new computer??

cherokee · 04-12-2006, 01:20

Right my kids have all clubbed together to buy me a new comp for xmas . Thing is im lost for which one to go for .we,re upto £400 and I was looking at the one advertised on tv from pc world at £398 120Ghard drive and all that bumf, but can any of you guys please tell me which one is best for the money and just what we should actually look for ?

I was going for a bigger mem, 120 seems ok for what i use it for , but after that im lost as to what im looking for ???

entwisi · 04-12-2006, 06:16

all depends on what you want it to do. are you a gamer? vid editor? do a lot of graphics work? musician?

All these types of activities need slightly different spec of machine, let us know your type of useage and we will advise whats best.

KIPAX · 04-12-2006, 08:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee

120Ghard drive and all that bumf, but can any of you guys please tell me which one is best for the money and just what we should actually look for ?

I was going for a bigger mem, 120 seems ok for what i use it for , but after that im lost as to what im looking for ???

the 120 is NOT the memory... it's the hard drive..its space.. ie how much space you ahve on your computer to store files or install software... the memory defines how much of that software you can use at one time and ultimatly (without going into detail) how fast it works.

120 gig space is plenty for an average user.... I work a lot with photographs so would soon run out... people who download games and videos would run out of space (but then it dont matter how much you give them people they run out)

PS for the umpteenth time...a computer with less than one meg of space and only half a meg of memory was enough for me to make my first website and use the internet (entwisi will prob beat that

) .. My point being that you dont need all that much power or memory for average day to day use.. internet office software etc.

entwisi · 04-12-2006, 09:09

First PC, 286 with 1 meg ram and 20 meg HD

, first computer, ZX81 (1 kilobyte of RAM, no internal storage, B&W screen touchpad for a keyboard) which I still have. I actually had 2 games published for it when I was 12.

a brief guide is

Games - plenty of Hard Disk space - fast Gfx card with loads of GFX onboard memory(not shared memory!) - CPU and core memory need to be reasonable not not ultimate

Video editing - Absolutely loads of disk space ( more than 300 gig realistically), fast CPU and loads of RAM.

Photo editing, lots of RAM and a good CPU, disk space you will need moderate especially if you capture in RAW mode (my new camera produces 12 Meg images, these soon add up!)

Musician, - moderate spec PC with the best soundcard you can buy will be fine

As Kipax has said, todays lowest spec PC is an order of magnitude better than you need for Office/internet work. Todays £400 PC has probably 1000x more power than NASA had when they put a man on the moon.

Neil · 04-12-2006, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by entwisi

Todays £400 PC has probably 1000x more power than NASA had when they put a man on the moon.

So you believe they managed it do you?

entwisi · 04-12-2006, 10:00

Thats for another thread

jimmi5bellies · 04-12-2006, 13:43

The other day i purchased a 2GB memory, 320 GB Hard Drive, DVD-RW pc. Came with speakers, mouse, keyboard. Got it from ebay from a seller in Bury.

chav1 · 04-12-2006, 14:19

my advice would be to keep your current monitor keyboard and mouse and put your own new tower unit together yourself if u know anyone capable of putting a pc together and installing windows xp

nearly all pc's at pc world and dell brag about their graphics chips but what they dont tell you openly is that it shares teh memory that is used to run your pc so it slows down the pc's performnce dramaticly

www.scan.co.uk

they can also build systems to your reuirements and budget and will be better than anything you will ever buy at pc world or dell ( just mention you dont want onboard graphics and ask for a cheap 3d card)

entwisi · 04-12-2006, 15:14

not all dell /pc world computers use shared memory for gfx. you need to look at the specs to find out or ask specifically for that information. If they sell you something that then turns out to have shared memory then you have a right to return it.

It does also depend on what you want teh PC for, top end gamers will need a top gfx card and these all have their own memory. If all you do it Internet/office/ play older games then shared memory will be fine for the job.

cherokee · 04-12-2006, 15:40

thanks for all advice given guys its certainly given me a better insight into what to look for..cheers

John_Timmins · 04-12-2006, 20:51

have a look at acer website thats where i got mine from after entwisi guided me there, great service and sorted one problem i had with the blue tooth out straight away at no cost.

Chopper · 05-12-2006, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee

Right my kids have all clubbed together to buy me a new comp for xmas . Thing is im lost for which one to go for .we,re upto £400 and I was looking at the one advertised on tv from pc world at £398 120Ghard drive and all that bumf, but can any of you guys please tell me which one is best for the money and just what we should actually look for ?

I was going for a bigger mem, 120 seems ok for what i use it for , but after that im lost as to what im looking for ???

I work at PC World, the one for £398 compaq 2019 is one of the best deals i've seen while i been working there, come down and i'll sort you out 10% if you got a son or daughter who goes college bring their card with you to get a bit more off.

If im in a good mood and feeling generous i'll let you have a pack of stuff to get you started, it includes norton internet security 2007, pack of 25 dvd discs, 512MB portable data storage drive and FIFA 07 pc game (could be a present for chirstmas if you don't want the game) all of that is worth £135 i mite let you have it for nothing... if the managers arn't looking haha

entwisi · 06-12-2006, 08:03

Well, I'd throw the Norton stuff in the bin for a start. DVD discs could be useful and a 512 memory stick are OK to have lying around. FiFa would be on eBay.

jimmi5bellies · 06-12-2006, 14:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chopper

I work at PC World, the one for £398 compaq 2019 is one of the best deals i've seen while i been working there, come down and i'll sort you out 10% if you got a son or daughter who goes college bring their card with you to get a bit more off.

If im in a good mood and feeling generous i'll let you have a pack of stuff to get you started, it includes norton internet security 2007, pack of 25 dvd discs, 512MB portable data storage drive and FIFA 07 pc game (could be a present for chirstmas if you don't want the game) all of that is worth £135 i mite let you have it for nothing... if the managers arn't looking haha

pc world !!! ba humbug ... they advertise stuff on the internet that they have not got and havnt had for months .... was in there last Tuesday t-time wanting one of those 19" TFT monitors they was showing as having 2 in stock at Blackburn for £79.99...(even phoned up and checked prior to setting off, manager thought it was ok just to say the sytem was glitching and saying they had things in stock when they didnt, he didnt even have the decency to offer a discount etc ) and when i asked about them the 3 lads huddled up together laughed out loud at me.

... walked out in disgust and spent my money at Comet.
Told the manager they was falsley advertising on the internet....

panther · 06-12-2006, 18:15

try dell online, cheap!! www.dell.co.uk