finger on the pulse pc offers / best buys

[a4gom]

Need to get a new box for my ma and I know there are plenty of users out there who are up to speed on this sort of stuff so any advice would be gratefully received.

Hers is at least 8 years old it's been in a cupboard all that time turned on most of the day everyday. It's started playing up, crashing, freezing and whilst I'm just about managing to keep it running at the moment it's past it's best and not worth throwing any money at.

She has a screen which is only a year old and a keyboard and mouse so whilst we wouldn't rule out buying the full package she might be better off with just the box?

Has anyone seen any good deals anywhere / know what sort of spec is current.

She uses the pc for standard internet / email stuff, games (not huge 3d things) and crafting; making cards, scrap booking etc using purpose made software, she also does quite a bit of photo editing both with the crafting and for family photo albums.

One of the biggest issues with her current machine has been the lack of usb ports, she has 4 on the back so has to use a large hub to connect up all her peripherals for her crafting. I'd guess she could do with 6 or more on the back and some on the front as the back isn't accessible to plug in cameras etc.

Any suggestions?

[rocket_rabbit]

If you have a bit of nouse, you are best off building your own.  That way, you can spec it out to exactly how you want it.

Here is mine:

However, if you just want good customer service and an out of the box solution, get a HP/Dell system.

[a4gom]

Cheers, I can plug things together and have built my own in the past, I don't think she needs anything like yours! Plus it's going to be hidden so it doesn't need to look pretty.

Thing is I have no idea where we are processor wise, what's good, what she actually needs etc. Apart from a computer I bought for our kids last year I haven't bought anything for 10 years and the one I got for them was in the sale so not a current model.

She's probably going to need an operating system as I don't think she got a copy with her last one and that was XP when it first came out so I suppose something straight out of the box would be easier.

Anyone used www.dinopc.com ?

Whats the equivelant of "Intel Core i3 2100" in AMD? Are there other's to consider? Back when I was interested both Intel and AMD had a top of the range processor for gamers etc and a bottom of the range for others i.e. pentium and celeron is that still the case?

[DerekJ]

Hi,

If all she needs is a low power / inexpensive machine and is not bothered too much about spec then check out the packages that people like Tesco's have. They are never performance machines but maybe OK for what your mum needs.

Also, if it is in a cupboard check that it's not overheating due to lack of air flow.

HTH

DerekJ

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Hmm, I'm sort of with you on the doesn't need anything much, but you mention crafts a few times, and then photography.

Er, what exactly do you mean? It's sort of quite a broad subject, it could be anything from uploading a few snaps to Facebook, Picassa etc through to being an expert with Photoshop and image manipulation. The more interest in the latter, the more benefit to getting a mid level or better machine.

Also, the crafts bit, worth checking if their are any specific requirements the software has, particularly compatability wise if it's not very mainstream stuff.

[rocket_rabbit]

How much money are you looking at?

I'll spec you one up if you want

[a4gom]

She does a small amount of editing, nothing too serious, red eye etc..

It's a good point about software and accessory compatibility, I haven't had chance to call round but some of it might be pre win7 so that could be an issue?

Some of the software does use quite a bit of memory, having said that she's only running 2gb at the mo and whilst it does slow down every now and then it doesn't seem to bother her too much.

I think a mid range machine would be fine, I don't know how much she wants to spend but would guess £3-400 obviously she wants to spend as little as possible but wants something which will give her another 10 years.

If you could spec one up that would be great.

I'll nip round tonight and try find out the spec she has now, that did the job when it was working so should be a good starter.

[nik9669]

Some good bargains and "nearly new" deals are available down Tottenham way, I hear...

[Rory's Dad]

Some good bargains and "nearly new" deals are available down Tottenham way, I hear...

   

...or you could try CCL Computers in Bradford.  They used to be good and cheap.  I'm sure they'd spec one up for you.

Rory's Dad

[a4gom]

Just had a look at ccl martin and I think "used" is the key word in your sentence. I've built a couple back in the day from there but doesn't appear cheap now.

[Mark Stanton]

Check out dabs.com and misco  

[rocket_rabbit]

ebay is still the best area for parts.

Otherwise

Microdirect

Scan

eBuyer

dabs have crap customer service so avoid them.

10 years from a PC is a good ask, mind!

Still, Win XP is that old now!

Get the following:

Antec One Hundred Case

Corsair CX430 PSU

Asus M488T-M Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 840 Processor

2x2GB (4GB) of Corsair Vengance PC3-12800 DDR3 Memory

Arctic Cooling Freezer 13

AMD Radeon (Sapphire/powercolor brands etc) 5670 Graphics

Seagate barracuda 7200.12 500GB HDD drive

Lite-on DVD-RW 22X SATA IHAS122-18 Optical drive

Et Voilla

[pistonbroke]

Check this guy out

Omni trading

Just bought a HP desktop from him at a great price and very well pleased with the result

Free delivery 12 month warranty , good return policy

Only downside might be the lack of software , though they do come with Vista etc. pre loaded .

[John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison]

Tescos  

[SootySport]

In most cases a laptop is all that is required these days, saves a lot of space as well. You can buy a USB hub for all those extra connections cheaply.  Tesco are reasonable and never quible if there is a problem.