Help With buying a new PC

[Big Ass Lover]

I've been thinking for a while now about buying a new PC but i'm not really sure what i should be looking for. I'm completly clueless when it comes to computer hardware.

I need more power but have no idea what would be considered average or above, i also need it for burning dvds and CD's and also copying from dvd to dvd. I basically need it for watching videos without it stuttering and listening to music.

I've found one thats a good price but i'm not sure it will be able to do what i'm looking for.

DELL GX240 DVD/RW PC
# INTEL PENTIUM 4
# 15.1" LCD SCREEN
# X 6 USB PORTS FOR CAMERA OR PRINTER ETC
# COPYS AND PLAYS DVDS ALSO COPYS AND PLAYS CDS
# WIRELESS CARD OPTIONAL ADD
# DVD RE-WRITER


Thanks for any help

[Big Ass Lover]

Just read my own message and realised i C&P an answer to one of the questions !blush!

[crofter]

How much are you looking to pay Big Ass Lover??

That one you mention above looks to be a laptop, don't buy a laptop as they are virtually impossible to upgrade/repair and the deprecation value on them drops faster that Jordan's drawers.

Let me know how much you plan to spend as I am thinking of selling mine, failing that I could put one together for you maybe.

[Big Ass Lover]

Moneywise not sure but lets just say i'm cheap. To be honest it doens't need to be new, the one i mentioned isn't

Its not a laptop, this is it

[img]http://www.pcwarehouseltd.co.uk/images/ ... 0GX270.jpg[/img]

[crofter]

Oh I think that is a Dell Optiplex which is basically aimed at business users so I would give that a wide berth, plus with a 15 inch screen you aren't going to have much joy watching movies.
You can get a dual core machine for approx ?250 on ebay and then add a 19" tft monitor for approx ?100 or look at buying a big CRT Monitor for approx ?50.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Some useful info here to help you make your choice

[fudgeflaps]

Some key specs you should be outlining to help us are:

Memory, in Mb's of RAM;

Processor speed in GHz;

DVD and CD-writer speeds;

and maybe Hard disk space and other add-ons, graphics cards etc.

[fudgeflaps]

I'm not exaclty with you on the depreciation of laptops, crofty.

Sure, I bought a new one, but when I go into the pawn-shops, Cash Convertors etc for a wee browse, old crappy laptops are going for around ?300+, which i find baffling- and these are supposed to be bargains!

Fully agreed on your other laptop points, though. Can you give me the spec of your current pc, mate? Ta in advance. !happy!

[Jacques]

Go for XP and not Vista.

Go for AMD not Intel.

These guys are good

They are linux based but will give you a Windows option and it won't break the bank.

[jimslip]

Buy it from John Lewis, at least if it goes wrong they'll sort it out with no questions asked, even give you your money back if you want. They are also good on advice. Buying off the internet or PC World, you'll be immersed into a world of shysters and crooks, who will dump you like a hot brick as soon as they've got your cash!