Need to buy computer tower - please help

bluepatchworkcat

Ive never been here before so please be patient! I need to buy a new computer tower at the best price but dont no where to start. I would like a speedy one and would like a printer with it. I only have about £100 to spend in total - am I on a foolish mission? Any help appreciated. Thankyou.

Browntoa

look at 2nd hand, you wont get a new one at that price

Nile

Hello bluepatchworkcat

Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

I'll move your thread to the 'Techie Stuff' board, where the 'puter experts will help you to find a bargain.;)

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

RocketMan

You can get some very good second hand deals on ebay.

It depends what you need, if its only for surfing the net and word processing you should be able to get a good deal. Most new PC's sold today are so over spec, and hence not good value, unless of course you are into computer games.

Printers are not that expensive, its the ink that costs, I really miss my old dot matrix printer.

One thing to make sure is that it has a legal operating sysyem on it, pref 98 or XP.

spud17

Most new PC's sold today are so over spec, and hence not good value, unless of course you are into computer games.

Someone on my wavelength, e.g.I've got an old complete win98 system, I can't get £20 for it. Probably end up on Freecycle.
I bet it's almost as fast as some of these shiny new Vista ones that are shipped with only 512mbRAM.

To the OP, why not do as I've done, look around, people (friends/relatives) are always upgrading towers, look on Freecycle, loads of 17inch monitors being dumped.
The majority of people (non-scientific poll carried out among workmates) don't even know which version of Windows they have, let alone using their PC to its full extent.
You decide if you want something to do a job, then go for genuine second hand.

bookduck

You could just buy a case and transfer your existing pc to that tower case? Dont tell me you have a laptop though

For £100 you probably wont get a new one with a monitor etc, but should be able to pick up 2nd hand one.

PROLIANT

bluepatchworkcat wrote: »

Ive never been here before so please be patient! I need to buy a new computer tower at the best price but dont no where to start. I would like a speedy one and would like a printer with it. I only have about £100 to spend in total - am I on a foolish mission? Any help appreciated. Thankyou.

Go to a computer fair or try eBay, however I cannot stress enough keep clear of Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, NT. these are legacy operating systems and do not hold any practical or safe use in today’s world, minimum specification for an operating system would be Windows XP, an all round good operating system, robust, safe, get current Microsoft security updates and is easier to use than any of the latter mentioned, £100 will buy you a tower second-hand off eBay or from a computer fair, look for as a minimum spec Pentium class CPU 1 GHz, 512 MB of RAM, 80GB Hard Disk, if it is for general use this should be fine and I don’t think you will struggle to find a box for £100, but remember don’t settle for anything other than Windows XP or you will have nothing but problems, I can give this advice based on my experience and Job role as an IT Support Engineer so if you have any problems just contact me or any of the other hopeful helpfuls on here

bluepatchworkcat

Many thanks. I hadnt thought of a computer fair. I know nothing about the things, but mine is so slow and old that I do think its time for a replacement. My screen is new, thanks to it being passed on to me. I appreciate your help.

Hermann

Depending on your needs, technical ability and whether you have a already have a worthwhile OS to put on the new tower you may find something new if you up the budget a bit.

£118 buys this new ....... http://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop/index.pl?prodID=1360200

ML115 Opteron 1210 1.8GHz 2x1MB Dual Core, 1GB (2x512MB), Non Hot Plug SATA 160GB, DVD/CD-RW, 3 Year Next Business Day Warranty

£130 buys this new ..... http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140194

Fujitsu Siemens Primergy Econel 100, PD 925, 1G, 160GB HDD, DVD-RW DL\DVD-RAM.


Neither come with an Operating system so you either need to have an XP licence to transfer across or perhaps use Linux which would be free.

If you need anything more than basic graphics you would need to add a graphics card (£20 to £300 plus) but could always do this at a later date.