Help - need to buy a PC

techie-not

Hi All

I need major help ... im looking into finally buying a PC and need help badly. I want it for the usual stuff, surfing the net,itunes,storing digital fotos the usual stuff.
I have no idea what RAM,a processer,etc mean all i know is that i need an intel pentium processer! and security stuff!!
Also will need excel,ppt,word,outlook,windows meida player etc.

can anyone suggest something for me, i was on the dell website 'building' my own pc however i really didnt know what i was doing and probably buying all the best bits when i dont really need them....
Someone please help.....

thanks guys

Tom Dunne

Ok, if you need a PC, why are you posting in the laptop section?

Sorry. Note to self: be nice to newbies.

Moved from laptop forum.

techie-not

where have u moved my question to?

AlmightyCushion

Why do you need a pentium processor?

techie-not

i was told that they are the best!

AlmightyCushion

techie-not wrote:

i was told that they are the best!

Well pentiums are utter sh!te compared to an athlon 64 or the core 2 duos.

techie-not

this is the reason i need help and guidance buying a PC!!!!

AlmightyCushion

What's your budget?

Ruu_Old

What is your budget and we'll go from there?

edit: snap.

techie-not

excellent,
my budget is about up to €900.00 for a desk top, no bells and whistels tho (printer,speakers etc) just the basic.
I have some knowledge in this area however all this RAM and memory im not 100% sure on.
I know ill need enough space to store photos(lots) music(lots) lput on software for phones and camera etc and just internet surfing
Need the usual applications ie. ppt,excel,word,paint,office picture viewer,windows media player.
With all this cheap broadband knockin around these days i thought i'd better bite the bullet.
First decision was DT or laptop, that decision took about a month to decide on, when i log on to the dell web site and build a pc its runs into over €1000 and i know i dont need all the stuff im putting on it!
thanks

Tom Dunne

Ok, what you are looking for is something along these lines:

Core Duo processor - speed doesn't really matter in your case.

Memory - 2Gigabytes if your budget stretches, 1 gig if not.

Hard-drive - as big as possible Sounds like you will be storing loads of stuff, so go for at least 150Gig

Graphics card - you don't mention games, so a basic, on-board graphics card will do the trick. Just go for the cheapest option.

All modern PC's come with network connection and sound card (though not always speakers). Dell occasionally throw in a printer with some bundles, so look around. Otherwise, a printer will be anything from €50 to €300.

AlmightyCushion

Tom has some sound advice for ya there. One word of caution if you do get a printer refill the cartridges yourself as it works out a hell of a lot cheaper to do re fill them than but a new cartridge.

Jimoslimos

techie-not wrote:

when i log on to the dell web site and build a pc its runs into over €1000 and i know i dont need all the stuff im putting on it!
thanks

Another point to note is when using the dell website make sure that the support options and extended warranties are clicked off. That should save ya a couple of hundred quid

edanto

For what you're looking for, I would recommend buying something like this for e450 : http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=29521&cat=8 All that's missing off that is the office suite.

Considering you probably just want to work on the odd document/presentation at home, you could get away with the free OpenOffice which looks and is very similar to MS Office. You can set it to save documents as .doc files so there are no problems moving files work <-> home.

Half your budget! You can buy us all a pint ;>

AlmightyCushion

edanto wrote:

For what you're looking for, I would recommend buying something like this for e450 : http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=29521&cat=8 All that's missing off that is the office suite.

Considering you probably just want to work on the odd document/presentation at home, you could get away with the free OpenOffice which looks and is very similar to MS Office. You can set it to save documents as .doc files so there are no problems moving files work <-> home.

Half your budget! You can buy us all a pint ;>

That's a good pc for the money. I'd go with that.

AlmightyCushion

Also don't forget to take a look at the sticky at the top of this forum for all your free software needs.

techie-not

thanks for all your help guys really appreciate it
one thing tho is speed, need that cant stand waiting for stuf to up or down load and i work with lots of bits open on the tool bar.
thanks again ye are the best x x xx

techie-not

i have one more question and then im finished!!
tom Dunne dont laugh!!!
im havin a look on the dell website (again) and im 'building' a PC its asking me if i need a modem!!?? I have a feeling that the question im about to ask is a very very silly one however ill ask anyway...............
Do i need a modem??? I just got the o2 broadband and it comes with a modem and its very fast in my area, tested it in a friends house.

thanks again

AlmightyCushion

techie-not wrote:

thanks for all your help guys really appreciate it
one thing tho is speed, need that cant stand waiting for stuf to up or down load and i work with lots of bits open on the tool bar.
thanks again ye are the best x x xx

Well the one edanto has linked to has 2 gigs of ram and the processor is good but if it's still not fast enough you, you could buy a faster one of komplett for a few hundred and slap that in and sell the one that came with it but I doubt you would need to do that.

AlmightyCushion

techie-not wrote:

i have one more question and then im finished!!
tom Dunne dont laugh!!!
im havin a look on the dell website (again) and im 'building' a PC its asking me if i need a modem!!?? I have a feeling that the question im about to ask is a very very silly one however ill ask anyway...............
Do i need a modem??? I just got the o2 broadband and it comes with a modem and its very fast in my area, tested it in a friends house.

thanks again

Nope you don't need one. There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you didn't ask that question you could have wasted money on something you don't need or end up leaving something out that you needed badly. It would have been stupid not to ask it.

sdanseo

Tom Dunne wrote:

so go for at least 150Gig

Can you even get a desktop with that little HDD any more? 300GB minimum to futureproof it...when you know less about PCs it's harder to update frequently and as such it needs to store a couple of years' worth of stuff plus whatever he may have already.

As for Dell charging you lots of money on a build...well, that's what the do best. Try going for a different base model, pick the cheapest base price and work up. Worth noting that if you ever want to play even mildly new games, the 7300LE is a piece of utter crap.

Almighty CUshion wrote:

no such thing as a stupid question

Definately. Always ask, you'll almost definately save money when it comes to computers. And provided your O2 broadband is working you certainly don't need a modem.

techie-not

wow folks im really impressed with the level of honesty and help ive received here. if only life could be like a forum!!!
thanks again.:)

AlmightyCushion

Your best bet with dell is to find a system that suits your needs without you needing to add anything to it. This is where they make their money.