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Advice needed - is this a good deal for a PC or should I build one myself?

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moody
moody Posts: 34 Forumite
Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
Hi

I was hoping for a bit of general advice please. My current laptop is slowly falling apart so I am looking for a replacement computer. At the moment I am tending towards buying a desktop for use at home and a sublaptop (eg. Acer Aspire One) for use at uni/work/whilst travelling.

I have seen this on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CORE2QUAD-9-6GHZ-500GB-4GB-DDR2-ATI-2400HD-1GB-GFX_W0QQitemZ160247348236QQihZ006QQcategoryZ179QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

It looks like a good deal to me, but I was hoping for some more opinions on it. I know there is no OS/monitor/etc but I am happy using Linux, also it seems the graphics card has 256Mb memory, is this something that can be upgraded?

Finally, would it be cheaper to put this together myself? Im not a massive fan of the neon filled case and although I havent built a pc myself before I am able to change hard drives/ram/pci equipment so was hoping I would have the necessary skills to put together a PC. If I go down this route are computer fairs the best place to buy components?

Thanks and apologies for the long post!
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Comments

  • totalsolutions
    totalsolutions Posts: 3,110 Forumite
    PC shows are a good place to buy the components but in my experience it costs more to build you own due to personal choices over branded parts than to buy a complete unit, dunno how they do it but go take a look. PC World mag has a feature to build you own for £99.
  • BillScarab
    BillScarab Posts: 6,027 Forumite
    I couldn't bring myself to give money to someone with such a hyperbolic description. Also I don't trust anyone who multiplies the clock speed of four seperate cores and then tries to claim that makes it a 9.6Ghz processor.

    I you want ot build a PC yourself do it for the experience, not to save money. The only way to get the cost of building a PC down is if you have bits you can reuse like drives, PSU's and a case. Everytime I look at building a new PC from scratch I can buy an equivalent ready built for the same or less.
    It's my problem, it's my problem
    If I feel the need to hide
    And it's my problem if I have no friends
    And feel I want to die


  • DatabaseError
    DatabaseError Posts: 4,161 Forumite
    BillScarab wrote: »
    . Everytime I look at building a new PC from scratch I can buy an equivalent ready built for the same or less.

    show me where, please. i want...

    PSU - coolermaster 700W real power psu
    CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad ( Q9300)
    Mobo - DFI INF.BloodIron P35-T2RL
    Cooler - nocturna nh-u12p cooler
    GPU - BFG NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GTX OC™ 512MB
    RAM - 4GB corsair 2x2048 800mhz
    OPT - LITEON SATA 20X DVDRW/RAM
    HDD - 500gb western digital caviar
    CASE - thermaltake soprano silver case

    first time I've looked seriously at a case with a window, should be a pretty pc

    looking just over £700 for a decent, overclockable and stable, gaming rig, corners not cut, where can I get the same spec prebuilt for less?
    Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant.
  • DatabaseError
    DatabaseError Posts: 4,161 Forumite
    ...my experience it costs more to build you own due to personal choices over branded parts ...

    very true. easy to get carried away, an extra tenner here and there, better quality cooler or psu etc... my build (above) started at around £300, but I get a lot for the extra £400. hopefully...next weekend...wifey willing....

    ;)

    to bill, looking at pcworld (i know...) nearest in price is the dell xps420/1159 @ £750 with inferior...everything, nearest spec (that i can see) is the 630 @ £1300, though that does have sli 8800gt cards, rather than an oc 9800 gtx, performance wise there should be little in it, money wise, £600 in my pocket!
    Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant.
  • banger9365
    banger9365 Posts: 1,702 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    i will agree with totalsolutions,you build your self and the odd tenner and that do's put the cost up put in the long term you get a better pc and if you could not affard it you will not buy it.
    my last build cost me,not true still costing ,was £1800 and rising,using top end parts not the stuff dell or pc word and all them us or even local shop us
    put you can build to a buget and usally get a very good pc
    i built a HTPC for only £80 using old parts and the spec is better than any thing you can get at pc world or dell or even a local pc shop
    there or their,one day i might us the right one ,until then tuff

