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[hotel21]

Was going to send this as a PM to an elder member or two of the forum to get their idea of whats what, but decided to open it up to general discussion instead.

I currently have a couple of quid going spare that I am happy to spend on a new computer.  I would then consign my current machine to the back room as a music/video repository cum server store to the home network that my family use but, the question is, what do I replace it with?

I know that chipset is important but I do not do the 'gaming' thing to any extent these days (might change now though!!) but do enjoy good quality video when available.

Any idea's or links as to whats best and whats worst out there?   :-?

[cem_devecioglu]

My question is : do you want a complete ready system or one composed of good quality parts from different vendors ?

My preference is always the second.. :-/

[Dazzler]

Are you talking PC or a laptop?

[Mr Skrunts]

My question is : do you want a complete ready system or one composed of good quality parts from different vendors ?

My preference is always the second.. :-/

B.Y.O.  

[hotel21]

Looking for a desktop rather than a laptop, to be honest.  I like the bigger screens and being able to be some distance from the screen , I feel, is better on my eysight.

I have done the self assembly route a number of times over the years, starting with a 386 then upwards....  To be honest, I now prefer the 'open the box and plug it in' method, knowing there is a warranty if the bits have a wee fustercluck at some stage.

[stuart30]

Mate of mine regualarly has laptops and computers that fall out of the back of shops....good prices too.

Well can only talk about experience and im sure not everyone's cuppa but ive found my Dell 1720 does all i need....3 gig ram (4 gig max) core duo with 250 gig hard drive and just £600.

Really cant fault it....depending on what its needed for id say there a bargain.

[Mr Skrunts]

So much to choose from, if you want better video quality but dont do any gaming then look for some thing with reasonable graphics and with extra memory if you opt for Vista.

On the Video side consider output to TV, as I have seen laptops mentioned with HDMI, you may never use it, but if it's there then it's an option.  

[hotel21]

Have heard quite a few good things about Dell, solid and reliable.  Anyone to the contrary?

[TheBoy]

H21 - for general purpose email/web/letter writing I would go for

Core2 Duo 2.0G or better
965 chipset or better
2G RAM
300G HDD or better
The X3100 built into most 965 chipsets is good enough for most non gaming apps, but ensure you have a PCIe x16 slot on the board for future upgrade.


For video editing, consider quad core, more disk space (ideally multiple disks), and more RAM. Not worth putting more than 3.5G RAM in 32bit Windows, but if you go 64bit, be aware of driver issues.

[Mr Skrunts]

Have heard quite a few good things about Dell, solid and reliable.  Anyone to the contrary?

have had a few.

Have all been Optiplex models,  tried the entry level ones but for the same processor speed found they were inferior.

As you say a balanced box of bits with some thought behind it, but Optiplex V enntry level (Dimention I thik they were) the Motherboard was far superior and the Bios made for far better throughput.

[Mr Skrunts]

In fact I have an Optiplex GX240 P4 1.6 running 24 hours a day never had issue with it.  

[Chopsdad]

Have heard quite a few good things about Dell, solid and reliable.  Anyone to the contrary?

I've got a Dell Inspiron 530 - bit slow but does enough for my needs (OOF and Ebay)

[TheBoy]

Have heard quite a few good things about Dell, solid and reliable.  Anyone to the contrary?

I've had a lot of Dell kit, as has my brother who has a couple of retail outlets, and a rather complex IT setup (designed by me on back of a fag packet).

Its good kit, as long as you find one that exactly matches your needs - as soon as you start adding options, they get dear.

http://www.dmxdimension.co.uk is a good jump point if looking for Dells.

[cem_devecioglu]

Lets start with power supply

Cooler master extreme 500 W..

Chasis:

A well ventilated big one without PSU and have enough bays for disks:

like this one(coolermaster, thermaltake etc)

http://www.mavibilgisayar.com/ud/4759

CPU:
Core 2 duo E 8400 6 MB cache FSB 1333 mhz 3.0 Ghz

Mobo:
Asus striker II or Asus Maximus or Gigabyte GA45T -Extreme

Disk

Samsung 7200 RPM SATAII with  any capacity

or

if more speed is concern Western Digital raptor 10 K RPM (used , no problems but not big difference to fast 7200 RPMs)

Graphics

Nvidia 8500 or more

Monitor

22 to 24 inch LCD depending on budget

but in job where I use dual screens I prefer and OLD 19 CRT as no #1

and LCD as #2 as I can dimm its contrasts much better than LCDs :-/

in home where I use Samsung 22 LCD makes my eyes tired


ps : as my preference..I dont like everything ready..and here with a very small fee they can prepare the system for you under guarantee..
and test it for 24 hours

[TheBoy]

Have heard quite a few good things about Dell, solid and reliable.  Anyone to the contrary?

have had a few.

Have all been Optiplex models,  tried the entry level ones but for the same processor speed found they were inferior.

As you say a balanced box of bits with some thought behind it, but Optiplex V enntry level (Dimention I thik they were) the Motherboard was far superior and the Bios made for far better throughput.

Optiplex are design for corporates, as such tend to be slower/older tech for same money. Corporates have different needs, mainly around model stability, rather than latest and greatest.