Desktop PC help.

[widdo]

Will try my luck posting in here hoping somebody has more knowledge then myself (not be hard)

Im after a Desktop PC. dont need a monitor as will use the old one, Unless it comes with one obviously.

Price limit £500.

Usage - Mainly web browsing. Occasional gaming. Music download, nothing major probably 1000-2000 songs.

I know nothing about PCs. What would be recommended for that price range? I dont know windows 7 from double glazing so all help will be appreciated.

Links would be great, Cheers.

 

[DanielJames]

Why don't you build your own?

http://www.ebuyer.com/279906-acer-aspire-m3970-desktop-pt-sg5e2-091

That isn't bad.

 

[sbridgey]

Build it yourself

will be cheaper and you can spec it for your needs. Only problem at the moment is that Hard Drives are silloy money apparently there is a 1TB on ebay for £1000

 

[widdo]

When you say 'build your own' do you mean buy everything seperate any put it together? Il be honest id probably fcuk it up. Id rather buy a pre built one. Is acer a decent make?

Cheers.

 

[DanielJames]

Build it yourself

will be cheaper and you can spec it for your needs. Only problem at the moment is that Hard Drives are silloy money apparently there is a 1TB on ebay for £1000

Due to floods in Taiwan (where basically all hdds come from) prices have gone way up

Not that high though LOL

When you say 'build your own' do you mean buy everything seperate any put it together? Il be honest id probably fcuk it up. Id rather buy a pre built one. Is acer a decent make?

Cheers.

Don't worry then, with a prebuilt system you get a warranty etc.

In a nutshell, yes they are a decent make. We have a few hundred acer systems and have had a few fail but certainly no more than HP of recent times.

Acer is a bit like the Vauxhall of the computer market, they do what others do for less. They don't have such a quality feel about them but you saved yourself a lot of money.

 

[widdo]

Thanks for the help mate

 

[Martin_172]

i never used to rate them but these days i usually recomend dell, well built, generally very quiet and nice and reliable

 

[Munson]

Define occasional gaming. What will your requirements be? What type of games will you play, and how fussy will you be with visuals and frame rates? If gaming will be even slightly important, I definitely recommend a self-build. No better way to get into the geekness that is the enthusiast PC market. For £500 you could build quite a capable machine, but nothing amazing. Then again, the beauty of building your own rig, is that you'll begin to understand what it's all about, thus making it easier for you to upgrade in the future if your gaming requirements increase. You also have a fresh operating system with no bloatware.

The two most important base factors are a good chassis and a good PSU. These are the foundation of a solid PC. Unfortunately, with a budget of £500 you'll probably not be wanting to rinse too much of it on those two items, but pay them much attention. Definitely research and buy a high quality chassis, as it will be the enclosure that houses your PCs for years to come. PSUs are also a chore to replace, so buy right first time. Once you have these high quality basics, future upgrades can be relatively cheap. Upgrading mobos, CPUs, memory and graphics cards is pretty simple. Changing PSU and chassis, not so much.

 

[widdo]

Gaming wise, The odd Fifa, Need for speed. But very rarely as i always use the xbox.

When you say chassis, I take it that means the Casing/outer shell? I will have to look into it, as iv never really given building one a thought to be honest. As long as its faster than this 7 year old laptop i will be generally happy !

Cheers.

 

[Munson]

Yeah. Chassis. Case. Same thing.