what desktop?

ninja 101

I will be buying a desktop computer in the next couple of weeks,the only problem is I have kind of been left behind by technology.I used to be interested in computer and used to understand what all the lastest specs were which were best ect but hat was about 10 years ago...
I was hoping that somebody on this board could help me.i have roughly 1000euro to spend,i would like something that will last me through the next 3 years of college, something that can is broadband compatible and can play a few games.I would like to buy a Dell computer but whenever I go on to there site my brain just freezes whan I see words like celeron and dual core.

thanks for any help.

Cuddlesworth

Well, I hav some free time so where to start.

Dual cores are 2 cpus on 1 chip. Good for allround multitasking, ie burning a dvd and watching a movie surfing the web etc. Good to have.

In this order would they be rated for price over performance

Amd x'2 series- Good performance and power
Pentium 4 D??? series- Not that good, but damm cheap
Core2duo, new pentium cpu, great performance but high price.

One thing you need to remember about buying from dell is that the lower budget pc's deny you the abilty to upgrade your graphics card by removing slots. And never try to configure or change a pc. Just take them at base price. Otherwise the cost skyrockets.

Stephen

Keep an eye on their outlet site for possible bargains too: http://www.dell.ie/outlet

I've heard good things about these guys too: http://www.ankermann-pc.com/

ninja 101

Thanks for the help.I have been on the Dell site and came up with the following computer:

Components
PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® D 945 Dual Core Processor (3.40GHz, 800MHz fsb, 2x2MB cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Does not include Operating System Re-installation CD) edit
SUPPORT SERVICES Basic Package, 2 Year At-Home Service edit
MEMORY 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE(S) 16x max. DVD+/-RW Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 edit
MONITOR Dell™ 19" UltraSharp™ Digital/Analogue Flat Panel (1907FP) edit
Accessories
SOUND CARDS Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability edit


SPEAKERS Dell™ A525 Speakers with Subwoofer
KEYBOARD Dell™ Black Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Dell USB 2 Button Wheel Mouse - Black edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES No Floppy Drive edit
MODEMS Dell™ v92 Internal Data/Fax/Voice Modem edit
TV TUNERS Integrated Analogue TV tuner PCI card and Dell™ MCE remote control edit
DELL PRINTERS Dell™ All in One Printer 810 edit
CABLES No Printer Cable Selected edit
INK CARTRIDGES No Additional Printer Ink Cartridge Selected edit
810 50% off Dell Colour Printer 810 edit
POWER PROTECTION Belkin 6-Socket SurgeMaster with Tel/AV edit
Services & Software
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 8 - English edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® Security Centre™ 15-month subscription edit
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE No Photo Organising & Sharing Software/No Photo Editing Software edit


SYSTEM MEDIA No Resource CD edit
Also included with your system
SECUREDATA SOFTWARE No Secure Data Software
Gedis Bundle Reference List D09515d Dimension 5150
Shipping Documents System Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - UK
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
NETWORK ASSISTANT 90 days trial of Network Assistant included

The cost will be about 1250e.Dose the Microsoft works include programs like word,excel,ect.Will this computer last for about 3 years or dose it look like it will be obsoloete in a year or so.I'm not a serious gamer I'd probably just play a couple games of counter strike or similar is this computer ok for that. Finally is this computer good value for money dose anybody see any glaring omissions ect?

astrofool

Get the OS CD, drop the two years at home service. You won't be playing much of anything on that gfx card.

astrofool

You can get an E520 with 2gb RAM (2x1024 so you can always add more later), and a Core Duo E6300. It also comes with an X1300pro which can actually play games, it's not the fastest, but most importantly means that the machine is upgradable. This also includes a 20" widescreen monitor, and with an OS cd for reinstalling. You could also change XP home to MCE.

Cost is €1320 inc vat/delivery from Dell (i'd normally never go near Dell myself )

PROCESSOR Intel® Viiv™ Technology™ Core® 2 Duo® E6300 Processor (1.86GHz, 1066MHz, 2MB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition (Incl Operating System Re-installation CD) edit
SUPPORT SERVICES Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only edit
MEMORY 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x1024] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE(S) 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro graphics card edit
MONITOR Dell™ 20" UltraSharp™ Wide Aspect Digital/Analogue Flat Panel (2007FPW) edit
Accessories
SOUND CARDS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ ADVANCED HD software edit
SPEAKERS Dell™ A225 Stereo Speakers edit
KEYBOARD Dell™ Black Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Dell USB 2 Button Wheel Mouse - Black edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES No Floppy Drive edit
MODEMS No Modem edit
Services & Software
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 8 - English edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Security/Anti-Virus Protection edit
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE No Photo Organising & Sharing Software/No Photo Editing Software edit
SYSTEM MEDIA No Resource CD edit
Also included with your system
SECUREDATA SOFTWARE No Secure Data Software
Gedis Bundle Reference List D10E07 Dimension E520
Shipping Documents E520 Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - Ireland
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Promotions Hidden Option Class 512MB RAM FREE - Double Memory Promo 2x512 MB 533MHz
Futuristic Futuristic Order Flag SKU
NETWORK ASSISTANT 90 days trial of Network Assistant included

ScumLord

Komplett.ie do systems that look like preaty good value you'll be able to upgrade them no problem as well. The only set back is it looks like your only buying the rig itself. No monitor, keyboard or speakers.

