New build vs Aldi pc

darkmaster2

hi Lads,

I am looking to buy a new pc. I am currently running a dell vostro 200 E2180 with 4gb ram with an nvidia 8800 gts gfx card.

I am tempted to get this aldi machine coming up but it would be more fun to build something.

I will be needing com/serial ports as I will be hooking it up to a ham radio transciever, but a few PCI slots and card with some serial ports will be fine. I dont want to use usb to serial cables.

1. What is your budget? around 400

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Web browsing, radio ham software, android development software, some light gaming would be good.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Maybe

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need. N/A

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1366 x 768 maybe

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? yes

8. How can you pay? Credit Card

9. When are you purchasing? 3 - 4 weeks

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I shouldnt need help

Thanks :pac:

Marcin_diy

11.
What do you need this computer for?

This one from aldi has integrated graphic card.. It wont be too powerful.

RUCKING FETARD

11 = 2

Procrastastudy

Check the hardware discussion thread for a conversation between myself and Monotype on that very PC, the Trinity APU and budget builds. You will also find some links to benchmarks on TomsHW.

The Good News:

You can't be a 100% good boy (e.g. not use software4students upgrades as clean installs) and build that machine for less.

The iGPU isn't actually that bad. You can play Skyrim on medium settings at 30FPS in High Def. It's up there with Xbox 360 performance and image quality.

The Questions:

Does the mainboard used by Medion have a PCI-e slot? I've looked all over including trying to download the manual from the web but no luck finding out.

The Bad News:

The case, PSU, HDD, mainboard and memory will be the cheapest of the cheap - thats not to say it will be unreliable - it has a three year warranty - however the upgrade potential is probably limited. The memory being slow is an issue as the iGPU uses this and may be hobbled by it.

Windows will be tied to the mainboard meaning even if the case would take it you won't be able to change it without forking over another €100 for an OS.

All in all if you want an okay machine mainly for school work that you'll chuck out after two years I'd buy it. If it had a PCI-e slot you might get another year or two out of it and it would be a bargain.

The main reason this APU can't be dismissed out of hand is that it out performs the i3-2120 in terms of CPU power and walks all over it in terms of GPU power. It will all come down to price. The current Llano offerings might even be worth recommending in some very limited circumstances.

Actually save you wading though to find it here's the build:

Item|Price
AMD A8-3850 APU mit AMD Radeon HD 6550D Grafikeinheit, Sockel FM1, boxed|€95.25
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€31.86
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.18
4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€23.90
Samsung SH-222BB schwarz|€16.80
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€61.70
ASRock A75M-HVS, FM1, mATX|€49.71
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€340.39

Note this uses a Llano based APU as AMD haven't released Trinity (whats in the Aldi machine) into retail yet - its only available to OEMs.

The build above has the advantage of a good case and PSU - definitely has a PCI-e slot and you can alter the components or leave them out if you can pull them out of your current build.