Yet another computer I have found would appreciate comments on value please

Rookie

[SIZE=+0]QTY [/SIZE][SIZE=+0]SKU [/SIZE][SIZE=+0]Description [/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]Price [/SIZE]

1A1002Intel Core 2 Duo Premium Package - A1002

414.87

Customizations: CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (0452)
CPU Cooler: Standard CPU heatsink & fan (480)
Motherboard: ECS 965T-A (755)

Memory: 4.0GB Kingston DDR2 667mhz (4x 1GB) (520)

£50.90

Hard Drive: 400GB S-ATA2 3.0Gb/s (0612)
Optical Drive: 18x Double-Layer DVD+/-RW (502)
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB (0640)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit (0558)

£70.99

Software: Microsoft Works 8.5 Suite (0572) - QTY: 1

£9.39

Peripherals: Wireless keyboard and mouse (0651) - QTY: 1

£17.39

Monitor: 19'' Widescreen TFT Monitor (0622) - QTY: 1

£100.49

PSU: 550W PSU (601)

£12.10

Case: Colors-IT 8050 (595)
Warranty: 3 Year Bronze Warranty (1000)

Total:
£676.13

GoofyGAT

That's not bad value - comparing with the similar Dell Dimension 9200 (*see below for specs) for instance - but you can get a better spec/components for the same money if you build it yourself.

The things that would bother me with the above system(?):

- E6600: When you can get the newer, better E6750 for the same/less(?). May be negotiable - ask them
- GeForce 8600GT 256MB: May be ordinary in games. If you're an avid gamer, go for something better (like a 8800GTS)
- 19'' Widescreen TFT Monitor: What make & model is this?
- Microsoft Works 8.5 Suite: OpenOffice.org is free & much better, saving £9-10
- 550W PSU: Could be a very ordinary make - you could have a better PSU in your own build
- Colors-IT 8050: Again, you could do better in your own build

Eventually, it comes down to what you're going to use it for - so would be helpful if you let us know. G

---

*Tweaked spec (changes in red, extras in green) = £628 (incl VAT & del):

- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 Processor
- 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return
- Dell™ 19" Silver Wide Flat Panel (E198WFP)
- 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024) [add 2Gb from eBuyer for £49 extra]
- 320GB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x160GB 7200rpm drives) [you probably won't need RAID]
- 256MB nVidia™ GeForce 8600GTS graphics card
- 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
- Dell™ Enhanced USB Multimedia Keyboard
- Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
- Free Dell™ Photo All in One Printer 926 - Photo Print, Copy & Scanner + Free Photo Paper 4x6 (10x15cm) with 926 All-In-One Printer
- Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability
- Internal 13-in-1 Media Card Reader
- McAfee® Security Centre™ 8.0 - 24 Month Protection
- Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
- Resource DVD (Diagnostics & Drivers)

Cerro

Bah Notepad is more useful than MS Works - horrendous program!

To add to what my sidekick has already mentioned I'd pick some faster ram, 800mhz (PC6400) is much better than 667mhz stuff and you can never have ram which is too fast... or too much of it!

Even if you choose to buy a packaged PC, i'd recommend you get a monitor of your own - the prices companies charge (dell especially) aren't that competitive, granted some are but even then you don't usually make a saving on it and your choices are limited. Better to have your own free reign to pick something you really like and in your own budget.

x_Wilco_x

This is certainly a nice spec PC and I agree with both GoofyGAT and Cerro comments however, will you be needing all this spec? You posted a low end PC the other day for us to comment on...

If you post what you are looking for the PC to do, the guys on here will reccomend to you what you require for the cheapest price - Spending more than you need is not good money saving...

Rookie

Thanks for all that, much appreciated. I posted a much more basic spec m/c the other day for guidance. Had a bit of cold feet and looked for a machine with quality parts.
I am hopeless at DIY stuff hence afraid to tackle a build my own machine!! The monitor is 1440x900 resolution, contrast ratio 500:1, 8ms response and speakers 1wx 2 they supply either VideoSeven, YuSmart or Ryoku brand
Wanted to get a PC that I would be able to upgrade in future if needed and thought I probably should go for dual core. Ie a few years back 512MB ram was good and 40gB HD also and nothing much will run on this specn these days.
.
I use my computer for surfing the net, photos, burning the odd CD and watching DVDs etc, no serious gaming. So machine posted is probably way over the top but it seemed better value than some of the Dells and I was a bit put off when I tried to speak to Dell and had to translate through the accent. It seems that the general opinion on here is that Dell is probably the best place to shop though??
If anyone can advise a spec'n suitable I would be grateful.
Thanks

Dead_Eye_Jones

yeah you prob dont need 4gb (at least they pointed out you'd need a 64bit OS!).

