a rip off!

This Medion with monitor would probably best value at the moment if you not overclock.
http://www.medion.com/gb/shop/multimedia-pcs-medion-akoya-p5331-g-pc-310019242.html

Cisco001

Here give you some idea what you can get around £600 if you build yourself.

OS is around £75

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£99.54 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.98 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£49.58 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£60.77 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.97 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£159.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.95 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£58.78 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.98 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £542.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-29 16:33 BST+0100

RichardD1970

Cisco001 wrote: »

G3258 is not comparable to i5 or i7. When you overclock it, it can compare to i3.
None of these include OS. The G3258 is a rip off!

This Medion with monitor would probably best value at the moment if you not overclock.
http://www.medion.com/gb/shop/multimedia-pcs-medion-akoya-p5331-g-pc-310019242.html

Thanks, I had a Medion years ago from Aldi, was very good.

Mobeer

Neither PC has an operating system - you need to budget for this
Neither advert really inspires my confidence

* Intel Pentium G3258 is a good match for a i3 when overclocked. It will still be slower than the i5 in the other PC.
* 550W is plenty of power from a good quality PSU. But that advert gives no brand name or model, which is always a worry.


Personally, if you like the Fierce PC offer then try their website for the "Phantom Intel Gaming PC"

Add a few £s for a nicer case with more fans (Zalman Z3 Plus or even Fractal Design Core 3000?)

Add some more bits:
* Corsair VS550 or Corsair VS650 PSU
* Intel Core i3 4330
* Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler
* Nvidia GTX 760
* Windows 7 or 8.1

and I get £607.23 plus 9.95 delivery, including Windows

I'd argue this is a reasonable cheap PC, and a compromise between yor ebay options.

But note I've never bought from Fierce PC - I'd check their reputation first; think it's decent.

Dale122

On another note, if you aren't willing to build a PC yourself, I have used Freshtechsolutions (google it) twice in the past and their custom built computers were always good value for money. Before them I used pcspecialist but I'm sure their prices are really high now that they're popular.