Hi

I'm sourceing a pc for my sister for xmas.

It's a pressy for her son.

She wants to spend £400 max.

I think for that price a could get:

Around a 3.0Ghz processor
512 RAM
80 GB SATA HD
graphics card good enough to run strategy games (AGE OF EMPIRES)
and if poss a TFT screen (15")

These specs i can nearly get at DELL, comes to around £470.

Anyone know where i could find it all for £400.

dell have an offer on at the mo....... set up for 299

Originally posted by donky7
dell have an offer on at the mo....... set up for 299

For my specs?

Can you post a link, cos if searched dell and i can't get my specs for under £450

Think i seen the one you mean,

it has intergated graphics,, suppose i could get a card with the savings

Not if dell do their old trick of using proprietary boards that you can't expand!

Ah right.

I'll look out for that, the sneaky gits.

Cheers

Get a normal monitor instead of a TFT one, that'll bring the price down a tad.

She really wants a TFT.

That's why i'm struggling, as a TFT is gonna take up about £100 of the budget.

Found a good one on Dell.

15" TFT Monitor,
Cel 3.06Ghz,
512MB RAM,
160GB,
48xDVD/CDRW,

£375


everything i need but with integrated graphics :(


She only wants it for those 2d games, like age of empires and Rome Total War.

Will an integrated graphics run those games ok or not?

Typically integrated graphics are fairly low end graphics chips, but if you only doing 2D stuff and general computing you shouldn't have too much of a problem. She may desperately want a TFT but I would be inclined to getter a better base unit and a CRT (which will give you a better picture anyway!)

Originally posted by oasismark
She really wants a TFT.

That's why i'm struggling, as a TFT is gonna take up about £100 of the budget.

Found a good one on Dell.

15" TFT Monitor,
Cel 3.06Ghz,
512MB RAM,
160GB,
48xDVD/CDRW,

£375


everything i need but with integrated graphics :(


She only wants it for those 2d games, like age of empires and Rome Total War.

Will an integrated graphics run those games ok or not?

Should do.

But if you want to run old games, don't use Windows XP as the Operating System, go for Windows 98 SE or less.

Seriously I've been trying to get some of my older PC games to work under XP and it's a chuffing nightmare, out of my entire collection only 3 work with no problems, ie Blake Stone, Theme Hospital and Duke Nukem 3D.

avoid dell, like already mentioned, they're a pain if you want to upgrade later, and their products aren't that good anyway.

have you checked these guys in hilsborough, to see what they can build you for that price
here (http://www.very-pc.co.uk/home/)

There not that old, those games. :hihi:

Ok so does anyone know how i can get a pc from dell and NOT get a monitor with it. (most times it's not an option to choose)

I did have a link to buy without a monitor so i know it can be done, but the offer change so quicky the old link has gone.

Try www.ebuyer.com. They have some great offers, can buy pcs without monitors, and the Acer PCs they sell are very easily upgradable. I've got a dirt-cheap PC off them that works brilliantly: ok I don't use it to play games but could easily install a graphics card and extra RAM if necessary (I bought an extra 500mb RAM when getting the PC).

hotukdeals.com usually lists some good PC deals.

Comet also have some pretty decent base units (usually HP) for £300 as well.

I don't think you can go far wrong with dell despite not being able to expand the boards. They are good quality at an excellent price.

Originally posted by oasismark
There not that old, those games. :hihi:

Ok so does anyone know how i can get a pc from dell and NOT get a monitor with it. (most times it's not an option to choose)

I did have a link to buy without a monitor so i know it can be done, but the offer change so quicky the old link has gone. Are you not taking the advice NOT to go with Dell, which advice imo you should go with?

I got my pc from Comet, and got a really good deal on it....

(a) because it was supposed to be an end of line (I found out a couple of weeks later that the model I have was not an end of line, but I didn't see the model described on the shelf label again);
(b) because it was the last one in the shop, i.e. demonstration pc; and
(c) because it had been labelled wrongly, and I got a more expensive pc than what the label on the shelf was stating.

