Help buying new computer base unit

mfin

Don't need a monitor but need a new base unit... haven't bought one in ages though so anyone know whether this is a good deal... spec seems right for what I need, just need to check the graphics card has 2 dvi ports as I run 2 flatscreens...


http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=DRS43004&l=en&m_30=124967&oc=D00X304&rbc=D00X304&s=dhs

...just the £699 spec on the right 'as is' is what Im looking at.

Dell's delivery is a bit slow though so Im wondering where else might be as good or better value than this??

Any pointers... don't wanna spend much more than this.

ademort

You can get better specced Pcs from the aldi or Lid and cheaper too,they also come with a better software package and a 3 year guarantee as standard.
Ademort

mfin

ademort wrote:

You can get better specced Pcs from the aldi or Lid and cheaper too,they also come with a better software package and a 3 year guarantee as standard.
Ademort

So what spec for what money?

Stewie Griffin

Can you not build your own? Its far easier than you would imagine. Always built my own for cheaper than any shop would sell me one for.

mfin

Stewie Griffin wrote:

Can you not build your own? Its far easier than you would imagine. Always built my own for cheaper than any shop would sell me one for.

Ive built so many its nuts, 100s, used to do it for a living. Built my last desktop but I don't think it worked out much cheaper, perhaps things have changed. Maybe I'll add something up and see how the maths works out ...its the extra effort involved in speccing it up though, motherboards, fans etc etc.... not sure I can be bothered.. hmmm.

zedders

mfin wrote:

Stewie Griffin wrote:

Can you not build your own? Its far easier than you would imagine. Always built my own for cheaper than any shop would sell me one for.

Ive built so many its nuts, 100s, used to do it for a living. Built my last desktop but I don't think it worked out much cheaper, perhaps things have changed. Maybe I'll add something up and see how the maths works out ...its the extra effort involved in speccing it up though, motherboards, fans etc etc.... not sure I can be bothered.. hmmm.

Surely you have to build your own? a) you can do it. b) you know exactly what you want and can spec it acordingly to your requirements. c) it will be cheaper. d) urm...
you get the picture. Maybe you should spec it with an awersome sorround sound system. Sub woofers and all? Speakers out the windows? Show them Lappers a thing or two?

Stewie Griffin

zedders wrote:

mfin wrote:

Stewie Griffin wrote:

Can you not build your own? Its far easier than you would imagine. Always built my own for cheaper than any shop would sell me one for.

Ive built so many its nuts, 100s, used to do it for a living. Built my last desktop but I don't think it worked out much cheaper, perhaps things have changed. Maybe I'll add something up and see how the maths works out ...its the extra effort involved in speccing it up though, motherboards, fans etc etc.... not sure I can be bothered.. hmmm.

Surely you have to build your own? a) you can do it. b) you know exactly what you want and can spec it acordingly to your requirements. c) it will be cheaper. d) urm...
you get the picture. Maybe you should spec it with an awersome sorround sound system. Sub woofers and all? Speakers out the windows? Show them Lappers a thing or two?

Did I really type "for cheaper"? :oops: Er, I had an eye on the England game, yes thats why. I agree with Zedders unless you really hate doing it. I used to valet cars for a living and now wont even wash my own, I pay Albanians to do it :P

Found that little pile em high sell em cheap high street suppliers could save you quite a bit. However, its been a while since I built one, are AMD not worth it anymore? Always used AMD over Intel as they were so much cheaper.

sicknote

From what I have been told, if you want value from money then AMD is what you go for but if you want the best then Intel has it at the mo.

mfin

It is laziness really... not so much the building, but I know I'll end up trawling around looking for the best prices on each component and picking mboard specs and catching up on whats what.... in the end its a computer and it'll be fast enough... I did have a very quick look at dabs.com and specced something that appeared close, but you just start thinking 'shall i get that cpu... i might as well spend £30 more and get that one....' its endless and a bit boring.

I love buying things like bike stuff but computers I just hate, I have to work on them so much and they p1ss me off... its microsofts fault for making the whole experience so ghastly.

skyd0g

You could try CCL for either parts or base unts: http://www.cclonline.com/
They're about the cheapest I know of and deliver quickly.

Smokin Joe

I'd wait a few weeks till I could get one supplied with Windows 7. Do you really want to be stuck with Vista? :roll:

morxy

Greg Lemond said of cycling "It never gets any easier. You just get faster." I say of computing, "It never gets any faster. It just gets easier."

There's a trend in computing that each new version of an operating system is generally slower than prior versions, but they're generally more user friendly. E.g. plug n play technologies like USB let you add and remove hardware with ease. Remember how fast Windows 3.1 and DOS were in 8MB of RAM!? But remember the nightmares of manually assigning IRQs and getting your 14.4kbps modem connected to the Internet?

I therefore conclude that computing and cycling are exact opposites

I bought my desktop in January for about £210. I went to a computer fair in London, walked from stall to stall, compared prices and got a bare bones system - 250GB HDD, 2GB RAM, AMD CPU (can't remember which), motherboard, PSU, DVD-RW and case. Check British Computer Fairs if you're in the South East.