New PC - What to buy? Help

[watch-nut]

So that time has come around again wher i am in the market for a new Desktop, i have been a faithful Dell customer for years but thought i should see what else is out there but not really sure what i should be looking at, so couple of requirements:

Budget: £750 ish
Processor: Intel becuase i trust the brand
Op System: Windows 7
Hard Drive: 500gb +
Ram: 2-3gb

I am not a gamer, do watch internet TV, run multiple basic applications at one time, heavy internet user, multiple USB ports required & ethernet port, dvd rw,

There seem to be a few processors from Intel out there? Dual core, i5, i3, i7 ?????

So what should i be looking for, what are considered strong brands these days?

Any help advice would be gratefully received

Dave

[vaizki]

Get a mac.

First!!!! :D

Edit: Doh I missed the W7 requirement.. But I don't think you need 750 for that spec PC (no gaming). And get 4 or 8 gigs, RAM not 2-3. It will do you a world of good compared to i3 vs i5.

[Phil Lee]

We got a great Core i7 Vostro from Dell for one of my work colleagues which is very, very fast. It was £684 exc VAT.

[seadog1408]

have to say i am still happy with my dell hybrid. good after sales service as well

[shadowninja]

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Sys ... 1kZXRhaWwm

[watch-nut]

The more i look at stuff on the net the more i think i will be going back to dell

This is what i am considering:

Inspiron 560s
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q8200s Processor (2.33GHz, 4MB cache, 1333MHz FSB)
MEMORY: 4096MB Dual Channel DDR3 [4x1024] Memory
HARD DRIVE: 750GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD: Nvidia ® GeForce G310 512MB graphics card
OPTICAL DRIVE: DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
MONITOR Dell IN2010N 20” Widescreen Consumer Flat Panel Monitor

Total Cost: £713 Delivered

What do you?

[shadowninja]

Should just about run Windows. :lol:

[Glamdring]

The crux is the need for a monitor. A good quality Samsung 22" will cost £140. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169746
That leaves you with £610 of your budget.

This version of the Inspiron 560 should do you well enough.
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topic ... l=en&s=dhs

[bootneck]

Just buy an imac from the refurb store that should get close to your budget and join the future after a good few years now of using a mac i would never go back to windoze the only time i run windows now is for one of our thermal imaging cameras everything else just works straight away. Sorry haven't got a clue about pc's any more i walked away after i got vista :evil:

[Glamdring]

Shift keys don't work very well on Macs. ^ :P

[IANAN]

Have a look at mcscom, they do superb refurb Dells with warranty.

Or buy a Mac, get half the power at twice the price and join the rest of the cults*.

*Potential typo.

[Dave E]

Bought my current desktop from here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/index.php

Very good prices and service, and I got exactly the machine I wanted.

[BDStevens]

Or buy a PC with Ubuntu, get twice the power at half the price and join the rest of the geeks*.

*Potential typo.

:D

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Have a look at mcscom, they do superb refurb Dells with warranty.

Or buy a Mac, get half the power at twice the price and join the rest of the cults*.

*Potential typo.

Usual PC fanboy cr@p :lol:

EDIT:- Before the attacks come, I would like to give a little history - my first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 bought some 29 years ago . I have had various machines from the early Amstrads through to mega built PC's and a few decent spec laptops. I chanced trying a Macbook last year when my Toshiba Laptop died and now have a Macbook Pro. Should have done it years ago, others may feel different, but after 29 years of being mainstream I feel good about being different :wink: .

[Maris]

Just gone iMac myself but this looks decent - http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-st ... 6#comments

[samhain1]

Always been a PC man but have admired the iMac. They are more competitively priced than ever but I cannot recommend one as I have no experience. There is a Core i3 system that appears to be blowing benchmarks away for £500 over at pcpro, you might want to go check it out.

[Sancho Panza]

Mesh computers always do well in the Magazine tests.

[Glamdring]

Except this month's Computing Which? They compared six system builders/retailers and found Compaq was the most reliable PC builder with Novatech coming up sharply on its tail. Oddly, they found Apple built the most reliable Macs...
They were not impressed by Mesh - always highly specced but often failing to be that well put-together.

[langtoft lad]

I've just replaced my aged PC which was top end a few years ago, with a budget model costing a third of the price & is at least 5x as good spec'wise :shock:

I've come to the conclusion that if you simply want a home pc, with no specialised requirements (such as gaming) then budget is adequate...
Very happy with my £389 Packard Bell iExtreme I5622 via Dixons delivered.
Intel i3 2.93ghz processor, Win7, 3gb Ram, 640gb HDD, integrated graphics, dual layer DVD, wifi, card reader & 10 usb ports.

So far, very happy.

[Sancho Panza]

Except this month's Computing Which? They compared six system builders/retailers and found Compaq was the most reliable PC builder with Novatech coming up sharply on its tail. Oddly, they found Apple built the most reliable Macs...
They were not impressed by Mesh - always highly specced but often failing to be that well put-together.

I've never been taken with Computing Which? I read Computer Shopper, PC Pro and Personal Computer World, and have done for many years. I used to get Computer Weekly years ago when it was in Tabloid format, but it got harder and harder to get a copy so gave up on that. Every computer test is different as they will be comparing different things. It's what you require that counts.

[Glamdring]

I've taken PCFormat almost since it began and I'm a mod on their forum. Mesh rarely gets good feedback from its members.
I build my own so if it goes wrong I fix it (rarely happens 8) ).

[Sancho Panza]

I've taken PCFormat almost since it began and I'm a mod on their forum. Mesh rarely gets good feedback from its members.

You've already expressed what your magazines opinions are of them, you don't need to keep going on about them. I merely mentioned a computer builder that gets some good write up's, (depending on model), from the magazines I read.

I also build my own computers having completed an HND in computing and having used computers since '79, courtesy of the MoD.

Whether you're a mod on another forum is neither here nor there and doesn't interest me in the slightest.

End of.

[Glamdring]

:shock:

[sundial]

I've taken PCFormat almost since it began and I'm a mod on their forum. Mesh rarely gets good feedback from its members.

You've already expressed what your magazines opinions are of them, you don't need to keep going on about them. I merely mentioned a computer builder that gets some good write up's, (depending on model), from the magazines I read.

I also build my own computers having completed an HND in computing and having used computers since '79, courtesy of the MoD.

Whether you're a mod on another forum is neither here nor there and doesn't interest me in the slightest.

End of.

My dad's bigger than your dad :bom:

dunk

[Sancho Panza]

My dad's bigger than your dad :bom:

dunk

I'm certain he is, mine has been dead and buried for 45 years.

[BDStevens]

I also build my own computers having completed an HND in computing and having used computers since '79, courtesy of the MoD.

You needed an HND to build a PC! I've got a 50m swimming certificate and I can build them too! :mrgreen:

[Sancho Panza]

I also build my own computers having completed an HND in computing and having used computers since '79, courtesy of the MoD.

You needed an HND to build a PC! I've got a 50m swimming certificate and I can build them too! :mrgreen:

What, at the bottom of the school swimming pool that you patently still attend as a pupil.