BUILD ME A PC..!!!!

..MD..

..MD..

Helen Shapiro
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As title really . I would like to pick peoples brains and overalll knowledge of pc's.. I want to do it on a really low budget " maybe something I can do over a few months... " Or if fee's allow a little quicker..

Now I know very little about pc's but I do have a few friends that know a little and could help me...

At the moment I am using this..

MODEL. ACER ASPIRE M1640
RATING. 2.7
PROCESSER. INTEL(R) CELERON (R) CPU E1200 @ 1.6GHz 1.6 GHz
MEMORY (RAM) 1.5 GB " I have just added 512 mb three nights ago lol"
SYSTEM TYPE 32BIT


So anyone who knows alittle will now be laughing...


So is it worth trying to upgrade this pc ...?

OR


Would you try and build a new one from scratch..?


Or


Would I be better off looking for a new pc that is already made .." IE From a shop"




Regards


MD
 
what do you class as a low budget?

depending on your motherboard it may be possible to upgrade. the celeron E1200 uses the same socket type as core2quads chips for example.

your machine according to acer can support "Up to 4 GB DDR2 533/667"
 
I'm sorry to say but I would either build from scratch or buy a new one. Depends on what your budget is and your knowledge of PC building. I have built many PC's over the years so letme know if I can be of any help.

Paul
 
I take it you want to keep the monitor, mouse and Keyboard? What about HDD and case?
 
You could probably get away with just motherboard, processor and RAM.
 
Assuming you want it for photo editing and photoshop (photoshop, graphics card support GPU rendering)... anything processor-wise with 2 1/2 GHz or more should be fine and any graphics card that came out in the past 18 months. You could probably build one for about £400 if you go to the right places. (From my better half, who builds PCs for fun ;) )
 
Yeh, what sorta prince range were you thinking of spending? Also what do you use it for? I'd be inclined to upgrade completely to a machine that supports a quadcore processor and ddr3 memory.

Edit- just saw Neil's post. If your motherboard supports quadcore, it might be worth keeping and just get more DDR2 ram.
 
Bloody hell you guys are quick...!!


Possibly limit of say £500 ish possibly alittle more if i built it / upgraded over a couple of months...


And yes the main use would be surfing the likes of tp and similier.

But processing IMAGES AND EDITING.

My 1dsmk2 Takes some huge files and I need to make my pping work easier.." As in not waiting 20mins for lightroom or cs2 too do anything..


MD
 
If it was me,
New CPU, spec'd on your price needs
Max out the RAM,
Maybe new power supply depending on CPU and Graphics
and windows 7

My Core2Duo came with vista and free upgrade to win 7 and ran much smoother and faster with 7.
 
I found that scan, today only package deals, were a great way of getting a decent new pc over a couple of months... I had a budget of a grand and i found that the spec i got was at least a 400 spuid saving over lesser shop bouight pc's and it was tailored to me!

I seriously think you could build a very capable new pc if you are careful and buy as and when the deals apear!

But as mentioned you could very well build a very good pc using the existing mother board etc... Core 2 duo top draw processors can be had for very little now... 4 gig ram packs are very good for editing and can be had for pennies..lol and also mentioned you don't need to spend a fortune on graphics cards just for editing 100 max.. I don't think you would need a new power supply as the old one is more than likely cappable..
 
There are pre-built system for under £500 available (without operating system), such as some of these: http://www.easypc-uk.com/10-photography-systems

Dell sometimes have some good discount deals and vouchers (none at the moment that I can find), on their Vostro 430 base units, which have 2.8Ghz Core i7 processor and Windows 7 operating system for around £500 with on-board graphics which you could upgrade later. Most of the number crunching for photo editing is done by the processor and not the graphics card, so a super fast graphics card may not make a significant improvement unless you are into 3D gaming etc.
 
Personally if the MB is fine then I would go for a basic 4GB RAM pack (no need for anything special, just make sure it works with the board and processor), a mid range quad core and a new HDD (500GB or 1TB) and windows 7 (if you know a student it can be had for £30. Possible other upgrades would include a better GFX card and a new case (the sky is the limit with them, you get what you pay for, either a £30 nasty thing or a £150 Lian Li..), no need for a new PSU unless you go for top of the range GFX card.

You may also want to upgrade the DVD drive(s) too.
 
I bought a system about a year ago and they now have a newer and better model ... Here ... Which seems like great value.

Don't bother trying to build one ... :bang:
 
Try the Dell Factory Outlet.