I wouldn't buy Dell ether your fairly limited. There great work PCs though.

ninja 101

astrofool wrote:

You can get an E520 with 2gb RAM (2x1024 so you can always add more later), and a Core Duo E6300. It also comes with an X1300pro which can actually play games, it's not the fastest, but most importantly means that the machine is upgradable. This also includes a 20" widescreen monitor, and with an OS cd for reinstalling. You could also change XP home to MCE.

Cost is €1320 inc vat/delivery from Dell (i'd normally never go near Dell myself )

PROCESSOR Intel® Viiv™ Technology™ Core® 2 Duo® E6300 Processor (1.86GHz, 1066MHz, 2MB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition (Incl Operating System Re-installation CD) edit
SUPPORT SERVICES Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only edit
MEMORY 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x1024] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE(S) 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro graphics card edit
MONITOR Dell™ 20" UltraSharp™ Wide Aspect Digital/Analogue Flat Panel (2007FPW) edit
Accessories
SOUND CARDS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ ADVANCED HD software edit
SPEAKERS Dell™ A225 Stereo Speakers edit
KEYBOARD Dell™ Black Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Dell USB 2 Button Wheel Mouse - Black edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES No Floppy Drive edit
MODEMS No Modem edit
Services & Software
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 8 - English edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Security/Anti-Virus Protection edit
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE No Photo Organising & Sharing Software/No Photo Editing Software edit
SYSTEM MEDIA No Resource CD edit
Also included with your system
SECUREDATA SOFTWARE No Secure Data Software
Gedis Bundle Reference List D10E07 Dimension E520
Shipping Documents E520 Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - Ireland
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Promotions Hidden Option Class 512MB RAM FREE - Double Memory Promo 2x512 MB 533MHz
Futuristic Futuristic Order Flag SKU
NETWORK ASSISTANT 90 days trial of Network Assistant included

Ok so I'd just have to buy the modem and antivirus stuff,seems ok Altho its abit expensive i'll look into the e520's.Thanks for your help.

PogMoThoin

ninja 101 wrote:

Ok so I'd just have to buy the modem and antivirus stuff,seems ok Altho its abit expensive i'll look into the e520's.Thanks for your help.

:rolleyes: No, the better antivirus programs are free (miles better than McAfee or Northon). I reckon Northon is the worst virus you could ever put on a pc. The progs are in the essential software thread at top of this forum.

astrofool

A modem can be added for €25 (are you on broadband?), you could also reduce the memory to 1 gig, but that wouldn't future proof the system as much. The important thing is that the included graphics card is good enough to olay games to a reasonable level, while also being easily upgradable, and its a core 2 duo, rather than p4.

Also, use AVG for anti-virus, it's free.

You could also get a smaller screen, but the 20" flatscreen is a lovely monitor, and lets you get the best out of the system. Also consider looking at Komplett's system builder, and ankermann are meant to be good value.

Capt'n Midnight

if buying from dell check the prices on places like www.shop4memory.com
can be half the price dell charge

memory is the easiest upgrade and keeps dropping in price, maybe go for 1GB from dell and upgrade a little later on

kaizersoze

Also keep an eye on the Dell outlet store on Ebay. There can be some cracking deals on it, better than the regular outlet. The systems come with warranty, keyboard, mouse & speakers. They are towers only but when you ring to pay you can add a monitor for €200-€300 (depending on size) and you could have a very decent system for around a grand.
There's a nice one there atm with 1 bid on it.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270031302165&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AVRI&rd=1

ninja 101

astrofool wrote:

A modem can be added for €25 (are you on broadband?), you could also reduce the memory to 1 gig, but that wouldn't future proof the system as much. The important thing is that the included graphics card is good enough to olay games to a reasonable level, while also being easily upgradable, and its a core 2 duo, rather than p4.

Also, use AVG for anti-virus, it's free.

