New PC for my 11 year old son - what to buy?

Clutterfree

Hi All,
I am after purchasing a PC for my 11yo son, for no more than £500.
I am a complete dummy when it comes to computers but have been told these 2 might fulfill his requirements:

http://www.computersupermarket.com/ProductDetails.php/293/709

and

Sorry seems their site is down so can't post the link! :rolleyes: Not a good sign.... lol
It is the Elite Inspire Plus at www.meshcomputers.com


Now I've heard some bad things on here about Mesh and their customer service but I know nothing about Computer Supermarket (if I do a search on here I get all the grocery supermarket posts!). Has anyone had any dealings with this company, good or bad please?

Also the Mesh one looks like it will take 30 days to deliver but the ComputerSupermarket one takes 5 days which is good when I have an impatient 11yo waiting for it! :rolleyes:

PC requirements are: Internet access, Gaming (will his PC games that say XP work on Vista?) and obviously he'll need it for school work/projects.
Oh, he also needs it to come with a monitor, keyboard, etc but a printer is not required.

Would appreciate any advice please, as I want to get it ordered asap.
Happy to consider any other PC recommendations too.

Thank you.

FallingDownMan

Can't comment on the actual PCs as far as the suppliers are concerned, but if the game doesn't say Vista on it as well as XP then there's a good chance it may not run under Vista.

The delay in delivery is probably due to Mesh having to build it whereas the others have them off the shelf.

I can't open the Mesh site, either. But the spec for that Computer Supermarket one looks pretty good for the price. It would do everything you want as listed above, but with that proviso over games.

ilikepoints

Personally I'd recommend buying a mac, should be able run the old pc games too now they use Intel processors, and generally a better experience all round - especially if you're not so confident around computers or if you just want to avoid hassle. Macs have almost no spyware or viruses to worry about. I'm sure you could get a mac mini with your budget.

Specs on the machines you posted look ok, though there doesn't seem to be any built in wireless networking or bluetooth - I guess you can add these later though seems strange to have a machine without either.

f1charlie

How about this Dell for £479 (spec is as good if not better):

Components
AMD® Live Technology - Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
Dell 19" Silver Wide Flat Panel (SE198WFP) - UK/Irish
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst cache
256MB NVIIDA® GeForce® 8300GS Turbocache graphics card
16x DVD +/- RW Drive
Dell Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
Dell A225 Speakers
13-in-1 Media Card Reader
No Modem
Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
Services & Software 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return

Link:
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=D09517

and you can get Quidco!

computerwoman

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126116/rb/0

always trusted acer...so get this...judging by the back it's on board graphics but not to worry...

then get this...

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/131565

and then you could up-grade the graphic's if you want to but this lot will set you back £398.69p with free delivery you pick the super saver delivery to get the free delivery ok...:D

Mobeer

f1charlie wrote: »

How about this Dell for £479 (spec is as good if not better):

This looks quite good, but for gaming an extra £58 is needed for a GeForce 8600 GT upgrade (cheaper from Dell than separately!).

PC Next Day have a similar system with a better graphics card for marginally higher price:
http://www.pcnextday.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCode=3362-3423

--
Note before everyone gets started - yes the 8600 GT is not a high-end gamers card; but nor is a £500 PC - at this price it is reasonable.

Conor_3

FallingDownMan wrote: »

Can't comment on the actual PCs as far as the suppliers are concerned, but if the game doesn't say Vista on it as well as XP then there's a good chance it may not run under Vista.

Riiight.

Got any? The only one that doesn't for me is Clin McRae Rally. Even old stuff I've got through Steam such as Quake works and that's 10 years old.

Kimberley

If the computer is just for him don't forget to get Netnanny etc on it to protect him. Personally I wouldn't let kids have their own computers, our one is in the front room where I can see what is going on. Just make sure you check the computers history from time to time to keep him safe.

BillScarab

ilikepoints wrote: »

Personally I'd recommend buying a mac, should be able run the old pc games too now they use Intel processors, and generally a better experience all round - especially if you're not so confident around computers or if you just want to avoid hassle. Macs have almost no spyware or viruses to worry about. I'm sure you could get a mac mini with your budget.

Specs on the machines you posted look ok, though there doesn't seem to be any built in wireless networking or bluetooth - I guess you can add these later though seems strange to have a machine without either.

Since when will games for Windows run on a Mac because it has the same processor? Or are you suggesting they run a dual boot system or use an emulator?

While I agree Macs can be good the chances are he'll be using a PC at school and his friends will be using PCs as well so I would suggest they get a PC. Personally I'd recommend a Dell, they're competitive on price and they have a decent reputation. However you'll struggle to get a good games machine for £500 including a monitor.

If you get a PC with Vista make sure you set yourself up as administrator and only give your son a standard account. that way you can set restrictions on what time of day he can use the machine and restrict what websites he can visit. You can also restrict what he can install on the machine.

Clutterfree

Thanks for all your replies.
I know £500 won't get me a high end gaming PC but as long as it plays his Sims 2, etc on it then he shall be happy! Hopefully that will work on Vista as it came out before Vista did so it says OS: 98/2000/XP only.

Like the look of the PCNextDay one - has anyone had any dealings with this company? I see I can also get 3% cashback through Quidco!

I will also look into NetNanny as I have not heard of that.
He is a sensible boy but I know it's not him so much that I need to worry about, more others on the net (plus once puberty hits things may change! lol). Eek!

I will also need to sort out internet access for him.
We have an XP PC with broadband connection via a USB modem so I need to get some wireless connection to get that to his PC, I think.
I've heard horror stories about the security of wireless connections though, so don't know if it will be safer to route a cable through the wall instead. Any help appreciated on what I need please.
Also, if we are both online at the same time, does it slow down our internet speed?

Sorry for all the questions, I really have no idea when it comes to PC's!

Many thanks for your time.

BillScarab

Sims should be OK on Vista.

Just seen a free equivalent of NetNanny on another thread http://www.k9webprotection.com/

I'd go with wireless, it's easier than running cable and means you can move his PC if necessary. You can make it pretty secure, there are stickies in this forum all about it and lots of knowledgable people.