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Discussion in 'Technology' started by Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005.

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  1. Basic Instinct

    Basic Instinct Registered User

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    New PC

    My computer keeps dieing every couple of weeks and is boiling my piss

    As i know next to nothign about computers id appreciate it if you lot could tell me if this package from PC World is any good ? It would be mainly used for music/movies/porn etc. im not one for gaming.



    AMD Athlon 64 processor 3700+
    1024Mb DDR RAM
    320Gb Hard Disk Drive
    Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD-RW Drive
    256Mb NVidia 6200 + TurboCache Graphics
    9-In-1 Media Card Reader
    7 USB connections
    Microsoft Works 8.0 Software
    Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
    17" TFT Flat Panel Monitor

    £799

    [​IMG]

    Tah :)
    Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005
    #1
  2. 1615634792921.png
  3. Conway

    Conway helmet Staff

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    Looks good :)

    Only thing I'd say is shop around and see if you can get it cheaper.

    The Athlon 64 processors are good pieces of kit, however the only thing I'd say is that outside of linux there isn't much support for them. You'll get a slight speed increase but nothing noticeable until programs and operating systems are optimized to run on them.

    I've just done some quick hunting on morgan to see if I can find one as good as that:
    I looked at this one (it's £579):

    * Intel Pentium 4 515 processor (2.93GHz), 512Mb DDR RAM
    * 160GB Serial ATA hard drive and DVD±R/±RW (8x DL)
    * 160Gb Personal Media Drive, TV/FM Tuner card
    * ATI Radeon X300se 128MB graphics, Audigy 2 Platinum ZS soundcard
    * 9-in-1 card reader, Firewire, 6 x USB 2.0 ports

    With wireless keyboard and mouse, Microsoft Windows XP Home and software suite.

    Granted, it doesn't have a monitor, but you could easily pick on up for about £100 from here

    Failing that you can get a really decent CRT monitor off the bay for about £30. It may not be as pretty as a TFT but you shouldn't have any picture problems ;)
    Conway, Dec 14, 2005
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  4. Jason Bourne

    Jason Bourne Registered User

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    If you wanna play games ur gonna need a better gfx card.. otherwise it seems ok..

    I'll see what sorta machine I can spec u for that amount..
    Jason Bourne, Dec 14, 2005
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  5. Basic Instinct

    Basic Instinct Registered User

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    Thanks guys :up:
    Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005
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  6. ManofScience

    ManofScience Guest

    what happened to the MAC? :eek:
    ManofScience, Dec 14, 2005
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  7. RDR

    RDR Banned

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    No point in thinking about spending that much cash on a machine if its gonna be used for movies and music.
    I'd go for a 19" tft also instead of 17" for watching movies tho.
    RDR, Dec 14, 2005
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  8. Basic Instinct

    Basic Instinct Registered User

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    Any reason ?

    Id prefer it to have a huge hard drive and a gig of ram (i get frustrated quickly when a computer starts running slow)

    im not that fussed about a monitor though cos i have a 19" CFT monitor that works fine
    Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005
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  9. M.C.E

    M.C.E 1981-2013

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    Mine is 1 year old now running a 200 gig hard drive, 3.2ghz, pentium 4 with HT and only 512MB RAM and imo this is perfect for everything you have said you will use yours for :up:
    M.C.E, Dec 14, 2005
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  10. RDR

    RDR Banned

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    For the reason marse mentioned above, saying that even a machine of maybe 3 years old with 512mb ram should do what you need it to do with no slowdown.
    RDR, Dec 14, 2005
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  11. Basic Instinct

    Basic Instinct Registered User

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    How about this for £340 then ?

    Intel Pentium IV 630 'Prescott LGA775' 3.0GHz (800FSB) Retail CPU with 2MB L2 Cache
    - Intel Approved Heatsink
    - 512MB GeIL PC3200 DDR Memory
    - Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 160GB Cache Serial-ATA Hard Drive
    - Samsung Black 52X CD-ROM
    - 3 1/2 Inch Black Floppy Drive
    - On-Board 2D/3D Graphics
    - On-Board AC'97 Audio
    - Integrated 10/100Mbps LAN
    - 300W High Power PSU for upgradability
    - 1 x AGP 8x slot for higher performance AGP cards
    - 3 x PCI slots for expansion

    dvd writers are cheap enough, i could get one of them seperate.
    Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005
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  12. Conway

    Conway helmet Staff

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    Don't touch anything with a Maxtor hdd in it, I've had 3 of the buggers fail on me in quick succession :evil:

    The reason that one's so cheap is because everything's built into the motherboard, the AC97 audio on it is absolute shit and it usually sucks up loads of processor time, if you can get one with a better sound card then go for that. It doesn't say what the graphics card is but with it being motherboard based don't expect it to have TV-out or any other little extras.

    The example machine I put up above has a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS, you probably won't get a better soundcard than that without spending shitloads on a specialist musicians one, in addition to that it has a Radeon X300se which has a really good picture on it and is more than capable of playing most of the games out at the moment.

