Family prebuilt PC for £400(ish)

[UnGreat]

The old family PC is slowly dying and after repeated replacements of parts frankenputer is at that point where a new PC is the less costly option.

I don't really want to build one as although I've previous experience i'm getting a bit fed up of being the family IT bloke. I need to find a good workhorse desktop that the family can abuse for around £400 (base unit only).

I'd prefer any OS other than Vista (7 or XP preferred) and it needs VGA for the old monitor. I've seen the Aldi PC in someone else's thread that gives me a start as to what to expect for £400, any better options?

 

[cityblue121]

Yeah that was my post its a great pc I was just wanting to know weather it will play games or not!

also if you decided to get on there like gold dust they sell out in minutes i think its limited to 10 per shop so when they get put on the shelves which i think is 4th of feb then get to the shop as soon as it open lol my mate was lucky to get one. the specs aint bad for £399 real good value in my opinion at would suit the needs as a family pc

 

[cityblue121]

also i have the same probs as you i need a new pc but want good value for my money so shopping around and at the moment that aldi pc looks favorite

 

[radioredcat]

Iv'e just bought a medion from tesco and am very pleased with it and it is quiet.

Medion Akoya Bezel P3 Q8200 4GB 320GB Windows 7 Desktop - Tesco.Direct


andy

 

[cityblue121]

Iv'e just bought a medion from tesco and am very pleased with it and it is quiet.

Medion Akoya Bezel P3 Q8200 4GB 320GB Windows 7 Desktop - Tesco.Direct


andy

whats it like with playin games mate ? also can it be easily upgraded and whats the psu in it sorry for all the questions just because im thinkin of buyin one

 

[radioredcat]

The psu is a 350W and the motherboard is a MSI MS-7366 it has a PCI-E and a white PCI slot and a blue (presumibly) PCI slot the DVD drive is LG and the HDD is hitachi.

I don't play games much these days but the most powerfull game i have is call of duty 2 so if i can find it i will put it on and try it,I don't know if i will have any problems with the operating system being win 7.

I have put CONVERT TO DVD on and it works ok and i have converted an avi to dvd in 1hr 15 mins and the same film took 7 hrs on my old AMD XP200 pc

ALDI has another pc this thursday i would expect another rush to the doors again when it opens.

http://uk.aldi.com/uk/html/offers/offers_week05Thursday10.htm?WT.z_src=main

andy

 

[UnGreat]

How do the PC from Aldi and Tesco stack up together in the spec department?

I'm a couple of years out of it on what constitutes a good machine so couldn't really tell you which has the best processor or graphics, ect.

I would love to get the Aldi machine as the PC I have now was a Medion and lasted a good few years but I doubt I would be lucky enough to grab one as Aldi special buys can go fast.

 

[jamesg1979]

Just got this one, very impressed - though I think the free upgrade to Windows 7 runs out tonight.
Top spec for under £400.
Fujitsu Amilo Pi 3635 PC + CASHBACK OFFER - Misco.co.uk

Fujitsu-Siemens AMILO Pi 3635 / Core 2 Quad Q8200 / Vista Home Premium 64 bit /ATI HD 4850 / 4GB RAM / 1TB HDD / DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM / *Includes DVI-HDMI Adapter / Desktop

 

[UnGreat]

I've had to put off getting a new PC for another couple of weeks so the Aldi 4th Feb one is out.

Hopefully the extra dozen days will allow me to search out a few more options.

 

[gkw]

I know you now have to wait now but for the spec this is a great price. It is via the dell small business site but you can buy for personal use.

Dell Vostro 430, Core i7-860 , 3Gb DDR3 RAM, 500GB HD, 512MB ATI RadeonTM HD 4350, Creative PCI-E Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeAudio - HotUKDeals Forum

This offer will end in a couple of hours but they always add new offers as time goes on.

or try this link closer to purchase time.

Compare All UK Dell Vostro Deals and E-Value Codes | dmXdimension

Greg

 

[radioredcat]

An update on wether this pc will play games i could not find my COD2 so i borrrowed one and it wont play so i tried FARCRY 1 and the performance is better than my old pc using an ATI 9200SE graphics card.

The problems with farcry is you can't see water and the games don't save properly.

I think these problems are down to windows 7 and not hardware related so i'm going to look in dual boot with xp thats if there are no compatability problems with xp and the hardware.


andy

 

[UnGreat]

I now have £400 ready to spend on a PC base unit (I have a monitor). I need a workhorse that will hold itself together for a few years. It's doubtful any gaming will be done on it but video rendering may. It's main functions will be browsing emails and a ridiculous amount of downloading.

I detest Vista so either an XP or Windows 7 pc is preferred.

Any recommendations are welcome, even if I don't use them it would be nice to get a benchmark of what specs I should be looking for for my money.