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New PC/laptop: out of my depth...
Llyllyll
Posts: 870 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
My first post of 2008, so a happy New Year to all.
The time has come for me to buy a new PC. My current desktop one is 4 -5 years old and is showing its age as well as letting me down on a few recent occasions.
In days gone buy I’d build it myself after spending ages reviewing all hardware options etc, but find that I just don’t have the time to do it these days. I no longer work in the IT field either and am finding that I no longer know what components go with each other
.
When building my own I tended to go for a spec that was about 2/3 of the best available (at the time) which allowed me to build the optimum ratio of performance/cost PC that I could.
I’d be very grateful for any advice from anyone more in the know than me about what to get and where to get it from.
It is a general use PC (office, web, music player etc). I would like to be able to play Spore (in all its glory) when it is released but I do not require a top end gaming card and play most games on my PS2 anyway.
I’ve been looking at Dell and Novatech amongst others but really don’t know what I should be looking for.
I have no allegiance to either AMD or Intel, however I gather from a few reviews I’ve read that the current Intel Core 2 Duo processors are better than the AMD equivalent.
Budget would be a maximum of £400.
In a bizarre twist to things my wife has suggested that we also look at laptops! The requirements for this would be the same as above but in an attempt to future proof it (as upgrading laptops is not the easiest to do) the budget for the laptop would be a maximum of £500.
Once again, thanks in advance for any advice and/or pointers – really I do appreciate it
.
Llyllyll
The time has come for me to buy a new PC. My current desktop one is 4 -5 years old and is showing its age as well as letting me down on a few recent occasions.
In days gone buy I’d build it myself after spending ages reviewing all hardware options etc, but find that I just don’t have the time to do it these days. I no longer work in the IT field either and am finding that I no longer know what components go with each other
.When building my own I tended to go for a spec that was about 2/3 of the best available (at the time) which allowed me to build the optimum ratio of performance/cost PC that I could.
I’d be very grateful for any advice from anyone more in the know than me about what to get and where to get it from.
It is a general use PC (office, web, music player etc). I would like to be able to play Spore (in all its glory) when it is released but I do not require a top end gaming card and play most games on my PS2 anyway.
I’ve been looking at Dell and Novatech amongst others but really don’t know what I should be looking for.
I have no allegiance to either AMD or Intel, however I gather from a few reviews I’ve read that the current Intel Core 2 Duo processors are better than the AMD equivalent.
Budget would be a maximum of £400.
In a bizarre twist to things my wife has suggested that we also look at laptops! The requirements for this would be the same as above but in an attempt to future proof it (as upgrading laptops is not the easiest to do) the budget for the laptop would be a maximum of £500.
Once again, thanks in advance for any advice and/or pointers – really I do appreciate it
.Llyllyll
0
Comments
-
some good deals around in the sales at the mo. IMHO, though, I would not go for a laptop. A decent desktop will get you far more performance for your money, and save your eyes with a 19" (at least) monitor.
Happy hunting !!......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple
0 -
Bit of a cheecky question now - given the requirements in my original request are there any specific deals you'd recommend? Am I likely to get a £500 laptop with anywhere near the equivalent spec of a £400 desktop (thanks for the reply GunJack - got a feeling I already know the answer to this one)?
What do you think of firearcade's suggestion here: http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/127826/dell-inspiron-1720-notebook-2ghz-c2/all/deals/hot/
It does come up as £571.95 - I know it's >£500 but I'll get another £23.59 off via Quidco which takes it to under £550.
Are there any desktop deals that can be configured in a similar way for a better deal? Things like travel remote and HDMI are not important to me either.
Might have to get one soon as it looks like the Dell deals (as they seem to be doing the best offers ATM) are ending tomorrow.
Thanks again.0 -
a quick google throws up these amongst others.....
http://pcs.timecomputers.com/computers/bargain_computers/18700
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/558726
really down to your choice...you don't need to spend too much for what you want it for, so £300-ish for a desktop?? can you really go wrong ??......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple0
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