Basic Computer System - Help Required Please

palace1000

My parents are looking for a basic computer system to replace there old one which is dieing.

They mainly only do word processing, photos and emails and watch very occasional videos on it.

Wondered if anyone could advise a make or a system that would be suitable.

Would a dual core/ core 2 Duo be a waste for there use ?

What sort of memory would they need ? 1024 ?

The were looking to spend between £ 400 and £ 500.

Any help would be much appreciated.

albertross_2

If you are getting vista, then 1GB is a good idea, but it will work with less.

You don't need a top of the range processor for the applications you use.

www.dmxdimension.com

http://www.openoffice.org/

what is wrong with the old PC?

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=123447

A nice, ready built PC. Saves on space as well.

x_Wilco_x

http://www.dmxdimension.com/blogcategory/dell_uk_dimension_c521.html

The 3rd and 4th ones in the list give you choice of Windows XP home or Vista basic, will be more than enough for what they want/need and without monitor are £188 all in... If you want the monitor still only £270 with a 19" jobby...

Remember to remove the 3 year on-site warranty to get the price down...

jampton

With £400 to spend I would buy a Dell laptop from the link a couple of posts up.

In fact I did earlier this year !

GoofyGAT

Would a dual core/ core 2 Duo be a waste for there use ? - Dual core is more or less standard & relatively inexpensive nowadays, so don't hesitate to go for one of them. The C2Ds may be overkill/too dear

What sort of memory would they need ? 1024 ? - 1Gb is also standard nowadays

The were looking to spend between £ 400 and £ 500. - That's a lot for what they'll be using the PC for, so go for an inexpensive Dell C521 - one that x Wilco x posted - as he said you can get them for under £300 delivered. I'd suggest one of these for £299.69 each:

With Windows Vista Basic / With Windows XP Home

Changes made to both above:
- Hardware support: Collect & Return
- Dell™ 19" Silver Wide Flat Panel (E198WFP) [widescreen is better in my opinion, but you can save £30 by opting for the standard format monitor]

The Acer L100 that TheImportanceOfBeingIdle suggests, is very good & compact (my neighbour has it), but value-wise isn't that great now - she purchased it from Tesco for the same price 4-5 months ago. The Dell C521 is very similar in every respect to this, & hence represents much better value at £100 less. G