Advice on buying a new PC...

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

My dad's looking at buying a new PC for our family, thing is, he knows nothing about them so he's left me to pick the right one. Are there any reccomendable set-ups or sites for custom PC's? We're looking at spending £700-1000 and its for the whole family, although mainly for me, which means it should be able to run most new games, although i can't be bothered with graphics heavy mosters...
Any advice would be much appreciated and just ask if you need to know more, i can't remember things until someone asks me...

Thanks

Ozzy

 

[MarineCorps]

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=gen Dell althrough I have had bad experince with their CD ROM drives.(One doesn't work at all the other takes a half hour to load cds.)

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

Thanks I will check it out properly tomorrow...

 

[Zakharov]

I would stay away from Dell if I were you. Here are a couple of sites you might want to look at:

evesham.com

The Axis series is AMD and the Evolution series is Intel based. I would recommend the Axis series as you will want an AMD cpu if you are going to be playing games.

komplett.co.uk

Again I would recommend one of the AMD rigs with a few customisations to the specs.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

@Zakharov

I was already gonna get an AMD, thanks anyway

Here's a Pre-built system my dad found at a shop, it looks pretty good for the price but i'm worrying that there could be some fatal flaw that makes it this cheap ( maybe the memory or graphics?). Here are the specs:

Name- Targa Visionary PCX 3400+
Price- £799
3 year manufactures warranty

AMD Athlon 3400+ 2.2GHZ processor
Targa Mainboard gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 TA
Full ATX PCI/PCI-E board with nvidia NForce4 chipset Hypertransport 800

nVidia 6645 Graphics card
128MB DDR memory
For games, multimedia and professional multi-monitor operation
With analogue and digital DVB-T tuner, radio/TV reciever
suitable for cable and aerial reception (terrestrial)
Including remote control

Hard drive
300 GB capacity
Ultra-fast: 7,200rpm
16MB cache
serial ATA

SIEMENS 1.024 MB PC3200 DDR-400RAM
one of the most reliable and fastest memories on the market

Toshiba DVD-burner and CD-burner
DVD-multinorm and dual-layer technology for up to 8.5GB = up to 240 minutes recording time on one DVD
Supports DVD+/-R/RW and DVD+R DL
Writes 16x DVD-R, 16X DVD+R, 4x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+RW, 5x Dual layer+R, 48x CD-Rom, 24x CD-RW
Reads: 16x DVD, 40x CD, 2x DVD-RAM

Toshiba DVD-ROM
Reads 16x DVD, 48x CD-ROM

Realtek 8-channel high-defination audio
7.1 Digital sound
The ultimate cinematic sound and games experience

Bluetooth Bluetotth Dongle
For easy transfer of files between Bluetooth devices (mobile phone, printers etc)

USB Wireless LAN dongle
For an easy integration into wireless networks

MODEM softmeodem 56k V.90 including cable

Cooler EKL super-silent cooler

9 in 1 memory card reader
Reads and writes 14 different media types: SecureDigitalCard, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick
Pro, SMM, Compact Flash, Smart Card, IBM Microdrive
Inclusive Smart Card Plus Software plus adapter for XD Cards
Download telephone numbers onto the SIM card of your mobile

Included Software:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Esdition Service Pack 2 OEM
Microsoft Worksuite 2005:
Microsoft Word 2002
Microsoft Works 8.0
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia 2005
Microsoft Picture It! Photo Standard
Microsoft AutoRoute 2005
Money 2005
Pinnacle Studio
Ahead Nero 6 OEM-suite
Ahead Nero 6 OEM-suite
OEM eTrust 7 AntiVirus software
OEM Power Cinema Version 4
OEM Camgoo Suite
OEM DivX Codec
Chipdrive SIM Manager Pro 3.3
AOL internet software

Also includes
Chicony RadarCam USB Webcam
Cordless keyboard & optical mouse
Net Headset-Stereo internet headset with microphone
Loudspeakers 120Watt

I copied it out word for word (well as near as i could) although most of it is probably just to make it look good , so if there's anything wrong with this, can you please tell me

Thanks

Ozzy

 

[Zakharov]

Most of it looks fine, but I do have three queries.

1) There is no mention of a monitor. Is there one included? This will affect whether the price is worth it.

2) What is the power supply (brand and output)?

