New PC - sorry its been asked in other ways before

[broc]

I think Windows 10 will continue to dominate the client PC marketplace mainly because it is pre-installed on most PCs sold today, not because it is superior. Years ago IBM developed OS/2 which was a far superior O/S vs Windows but it failed to get market share & faded away as more and more manufacturers developed their versions of the 'IBM PC'.......

Linux is a lot more flexible but generally requires more effort to install & maintain & is therefore more likely to be used by enthusiasts, there are an awful lot of Unix systems running commercial systems & services globally . I see macOS as having a strong presence in the media marketplace but its spread in use is seriously hampered by overpriced Apple hardware.

 

[Ben johns]

That office code is definitely dodgy.

Don’t think it is. It was a seller with loads of feedback, thousands. To be honest even if it is I don’t really care, it works. Got a second for my other half too

 

[petersmart]

I think Windows 10 will continue to dominate the client PC marketplace mainly because it is pre-installed on most PCs sold today, not because it is superior. Years ago IBM developed OS/2 which was a far superior O/S vs Windows but it failed to get market share & faded away as more and more manufacturers developed their versions of the 'IBM PC'.......

Linux is a lot more flexible but generally requires more effort to install & maintain & is therefore more likely to be used by enthusiasts, there are an awful lot of Unix systems running commercial systems & services globally . I see macOS as having a strong presence in the media marketplace but its spread in use is seriously hampered by overpriced Apple hardware.

In fact Linux Mint is the easiest of all Linux Distros to install and use and is no more difficult than Windows to install and use.

And maintenance is minimal with no huge patches required.

And is also much safer to use because you are a guest, not the administrator as you are on Windows, so every time you want to do something that could impact the system you have to enter your password.

And of course it, and all the software that comes with it is free!

And far more things actually run on Linux than most people realise.

 

[Tori_T]

And is also much safer to use because you are a guest, not the administrator as you are on Windows, so every time you want to do something that could impact the system you have to enter your password.

Windoze systems I build are all set up in that fashion; a little bit of extra work, but much safer.

 

[JonathanRyan]

i have had a loo at that thread and he seems to have not been overjoyed with CCl

Scan computers seems to come up well though.

I think now all the dust has settled I'd give CCL 4 out of 5 for the build they did for me. I had 4 problems:

1. The machine was late. It failed its final build because the parts they advised me to put together didn't work together. In fairness, they found this in testing, proposed solutions and rushed delivery to make up for it. So in the scheme of things no big deal and it's exactly this sort of thing that made me opt to have experts build it rather than doing it myself.
2. For various complicated reasons, I could only use 2TB of my 4TB drive until I reinstalled things. This was almost certainly my fault. With hindsight, I might actually have paid the extra to have Windows installed and set up.
3. They forgot to include one of the drives I ordered. They offered either to send it out and talk me through the install on Teamviewer or take the machine back, fit it and return overnight. They are really easy to fit - but there were approx. 30 spare screws in the box. Exactly one of them was the right size
4. The second NVME only runs at half the speed of the primary. Now both are ridiculously quick but I specifically asked them this question before I ordered and they told me they would both run at full speed. As it happens, I don't care enough to make a fuss (I imagined what I would have done if they had given me the correct answer - I would probably have bought anyway) but IMO that one is really quite bad since they are experts and misadvised me.

So, would I choose them again? Probably. They were actually a fair bit cheaper than (say) Scan and I've no evidence Scan would have done it better. CCL put things right when they went wrong which counts for a lot.

 

[twist]

I think now all the dust has settled I'd give CCL 4 out of 5 for the build they did for me. I had 4 problems:

1. The machine was late. It failed its final build because the parts they advised me to put together didn't work together. In fairness, they found this in testing, proposed solutions and rushed delivery to make up for it. So in the scheme of things no big deal and it's exactly this sort of thing that made me opt to have experts build it rather than doing it myself.
2. For various complicated reasons, I could only use 2TB of my 4TB drive until I reinstalled things. This was almost certainly my fault. With hindsight, I might actually have paid the extra to have Windows installed and set up.
3. They forgot to include one of the drives I ordered. They offered either to send it out and talk me through the install on Teamviewer or take the machine back, fit it and return overnight. They are really easy to fit - but there were approx. 30 spare screws in the box. Exactly one of them was the right size
4. The second NVME only runs at half the speed of the primary. Now both are ridiculously quick but I specifically asked them this question before I ordered and they told me they would both run at full speed. As it happens, I don't care enough to make a fuss (I imagined what I would have done if they had given me the correct answer - I would probably have bought anyway) but IMO that one is really quite bad since they are experts and misadvised me.

So, would I choose them again? Probably. They were actually a fair bit cheaper than (say) Scan and I've no evidence Scan would have done it better. CCL put things right when they went wrong which counts for a lot.

2. Windows is a bit dumb like that during installation, safest to always have only the OS drive connected when installing, I also learnt this lesson a long time ago
4. This is a little tricky and might get lost in translation, because it is running full speed, of what your motherboard is capable of running it at (tbh, you wouldve spent a hell of a lot more on a motherboard if both NVMEs were to run at full advertised STORAGE speed with a GPU fitted. They probably couldve been more specific.

How are you getting on with it? My ITX build is also complete, very happy but cost more than I thought in the end because I kept adding bits :banghead:

 

[JonathanRyan]

How are you getting on with it? My ITX build is also complete, very happy but cost more than I thought in the end because I kept adding bits :banghead:

Yeah - it's pretty nice actually Things are just....fast......

Still vaguely getting used to Windows after years of hardcore OSX but it's only the little things that are tripping me up.

The weirdest thing is I now have a super fast PC connected to the slowest internet on earth. It's quite "interesting" to see the lags as Windows talks to the internet. So I've had a chat with OpenReach about laying FTTP If all the houses in my estate pay c£500 then we can have gigabit internet. I'm preparing a case that this will add £5K to house values

 

[twist]

Yeah - it's pretty nice actually Things are just....fast......

Still vaguely getting used to Windows after years of hardcore OSX but it's only the little things that are tripping me up.

The weirdest thing is I now have a super fast PC connected to the slowest internet on earth. It's quite "interesting" to see the lags as Windows talks to the internet. So I've had a chat with OpenReach about laying FTTP If all the houses in my estate pay c£500 then we can have gigabit internet. I'm preparing a case that this will add £5K to house values

Good to hear. I have FTTC and youre probably more likely to get that, Id definitely pay the £500 one off I was suffering like you are, must be so frustrating. Even FTTC will be a massive upgrade for you.

I live near an exchange and get

69.5
Mbps download

20
Mbps upload

Im surprised you dont get decent broadband where you are located.

 

[superpippo]

@broc @gcgraphs @Tori_T @mike_6480 @twist @keeweeman @Ben johns @Caerus @BowtomePhil @petersmart @FujiMatt @Nikon f1.8 @JonathanRyan


From all that has been said, I concluded that a spec build from components is the best and most cost efficient way to go. I could not do that myself, but as I was passing a local computer shop I called in and had a lengthy and interesting chat with the owner (who said that he had done work for people in the local Photo Soc)
He seemed well clued up and was perfectly happy to build and advise on components.

Thanks for all of the input.