O/T Computers (Specs etc)

[magoo]

A local PC shop is offering to build a new computer for ?350. What do I need to make sure is included and what questions should I ask?
My knowledge of PCs is very limited compared to a lot of you people. I use one at work but thats mainly just using Word to prepare documents and using email and internet. I am not really up to date on what questions to ask when buying a new PC. Any advice on what my minimum requirements spec wise would be? I dont need vast amounts of memory as I am not proposing to use it for more than regular home/office purposes.

Another question I was wondering about is whats the best way to make a database of my video collection which would allow me to search for a title by performer, title, producer or index number?

Sorry to sound a bit of a caveman but I am old enough to remember the days of Acorn Electrons, Sinclair Spectrums etc! Actually I still have a BBC Model B (32K memory!) should I bin it or would someone have a use for such an antique. Its been in the cupboard for 15 years.

[Joe A]

This will be a long list and I'm bound to miss out something somewhere but for ?350 you won't get anything close to what you need...

The slowest processor today that is worth having would be around 1.5 gig but they now go up to 2.5 or even 2.8.

As for a hard drive the best around are Maxtor and I wouldn't buy one under 40 gig and a 7200 speed.

Then you have to think about having a dvd/cd writer or they're producing today dvd writers for pc's for around ?250

Ram is also important.. Today I wouldn't go for less than 256 of DDR as this is the latest and best but also the most expensive.

Then you have to think about the video and sound cards.. The cost builds up very easily

Basically to have a pc built you might as well go the whole hog and spend a minimum of ?800 on the bits and pieces plus this will be better value than buying from a store as these all come loaded with programmes that you really don't need and if you're planning on having some adult sites etc. on it you don't want to end up like Messrs Glitter or King if you have to take it in because of a problem.

I bought the parts for mine in Vegas last year and brought it all back in my baggage and then had it built by a small pc shop with my total cost being under ?600 and back then in July 2001 it was a top of the range model.

I hope this hasn't put you off..

[watters]

Joe A wrote:
>
> This will be a long list and I'm bound to miss out something
> somewhere but for ?350 you won't get anything close to what
> you need...
>


Completely agree. Even if you don't want to play games and you don't need a screen, ?350 is not enough to do a proper job.

[Dick Moby]

I disagree with Joe and Watters. Our office until recently was running 3 Pentium 120 machines which did all the wages,bills, letters and connected to the internet with just 16 MB of memory.If magoo just wants to connect to the internet and do office applications he does not need vast amounts of memory and a large hard drive. Faster and bigger is generally better but for what he wants a decent machine could certainly be built for ?350 (software could be a lot extra).You can now buy motherboards with onboard graphics and sound but they also have an AGP port if you want to upgrade to a fancy graphics card at a later date for about ?60. Remember you generally get what you pay for but why pay for a high spec machine you don't need and the money saved could be used to buy a few more vids/dvds.

[P R Mann]

Go down to your local PC world and demand an Apple 'i Mac' they're easy to use, they're plug and play (none of this PC building up bollocks where you could have endless grief because some of the components are slightly mismatched) and they come with excellent Apple consumer software for e-mail, editing movies, CD Burning, storing and playing MP3's etc and I believe that with consumer computers like the i Mac you also get 'Apple Works' a suite of office applications much like Microsoft Office - though admittedly not so comprehensive in scope - that will be far more than adequate for your word processing and databasing needs.

Oh and they also look the bollocks as Apple are leaders in the field of computer and interface design. Unfortunately, you will have to shell out around a grand as nothing worth having is given away free (usually)

P R Mann

[buttsie]

Check out this site could be useful
Gives listings of individual components their cost and comments about them....The index is at the bottom of the page...weird



cheers
B...OZ

[TopShelfBlue]

PR Mann is indeed right about iMacs being very easy to use. And yes, they come included with Appleworks software which really is an excellent package.

Think you can pick them up for less than a grand, though. Comet are advertising in the tabloids today, where you get an iMac for ?899 (incl the dreaded vat).

[mike johnson]

Yeah but any Apple machine costs about half-again what a comparable PC does, & you are stuck w/ a propietary (dare I say monopolistic?) vendor. Fewer people work on them so they can charge more. They are harder & costlier to upgrade.Software is either much slower in coming to Macs or more often, doesnt come at all.You have to learn a new OS, & quality-wise, they are only average.

[mike johnson]

I agree w/ this POV. you can surf the Web quite well w/ a 200MHz PII.If we assume that you arent going to play 3D games or edit video or anything really taxing, you dont need a supercharged computer, magoo.Many come w/ onboard 4X or even 8X AGP graphics that can be adjusted to up to 32 MB of graphics memory.More than sufficient for web-browsing. Only caveat, magoo, is if you want to download porn vids, you need the biggest hardrive you can get, as video eats up HD space.And in general, you should get the most computer you can afford.
So magoo, why not return to the shop & ask for the complete specs-CPU speed & brand,memory,media (CD-RW?),HD size, expansion slots, etc., & come back & tell us?& ask about the warranty-you should get at least a year parts & labor.

[EC]

I am sure you can flog the BBC to a collector on ebay.

I have a grandstand clone from late 70s still in the cupboard.