New PC

[James Ferrier]

i had a call from NTL last night offering me £8.50 off broadband subscription as I have all my services (except internet) with them and a call plan, i've chosen to take the 1mb option as i'll probably only use it for surfing/emails/minimal downloading and maybe a little bit of gaming. For £9.50 a month i thought you can't go wrong.

Now the issue is I don't have a PC at the momment since moving and selling the old one blah blah etc etc.

I've been looking at the Dell website, mainly at their 5150 range and for £589, their middle range 5150, this seems to fit the bill. As i say it will mainly be for surfing/photoshop/email and maybe some gaming. The gfx card is 256MB PCI ExpressT ATI RadeonT X600 Hypermemory, does this offer relatively good performance for games?

also, does anyone know of any other PC's that might fit my bill, not from Dell?

Are there any money off codes applicable to Dell online purchases?

Any help kindly appreciated.

James

 

[Razor]

i had a call from NTL last night offering me £8.50 off broadband subscription as I have all my services (except internet) with them and a call plan, i've chosen to take the 1mb option as i'll probably only use it for surfing/emails/minimal downloading and maybe a little bit of gaming. For £9.50 a month i thought you can't go wrong.

Now the issue is I don't have a PC at the momment since moving and selling the old one blah blah etc etc.

I've been looking at the Dell website, mainly at their 5150 range and for £589, their middle range 5150, this seems to fit the bill. As i say it will mainly be for surfing/photoshop/email and maybe some gaming. The gfx card is 256MB PCI ExpressT ATI RadeonT X600 Hypermemory, does this offer relatively good performance for games?

also, does anyone know of any other PC's that might fit my bill, not from Dell?

Are there any money off codes applicable to Dell online purchases?

Any help kindly appreciated.

James

I am not a Dell fan, they aint the best performing pcs for the money.

The x600 is a poor card for games, for a modest budget try a card like the x1600xt (approx £130 ish). Or you could spend more and get a 7800gt or x1900xt.

For pcs try Mesh

http://www.meshcomputers.com/

Or you could get CCLonline to build you a custom pc for £50. You pick the parts and they build and test it for you.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-categories.asp?category_id=271

Happy Shopping

 

[bluesilver]

you could try ebuyer.co.uk.
simply computers is good, evesham computers isn't bad either.

 

[James Ferrier]

cheers for the info.

are Mesh PC's relatively quiet? i know Dell ones tend to be from what i've read and heard (silly pun)

Having looked at the Mesh site, i quite like the idea of this pc, http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=66794, what's this gfx card like? i've never heard of it before. I think the rest of the spec's fit the bill though.

 

[Razor]

cheers for the info.

are Mesh PC's relatively quiet? i know Dell ones tend to be from what i've read and heard (silly pun)

Having looked at the Mesh site, i quite like the idea of this pc, http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=66794, what's this gfx card like? i've never heard of it before. I think the rest of the spec's fit the bill though.

Mesh pc's are reasonable on the noise department.

As for the card it looks bottom of the range, you can upgrade your card for a x1600pro few quid more.

512MB ATI Radeon X1600 Pro - TV-Out + DVI - PCI-Express[upg £ 60.00]

 

[bluesilver]

the thing to watch out for with the new types of computers, (PCI Express) is that that often the cards are actually VERY Low powered.
PC World are selling PCI Express machines for stupidly high money because it has the new technology, but the cards inside are lower powered than AGP boards. I have a 6600GT Overclocked PCI Express card and I wouldn't go lower than that, but as someone mentioned, the 7800 card is better.

Another thing to think about is the FSB (front side bus) speeds. The higher this is, the faster the card etc will talk to the processor etc. Get something around 800mhz.
As for processor, don't get anything less than a Athlon 2000+ and remember that AMD and Intel have different ratings, so an Athlon 2000 is different to a Intel 2000 chip. But, as AMD used to make Intel chips when Intel first started, the know what they are doing and the integration between processor and Mobo is often better than Intel's chips.

Ah, another thing If possible, get a AMD Athlon 989 socket on the motherboard as these can be upgraded to Dual Processors in the future. Another PC World problem. They are selling machines that have no real upgrade path.