Stick to low power stuff if you dont need a high power PC - you'll be glad when the 'leccy bill arrives!! Those 8800s are real thirsty beasts! The ATI family of cards are cheaper and more energy efficient but seem to be universally written off because the NVidia cards got the performance crown this time round. But if you arent a gamer...

tbh if 'surfing the web' and 'some photos' is really all you want to use it for then you could just buy a cheapie from Tescos. Even low end modern PCs are perfectly capable of this basic stuff.

Im assuming you arent talking about running professional software such as photoshop - because if you were happy spending £500 on that then you probably wouldnt be here!

GoofyGAT

Rookie wrote: »

The monitor is 1440x900 resolution, contrast ratio 500:1, 8ms response and speakers 1wx 2 they supply either VideoSeven, YuSmart or Ryoku brand...

One of these would be better (all prices incl VAT & delivery):

Hannstar AH191 19" S&B WideScreen = £90

Acer AL1917WAS 19" 5ms Widescreen = £100

Hanns G HW191D 19" Widescreen DVI = £115

Acer AL2016ws 20.1" Widescreen = £120

Yep, as DEJ mentions don't go for a better GPU, & 2Gb RAM will be enough (saving £50).

Also, I feel a C2D E4300 will be more than sufficient (saving £50-60?), knock MS Works off too (saving £10) & go for a better quality PSU* (if available) & monitor (from elsewhere) with the £210-220 saved in total. G

x_Wilco_x

I have just had a play with your chosen system on Dino PC - hope you don't mind??? This is what I came up with -

Customizations:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300
£-49.50
CPU Cooler: Standard CPU heatsink & fan

Motherboard: Asus P5N-E SLI

Memory: 2.0GB Kingston DDR2 667mhz (2x 1GB)

Hard Drive: 250GB S-ATA2 3.0Gb/s
£-20.10
Optical Drive: 18x Double-Layer DVD+/-RW

Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 7300LE 512MB
£-41.60
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
£70.99
Peripherals: Wireless keyboard and mouse
£17.39
Monitor: 19'' Widescreen TFT Monitor
£100.49
PSU: 550W PSU
£12.10
Case: Colors-IT 8050

Warranty: 3 Year Bronze Warranty


Product Subtotal: £516.64

This will be more than adequate for what you need and a nice spec PC. You could also remove the monitor and consider buying elsewhere as GoofyGAT said... comes out over £150 cheaper than your original spec but I don't know what Dino PC are like...

Still gotta be worth looking at a Dell for a similar price/spec on www.dmxdimension.com - I would go for one of the new Inspiron 530/531...

Rookie

Thanks for that. Yes, I will probably ditch the monitor- it was Dino that I was looking at. Like the idea of getting a proper OS disk whereas some just load OS and give you a recovery disk. Would it not be better to get the 64bit version? I will have a look at the Inspiron 530. Do you get OS disk or is it just a recovery disk?

x_Wilco_x

You won't get a copy of OS disc with Dell, they use a recovery disc and actually not too sure about 32/64 bit operating systems - others may be able to help you better there. I am still a bit unsure of 64 bit due to limited software compatibility but maybe things have moved on???

I actually had a look at the Dell site and your Dino is pretty well priced, if not slightly better value anyway...

:beer:

GoofyGAT

x_Wilco_x wrote: »

Still gotta be worth looking at a Dell for a similar price/spec on www.dmxdimension.com - I would go for one of the new Inspiron 530/531...

I actually had a look at the Dell site and your Dino is pretty well priced, if not slightly better value anyway...

My thoughts exactly, & is better value I reckon - this is what I've come up with:

1. Dell Inspiron 530 = £376 + £84 (upgrades) = £460

- Dual-Core E2140 Processor [This too would be sufficient for your needs]
- Vista™ Home Premium
- Dell™ 20" Black Wide Flat Panel (E207WFP) [20" TFT included in the price!]
- 1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512) [add 1Gb for £24]
- 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
- 256 MB ATI® Radeon® X1300 PCI Express graphics card [change to 7600GT for £60 for gaming]
- 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
- Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard / Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse
- 13-in-1 Media Card Reader
- Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
- 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return

2. Dell Inspiron 530 = £439 + £84 (upgrades) = £523

- Core™ 2 Duo E4300 Processor
- Vista™ Home Premium
- Dell™ 19" Silver Wide Flat Panel (SE198WFP)
- 1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512) [add 1Gb from eBuyer for £24]
- 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
- Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator 3100 [add 7600GT for £60 for gaming]
- 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
- Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard + Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse
- Free - Dell™ Photo All in One Printer 926 [Spec/user reviews here, allegedly £79 value]
- Free Photo Paper 4x6 (10x15cm) with 926 All-In-One Printer
- 13-in-1 Media Card Reader
- Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
- McAfee® Security Centre™ 8.0 - 24 Month Protection
- 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return

G