Thinking of acquiring a PC

[PGit]

Well after many, many years of using my trusty A1200 (since the 1990s) I believe it may be time to obtain something more powerful (and it won't be around forever, I'm surprised it's lasted this long).

I'm not looking for anything much more powerful than 1ghz with around a 20gig harddrive. I don't require it to have internet or DVD and a direct3D 32-64mb graphics card. Can anyone give an indication of the sort of prices I could expect to pay.

[K7HTH]

Good for you, but wrong forum.

[PGit]

KD7HTH wrote:
Good for you, but wrong forum.

Oops  :oops:

[koaftder]

PGit wrote:
Well after many, many years of using my trusty A1200 (since the 1990s) I believe it may be time to obtain something more powerful (and it won't be around forever, I'm surprised it's lasted this long).

I'm not looking for anything much more powerful than 1ghz with around a 20gig harddrive. I don't require it to have internet or DVD and a direct3D 32-64mb graphics card. Can anyone give an indication of the sort of prices I could expect to pay.

Not shure where you are from, but here in the US you can buy a nice bottom of the line system from one of the major consumer stores for 500 dollars or less. You can buy a brand new bottom line notebook from dell for about 500 dollars, it's a nice laptop, not good for games , but good for everything else.

Goto dell or hp website, buy a box online. The only reason these days to spend a lot of money on a computer are for playing games, or doing some kind of professional applicatition like servers, image processing/ 3d work, etc.

Average guy who doesnt play games gets by on a machine worth less than $100 USD.

And if you want to play games, why not go with a console, at least then the games dont screw up your PC.

[InTheSand]

@PGit: I agree with koaftder - the only reason to get something other than a bog-standard machine is for gaming or for a specific purpose such as video editing. For either of these, the biggest and best graphics cards, RAM, hard drives, etc, are a must.

For everything else (including running an emulated Amiga), a basic machine will do. If you want convenience and portability, go for a laptop (downside = you'll pay more and probably end up with a slower hard drive), otherwise go for a standard desktop model.

Don't buy from the likes of PC World, Dixons, Currys, Comet, or any other high street shops as you'll pay more than you need to.

If you want known-brand peace of mind, go for something like a Dell machine. Alternatively, go for a trusted independant online retailer such as Novatech. I used to use Novatech lots until I emigrated away from the UK.

 - Ali

[PGit]

My uses are probably going to be typing scripts, perhaps some graphics work (doing composite images, simple 3D renders, I already have programs for this and they ran well on my dad's  800mhz AMD Duron.) As for games the ones i play tend to be a few years old such as Deus Ex and Medieval TW.

I'll check out Dell and HP, thanks for the advice.

[cv643d]

I suggest just get the cheapest Dell. Dont buy a second hand PC that you think will fit you. There is no point buying second hand PC's anymore since todays low-end PC's is very cheap.

[Cyberus]

TBH, if it isn't the latest greatest PC you're after, you could probably acquire a lot of bits from people with newer computers...
I find its very easy to pick up something like a P3 for either free or very little from a friend or family member - for a few beer tokens perhaps - I was lucky enough to be given an IBM P4 by a friend. Loads of secondhand systems go on ebay, if you can wait a couple of weeks for one to come up near to you and cheap enough, there's always that option.

Or the other way to do it, is just upgrade what you've got bit by bit. This could also be done cheaply by keeping your ears open for people upgrading to newer equipment. Start by getting a better mobo + processor - incidentally, if you wanted to buy new, Novatech do nice mobo/CPU/RAM bundles. And at the end of the day, if there was one thing I'd buy new it would be the mobo, having done a bit of research and found the best one in my price range. Things like CD-ROMS can be upgraded later, if at all....

[PGit]

Can anyone reccomend a good value graphics card. The most graphically taxing software I have is probably something like hitman 2. My dad's PC uses an ATI Rage fury Pro and that seems to run my stuff quite well.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

[nyteschayde]

Some here may be against it but if you're looking for a decent machine and cheaply priced. Go to www.dell.com. You can get a complete PC for $29/month. Even someone on a McDonald's salary can afford that.

It will probably be a pentium 4/2.8 or something of that nature. Check it out.

[BouncingAyatollah]

I'd recommend getting an nVidia graphics card in case you want to go/try Linux - nVidia Linux drivers are currently way better than ATI's. This Novatech 6200 256Mb card is under £50, or this Novatech Geforce 6600 256Mb card for under £75.

A word of caution though - don't even consider the graphics card until you have decided on the PC you want. The above cards are AGP cards, your new PC might use PCI Express instead. Besides, if you are really not that fussed with games you could just go for a PC with fairly reasonable on-board graphics?

For the PC, I'd personally avoid brand names like Dell in case you need to replace/upgrade parts such as the motherboard , and go for a standard-parts cheap option like these. However, there is no doubt Dell do good offers, so if you want a PC to just use and more or less throw away in a few years, look at them too.

[Dr_Righteous]

I use a Winfast A180B... Dirt cheap generic NVidia GeForce4 MX 4000 card. Does all I need it to do... Namely Max Payne 2. I also highly recommend building your own system over buying some cheap POS off the shelf. Higher quality components at about the same price.

[X-ray]

@ PGit

At the local computer fair a company called Sky Computers sells nice setups for reasonable prices. Their bottom-of-the-range computer will be okay for you. The specs:

AMD Sempron 2600
256mb RAM
80gb HD
onboard graphics 64mb (can add a card later via AGP)
DVD ROM / CD Writer combo
modem and 10/100 network
keyboard, mouse, speakers

How much? £220.

(no monitor, that is extra. They do a 19" TFT flatscreen for £175)

PM me if you want their contact details. (They might deliver so you don't have to come to the fair in London)

[bloodline]

If you'be got a few bits lying around (Monitor, keyboard/mouse etc...) then a MacMINI might be a nice option for you.

[Louis Dias]

www.tigerdirect.com

'nuff said

Where you from, I have an Athlon 1100 machine I could get rid of.