Buy a PC or build one

Clanket

Hows it going folks,

My wife is looking for either a laptop or a PC for one of our upstairs rooms. She will only be using this computer for using Microsoft Word etc and surfing the internet. I may use it from time to time for programming (I'm a second year noob) but I doubt it will be that often. There will be no gaming done on the machine.

I've a few old PC's at home that I've been trying to fiddle about with the last few days. One of them has 512MB of RAM installed (2 x 256MB) and has a maximum available of 1GB (2 x 512MB). The other also has 512MB installed but has a maximum of 2GB (2 x 1GB). However, as far as I remember, this second machine is a bit dodgy. It was an old work machine and I think we had problems booting it at times.

With so many options, I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do before I start spending money. The way I see it I have 4 options.

1. Upgrade the RAM on the first machine to max 1GB - This will work but I'd prefer if the machine was faster.
2. Upgrade the RAM on the second machine to max 2GB - This seems a bit stupid as I'm sure there was problems with that machine
3. Buy a Dell Inspiron 660S for €629 including VAT and shipping. The specs are in the attached pdf.
4. Build a machine.

I have a big interest in computers and would love to have a crack at building a machine. I guess my question is, could I build a machine similar to the Dell for the same price? I have a NAS so a big HD is not necessary. Actually, I'd love to put in a small SSD, just to use one for the first time.

Two other things:-

1. Do you get charged VAT if you buy from Hardwareversand?
2. The computer will have to have wireless. I have an Edimax EW-7811 UN USB wireless adaptor. Would this be good enough or are there better ones you can buy to integrate in a build?

Thanks for any help.

Procrastastudy

Building is always cheaper and a much better potion they buying an OEM machine. Being a student you will also get a discount on software making it even better value for money.

Component wise dell use crap - all OEMs do - it should work okay is for a while (number of years in fact) but it had no resale value and limited upgrade potential.

With out knowing more about your current mavhines I cant really comment but I'll look at doing a like for like build to that Dell you've Linked:

Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.68
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 3 6GB/s|€75.93
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.19
Antec BasiQ VP350|€34.56
HIS HD 7750 iCooler GDDR5 1024MB DP/DVI/HDMI|€95.29
Samsung SH-222BB schwarz|€16.54
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€9.65
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€72.44
Intel Core i5-3450 Box, LGA1155|€179.97
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€571.24

Probably not a build I would go for but just as an example. Same price as the Dell (once you add an OS) but has a more RAM, a better Case, PSU, GPU and motherboard.

That said the Dell does seem to come with a student version of office - you could cut down on some of the components and squeeze that in I suspect.

sink

If it's only for internet and office and the odd bit of programming. I wouldn't bother with a full tower, it will only take up space. Quad core CPU and a discrete graphics card are also a waste of money. I would go for a cheap mini ITX build based around a Celeron G540 for around €400.

Clanket

Any chance of some build specs sink?

Also, what about wireless? And VAT?

Procrastastudy

Wireless - I dont use so havent looked. They're onlt about a tenner though. Get a PCIe one or a USB

VAT - you pay german VAT - I think there is someway to claim it back but again I can so...

number66

You ever thought of trying a Linux OS? you'd be surprised how easy they have become to use. I'd suggest XUbuntu if your willing to wipe the hard drive. You might not have to spend any money and learn a lot.

sink

Item|Price
Intel Celeron G540 Box, LGA1155|€39.80
ASUS P8H61-I LX, Rev 3.0, Intel Sockel 1155, ITX|€58.21
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.68
Thermaltake Element Q, mini-ITX, 200W-Netzteil|€53.08
WD Caviar Green 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s (WD10EZRX)|€77.85
Samsung SH-222BB schwarz|€16.54
LogiLink Wireless LAN 150 Mbps USB 2.0 Micro Adapter 802.11n|€9.50
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€309.65

You still need to buy an OS, keyboard and mouse, beware that keyboards and software bought from that site are going to be in German unless it specifically states 'Englisch'

I would also seriously consider adding an SSD which will make the whole system feel a lot snappier.
Item|Price
Samsung SSD 830 64GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€68.13
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€101.43


Also upgrading to a 2TB HDD will only cost you an extra €25.

Item|Price
WD Caviar Green 2TB Sata 6Gb/s|€102.89

sink

The Edimax EW-7811 UN USB wireless adaptor should work fine, so you can take out the LogiLink one I included.

U_Fig

sink wrote: »

Item|Price
Intel Celeron G540 Box, LGA1155|€39.80
ASUS P8H61-I LX, Rev 3.0, Intel Sockel 1155, ITX|€58.21
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.68
Thermaltake Element Q, mini-ITX, 200W-Netzteil|€53.08
WD Caviar Green 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s (WD10EZRX)|€77.85
Samsung SH-222BB schwarz|€16.54
LogiLink Wireless LAN 150 Mbps USB 2.0 Micro Adapter 802.11n|€9.50
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€309.65

You still need to buy an OS, keyboard and mouse, beware that keyboards and software bought from that site are going to be in German unless it specifically states 'Englisch'

I would also seriously consider adding an SSD which will make the whole system feel a lot snappier.
Item|Price
Samsung SSD 830 64GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€68.13
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€101.43


Also upgrading to a 2TB HDD will only cost you an extra €25.

