New Pc

30nine · 25-03-2007, 12:05 PM

Hi
Im Trying to buy a pc for my daughter,i have a budget of £360,
I already have a tft screen.
I have considered a dell but the spec seems a little low.
Are theese any good and what would be best dell,hp, mesh, acer,ect

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donkey42 · 25-03-2007, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30nine

dell, hp, mesh, acer etc.

as a general rule, the big system manufacturer are not very upgradeable and are very expensive to repair

what will the system be used for ?

30nine · 25-03-2007, 04:09 PM

Hey 42 ,This ones for my daughter so i think it will be used for
genaral stuff ie. net,school course work,music,odd game or two.
Dont really want to buy a dell.

donkey42 · 25-03-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30nine

genaral stuff ie. net,school course work,music,odd game or two.

well, the only way to get exactly what you want, is if you build up all the components yourself

Off Topic:

for example, a PSU (Power Supply Unit), a lot of manufactures generally use Generic (crap) PSU's

don't worry it's a lot lot easier than you think, & were all here to help, plus you'll learn a lot about computers without realizing that your learning

Off Topic:

plus the sense of satisfaction is brilliant everytime you see the system you think "i did that" especially if you've never done anything like this before

if you don't want the built it yourself then you can just pop into a local computer shop or one of the big PC supermarkets, i highly recommend building your own, it is v v easy

Off Topic:

it's even easier to built a system that is not high spec

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30nine

Don't really want to buy a dell.

i don't blame you

30nine · 25-03-2007, 06:29 PM

Ok so what kind of system could i build for this kinda money i mean what sort of spec?
wouldn`t the O/S be the fly in the ointment for this budget?

donkey42 · 25-03-2007, 07:04 PM

dunno - i'll just have a look, back soon

BTW: there are also some very good guides on, how to build a computer, Click Here

BTW: i can throw a computer together (from parts) in about an hour (without installing the operating system) & i'm disabled with only the full use of 1 arm so even the noobest noob will be able to have it done in a weekend (including OS)

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30nine

wouldn`t the O/S be the fly in the ointment for this budget?

non necessarily if you buy a CPU, mobo, case & PSU the chances are your build a PC, so you can get an OEM license for the OS

donkey42 · 25-03-2007, 08:09 PM

hows this for a spec or if url doesn't ImageShack - Hosting :: pcju4.png
Intel P4 3.2 Ghz
2Gb DDR2 RAM
250 Gb SATA2 HDD
530W Hyper PSU

all the usual stuff: SATA RAID, USB 2, NIC,

BTW it is also upgradeable:
up to 8Gb DDR2 RAM

BTW: it is a little over your budget but you can reduce the HDD size, you don't have to have 2Gb DDR2 RAM, get a slower CPU

BTW:i haven't included thing like a keyboard, mouse, speakers & a monitor because i assume this is an upgrade for an existing system, if not it's about £50 - £60 for a monitor, keyboard, mouse & speakers, just drop the spec a bit more to allow your budget to compensate

30nine · 25-03-2007, 09:27 PM

Sounds good spec

will check prices if they stand up ok.

DaRuSsIaMaN · 26-03-2007, 05:15 AM

I don't think you should bother getting a good computer if she's not really into games. How old is she? The only thing that falls under "general stuff" that you need a good computer for is gaming. Everything else can be done excellently with a computer with far inferior specs to what donkey suggests. In fact, a computer with mediocre specs will still play more 95% of the games you can find on shelves just fine. Just don't get Windows Vista, it's a resource hog for no reason, and doesn't accomplish anything more than what winxp can already do.

donkey42 · 26-03-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DA MAN

Everything else can be done excellently with a computer with far inferior specs to what donkey suggests

true, but i was trying to help 30nine make an upgradeable system, a system doesn't need 2Gb of RAM but that mobo can be upgraded to 4 or 8Gb RAM