    If you have a decent monitor already you're best off sticking to it, TFT's aren't the be all and end all that people make out ;)
    Conway, Dec 14, 2005
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  13. Basic Instinct

    Basic Instinct Registered User

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    Thanks, if i walked into a computer shop the blokes in there would have a field day with me and id end up leaving 3k down :lol:
    Basic Instinct, Dec 14, 2005
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  14. RDR

    RDR Banned

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    Cheers Conway, saved my fingers there :D
    I also agree with him with regards to monitor, i've got a 19" CRT and have no complaints at all with it, cheaper than tft as well lol
    RDR, Dec 14, 2005
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  15. Conway

    Conway helmet Staff

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    I picked up a 22" Formac ProNitron, it uses the Mitsubushi Diamontron tube and it's completely flat...

    £120 second hand and the picture on it is awesome :love:

    it's fucking huge!
    Conway, Dec 14, 2005
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  16. Jason Bourne

    Jason Bourne Registered User

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    I fancy a new CRT like..
    TFTs are nice.. but I'm gettin a projector anyway :D
    Jason Bourne, Dec 15, 2005
    #15
  17. RDR

    RDR Banned

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    Where from :eek:
    Thats the kind of thing I want for gaming :love:
    RDR, Dec 15, 2005
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  18. Conway

    Conway helmet Staff

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    A mate of my dads was selling it in order to get two 19" tfts...

    needless to say I picked it up and it's amazing :)

    it's crazy shit for games like, brilliant playing Q4 on it :D
    Conway, Dec 15, 2005
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  19. RDR

    RDR Banned

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    Gonna see if I can pick one up, 19" however good just big enough for gaming hehe
    RDR, Dec 15, 2005
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  20. trance_fan

    trance_fan Registered User

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    You should get a dell mate...

    P4 3GHz, 2048MB RAM and a 250GB HD.

    £734 quid to your door, or you could get it with 1024MB RAM for £628

    Personally I don't reccommend anything other than dell for this sort of use, very good prices and extremely reliable kit.

    I have had mine for 4 years and it's been absolutley spot on.

    Summary:

    (D12516) Dimension 5150 3.0GHz


    Base:
    Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 630 with HT technology (3.00GHz, 800MHz fsb, 2MB cache) 45676 [210-15128] 1


    Microsoft Operating System:
    Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 47740 [619-10761] 11


    Cover It with Dell Support Services:
    1-Year Collect and Return service 9895 [680-11594] 30


    Money Off Savings:
    Save £70 inc VAT 25657 [235-11467] 120


    Memory:
    2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 400MHz [4x512] 14442 [370-11558] 3


    Hard Drive:
    250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache 14888 [400-11699] 8


    CD/DVD Drives:
    16x max. DVD+/-RW Drive 46174 [429-12070][429-11154][429-11368] 16


    Floppy Drives:
    Internal 13-in-1 Media Card Reader 46068 [385-10367] 10


    Microsoft Application Software:
    Microsoft® Works 7.0 - English 9078 [630-10933] 25


    Monitor:
    Dell E176FP 17" Midnight Grey (TCO99) Flat Panel Monitor 48605 [480-13128] 5


    Video Card:
    128MB ATI Radeon® X300 SE HyperMemory graphics card 40380 [490-10424] 6


    Speakers:
    Dell A525 Speakers with Subwoofer 49558 [520-10457] 18


    Modem:
    Dell v92 Data/Fax modem 6716 [530-10559][640-10270] 14


    Keyboard:
    Dell Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY) 24107 [580-11527] 4


    Mouse:
    Dell USB 2Button Wheel Mouse 35422 [570-10236][570-10088] 12


    Gedis Bundle Reference:
    List D12516 Dimension 5150 49149 [200-35567][706-10537] 22


    Shipping Documents:
    System Documentation with UK Power Cord 46037 [340-13161][340-12969][640-10401] 21


    Adobe Reader:
    Adobe Reader 6.0 - English 20764 [640-10399] 601


    Order Information:
    Dimension Order - UK 11744 [800-10122] 111


    Standard Warranty:
    1-Year Collect and Return service 9487 [680-10654][680-10655] 29


    Dell Internet Order:
    Dell Internet Order. 21417 [815-10000] 650


    AntiVirus & Security Software:
    No Security Subscription 50863 [650-10124] 40


    Dell Photo Album:
    Photo Album™ SE Basic 11920 [640-10339] 85


    Paint Shop:
    Paint Shop™ Pro® Basic Edition 11922 [640-10340] 86


    Dell Media Experience:
    No DMX Media Experience 48017 [640-10457] 585




    Dell Colour Printer 720




    Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id



    Base:
    FREE Dell Colour Printer 720 49764 [210-15121] 1


    Cables:
    No Printer Cable 5844 [470-10470] 20


    Standard Warranty:
    1 Year Next Business Day Exchange Warranty 15775 [680-12468][680-12469] 29


    Printer Ink Cartridges:
    No Additional Printer Ink Cartridge Selected 7725 [592-10070] 36


    Printer Driver:
    720 FI Printer Driver for Dimension 46473 [613-10189] 90


    Order Information:
    Included : 1 x 720 Black Ink Cartridge + 1 x 720 Colour Ink Cartridge 15818 [800-10295] 111


    Engineering/Informational:
    Dell Imaging Printer order - UK 25241 [800-10359] 99




    Print
    trance_fan, Dec 15, 2005
    #19
  21. ManofScience

    ManofScience Guest

    Ignore any advice from Screech.

    he's just a wannabe.

    Next.
    ManofScience, Dec 15, 2005
    #20
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