Desktop Package Required, Suggestions?

[MacB]

My eldest is coming up to GCSE time and we've decided it's time to let him have a computer of his own which will take him through A levels as well. My gut reaction is a desktop for his room, I can only see a laptop ending in tears and costing a lot more(we haven't had happy laptop experiences in this house). I had assumed that he could transport work via portable memory device when needed, but I'm happy to be persuaded otherwise.

I bought our last desktop from Valatech Ltd who no longer seem to be trading, and I really have no idea what's good/bad/indifferent. They already have XBox, Wii and Playstations for gaming so I was just thinking a reasonable desktop with monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse. I don't mind if we have to get the monitor seperately.

Would appreciate any advice, links etc....cheers....Al

 

[MacB]

I've just done a bit of surfing and I find an entirely new concept of 'all-in-ones', boy am I out of touch

 

[Gerry Attrick]

You could do much worse than contact these chaps.
I had absolutely superb service from them whem I bought my desktop from them. Very helpful, knowlegable and you get to speak to humans when you call.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Just bought a whole lot of bits for Mr SHK as he's got a new PC (pretty high spec though); I can recommend Scan's website.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-Hardware/All/Systems/Pre-built-PC-Systems

If you're not up for putting it all together yourself, some of them seem to come pre-built, otherwise you can buy all the bits and build it yourself.

Another site with good reputation is CCL.

 

[MacB]

You could do much worse than contact these chaps.
I had absolutely superb service from them whem I bought my desktop from them. Very helpful, knowlegable and you get to speak to humans when you call.

Excellent, just gave them a call and they're sending me over a quote on a package...looking at the £600 mark for the whole lot, seems pretty reasonable.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Excellent, just gave them a call and they're sending me over a quote on a package...looking at the £600 mark for the whole lot, seems pretty reasonable.

I'm sure you will be pleased with their gear and ther excellent customer service. Google them and you will see plenty of good reports.

 

[beanzontoast]

I've just done a bit of surfing and I find an entirely new concept of 'all-in-ones', boy am I out of touch

Personally I wouldn't go near an all-in-one as I prefer the layout and ease of access of a traditional base unit for repair and upgrading. Plus, an all-in-one just about ties you to the inbuilt screen - a big turn off for me.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I got my last computer from here http://www.dinopc.com/ about 18 months ago.

 

[ufkacbln]

Laptops have advantages and can be as good as any Desktop system.

 

[MacB]

Ok, after much more reading of a huge amount of stuff I don't really understand I'm looking at two options:-

http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/-b-NEW-b-Plutosaur-540-Package-95p977.htm

http://www.palicomp.co.uk/pc-systems/core-i3-i5-blast/core-i3-blast-540-22-usb3/prod_292.html

Both come as a base unit with screen, speakers, keyboard and mouse for £499, with the usual array of upgrade options. I can afford to upgrade a bit, but don't know where to start/prioritise. If anyone has the time to have a quick look at these two and let me know their thoughts it would be gratefully appreciated....cheers....Al

 

[MacB]

Also looking at some of the bundled deals at PC World(hawk, spit), but they seem reasonable as well:-

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-g5200uk-m-desktop-pc-with-20-monitor-07908228-pdt.html

confidence in this process is getting low hence considering PC World as it's local and I can physically go there. I've checked the web for reviews on Cougar Extreme, DinoPC and Palicomp - problem is I can find plenty of negatives on all of them though Cougar seems to be edging it on the positives front.

 

[beanzontoast]

Also looking at some of the bundled deals at PC World(hawk, spit), but they seem reasonable as well:-

http://www.pcworld.c...908228-pdt.html

confidence in this process is getting low hence considering PC World as it's local and I can physically go there. I've checked the web for reviews on Cougar Extreme, DinoPC and Palicomp - problem is I can find plenty of negatives on all of them though Cougar seems to be edging it on the positives front.

I rely on internet purchases for nearly all my computer gear and have been burned just the once - a laptop with a problem in the hinge. If I'd been able to see the unit in the flesh before purchase, I wouldn't have bought it. It hasn't put me off using the internet for most components, and Dino and Cougar are companies I'm thinking about for my next base unit.

We went to PC World for daughter's new computer though simply because we could see it up and running, check out at the viewing angle on the screen etc. It's an HP, similar (Intel dual core instead though) to the one you're looking at. Very quiet, fast - she loves it (though despite telling her to look after it, I still have to dust it!!).

 

[Crackle]

Tuppence worth:

Either of those first two look good with seperate components, so if a component goes wrong you can replace it. Extended warranties on desktops with replaceable part are, in my view, uneccesary. Laptops are different.

I'd think twice about the HP, likely to have lots of stuff integrated on a motherboard which may or may not be repaceable/upgradeable and will have the usual HP partitions with all their software and clever tricksy bits loaded, so a rebuild is always going to be a nighmare should it be necessary. Extended warranty might be worth considering if you go for it, then you can just ship the thing back to HP.

Don't know if you need any upgrades beyond what it comes with. As is, any will do schoolwork type stuff and run nearly all packages. Only consider upgrades if you want to use it to play music or to play games and possible memory upgrade if you are editing video or photoshopping.

Likewise watching movies, look at the refresh rate on the monitor, higher better but it's not a necessary upgrade.

Go for that 2nd one in your first link, you can flame me if it's pooh.

 

[MacB]

Tuppence worth:

Go for that 2nd one in your first link, you can flame me if it's pooh.

So the Palincomp one, running down the specs to see what may be needed above the £500 price tag:-
CPU Cooling - is it worth upgrading for £15?
PSU - it's a 650W standard should I go higher?
Keyboard & Mouse - would upgrade to the USB ones for £10
Card Reader - do we need one and what's it for?
PCI Slot - do we need one and what's it for?
Cooling - for £10 is it worth adding two case fans?

All the other bits seem fine.

 

[ian789]

Do you have a comet locally? I've recently bought this and it seems good to me but i'm no expert