Item|Price
WD Caviar Green 2TB Sata 6Gb/s|€102.89

i wouldn't get a case with a PSU in it. they are generally not as good as buying one seperate.

Sarz91

Don't bother with wireless cards or adapters. They're pretty rubbish and for a bit more you can get a set of powerline adapters which, in my experience, are as good as a full wired connection.

sink

U_Fig wrote: »

i wouldn't get a case with a PSU in it. they are generally not as good as buying one seperate.

That is only a rule of thumb, it is not true in every instance especially when you are buying a mITX case which requires a smaller than regular sized PSU.

There are certain brands I would trust with included PSUs, such as Thermaltake and Antec.

Clanket

number66 wrote: »

You ever thought of trying a Linux OS? you'd be surprised how easy they have become to use. I'd suggest XUbuntu if your willing to wipe the hard drive. You might not have to spend any money and learn a lot.

Yep my plan is to run Ubuntu and if I have to, XP in VirtualBox.

I had it running on the first machine but it was very slow. The graphics were a bit jumbled aswell which was a nightmare. Tried loading XP in VirtualBox and it all ground to a halt.

I'm now loading it onto that second machine. It has a max of 2GB RAM with 1GB installed. If it runs OK I'll get another 1GB and maybe not have to do a build. But there was definitely a problem with the machine so I'm doubtful. I'm also getting excited about doing a build so I'm secretly hoping it gives up.

Is there any difference between XUbuntu and Ubuntu? Is it worth going for X?

Sarz91

If you want to try out a wirless pci card you can have mine free of charge. Of course you'll have to collect it but it's there if you want it. Just saves you wasting money like I did.

Clanket

Thanks for that spec sink. Looks great. I'm looking forward to trying to build it.

Clanket

Sarz91 wrote: »

If you want to try out a wirless pci card you can have mine free of charge. Of course you'll have to collect it but it's there if you want it. Just saves you wasting money like I did.

Much appreciated. Is there a speed difference between PCI and USB?

Sarz91

Clanket wrote: »

Much appreciated. Is there a speed difference between PCI and USB?

PCI cards are apparently better. The card I have is 300mbps.

number66

Clanket wrote: »

Yep my plan is to run Ubuntu and if I have to, XP in VirtualBox.

I had it running on the first machine but it was very slow. The graphics were a bit jumbled aswell which was a nightmare. Tried loading XP in VirtualBox and it all ground to a halt.

I'm now loading it onto that second machine. It has a max of 2GB RAM with 1GB installed. If it runs OK I'll get another 1GB and maybe not have to do a build. But there was definitely a problem with the machine so I'm doubtful. I'm also getting excited about doing a build so I'm secretly hoping it gives up.

Is there any difference between XUbuntu and Ubuntu? Is it worth going for X?

Yep , there is a big difference in the desktops, but under the hood they mostly the same. Ubuntu is targeted at newer machines and having all the cool features, it's desktop is Gnome3/Unity. XUbuntu on the other hand is more conservative and aims for the middle ground, not totally stripped but not wasteful either. XUbuntu uses XFce as its desktop.
Always worth checking to see if there is a property driver for your video card, can make a big difference to performance.
Personally I don't like the unity design so switched to XUbuntu which I find suits me better. Really up to you in the end. Sound like you want to buy that new rig

U_Fig

sink wrote: »

That is only a rule of thumb, it is not true in every instance especially when you are buying a mITX case which requires a smaller than regular sized PSU.

There are certain brands I would trust with included PSUs, such as Thermaltake and Antec.

ya as i said in general.. there are exceptions...

Clanket

number66 wrote: »

Yep , there is a big difference in the desktops, but under the hood they mostly the same. Ubuntu is targeted at newer machines and having all the cool features, it's desktop is Gnome3/Unity. XUbuntu on the other hand is more conservative and aims for the middle ground, not totally stripped but not wasteful either. XUbuntu uses XFce as its desktop.

Cheers for the heads up on XUbuntu. Loaded it up last night and it has a much nicer feel than Ubuntu. It's sort of like a cross between Windows and OSX. I've been trying to get Office 2010 to run in Wine all week but gave up last night as there seems to be a problem getting the dotnet20 and msxml6 loaded up. I ended up putting Office 2000 on and it runs a treat.

The machine also seems to be running fine. I'm going to give it another week and if it's still good I'll get the extra RAM and postpone the build.

number66

I'd like to recommend LibreOffice as your office suite in Xubuntu, it's really very good. and can handle most word documents. I've moved to writing docs in LibreOffice and exporting to PDF if I have to send it to someone.