New PC

[Martin]

As is standar when I must purchase a technological item I wish to tap into the knowledge of those far more knowledgeable than I.

My PC died a short while ago, and while taking it to pieces, without any knowledge of what I was actually looking for, I decided to get a new one. My PC was getting a bit slow, it struggled with some games (Football Manager specifically but it wouldn't run the new Civ either) and I spend rather a lot of time at my computer AND am looking to pick up my studying again, so my time on my computer will still be fairly high for a good few more years.

I'm not quite sure what I had previously, but it was an HP Pavilion Slimline. I can't locate a specific model number to note the calibre of certain parts.

I don't have a ridiculous budget but I'm not massively limited. I'd rather pay £100 for a PC which willl last an extra year BUT don't want to pay extra for the new super awesome gimic as I don't need a processor which can orbit a rocket. I'd be suprised if I couldn't get what I want for under £500?

I don't want an Apple PC because I think they're overpriced for what they are. I have all the necessary media such as mouse, speakers, monitor so it's just the tower I am after.


On another note as I as writting this I saw my PC was only made in Oct 2008 and my dad is going to look at it. So if I can get it up and running then I will do... but I'm not against having a quicker one with a bit more power.


Thanks guys!!

 

[Polo]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gamin...+3.30GHz+Dual+Core+Gaming+PC+?productId=48864

 

[Martin]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gamin...+3.30GHz+Dual+Core+Gaming+PC+?productId=48864

I like blue lights!

 

[Dax]

Ew i3 processor. Basically, if you're not looking for anything mega, you could easily grab a decent second hand one for about £350 that will have a Core Duo (don't bother with dual core, just stick with Duo and upwards or it's out-dated as hell) at a bare minimum.

I think I could even go so far as to say I could build you one with a Quad in it for £400ish, with about 3-4GB of memory, a decent GFX card and I have a spare Win7 key lying around that you're welcome to have for nothing as I hate it and it can burn in hell.

 

[Dax]

Disregard all my suggestion, RE: our IRC conversation

 

[Martin]

<DaX|HL>: Scratch that
<DaX|HL>: I can build you an uber machine for about £400
<DaX|HL>: http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Bundl...e+i5+2300+2.80GHz+4GB+Bundle+?productId=48382
<DaX|HL>: I can get you a case and a graphics card no problems
<Martiniii>: I just don't know how it comapres to what Polo suggested
<DaX|HL>: Well, I hate i3 processors
<DaX|HL>: They actually stack up WORSE than quad and duo core processors (previous generation of processors)
<DaX|HL>: And are a massive con IMO
<DaX|HL>: The i5 is the only i-series I would personally consider
<Martiniii>: Righto
<Martiniii>: Polo said the spec he posted was similar to his PC, which I've been on so I have that as a comparison of thinking it's plenty powerful enough
<Martiniii>: So the processor you're suggesting is better?
<DaX|HL>: Don't get me wrong, the i3 is competent.
<DaX|HL>: Although I've personaly benchmarked them against same-valued platforms
<DaX|HL>: And they are superlatively weaker than them
<DaX|HL>: It's the same with graphics cards
<DaX|HL>: I converted to AMD last year
<DaX|HL>: After benchmarking like-for-like priced cards
<DaX|HL>: And AMD own the 4/5 of the best benchmark scores in graphics
<DaX|HL>: And GeForce manages to get a meagre 4th place
<DaX|HL>: And it's £50 less than the top ranked AMD one

 

[Martin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GINGER6-F...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item4ab3e089e6

This was a suggestion from Dax.

As much I value Polo and Dax's views, if anyone else would like to pitch in then feel free. However if I can get a beast for £350-£400 then I'll be pretty content!

 

[Kingdroid]

Dax knows his ****. I doubt I could do better than Dax short of digging through Newegg.

 

[Zaheen]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GINGER6-F...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item4ab3e089e6

This was a suggestion from Dax.

As much I value Polo and Dax's views, if anyone else would like to pitch in then feel free. However if I can get a beast for £350-£400 then I'll be pretty content!

I always ask Azzer for opinions, I know Weeble is good on this stuff too.

Personally I would put in a bit more money and get an Intel i7, with lots of RAM and a top notch graphics card. But it's clear what you want the PC for, and it's for work. And so, that might make Polo's suggestion a very good one, although I think paying £500 for the spec of that is not needed, he's just tried to find you a good looking, all in one, and the best spec possible.

The longer you wait, the cheaper things will be, and the harder you look the chances are you'll find something better. You could spend lots of money on a kickass PC but you won't feel the difference if you buy something of lesser spec.

