Which PC?

[Mr Pig]

Hi there,

My son is looking for a new PC, a desktop, not a laptop, as he'll get more bang for his buck. Any recommendations? Seen any good deals?

He doesn't play games on his computer but does watch DVDs and TV often so a big, sharp display would be good. Lots of storage for music and TV programs. He's got about £600 to play with.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[marinyork]

If you're picky about screen, you'd normally buy it separately (even at the risk of spending more money). There are a few systems where you might literally buy the bundle as is but it's not that likely to work out. If you're talking big, big you're talking serious money or getting a tv and plugging it in that. If you get a PC display HDMI is a must, especially if you decide to use it for something else later. Unfortunately that's more dosh.

What sort of level are we talking about, something like http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/extras.html?t=pc&c=home&r=ISY&s=PC-1275&v=1

That leaves only about £200 for the display which is a bit, tight.

Really you want something with raid on so you can whack in say at least 2x750 Gb drives.

 

[fossyant]

Deffo RAID......... it's saved my bacon twice (both original HD's failed, one under warranty)........ the wife would have killed me for losing her sewing designs.

I am out of date on specs, but overclockers.co.uk are good on price for systems.

 

[WindyRob]

Mac, nuff said!

Oh you might need to lend him a few quid but it'll be worth it in the long run

 

[Mr Pig]

Mac, nuff said!

He's just sold one! ;0)

I recon a display about 21 inches should be ok. Are you better using a TV as a display?

He's mentioned RAID and two 500Gb hard drives, and a quad core processor. I think it was the Dell web site he was looking at. What are Dell PCs like these days? They used to be pretty good.

 

[marinyork]

Oh if you want a 22inch display (good size but not big ) that budget should be fine. Quad cores are a bit of a waste of money (ish). RAID + 1.5 TB and display you're happy with and all the connections. Yeah.

Problem with dell is they've jacked up their system and service cover by astronomical amounts in recent years.

 

[nigelnorris]

I would disagree with what's been said about RAID. RAID isn't a backup solution, it just provides continuity so that if a drive fails then a business doesn't lose fortunes waiting for a backup to arrive. Businesses that run RAIDs always make backups too.

RAID is a) complicated to set up [and recover from when something goes wrong], liable to cost you all your data in the event of a software fault, c) no answer to the problem of what happens to all you data when there is a burglary/fire in the room.

At home if you have two drives you want to use one to mirror the other yes, but just by straightforward copying or using a backup utility. Ideally make an image of your storage drive then just take the backup disk out and stick it in a drawer at work or somewhere.

 

[Mr Pig]

I think my son knows how to do the RAID thing, he messes about with stuff like that all the time. What he said was that if you get a virus when running RAID then both drives with get hit.

I think he should buy a cheaper PC and a new drum kit ;0)

 

[Bokonon]

What are Dell PCs like these days? They used to be pretty good.

I work in IT support and the only vendor that consistently manages to not piss me off is Dell. Their build quality and reliability slipped a little a few years ago, but it has improved again. The PC on the desk in front of me at the moment is a Dell which will be celebrating its 10th birthday next year - I find that very very good for a PC, it's the kind of reliability that you got in Apples of old (but not any more.)

When Dell stuff goes wrong, I find their customer service is excellent. I phone them up, tell them what's wrong, and they say they'll send spare parts out the next day. It turns up the next day.

 

[Mr Pig]

it's the kind of reliability that you got in Apples of old (but not any more)

The most reliable PC we ever had was also a Dell. In fact I sold it to a guy at work a couple of years ago and it's still going strong. Also, I have a mate who builds computers and he has a mate who works in the Dell service centre, so can get parts etc very easily. Good to hear that their quality is back up, Dell were always a safe bet. Hate their sales bods though!

So Intel Quad Core, worth having or not?

Also, what are Acer and Asus displays like? Any recommendations for 19/22 inch monitors?

 

[HJ]

Any recommendations for 19/22 inch monitors?

Benq M2200HD

 

[Mr Pig]

Benq M2200HD

That looks really good, he's quite taken with it and it gets good revues. I think that'll be on the shopping list.

 

[Bman]

I work in IT support and the only vendor that consistently manages to not piss me off is Dell. Their build quality and reliability slipped a little a few years ago, but it has improved again. The PC on the desk in front of me at the moment is a Dell which will be celebrating its 10th birthday next year - I find that very very good for a PC, it's the kind of reliability that you got in Apples of old (but not any more.)

When Dell stuff goes wrong, I find their customer service is excellent. I phone them up, tell them what's wrong, and they say they'll send spare parts out the next day. It turns up the next day.

Thats interesting. Was this dealing in client machines (ie workstations) or servers?

Unless you have "gold support", getting support out of dell is impossible. (or at least this is my experiance)

 

[Bman]

To the OP (only just noticed the thread):

If your buying a desktop, buy it all seperately (if you have a general aptitude for plugging stuff in etc)

A week ago, I priced a high range CPU/MOBO/RAM combo for the missus at £170 ish (fully upgradable to top spec)

 

[Mr Pig]

This display looks good.

LINK

Comes with a three-year warranty and only costs £135 (elsewhere) Spec looks as good as the benQ?

If you're buying a desktop, buy it all separately

I think so. I've got a mate who builds them up and his prices are great, much better than off the shelf. Plus we can get exactly what we want, like two hard drives for instance.