The best thing to do is get some PC magazines, like PC Format, as they often have reviews on pc companies.

 

[booyaka]

Would you consider building one yourself - best way if you can select your own components/case etc and most likely work out cheaper than a prebuilt one. Also a great deal of satisfaction building your own pc

 

[bluesilver]

I think that pc, like someone said, has a low end gfx card. Often the case when you get a pretty good bundle for a pretty good price (tft screen, decent amount of memory and processor etc) is that the gfx card is really low end.

 

[Uridium]

If you like Dell's take a look at www.dell.co.uk/outlet

 

[James Ferrier]

Would you consider building one yourself - best way if you can select your own components/case etc and most likely work out cheaper than a prebuilt one. Also a great deal of satisfaction building your own pc

i've built my last 2 pc's myself but this was years ago and I spent a lot of money, i got the xp2100 AMD chip the day it came out and the latest gfx card at the time. it's certainly something i would consider, but i'm so out of touch with the pc market.

I have to be a bit more money conscious nowdays, just got a mortgage and live with my girlfriend so probably around the £800 max mark is what i could spend.

something to get my head around is the AMD vs Intel trade off, probably what i'm looking at having looked at the sites you guys have provided is 1gb memory, 200gb storage, onboard sound would be fine, at least a 17 inch flat panel display, mid range gfx and mid range processor.

i don't know if anyone could recommend products in these areas?

 

[bluesilver]

I'll have a look for some for you.
The amd and intel thing goes back 30 odd years. Basically, AMD used to make Intel's processors. Something like 15 years ago AMD split from Intel and decided to sell processors themselves, they figured that they knew how to make them, they were actually the experts, and Intel were getting the profit and the credit.
So, AMD is better than Intel but Intel are the most known as they are far more commonly seen on tv. If you buy say, a Athlon 2000 chip, it will run at 1666mhz whereas a Intel chip will run at 2000mhz. Where things get tricky, is you would think that performance wise, the Intel chip would be better, but often it isn't. Because AMD have a lot of know-how, they can integrate their chips into a system better than Intel. The chips can handshake with the components quicker than Intel chips, so the machine will run faster normally.
Another thing to consider is price. As Intel as more well known, they charge a FAR higher price than AMD. Think of it like Skoda. A Skoda is basically a VW Golf as they are made by the same people. Most of the parts are even the same. But, VW Golf is more respected and well known as a brand, so a VW Golf with cost you twice as much as Skoda, even though they are basically the same car.

 

[bluesilver]

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=95739

had a look on ebuyer and for the price, this isn't bad. £460. You'd need to get a monitor for it but the gfx card isn't terrible (you might find a similar model with a 7800gt card maybe) and you can upgrade the memory easily and cheaply enough. But for £460 and easily upgradable, it isn't bad at all. I think anyway.

 

[bluesilver]

ebuyer also do 19" tft monitors for under £200. I think the pc I picked out can come as part of a bundle that come with a monitor. Not sure on the price of that.

 

[bluesilver]

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...ction=YnVuZGxlX292ZXJ2aWV3&easycode=KN7D77879

£629 including monitor and VAT.

 

[booyaka]

CAn totally recommend the Samsung 913N 19inch tft screen from ebuyer - £180 including VAT!!! - superb monitor - check the reviews on ebuyer, 200+ positive reviews.

My recent build, within last 6 weeks, included the above monitor and cost me £900 for the specs in my sig. Runs all the lastest games at a cracking pace, and was an easy build.

That could easily cut down to £800 or so. I went for a big psu for future SLI potential. Also you could get some value ram if not heavy gaming etc to save a few quid. Also a less costly motherboard would be fine. Let me know if you require a spec up.

I was in the same boat as you as my last pc before this one was 5 years old - felt a bit out of touch but did some reading on net etc, ordered the stuff from ebuyer and overclockers etc

PCI-E, SATA, SLI, RAID, etc etc - it doesn't take long to get up to date with the PC stuff.