3) I've never heard of a 6645 graphics card and I can't find anything via google. Either this is labelled wrong, or the shop is trying to sell you a refurbished card.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

1) There is no monitor, i already have one though (i see what you mean about prices...)

2) I copied it word for word, i can't find anything about the power supply

3) Its definately called a 6645 graphics card, what do you mean by a refurbished card?

Thanks for the advice

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

Heres Targa's sitre http://www.targa.co.uk/ , it doesn't have this model but it has the next one down, including the specs for the graphics and power supply

 

[viper275]

I think 128 RAM is a bit low (but RAM is cheap.) I've never heard of the graphics card, either. Otherwise, it looks good to me.

 

[Zakharov]

I think 128 RAM is a bit low (but RAM is cheap.) I've never heard of the graphics card, either. Otherwise, it looks good to me.

It's 1GB of system RAM. The 128MB is referring to the video memory.

 

[Zakharov]

1) There is no monitor, i already have one though (i see what you mean about prices...)

If this package had a monitor it would be priced around £1,000. What monitor do you have currently? Is it good enough for the new rig?

2) I copied it word for word, i can't find anything about the power supply

The next model down on that site you linked to has a 350W PSU. I would expect this rig to have at least the same, which is adequate.

3) Its definately called a 6645 graphics card, what do you mean by a refurbished card?

You need to check that card at the shop. It could be the driver version (Forceware 66.45) that is listed instead of the model number. Unfortunately, people who work in computer shops tend to know very little about hardware so they probably don't know the difference.

A refurbished card is one which is not fit for full price sale. It could be a card which has been sent back to the manufacturer to have a faulty VRAM chip replaced, for example. However, in this case I think it is more likely to be a bad labelling issue.

Thanks for the advice

No problem.

 

[MarineCorps]

I would stay away from Dell if I were you.

Just wondering, how come?

 

[Zakharov]

Just wondering, how come?

I would stay away from Dell for the same reason I would avoid Compaq and other companies who make pre-built computers to their own spec.

The main reason is that they use their own BIOS on the mobo. This restricts what you can do with the system as you need to use hardware which is compatible with their system. I would much rather buy a rig with a generic BIOS which would allow me flexibility if I want to upgrade in future.

Of course, for some people (read: people who use Excel and IE and nothing else) a Dell is a nice system as it does exactly what they want for a good price. Plus these people are highly unlikely to want to upgrade as they would probably give you a blank look if you said "Have you thought about putting in some extra RAM?"

For people with at least some knowledge of computer hardware (as well as those who need their pc for more intensive apps than web browsing) it is a much better option to get a machine that is tailored to what you want now, plus gives you future options at the same time.

In the case of this thread, Lozzy Ozzy has shown me two things which make me suggest a custom built system: a) some knowledge about computer hardware, and b) a desire to use the system for gaming.

Point a) has already been addressed above.

As for point b), anyone who is interested in using their pc for playing recent games should only be considering an AMD cpu. Dell have an exclusive contract with Intel, so they are no longer an option in this process. Other companies may offer an AMD cpu, but it is more than likely that the rest of the machine is not 'gamer friendly.' For example, they probably include a FX5200 graphics card.

There are many other reasons I can give for excluding Dell and other similar companies from my recommendation, but I would rather not write an essay here.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

1) Not sure on the name, but i'm pretty sure its ok (we have two, one old lame one and one which is pretty decent)

Oh and thanks for the compliment

Ozzy

 

[Zakharov]

As long as your monitor will display a resolution of at least 1024x768 at 85Hz then it should be fine.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

Thanks again

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Build one for yourself.

 

[MarineCorps]

Dell have an exclusive contract with Intel, so they are no longer an option in this process.

Yeah I heard about that.

 

[Zakharov]

Build one for yourself.

Good advice for an enthusiast but not necessarily for a family computer. For example, the bundled software package would be quite expensive for a self built rig.

Talking of software, I just noticed this in the specs Lozzy Ozzy listed:

AOL internet software

I would advise you not to use this. Find another ISP (BT?) and use Firefox or IE for web browsing.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

@KOF

As in a custom PC or literally build it? I'm capable of both (with some help from my electronics genius grandad ) but then i need to buy all the software .

And i would use BT anyway (already do) as i dislike American products (and i dislike Microsoft but i need to use loads of my old stuff) and i already use Firefox, thanks anyway