Hi there,

I've just come in to some money (yay) and am looking to spend about £500 of it on a PC.

Now, I know absolutely NOTHING about them. All this gig / RAM / MhZ business is like martian to me at t'minute. I can use the things when they're already up an running at work or the gym but as for buying one....

So, in the opinion of y'all where am I most likely to get the "best" PC for my 500 notes? Where should I avoid for fear of being skanked? Apart from PC World that is.

Cheers

Saifa

Avoid anything with Packard Bell on it (I wish I had), and don't expect any positive after sales service from PC world, even with extended warranty! Both are absolute tosh IMO!:mad:

There are several shops along London road.

Crown Computers & The PC Shop are the 2 I use. Hope they can help..

http://www.crownitsolutions.co.uk/

http://www.pcshop.co.uk/

I use N2CSystems on West Street. Always found them to be helpful, reasonably priced, and happy to give sensisible advice. Independant PC shops are definitely the way to go. Avoid PC World and other big-name suppliers, they're generally selling overpriced stuff that's badly put together and not properly supported

Cheers guys- thats give us a few places to wander round saturday...

Next daft question (bear in mind I do know nothing bout computers right). Intel processors. Are they worth having over other makes or is it a bit like buying a pair of trainers just cos they've got Nike on the side?

Are you paying for the name and if I get a lesser known processor are there likely to be any compatibiltiy issues later on?

Cheers

Depends what the intended use of the PC is, if it's for gaming then yeah, I'd recommend Intel over other brands for better compatibility with software etc.

If it's just for say work stuff, then go with something like an AMD or an Alienware, which are often cheaper than Intels but equally as reliable with regard to compatibility.

Ebuyer is the place to get best value for money, very cheap..
easy to stick it together, I can do it for a fee :))
IMO don't buy a branded PC, (compaq or dell or packard bell etc) usally not as good and if they go wrong you get ripped off!

I always thought that AMD's Athalon (which i've got) out performed the P4 when it came to running games???? :confused:

I had problems running games back when I had an AMD earlier this year, although to be honest I think it was more to do with Windows 2000 compatibility issues than the AMD.

AMD kicks Intels ass.. :)

I have never had a single problem with AMD processors, but Intel however have caused no end of problems.

To be honest its 6 of one and Half a Dozen of the other these days. Hardly any difference between the two.

It really is just like trainers... ;)

Talk to the people in the shop, tell them what you want to do and they should give you impartial advice.

Personally I go for AMD as they give excellent performance for a few quid less than Intel. The processors are easier to install, overclock and in general seem to behave much better in games.

Face it, Far Cry is designed to run better on AMD any way.. ;)

I've always had Intels at home but we have Athlon laptops at work and they're fantastic. However, I've just got a P4 3.2Ghz with hyperthreading and that flies faster than anything i've ever seen - but the three 200Gb serial ATA drives and 2Gb of RAM may have something to do with it!

Anyway, my store recommendations are:

www.scan.co.uk
www.spotonuk.com
www.microdirect.co.uk

Not in Sheffield but they do mail order. But, to be honest, they are well worth a trip over the Pennines to come to. I know a few people in Sheffield who come over especially. Open Sundays too - make a day of it and see how Manchester outperforms Sheffield for city centre sunday trading - free street parking & all shops open!

I've always had custom built PC's and always with AMD processors.... Amd they have always outperformed Intel (on bench mark testing) whilst being reliable and reasonably priced. Remember that Intel spend a lot of money on their advertising budget and they've got to make it back somewhere.

However you do get what you pay for, go for the highest spec you can afford. Always go for as much RAM memory as possible and don't skimp on the graphics card (if you want to play games/watch DVDs). DVD/CDRW dual drives are cheap nowadays and a Creative 5.1 surround sound system is a good investment. Go to a custom pc builder (N2C for example) and explain exactly what you want out of the system and let them put a quote together for you - that'll give you a top end price; then compromise on the bits that are less important (to you) to get the price to a figure you like. A good PC will last you years so it's worth spending a bit of dosh now to get what you want from the start.

If the price comes out too high for your wallet think about an upgrade path that lets you buy an ok machine now that you can add bits to periodically as and when you have the cash.

O

Originally posted by alchresearch
Anyway, my store recommendations are:

www.scan.co.uk
www.spotonuk.com
www.microdirect.co.uk


Used Microdirect for all the stuff in my current pc and a lot of my mates use them as well. Thinking of upgrade my machine soon (AMD 64 bit,new graphics card, ect....) and i'll be using them again. If your going to the shop get there early,everytime i've been it has been VERY busy.

I would avoid AMD athlon like the plague ... I had major problems with it crashing randomly and also they make more noise than intels.

The main bit of advice I can offer is don't buy the latest and greatest that people in shops will suggest you 'need' - if you buy a couple of monthes behind the technology curve you will get the best bang for your buck and the chances are even that will outperform your needs - to give you some idea I still run a 800mHz duron and a 5 year old 16 meg ATI card which does pretty much everything I could ask of it!

Originally posted by Jamie
I would avoid AMD athlon like the plague ... I had major problems with it crashing randomly and also they make more noise than intels.

A micro-processor is completely silent whatever the make.- it's the cooling fan wot makes the din. :D

If you go for a custom built PC tell the shop you want it to run quiet...might cost a little more, but worth it if the machine is to be used for playing music/DVDs etc. Or for those who build their own there is a useful website/forum....

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/desktops_Q2_W12_dimen_2400_D0725S?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Dell have a good repuatation, and i have used many Dell Systems.

This is an excellent buy IMO.

Its also a 'sexy' black and a nice flat monitor. Yum!

visit freewebs.com/tssolutions/
you can ask them to get cheap stuff

do some research on other forums about building your own computer. for around £400 you could build a pc that would play any game out today and will beat the branded ones like packard bell.

p.s check your private messages

A little history regarding Chip Wars - Intel were faster than AMD, then AMD were faster than Intel, but currently Intel are faster than AMD. But that may change next year. What ever the state of play, AMD are rarely as costly as Intel.
Neither are more stable/compatible than the other, but although my previous machines were AMD, currently I'd buy Intel, as they have the edge at present. But it really doesn't matter, both will be fast enough for your needs. For your money, you can get a faster machine than I presently have and I do high end graphics/Photoshopping on my [I]antique.

n2C Division Street and Crown Computers on London Rd are about the 2 best local dealers around city centre.

Crown are a bunch of know nothing misfits who cant answer a simple question (yes, I like popping into shops and asking questions, to see how much the shop actually knows) N2C I havent tried yet, however now I know of them, I sure will..

your best bet to be honest, is get someone from the forums to advise on some components from dabs, or ebuyer or similar, you buy them, and then drop a message on here requesting someone to build it for you..

I'd build for £30 or so, and im sure most people will build for between £30 and £50 so you shouldnt have a problem..

for your budget, I would go AMD, its the best performance / price ratio currently, although the Intel Core 2 Duo's outperform AMD's, they are super expensive... I would also go for 2 GB of ram (minimum) if your going for AMD you dont NEED DDR2, however for being future proof its reccomended..

Has no-one clocked that this topic was started in 2004?? ;)

OP - 26-07-2004, 01:56 PM