For example:

Inspiron 560
(System Identifier: E6WBJ8JA)

Inspiron 560 MT Base
English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
System Price : £357.36 + VAT & delivery (£20 ish)

Operating System
English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory
4096MB (4x1024) 1066MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Hard Disk Drive
640GB Hard Drive
Video
512 MB NVIDIA GeForce G310
Media Bay
DVD+/-RW (16x)
Certified Refurbished
Certified Refurbished
System Color
Bezel Colour White
MISC
Wireless Network 1525 (802.11 n) PCIe Card
Media Card Reader 19-in-1
Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz,1066MHz,3MB)

or:
Inspiron 570
(System Identifier: EJ0PKMTG)

Inspiron 570 MT
English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
System Price : £256.98 + VAT & delivery

Operating System
English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory
4096MB (4x1024) 1066MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Hard Disk Drive
500GB HD SATA (7, 200rpm)
Video
512 MB NVIDIA GeForce G310
Certified Refurbished
Certified Refurbished
MISC
Media Card Reader 19-in-1
Base
Inspiron 570 MT
Media Bay
DVD+/-RW (16x)
 
I have built endless computers over the years but now if you want a computer for work and you can get everything you want in a pre built computer then do so.

If you are self employed in any area of work you can set it against tax. After all you need something to run TaxCalc on. You also save when it comes to the operating system and you have the advantage of a warranty so you can shout at them down the phone when your computer has broken rather than crying into your hands as you have no one to blame.

You don't understand quite how much it pains me to say this but if i wanted a computer right now i would get one from PC world. If i had your particular budget i would first go on quidco (you have to sign up) and type in pc world then refer myself to the pc world online site so i can get 3.5% cashback. I would then order the PACKARD BELL iXtreme X5620 that is £450 i would then drop £50 on a graphics card (not from pc world) as the above system only has integrated graphics.

The above system will be more than fine for running photoshop and doing all that you want to do, heck i do fine on a lesser system and i do some really had processing. There may be ways of getting a better chip for less but then that is not only thing you have to look at. If after 12 months you want something more powerful and have the cash then you can sell this second hand. As its branded you will have less of a problem selling to Mr Joe Blogs than something you put together your self.

That is my 2 pence worth not everyone would agree. I find it odd giving this advice because
traditionally i have been very very anti pre built systems but the days when you got a budget computer and it could not do anything are long gone what you get now is levels of good. It's very much like cameras Nikon and canon don't make a bad camera you can get a good image form all of them but you just have levels of goodness.
 
Personally I would never buy a pre made desktop, partly because they always come with the bare minimum, the cases are always naff nasty things and the peripherals are normally awful (so you really need to go out and buy seperate ones)... However each to their own.
 
Its been a while since I bought a pre-built desktop but I was asked the other day to look for something decent for a neighbour who wanted something cheap and powerful. I did look to price up parts for a build but I found the price of components have increased and by the time you get the operating system, it was hard to find anything under his budget.
As mentioned by PhotoSensitive, I did find the same iXtreme X5620. I don't often recommend PC World but the spec was reasonable.
Comes with Core2Quad Q8300, Windows 7 Home Premium and 4 GB RAM. It is only a base unit with keyboard and mouse. Best to reserve online and collect instore to get the web price...
Edit: When I had a look at it, I noticed Photoshop Elements 7 was preinstalled!
 
Most pre built pc's are put together with older and cheap, often sub standard components. you can bet that these systems are pushed to their limits and have little room for any upgrades.

I used to be a computer tech for TIME and we used a hot glue gun to fix the memory in place as it was to such a cheap standard the mobo's were dead in about 1 in 10 pre built systems and I had a full time job swapping these out before dispatch. :shrug: Not all manufacturers are like this obviously and I'm sure that as said previously if you max out the ram and swap the cpu then it will give you a little breathing space until you can source a better and faster system as in a year or so and with tech moving on so fast you will probably pick up a quad core in a year or so for little outlay. The other considerations are of course guarantee and support, although TP support will probably be far better and cheaper :lol:
 
There a a few things to come out of a custom built rig.

First - You get the exact spec you want with the components you want
Second - It costs a fraction of the price of buying a complete tower from the shops
Third - In building the machine you also learn how they function and thus how to fix it when it goes wrong! (better than throwing hundreds of pounds at a new machine).