 

[Reepicheep]

If you do go done the self-built route take a look at Novatech. They sell tested motherboard bundles (motherboard, CPU, Heatsink & memory), as well as barebone systems:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/bundles.html

 

[FruitBat]

My PC has been getting a bit flakey recently, so I just got a new one. I was going to DIY, but liked the idea of having it ready-built and tested so I wouldn't have to spend weeks tweaking it. I looked at Dell's because I've used them at work and they always seem to be stable, but I didn't want to get a Pentium (too damn hot). I wanted a 989 m/b (can upgrade to X2 as someone said). In the end I went for a HP dx5150. I saw some positive reviews (there's one on AnandTech). You can configure your own spec, but it's cheaper (and quicker) to buy one of the standard models. In the end I went for a mini-tower, 1GB memory, AMD64 3500+, 160GB SATA for 550 quid incl. VAT. This is a microATX with 2 PCI, 1 PCIe x1, 1PCIe x16. The graphics are built in (ATI), but you can fit a card if necessary. It also comes with XP Pro, keyboard and mouse but no monitor. I ordered in on monday (before 4pm) and it arrived tuesday morning. No problems so far. I've installed two DVB cards and it manages OK (PSU is 250W). If you register for HP emails, you get a code for 25 quid off your first purchase over 500.

 

[Uridium]

This may be of use to anyone who's considering their first self build or if you have got a bit out of touch since your last build

http://www.zombienexus.com/forums/cms_view_article.php?aid=30&page=1

 

[Knyght_byte]

as a long time dell user and avid gamer, nothing wrong with Dell PC's providing you buy the top tier multimedia use base unit. I dont mean the gaming rig one, i mean the normal home user one, but the top tier.......just get it stripped down, if you dont need the sound to be awesome then just use built in sound, dont buy the graphics card either, when you phone up tell them you want motherboard graphics, then buy a graphics card yourself a lot cheaper from somewhere like overclockers.co.uk.....

as for screen, well, thats up to you.....usually Dell want a pretty penny for their screens, they are usually very good however, but if you want a LCD and it pushes the price up for a decent one, then order the PC without a monitor and buy one yourself.......sometimes the sales agent gets a bit narky and reckons it cant be done, worth hanging up and get thru to a different agent who might say yes...if not just take the cheapest possible monitor you can (usually a 17in CRT) then flog it on to someone else.....

some people make claims to Dell using cheap components in their computers, and yes in their cheap models they do, but so would any other company selling a cheap model with lots of extras......but in the top tier home user PC they usually use some very good components, i know as i've always bought from that line and i've never had a problem other than a fitting one where a fan hadnt been attached properly to the inside of the case and had knocked the graphics card in transit....however Dell quickly took it back and replaced the mobo, g-card and fan......

i've had 4 Dell PC's, two of which are still going strong.....they surf well, do the office thing well, play music and media very well, and game fantastically.....i am considering finally moving up a graphics card notch on this PC because Aftermath hopefully isnt too far off and i want full HDR available...lol...

building yourself you could do better if you know what you doing in respect to matching the parts....but like a hifi, if you dont match things right it can go wrong....either drastically, or simply the computer can be a bit slower than it should or flips out sometimes.......if your confident then read up about it and go for it.......if you not (or just lazy..heh) then nothing wrong with Dell ;-)

 

[Miyazaki]

I personally wouldn't touch dell. They ripped me off when getting my wife's laptop and their customer service is horrifically bad.

 

[Knyght_byte]

like any company providing massive worldwide business they are going to have more noted complaints than a company limited to supplying just one country on a smaller scale of units.......so fair enough you wouldnt touch a dell again because of a bad experience, however there are literally millions of people out there who do use dell with no problems.....otherwise they wouldnt be one of the biggest PC manufacturers for home and business......

as i say i've had 4 PC's over 8 years, only one of them went wrong and that was purely a case of a fan not being slotted in properly....and that was sorted out straight away, tech support and replacement couldnt have been better.......only trouble i had was the actual courier company was a bit crap in picking it up, so dell dropped them and did it FedEx stylee....very nice

 

[Knyght_byte]

I personally wouldn't touch dell. They ripped me off when getting my wife's laptop and their customer service is horrifically bad.

forgot to ask, how did they rip you off with the laptop? i know they aint the cheapest laptops around, but then a lot of people i know who buy cheaper ones from high street stores find the laptop knackers just outside the warranty....lol