Buying a PC

the-mayan-prophecy

Hi

ive been thinking recently about buying a new pc i have got about 800-1000 to spend on the computer

the only real requirments i have are that it has to be powerfull, good for gaming and uni work

In addition i need a monitor which is large enough to watch tv on

Any ideas where i can get a good priced tv from

continentalgal

ebuyer.co.uk are offering 22'' widescreen flat screen pc monitors starting from £160 (CiBox). Could imagine that this is a fairly good size, recently sold my TV and bide my time by watching DVDs on my computer on my 19'' screen, not as bad as I dreaded it.

How are you planning to watch TV on the pc monitor, via TV card? And if you're going to, what do you need a TV for, then?

GoofyGAT

You don't have to spend £800-1000 only on the PC to get something very good indeed...

Configure this Dell Dimension 9200 = £435 incl VAT & del (changes in red) / More deals through DMXDimension

* Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600
* Windows Vista™ Business [request them to change this to Home Premium. Comparison between the 4 Vista versions]
* 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return
* No 19" Wide Monitor
* 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024) [add 2Gb for ~£52: Corsair (2x1GB) XMS]
* 320GB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x160GB 7200rpm drives) url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID#Standard_RAID_levels]brief RAID 0 info[/url [or, take their 500Gb upgrade for £23.50 extra]
* 256MB ATI® Radeon® X1300 Pro PCI Express graphics card [replace with a 8800GTS for ~£184: EVGA 8800GTS 320MB]
* 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
* Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
* Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
* Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability
* Internal 13-in-1 Media Card Reader
* Microsoft® Works 8.0 [use the much better, FREE OpenOffice.org instead]

[Note: I've added external purchase links for some of the above, because Dell's upgrade prices for these are a rip-off. The quality £147 22" E228WFP (reviews: [url=http://www.computerbuyer.co.uk/buyer/reviews/102349/dell-e228wfp.html]here[/url] & [url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/104802/dell-e228wfp.html]here[/url]) is worth considering though if you're happy with the size.]

If you need speakers, the Dell A525 2.1 Speakers may be OK - adds £18 to the above. Keep in mind that the TV speakers (see below) may be sufficient, so hold off on purchasing them for now. If required later, consider a Logitech X210 2.1 set for £20, or something better like the Creative Gigaworks T20 for £40, after £10 cashback.

Edit: No new PSU required - read this. [STRIKE]You may have to upgrade the PSU because of the GPU upgrade. To confirm this make enquiries on the Dell Upgrade Hardware forum.[/STRIKE]

Quidco 4.5% cashback = £16.65 [4.5% of £370]

Grand Total = £655.35, includes external upgrades above [no TV tuner required if you go for the Hannspree LCD TV below]

Alternative spec/price:
£842.35, includes external upgrades, 22" TFT, 500Gb drives & Dell speakers [TV tuner required]
£978.35, includes external upgrades (with £320 8800GTX instead), 22" TFT, 500 Gb drives & Dell speakers [TV tuner required]

You don't specify a budget for the TV/monitor - consider the Hannspree XV JT01-32E2-000 32" LCD for £300 delivered. It's a TV you can also use as a monitor - see this thread: 32" LCD TV for use as PC monitor. G

P.S. See this thread for a few other ideas about specs, building it yourself or getting a third-party to do it for you. For sheer value, you'd be hard-pressed to beat a Dell though.

GoofyGAT

I would also strongly recommend an external hard drive (250-500Gb) for OS image & data/media backups - this would be in the region of £50-70 off eBuyer. G

P.S. Please re-read my first post for some changes/additions

Edit: Don't forget to visit Dell via the Quidco link above to get the cashback. Prior Quidco registration is required.

sumeet

I've read in a couple places of people calling Dell upon delivery and asking to return PC. They are then offered a small cash sum to keep the PC.

Anyone any experience of this, can you return for free anyway, what are your rights and what number to you ring to return under this option?