When I built my rig I sourced parts from ebay, ebuyer, microtech and Aria. I got what I wanted (a top end Core 2 duo) and it only cost me around £350 to build.
Best bit is I took satisfaction out of knowing that I built it.
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-239-OK

this pc is more than enough for your needs and is below budget by a considerable amount.
You already have an o/s so you can transfer that
You also have a screen etc so again no need for one of those.

The pc also has 12 month return warranty, 500gb hard drive, 4gb ram, and 2.9ghz dual core.
More than enough for photo editing and surfing the internet.

With the money saved you could add more storage, like a 2nd hard drive for your photos as well as buy an external backup drive.
 
I guess i'm turning into a bit of a style whore but none of those PC's would be allowed in my room, the cases are nasty! The peripherals also remind me of mid 90's school computers. :(

But then i'm not the OP... :p
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Lots to think about...


I will keep you updated with what i do.


MD
 
You could go down the upgrade route... get a second hand processor and a few sticks of RAM - problem is you would likely be back here again in a few months when you find out the person who sold you the processor left out the fact it was overheating all the time.

Personally I would go down the self build route - not as complicated as it sounds if you use an outlet like Novatech for the bits you need. They will ship you a bundled motherboard, processor and RAM - all you then need is the case, power supply, HD and graphics card.

Unless you are shelling out for the latest version of photoshop, you wont really need to go guad core either - I use a 3Ghz E8400 on an Asus P5Q mobo with 4GB or RAM (incidentally only 3.2GB works as I am using XP) - spent a little bit extra on an Artic Freezer 7 cooling fan and overclocked without water to 3.8ghz (apparently can be oc'd up to 4.2) and no problems or slacking here at all.

Mobo and processor would cost around £200-£220 and I would recommend using Buffalo Firestix RAM - its like greased lightning - good for flight simming too :thumbs:

Oh and dont buy from PC World ever - the systems may be OK, you may get a good price, but the company does not understand or recognise the Sale of Good Act, aftersales is a joke too with poorly trained youngsters doing their time there until they find a job they want to do.
 
Airscene said:
You could go down the upgrade route... get a second hand processor and a few sticks of RAM - problem is you would likely be back here again in a few months when you find out the person who sold you the processor left out the fact it was overheating all the time.
Click to expand...

generally processors only overheat if theyre overclocked or the heatsink isnt seated correctly.

either way something that does not transfer to another machine :)
 
I see this all the time, self build, self build which is great, if you know what you are doing. I built my last PC and found it both enjoyable and got the exact spec i needed, mainly because it was for the specific purpose of gaming and photoediting. I am gathering from the OP that she may not have alot on knowledge when it comes to computer building and may not want the hassle of upgrading her exsisting PC which would need CPU and ram and probably a PSU as they are mostly crap on big manufacturer PCs, or a doing a self build.

For the purposes stated there is absolutlety nothing wrong with an off the shelf PC, you have a warrenty and also somewhere to take the hardware if it goes wrong. I would keep an eye out for the Median range of PC's which come up for sale in Aldi, a big draw is a 3 year warranty.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_13448.htm

That link was there last offering and seems a good deal. I am a memeber of another well know computer forum and there is a lot of happy customers.

Just my 2ps worth.
 
Donki said:
I see this all the time, self build, self build which is great, if you know what you are doing. I built my last PC and found it both enjoyable and got the exact spec i needed, mainly because it was for the specific purpose of gaming and photoediting. I am gathering from the OP that she may not have alot on knowledge when it comes to computer building and may not want the hassle of upgrading her exsisting PC which would need CPU and ram and probably a PSU as they are mostly crap on big manufacturer PCs, or a doing a self build.

For the purposes stated there is absolutlety nothing wrong with an off the shelf PC, you have a warrenty and also somewhere to take the hardware if it goes wrong. I would keep an eye out for the Median range of PC's which come up for sale in Aldi, a big draw is a 3 year warranty.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_13448.htm

That link was there last offering and seems a good deal. I am a memeber of another well know computer forum and there is a lot of happy customers.

Just my 2ps worth.
Click to expand...


THANKS FOR THE REPLY MATEY.....


The op Me Is a bloke bt the way ....


MD
 
david1701 said:
CAN WE LEAVE MANHOODS AT THE DOOR

I now have an unfortunate mental image of MD's trousersnake
Click to expand...


Is that why you have been offline all evening ...!!!! Just you and your thoughts of my trouser snake.... hmmmmmmmm I can send a pic if it will help..


MD
 
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