A new computer is needed

GT Destroyer
GT Destroyer Posts: 1,719
edited March 2008 in The Crudcatcher
Our PC at home is crap, it has dodgy Microsoft stuff installed on it, it keeps on just stopping working so I'm going to buy a new one.

Its only use is surfing the net, not downloading loads of music/films/pics, not playing games on, just internet use.

What sort of spec do I need to make sure a new PC has? Windows, RAM, ROM etc....

Whats a reasonable price for a new one?

Ta.

Comments

  • Shadowduck
    Shadowduck Posts: 845
    If you're buying new, anything available will be more than up to surfing. Just buy the cheapest you can find! :mrgreen:

    'Course, the old one would probably be just fine if you wiped and reinstalled it. Have you got a system restore disk / partition?
    Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
  • BlackSpur
    BlackSpur Posts: 4,228
    Get a processor of at least 1 GHZ (you will struggle to find less this days!) and maybe 512MB RAM. ROM does not really matter. As Shadowduck said, the cheapest on the market today will be more than capable of internet surfing - it's really your connection speed that will make the difference here.
    "Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    PC problems sorted in 3 easy steps...

    1. buy a mac


    2. marvel at the total lack of shutdowns, system failures and other inexplicable errors that plague PCs and thrill to the speed an general sexiness of the kit. :lol:


    3. persuede anyone who'll listen that macs are the true way forward and only heathens and luddites stick with normal PCs.

    Afterall, you wouldnt buy the same bike as 90% of the population - especially if it didnt work as well or look as good as the competition - "only a sucker would buy one of those and you aint a sucker are you Sir?" (PC salesman to Homer Simpson!) :wink:
  • Mac Mini !!!!!!!, Then it won't cost you the earth and you can keep your existing screen and keyboard/ mouse etc :D
    www.27gears.com

    Sore ribs.................I must start walking the trail 1st before steep descents into the unknown!
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    Well said that man :D
  • Shadowduck
    Shadowduck Posts: 845
    jam1e wrote:
    1. buy a mac
    ...there was me exercising superhuman restraint and not suggesting he just sticks Ubuntu on his old PC!

    One of the many advantages of the Ubuntu option - it's free. 8)

    Now that we've got the Holy War rolling, I'd just like to say; Campag is better, helmets and hi-viz have definite safety advantages and jumping red lights is stupid. :twisted:

    *runs and hides*
    Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    what the hell is ubuntu?!

    Asking purely on behalf of the OP - I'm well aware of its pro's and cons. (coughs nervously and looks shifty!)

    Still wont look as good though!
  • Shadowduck
    Shadowduck Posts: 845
    jam1e wrote:
    what the hell is ubuntu?!

    Asking purely on behalf of the OP - I'm well aware of its pro's and cons. (coughs nervously and looks shifty!)

    Still wont look as good though!
    I put a link in my previous post for the uninitiated... And it looks exactly how you tell it to look! :P

    Hopefully for the OP, he can just restore his original OS and carry on as he was - if all he's doing is surfing there's not much difference from one OS to the next, especially if he uses Firefox on Windows. Probably not worth the hassle of learning a new system, but I couldn't let the Mac fanboys have the thread to themselves! :lol:
    Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
  • FurryNipples
    FurryNipples Posts: 1,384
    jam1e wrote:
    PC problems sorted in 3 easy steps...

    1. buy a mac


    2. marvel at the total lack of shutdowns, system failures and other inexplicable errors that plague PCs and thrill to the speed an general sexiness of the kit. :lol:


    3. persuede anyone who'll listen that macs are the true way forward and only heathens and luddites stick with normal PCs.

    Afterall, you wouldnt buy the same bike as 90% of the population - especially if it didnt work as well or look as good as the competition - "only a sucker would buy one of those and you aint a sucker are you Sir?" (PC salesman to Homer Simpson!) :wink:

    Most people who are having PC problems have them because they are not educated enough to use it properly and keep everything organized. People like you are the reason I hesitate to buy mac products, because I don't want to be associated with you 'holier than thou' drongaloids that can't operate a computer properly or actually investigate and learn about products before just going on what the advert says and buying it. Oh also, your Mac is a PC. PC stands for 'personal computer', so that pretty much covers anything with a processor.

    Also, I hate you.
    mbuksigqe7.jpg
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    Wow - thats the most anally retentive and childish post i've read on bikeradar - well done, have a sticker.

    Suggest you lighten up a bit.
  • stumpyjon
    stumpyjon Posts: 4,069
    Just be careful if you end up with a machine running Vista (most do unless you buy a custom build). It eats processor and memory resource before you even start doing anything else. Our laptop has 2 Gb and a 1.73GHz processor and still runs a bit slow with Vista. If you can, go for XP if you want a Windows based PC.
    It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

    I've bought a new bike....ouch - result
    Can I buy a new bike?...No - no result
  • gkf9
    gkf9 Posts: 176
    I agree buy a Mac...They just work!!! I have a 2yr old ibook G4 works great never let me down.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    I'd go to Dell webby and look at their basic home PC - amazing value, does everything you would expect of it bar run the very latest super games. With monitor too!
  • Yeah, i'd like to echo the point about not getting Vista pre-installed on any machine.. it truly is worth paying the extra money (possibly) and having windows XP installed on it prior to purchase.

    [Edit]

    So i need to learn to read, and they weren't saying don't get vista... so i guess i'm just raising a point.
  • jam1e wrote:
    PC problems sorted in 3 easy steps...

    1. buy a mac


    2. marvel at the total lack of shutdowns, system failures and other inexplicable errors that plague PCs and thrill to the speed an general sexiness of the kit. :lol:


    3. persuede anyone who'll listen that macs are the true way forward and only heathens and luddites stick with normal PCs.

    Afterall, you wouldnt buy the same bike as 90% of the population - especially if it didnt work as well or look as good as the competition - "only a sucker would buy one of those and you aint a sucker are you Sir?" (PC salesman to Homer Simpson!) :wink:

    Most people who are having PC problems have them because they are not educated enough to use it properly and keep everything organized. People like you are the reason I hesitate to buy mac products, because I don't want to be associated with you 'holier than thou' drongaloids that can't operate a computer properly or actually investigate and learn about products before just going on what the advert says and buying it. Oh also, your Mac is a PC. PC stands for 'personal computer', so that pretty much covers anything with a processor.

    Also, I hate you.

    :cry: How am I gonna cope now? :wink:
    www.27gears.com

    Sore ribs.................I must start walking the trail 1st before steep descents into the unknown!
  • GT Destroyer
    GT Destroyer Posts: 1,719
    My e-mail thing must not be working - I normally get a nice e-mail at work whenever anyone posts in my thread, I thought no-one had replied (I was nearly upset!!)

    I bit the bullet and bought a Compaq from PC world. It has a 360GB hard drive, 2GB memory and a dual core intel processor thingy which is more than 2.0 speed or whatever it is.

    On the PC at the mo I have 15GB of music on itunes, apart from that theres a few pics, probably about 2GB and thats it. I'll look out for the vista issues mentioned.

    The PC was a £550 reduced to £400 deal, I was fed-up of the old one messing about and it was about 6/7 years old, so needed to die!!

    Now I'm trying to sort out getting the old music and picture files from the old PC to the new one! I'm guessing this can be done with my iPod - its an 80GB one so it'll hold all the stuff on it - Am I right in thinking I can do it this way?