I spent £30 on a Razer Vespula Mousemat, and to me it's the best £30 I've ever spent. If you fork out £50 for a badass light up keyboard, you will come to your PC thinking you're a badass. I know these are expenssive additions, but if you're not buying your PC for the top notch games then you shouldn't be worrying about buying a beast. The PC should last if you get one new, I wouldn't get a 2nd hand one because you don't know how it's been treated or used, and it's as reliable as buying anything second hand.

I know my post has no suggestions on what to buy, I know Polo's tower looks really nice, but that's usually tucked under/behind somewhere anyway. I would get a better PC if I was you, because then you'll be able to use it longer due to it being more powerful, and then you won't have to say "oh this is too slow now", like you are doing!

I was not allowed to buy a new PC this time, so I purchased a Samsung RF711, I purchased a RF511 first and felt the screen resolution was too small so took it back, and lost out on £70 due to restocking fee. But I am happy with my new laptop spec, I wish it had a more powerful graphics card though.

- Intel i7 Quad 2.2 (Boost to 3.1 Ghz)
- 8GB RAM
- 750GB HD
- GeForce 540M (1GB Dedicated Graphics)
- 17.3" Screen (1600*900 Resolution)
- Blue-Ray Player

I know it's not the best, but it's decent for a laptop and I can play BF3 on it (with about 30 FPS - lame, as I wanted more FPS), and prices were fluctuating as I got it at xmas time and I payed just under £800 for this.

 

[Garrett2]

in my experience most of the specs of any hardware don't matter as long as you get a) plenty of ram and b) decent video card.

pretty much you can buy a great pc for low cost that has a powerful processor and a good bit of ram. buy the video card separate and just pop it in. usually the cheaper way to go.

 

[Kingdroid]

It truly is always the video card and RAM that will get you when it comes to performance issues.

 

[CFalcon]

Perhaps too late getting in on this thread, but just for the sake of comparison; last summer I built my parents a computer for £400 with an AMD Phenom II quad core at 3.3ghz, ATI HD5670 (1 gb) graphics cards, 8gb corsair RAM, and a 60gb SSD + 750gb WD caviar black HDD (both SATA III), as well as power supply, cd drive, wireless card etc etc. (already had case, OS and monitor).

Goes like an absolute rocket, for the price, and they won't need to upgrade for years now. AMD/ATI defs give you the most for your money at the budget end of the spectrum. Intel still rule the high performance end.

 

[Martin]

Actually I tried to lassoo Dax the other day to confirm necessary purchases as me and my dad (my dad actually knows about computers) have diagnosed my PC as ****ed. I am yet to purchase one. At some point in the near future I need to pin someone down to help me find bits. I think building my own PC appears the way to go, I'm not too stupid that I can apply common sense and I have my netbook to follow any guides/Google anything. Just need to pick the different items.

I think the Harddisk on my old PC is fine though, so I can use that, but there's probably issues with compatability/size?

 

[No-Dachi]

Harddisks should be pretty standard and ought to fit in your new PC too. You'll probably want an SSD as your main and your old SATA as your storage though.

 

[Steve_God]

Harddisks should be pretty standard and ought to fit in your new PC too.

While the disks themselves are standard, watch out for SATA vs IDE connections.

I ended up getting a high end motherboard that was a bit 'too' high end, and no-longer had any IDE connections for my older hard drives, and only had SATA ports.

 

[Martin]

If I was sad enough to find a GIF to reply to your posts it would be of a man being given too much information that his head explodes.

Think about it..

 

[nopjes]

<DaX|HL>: Scratch that
<DaX|HL>: Well, I hate i3 processors
<DaX|HL>: They actually stack up WORSE than quad and duo core processors (previous generation of processors)
<DaX|HL>: And are a massive con IMO
<DaX|HL>: The i5 is the only i-series I would personally consider

Has anyone got any experience with i7?

 

[atsanjose]

Harddisks should be pretty standard and ought to fit in your new PC too. You'll probably want an SSD as your main and your old SATA as your storage though.

i think ssd is above his budget

 

[Martin]

Harddisks should be pretty standard and ought to fit in your new PC too. You'll probably want an SSD as your main and your old SATA as your storage though.

i think ssd is above his budget

My budget is a guideline really, I'm not "limited" by my spending, and as I spend a fair amount of time using/around/on my PC I have no issues with paying a bit more for something that will last longer and operate better for longer.
However as I only really play strategy games (Football Manager, Civ etc.) I don't think I need the computer power of those who play FPS?

I'm keen to order a PC or at least parts so I can get it working again, my netbook is going my head in!

 

[Martin]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Home+...D+3550+SSD+Quad-Core+Home+PC+?productId=49957


Bought this after lengthy conversations with Dax!