New Computer

[Frog-Dude]

I am in the process of looking for a new desktop PC, any hint's on where to find one and what hardware it should include. Seen one on ebuyer at the moment Zoostorm Desktop PC, Intel Pentium Dual Core Sandybridge G630 2.7GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HARD DRIVE, DVD WRITER, No OP system for £200.
Not sure though, i was thinking the intel i3 processor or higher.

 

[mark-simpson]

Wow £200 with that hardware spec is a good bargain.

 

[TotallySport]

the questions has to be what will you be using it for?

 

[Frog-Dude]

Sage 50 accounts, and maybe if need be just open our order's but mainly just for the accounting side of things.

 

[anthonyd]

My only criticism of the ebuyer budget desktops and alike is that they tend to use very cheap motherboards & memory in them which I've often found cause problems down the line with things going wrong. For desktops these days I'd recommend Dell (not so much for laptops), their desktop systems are built really well, are quiet and well designed - although you will most likely pay a premium over the likes of eBuyer budget desktops

 

[paulears]

My experience, sadly, is that Dell means very little 'extra'. Most computers are obsolete long before they become faulty. Ebuyer have good guarantee service for the year, and if a computer is going to die, then they usually die quickly. If they fall over afterwards, then most bits are fixable. Mother board faults seem to rear their heads when the machine is moved about a lot. A machine stuck in one place that works for 6 months without a problem, usually just carries on. I have three dell machines and find them ok, but NOT worth the extra outlay compared to the budget ones we also have. £200 plus an operating system is pretty good value.

 

[darren atkinson]

I have to agree that Dell machines are usually out of date as they are sold, they use older chipsets and often have their own motherboards which are near impossible to replace if a flat occurs outside of your warranty.

The machine you mentioned from ebuyer is good value, obviously at that price you are going to get cheap components however it should be fine for your needs.

It's not going to be amazingly fast but again for that kind of budget you can't really expect it to be can you.

 

[johndon68]

Sage 50 accounts, and maybe if need be just open our order's but mainly just for the accounting side of things.

In which case that spec is more than adequate.

John

 

[David A]

My experience, sadly, is that Dell means very little 'extra'.

And if you buy on-line, their customer service and delivery procedures stink.

I will never buy a Dell again, and have gone back to Ebuyer - always good value, and their customer service (only ever had to use it once) is pretty good.

 

[Frog-Dude]

Ok next question, best place to get windows 7 and how hard is it to install on that computer ?
Just turn on place disc in ?

 

[paulears]

simplest could simply be amazon, or the buyer - who have them in stock.

Installing is actually very simple nowadays - just remember you MUST be connected to the internet to authorise it.

 

[Posilan]

And if you buy on-line, their customer service and delivery procedures stink.

This generally depends on the product you are buying.

We are a Dell partner. "Home use" product support is not brilliant, but business product support is generally very good.

Steve

 

[Esk247]

The Intel boards aren't very good at being updated e.g. not like the AMD systems, however, AMD units seem to be more expensive anyway.

For £200, from eBuyer with 8gigs of RAM and for just running your accounts you'll have acres of room.

Just don't try running any games on it, the graphics cards are very basic, fine for everyday business stuff but not CAD or gaming or masses of graphics work through photoshop etc. They get a bit jittery.

Still..it's £200 haha Even if it lasts 2 years you'll be quids in.

As for Windows 7, buy it together with the unit from eBuyer because you save on any extra delivery costs and you can have it all delivered in a bundle on the same day.

 

[martinbailey]

In regards to people stating that a PC is out of date before it's even sold, although it's true it really does not matter much given the price. To run general office apps today's entry level PCs are just fine. It's only when you get to things like editing video or playing games that you need to start thinking about faster processors, better graphics cards and more storage.

I know someone that is still running a Dos accounts page on a Windows 3.11 machine! For him it does the job (although he is going to be properly screwed when that PC goes down but refuses to do anything about it)...

 

[jlmns]

I can recommend that eBuyer machine as I purchased one for one of my business customers. It is a very nice package and an absolute bargain although they have upped the price a little. The huge HDD and RAM seem to offset the lower spec processor so for business use it will be fine.