  • C_Ronaldo
    C_Ronaldo Posts: 4,732 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It depends what you need the pc for OP, the 1 you linked to is too powerful for uni/work/ whilst traveling, i like the idea of building your own pc but then you have the added possibility of a prt not working for whatever reason but you can easily send it back as you would know which part was faulty,
    No Links in Signature by site rules - MSE Forum Team 2
  • moody
    moody Posts: 34 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Thanks for all the replies! C_Ronaldo, I take your point in that the PC is probably overkill for what I want to do with it at the moment. If I wanted to play HD content on it or use it as an HTPC, install a Blu Ray drive later; would I get away with a Core2Duo? My main reason for choosing such a spec was future proofing, but I dont know if thats a good idea. What is a good source for well built PCs, I was thinking of going with a Dell but Ive heard their PCs can be difficult to upgrade.

    In terms of building one myself, Ive heard that the motherboard is the key to making a good PC. Is this true? If I do go down this route Im hoping to go for one which lets you use the media functions with the PC powered down (eg. play music/watch DVDs), can anyone recommend a specific one?

    Thanks once again!
  • wolfman
    wolfman Posts: 3,225 Forumite
    tonyhague wrote: »
    PSU - coolermaster 700W real power psu
    CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad ( Q9300)
    Mobo - DFI INF.BloodIron P35-T2RL
    Cooler - nocturna nh-u12p cooler
    GPU - BFG NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GTX OC™ 512MB
    RAM - 4GB corsair 2x2048 800mhz
    OPT - LITEON SATA 20X DVDRW/RAM
    HDD - 500gb western digital caviar
    CASE - thermaltake soprano silver case


    I'd drop the coolermaster psu. Get a Corsair one instead. Made by Seasonic, but slightly cheaper. Excellent psu's and highly rated, plus near silent.

    I'd also maybe get a slightly cheaper mobo. Not a budget one, just a more mid-range offering. Are you looking to overclock? Probably not I'd guess.

    I've not heard of the nocturna cooler. The Thermaltake Ultra 120 is rated as one of the best. I've had the Scythe Ninja which is highly rated too, I thought it was great. Both are quite big though, too big I found in fact. I've currently got the Akasa something 120 (forgotten it's name). Not such a great performer but smaller and very quiet.

    WD drives are great. I prefer the Samsung's at the moment though. They run cooler and quieter.

    I've never been a huge fan of thermaltake cases. Always find them quite noisy. I currently have an Antec, great for silence, but I miss the removable motherboard tray. I think my Lian Li was still my favourite case.
    "Boonowa tweepi, ha, ha."
  • DatabaseError
    DatabaseError Posts: 4,161 Forumite
    wolfman...thanks for the input, the nocturna is, allegedly, silent, and about a fiver less than the ultra 120 once a fan is added (does run 1-2 degs hotter), I've heard bad things about sammy hdds getting rma'd, £70 or so for a mbo is mid range, I'd like to spend more but...
    Thanks for the case comments, i'm after quiet as possible, without spending silly money, and with a window so i can see where my money has gone
    "Are you looking to overclock? Probably not I'd guess" er....yes, always.

    sadly I won't be back home til friday, but any comments between now and then i'll take onboard before shoping
    Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant.
  • deanos
    deanos Posts: 11,241 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Uniform Washer
    Have you looked on the Dell outlet ?

    Currently £55 off & free del

    Only had a quick peek and this is an example of prices for a Xps 420, it includes next day onsite warranty and operating system which the Ebay one does not include, Ebay one also includes a pants graphics card the XPS has a top end card

    £426

    XPS 420 Premium Quad Core Prsr 2.40GHz
    English Windows Vista Home Premium
    English - Vista Home Premium
    Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 667MHz [2x1024MB]
    Hard Disk Drive: 500GB 7200rpm SATA HD
    Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card
    Modem: Modem not included
    CD Read-Write Drive: DVD+/-RW (ReadWrite) 16X
    Software: BT, AOL, Tiscali ISP Combination
    MISC: Image Restore - Vista
    Mouse Dell Wheel USB 2 Button Scroll Black
    English - XPS 420 System Docs (UK power cord)
    9-in-1 Bluetooth Media Card Reader
    Dell Quietkey Black Keyboard
    Vista OnLine Getting Started Guide (WW
    Assembley Mod
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