30nine · 26-03-2007, 07:59 PM

Ok but i dont really want to buy naff one.
I mean shes 14,and the course work they do at school
nowadays is more demanding so firsty she she does want
vista(probably doesn`t understand the demands on the system) and at the end of the day ,its easier to sell on.Look at win 98
most people nowadays use Xp.
Secondly i would use it and maybe dual boot Linux.
Im running Xp@512 ram and yes it does do most things i want it to
so i agree on that but just want a decent system for my daughter at that budget hence the first post/

25-03-2007, 12:05 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
30nine Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	New Pc Hi Im Trying to buy a pc for my daughter,i have a budget of £360, I already have a tft screen. I have considered a dell but the spec seems a little low. Are theese any good and what would be best dell,hp, mesh, acer,ect MESH Computers - Award Winning PCs Since 1987 ebuyer.com - Desktop PCs, Servers » Home PCs » AMD - Athlon » Product details

25-03-2007, 08:09 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
donkey42 Paranoid Geeky Geek Join Date: Mar 2006 Age: 34 Male Posts: 5,831 Times Helpful: 309 My Mood: Paranoid Status: Offline My Computer	hows this for a spec or if url doesn't ImageShack - Hosting :: pcju4.png Intel P4 3.2 Ghz 2Gb DDR2 RAM 250 Gb SATA2 HDD 530W Hyper PSU all the usual stuff: SATA RAID, USB 2, NIC, BTW it is also upgradeable: up to 8Gb DDR2 RAM BTW: it is a little over your budget but you can reduce the HDD size, you don't have to have 2Gb DDR2 RAM, get a slower CPU BTW:i haven't included thing like a keyboard, mouse, speakers & a monitor because i assume this is an upgrade for an existing system, if not it's about £50 - £60 for a monitor, keyboard, mouse & speakers, just drop the spec a bit more to allow your budget to compensate __________________ GRUB manual \| Google Linux \| Distrowatch \| Linux Chix \| Kubuntu \| My Mini City

26-03-2007, 05:15 AM	#9 (permalink) Top
DaRuSsIaMaN Geek Comrade Join Date: Nov 2003 Age: 22 Male Posts: 754 Times Helpful: 12 Status: Offline My Computer	I don't think you should bother getting a good computer if she's not really into games. How old is she? The only thing that falls under "general stuff" that you need a good computer for is gaming. Everything else can be done excellently with a computer with far inferior specs to what donkey suggests. In fact, a computer with mediocre specs will still play more 95% of the games you can find on shelves just fine. Just don't get Windows Vista, it's a resource hog for no reason, and doesn't accomplish anything more than what winxp can already do. __________________ Ignorance is bliss. Oedipus ruined a great sex life by asking too many questions... "So, got any kids?" - Stephen Colbert My computer is not much to brag about, but I shall do so anyway. AMD 1800+ Athlon XP..............SoundBlaster PCI 512 ASUS A7N8X..........................WD 80GB ATI Radeon 8500....................WinXP Pro Last edited by DaRuSsIaMaN; 26-03-2007 at 05:21 AM.

26-03-2007, 07:59 PM	#11 (permalink) Top
30nine Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Ok but i dont really want to buy naff one. I mean shes 14,and the course work they do at school nowadays is more demanding so firsty she she does want vista(probably doesn`t understand the demands on the system) and at the end of the day ,its easier to sell on.Look at win 98 most people nowadays use Xp. Secondly i would use it and maybe dual boot Linux. Im running Xp@512 ram and yes it does do most things i want it to so i agree on that but just want a decent system for my daughter at that budget hence the first post/ Last edited by 30nine; 26-03-2007 at 08:04 PM.

25-03-2007, 04:09 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
30nine Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Hey 42 ,This ones for my daughter so i think it will be used for genaral stuff ie. net,school course work,music,odd game or two. Dont really want to buy a dell.

25-03-2007, 06:29 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
30nine Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Ok so what kind of system could i build for this kinda money i mean what sort of spec? wouldn`t the O/S be the fly in the ointment for this budget?

25-03-2007, 09:27 PM	#8 (permalink) Top
30nine Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Sounds good spec will check prices if they stand up ok.

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