You could also get a smaller screen, but the 20" flatscreen is a lovely monitor, and lets you get the best out of the system. Also consider looking at Komplett's system builder, and ankermann are meant to be good value.[/QUOTE

What do you mean by future proof?I'll have to reduce the memory as 1,300 is out of my range.
I'm buying my computer in the UK as I'm in University here,will it cost the same as Ireland or will it be cheaper/more expensive.
I am on broadband.I can't set up my computer on the university server until its got antivirus software downloaded onto it,will I be able to download AVG on to a CD and then instal it?
Will the sreen make that much or a difference?I'm only casual gamer at best and will most likely spend less than 3 hours a week playing games/watching movies.
What programmes dose microsoft word include?

Thanks for any advice

uberpixie

ninja 101 wrote:

What do you mean by future proof?I'll have to reduce the memory as 1,300 is out of my range.
I'm buying my computer in the UK as I'm in University here,will it cost the same as Ireland or will it be cheaper/more expensive.

If you are buying in England, shop around in England.

There are a huge number of PC builders such as Scan or Mesh that do very good machines at a dacent price.

There is a lot more competition in the UK so your money goes a bit further there than here.

PogMoThoin

By futureproofing he means that you wont have to upgrade for quite a while. Games dont use much more than 1gb ram at the moment but with vista comin out and needing 1gb min it wont be long before 2gb+ is essential to run games properly.
Memory is comin down in price all the time, if you just buy 1gb now the extra 1gb will be cheaper next yr.

Avg can be dl'ed on any pc & put on memory stick/disk. I've got Avg, Kerio, Spybot search & destroy, windows defender & adaware here if you want me to post them 2 ya.

Can't rightly remember whats in MS works, had it on old pc & never used it. Had a wordprocessor which didn't open word documents. I use open office (free), its in the essential progs thread on the top of this forum.

You'd be fine on a 19' monitor, thats what i'm using. Its my next upgrade tho.

ninja 101

uberpixie wrote:

If you are buying in England, shop around in England.

There are a huge number of PC builders such as Scan or Mesh that do very good machines at a dacent price.

There is a lot more competition in the UK so your money goes a bit further there than here.

Thanks for the heads up about the outlets in the uk,I didn't realise thesre were so many other outlats on my doorstep.I found this one on mesh.It's alot better than the other one I had in mind as a far as I can tell.Will I be able to use the 1giga =bit lan as an ethernet modem?

Full Specification


Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor(2.13GHz,2MB Cache,1066MHz)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 550W PSU - Black
ASUS P5NSLI NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Mainboard - Pentium® D/Core™ 2 Duo - ATX
2048MB DDR2 533MHz Memory - (2x 1024MB)
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
Super Format SONY 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
2x 256MB nVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS - nVIDIA SLI™ Configuration
19" Widescreen LCD TFT Display with Multi Media, DVI-D, 8ms - TS902W
5.1 High Definition 6 Channel Audio Codec (on-board)
Logitech S200 - 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Cordless Optical Mouse
Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
BullGuard Internet Security 6.0 -AntiVirus/Firewall/Backup/Spamfilter -90 day trial
Classic Warranty - 3 Years Back-to-Base - Parts & Labour


Additional features:

Free Cyberlink Video Editing Suite - 7 titles (oem)
8x USB 2.0 Ports (onboard)
1x Gigabit LAN (onboard)

astrofool

When they say you need an anti virus, it means that as soon as you connect, you should go and get/download one. There is no way they can "detect" if its installed or not, but may check on the PC themselves (i'm sure most people in uni haven't got the scanner enabled or even up to date).

You seem a bit clueless modem wise (which is fine), but basically, if you're on broadband all you need is any type of ethernet port, the broadband provider will usually provide a DSL/Cable modem(it's not really a modem, but gets called this anyway for simplicity) free of charge, if it's a uni network, you'll just plug the cable straight into the PC. If you use dial up 56k, only then will you need a 56k modem.

You really don't need that SLI setup, in fact, a single 7600 would probably be cheaper and better. I'd even drop to a single 7300 and get a 20" screen as thats what you're going to be looking at all the time, doing all your assignments, and the extra screen space will make a difference.

You can get a student version of MS office at reasonable cost, Works doesn't include word (by default anyway), and probably doesn't cut it for Uni assignments. The Uni shop should have the student version of office, as should any PC store around this time of year.

If you get that PC, uninstall Bullguard, and use AVG + Spybot/Adaware, you don't need to pay for it.

Everything else looks fine.

Capt'n Midnight

PogMoThoin wrote:

Can't rightly remember whats in MS works, had it on old pc & never used it. Had a wordprocessor which didn't open word documents. I use open office (free), its in the essential progs thread on the top of this forum.

The word processor in Works is more or less a very old version of word (win 3.11 vintage) but hobbled so you are forced to buy office. the Works "super duper" version has word as well

http://www.openoffice.org , unless you are big into macros or use tables heavily

PogMoThoin

2x 7300gs is a waste of sli. A single 7600gt would prob be as fast. Sli is overrated anyway as there are single cards that can perform nearly as fast.