What PC?

Having problems installing that new stick of memory? Found some great software or having issues with something? Or maybe want to chat about your PlayStation, X-Box, Nintendo, Sega, even your old Spectrum 48k....! Or maybe something you want to sell or acquire (computing related of course!). Let us know here...
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UBT-mark3346
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What PC?

Post by UBT-mark3346 »

My current PC lacks the 750MB ram needed to run one of the WCG projects I want and is also getting on a bit. So time for a new one but what? My technical skills do not extend much beyond connecting colour coded leads, so something user friendly, reliable and under £600 would fit the bill. I know Dell have a few with the specs and in the price range but any comments on their reliability or other potential machines would be welcome. :)
Temujin
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Re: What PC?

Post by Temujin »

UBT-mark3346 wrote:My current PC lacks the 750MB ram needed to run one of the WCG projects I want and is also getting on a bit. So time for a new one but what? My technical skills do not extend much beyond connecting colour coded leads, so something user friendly, reliable and under £600 would fit the bill. I know Dell have a few with the specs and in the price range but any comments on their reliability or other potential machines would be welcome. :)
We use Dells at work and they've proven to be very stable and reliable but not the fastest things around for any given CPU.
They also seem to have some very good deals at the moment.
I can't recomend any particular model but if you want a stable/quiet/reliable PC, you could do a lot worse than getting a Dell
UBT - Timbo
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Re: What PC?

Post by UBT - Timbo »

UBT-mark3346 wrote:My current PC lacks the 750MB ram needed to run one of the WCG projects I want and is also getting on a bit. So time for a new one but what? My technical skills do not extend much beyond connecting colour coded leads, so something user friendly, reliable and under £600 would fit the bill. I know Dell have a few with the specs and in the price range but any comments on their reliability or other potential machines would be welcome. :)
Hi Mark,

Dell are certainly the front runner at present, when it comes to both good deals as well as "long term survival" - many PC firms are going bust and as such, the long term future of any "other" white-box brand might be questionable.


And I'd certainly avoid the PC World/Currys/Dixons type items. Too much hassle if they go wrong and TBH they don't have the skills to sort it, when it does.

Dell on the other hand offer a good service and on-site warranty etc.

Keep an eye on their website as they frequently do "free memory" upgrades or bigger hard drives for limited times.

For crunching power, a large "on-die" cache is very useful. In which case the Celeron's tend to be "less good" than a Pentium.

Likewise, many of the new Intel's feature HyperThreading (where the OS "sees" 2 CPU cores), or even "dual cores with HT", (which gives you the chance to crunch 4 WU's at once...!)


AMD have similar offerings, but I don't think Dell sell AMD powered PC's (yet !).

Obviously, depending on what you already have, you might be ble to find a PC without monitor. This is good, if you already own a decent screen and saves you some dosh. Ditto on other "extra's" they'd love to sell to you such as DVD Writers, etc.


Lastly, I think Dell still do some educational discounts, so if you're at school/college/uni or have soem "conenctions" with such a place, you'll get a better deal !!


regards,

Tim
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Post by UBT - JohnR »

Now is perhaps not the best time to buy, the new Intel Core 2 duo is on sale tomorrow, which will force down the price of other Intel processors and also AMD cpu's.  They have larger cache's and run cooler.
I have an old celeron 900 with 512 Mb memory which is not enough for WCG, and have just purchased another 256Mb memory module for £6 from ebay.
Dell are made to a price, I have seen ex Dell memory on sale on ebay, and it is always the slowest type.  If you are going to spend money on a new computer, decide what you want it to do.
1,  A crunching machine fast processor and memory, poor video and small hard disk
2, Games machine fast everything.
3, Office work my Celeron is fine.
Look at the Microsoft site to see what is needed for the next version of Windoze you may wish to buy a 128 or 256 Mb graphics card in a new machine.
gregoryw
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Post by gregoryw »

All my present systems are Dells, and I've found them to be very reliable. You may want to check out the Dell "Factory Outlet" website (http://www.dell.co.uk/outlet) where you can find PCs at slightly discounted rates (due to cancelled orders, etc.). Unless you're wanting power for games, I reckon a Dimension or Optiplex series would be the best choice.
Temujin
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Re: What PC?

Post by Temujin »

UBT-mark3346 wrote:or other potential machines would be welcome. :)
I've never bought a full PC from them (plenty of components though) but Overclockers do some good value and fast units.
They've got one that just fits under you £600 and plenty of others too.
UBT-mark3346
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Post by UBT-mark3346 »

Thanks for all your advice, I might wait a week or so to see if prices suddenly drop and probably go for a Dell (it will mostly be for crunching while the old pc still works) :D
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Post by jaysback »

on the point about next windows o/s, iwould just like to point out that VISTA ( as its called ) will/should run with Direct X 10 at release.
As it stands at the moment there are no DX10 cards on the market.
So future proof is not an option atm.
Sorry to be a downer on it all.
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