I ended up getting an extra £50 off the reduced price (for being end of line) because it was the last one in the shop, and then they took another £50.00 off because I took the extra warranty. It all came to about £650 for over £1000 worth of pc (including warranty).

I've always been told in the past that, when you are spending a lot of money on something, you shouldn't buy something that you haven't seen.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, have a look in places like Comet, Curry's, PC World and even some of the smaller outlets, and see what deals they can offer.

Done a spec from www.ebuyer.com :

Processor: AMD Sempron 3000+
CPU Socket Type: 754Pin
CPU Cache Memory: 512/1000
Memory: 256MB DDR expandable to 2GB.
Memory Type: DDR 400
Disk: 80GB
HDD Interface: SATA
HDD Speed 7200
DVD-RW: 16X Dual and Double layer
Chipset: VIA K8M800
Audio on board: AC97 (5.1)
Onboard LAN 10/100
Maximum Onboard VGA Memory: 64MB
9 in 1 memory card reader
PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse
2 Stereo Speakers USB
Warranty: 1 year collect and return

Ports & Slots:

Number of Serial Ports 1
PCI Slots: 3 x PCI, 1 x 8X AGP
Number of Parallel Ports 1
Number of USB ports Front 2
Number of USB Ports Rear 4
Graphics Expansion Slot: AGP
Number of PS2 ports 2

Software Included:

Microsoft Windows XP Home
Norton AntiVirus 2005
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0
Cyberlink Power DVD for DVD
NTI CD-Maker Gold for CD-RW / Combo / DVD burner

All for £234.99

then added:


1 x Crucial 256MB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184pin Memory Module

1 x Sapphire Radeon 9550 256MB DDR AGP8x TV-Out DVI-I

1 x AMW M158 15" 23ms 350:1 ( 1024x768 ) TFT Monitor Black 3 Years Warranty

TOTAL PRICE = £418.29

Only £18 over budget but getting a Flatscreen monitor and decent graphics card aswel.


Questions:

1. Do i have the correct extra memory?

2. The graphics card got rave reviews on the site, is it ok?
It says it's a underclocked 9800 Pro, and i know the 9800 Pro is a great card.

3. My sister only wants to have Dail-up internet (the 1p a min thing), does the onboard LAN work for dial-up?

Originally posted by oasismark

Questions:

1. Do i have the correct extra memory?

Yes, that will work fine

2. The graphics card got rave reviews on the site, is it ok?
It says it's a underclocked 9800 Pro, and i know the 9800 Pro is a great card.

Itll do the job, but the 9550 is getting on a bit now. You might be better looking for a cheap 5900XT, or even a 6800 if your budget will stretch.

3. My sister only wants to have Dail-up internet (the 1p a min thing), does the onboard LAN work for dial-up?

No, shell need a modem. A PCI one shouldnt cost more than around a tenner.

And Id forget about playing games on that monitor. 23ms response time will blur like nobodys business when things start moving around the screen. You want at least 12ms for games, preferably lower.

the 9550 will be fine for your needs, it will play most games quite well, as for being an underclocked 9800, im not sure about that, its the first i've heard anyway:suspect:

that memory would be fine, but dont forget, you will probably have to pay postage, although they do now offer free postage on some items

Thanks for all your help.

They've decided to wait to get a new monitor, and use there old one for now.

so i've gone for the above quote without the monitor.

you said i needed a modem, could some one just pick out for me a basic one from ebuyer, i'm not sure about networking and stuff.

it says your going to be using dial up, so im presuming its going to be 56k and not a broadband package using your phone line

Originally posted by SpeedwayDan
it says your going to be using dial up, so im presuming its going to be 56k and not a broadband package using your phone line

Yes, that's right - it'll be dial-up.

Buy it - done! (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=37970)

Originally posted by SpeedwayDan
using your phone line

Although DSL is through the phone line.

:)

Thank you very much everyone who helped.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Originally posted by kentboy119
Although DSL is through the phone line.

:)

thats why i was asking, im not as thick as i look........well, thats debatable i suppose:suspect: :D