Buying A New PC - Pretty Clueless - Help Needed Please.

revaldo

revaldo

revaldo

Associate
Joined
3 Aug 2011
Posts
25
Hi,

I'll be completely honest and say that an awful lot of what I read on this website and forum goes completely over my head but I'm desperately in need of some advice and am hoping that you guys can please help me.

I'm in need of a new PC and for the past however many years have always been a 'Dell' man. In the past I've usually just clicked through their website, got to a figure and have said 'ahhh that'll do' and have always done alright out of it. This time round I thought I'd look at another option before just clicking the button again.

I've visited Dell, clicked a few things and have come up with this for around £1,000...

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook edit
MONITOR 23in ST2320L UK/Irish Full HD WLED Widescreen Monitor (VGA, DVI-D and HDMI) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with Roxio and DVD Burn software edit
MEMORY 8192MB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz [4x2048] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 1.5TB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Graphics : 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6670 edit
KEYBOARD Dell Multimedia Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Black - UK/Irish edit
MOUSE Mouse Included in Wireless Keyboard and Mouse option edit
SOUND SOFTWARE Sound : Integrated 7.1 with THX® TruStudio

I don't really play many games (only football manager really - I know, sad and not really pushing a PC at all) but do web design and video editing and love a powerful machine.

In the past I've stuck with Dell because I love the 'F11' back to factory settings get out of jail card when I feel like completely wiping the machine because I've filled it with crap.

Can you guys please advise me though... should I stray from Dell and get a PC built through overclockers - if so what's the best I can get for my money and also how does the service compare to Dell's machine's... ie. is there an F11 get out of jail card?... what will I gain, what are the pro's and con's etc.

I apologise again for my utter ignorance and realise that all you guys on this forum are PC genuis's - but that's why I've turned here for your help. I had an old 'Tiny' PC many years ago which a mate rebuilt for me using Overclockers - hence why I know of this marvelous place :)

All help extremely appreciated.

Revs
 
i dont have any personal experience with dell so i dont know what the F11 thing is, hopefulyl someone else can help you with that :)

what i would say is that those specs aren't too bad, however you could probably get better for cheaper here on overclockers. btw what is the processor on the dell?

the best option is to do a custom build, but i understand you may not be up for that. if that's the case, the next best thing is to go on the system configurator and select the parts, and ocuk will build it for you (a few other sites also do this, but i cant name them due to forum rules). if you aren't really up to date with pc hardware, it'll take a bit of research to decide what components you want, but that's what these forums are for!

click on system configurator and go to 10100i, here would be what i spec you:

BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black
Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
Intel Stock Cooler (None overclocked systems)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB 1600MHz CAS9 Memory Kit
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 Single Slot 1024MB GDDR5
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM
No Hard Drive Upgrade
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
No Removable Drive Upgrade
OCZ StealthXstream 2 700W Power Supply (bizarrely cheaper than the 600W lol)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

that all comes to £769 including VAT and it's a pretty awesome computer. you're left with £231 with which to buy a keyboard, mouse and monitor which is plenty. for a monitor i would recommend (also available from ocuk):

LG E2360V-PN 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black (£160)

as far as keyboard and mouse go, they are more subjective so im not sure my recommendations would be valid, as they are influenced by my gaming viewpoint. that said, you have £71 left in your budget, and any mouse and keyboard you get for around £35 each will be good. try the logitech website they are the most respected in the peripheral industry for a reason :)

hope that helps dude
 
Last edited:
btw its worth noting you dont get any office software with that pc (ocuk). however open office is a free download and is just as good as the real thing.

also, some comparisons between your dell comp, and the one i specced (ocuk one has):

better case (i know because all dell cases are crap)
better motherboard (sam reason as above)
better graphics card
leaves you money for better keyboard and mouse

the monitor and RAM etc are likely comparable.
 
from the OP i can see you are looking for a £1000 PC with monitor, keyboard, mouse. im not sure if you need the OS or not.

the main question is are you happy to build it yourself (with the help of everyone on the forums of course). putting a PC together is incredibly easy as it is almost impossible to put something in the wrong place, and if you do, then i can only think of one common mistake that is likely to cause damage (forgetting to use the motherboard standoffs).

if you are happy to build something for yourself i would recommend something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £239.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £173.99
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £110.39
1 x BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £109.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £39.98
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT51264BA160A) £39.98
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £979.19 (includes shipping : £19.10).

it will be amazing with your video editing and web design. it will also have the graphical power to play most of the latest games at reasonable settings

however, if your really not happy to build it yourself, go for something like this:
titan supersaurus
but with the 128GB crucial M4 SSD
and the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 motherboard
also, ask them to not include the soundcard (onboard sound is very good. a soundcard is only needed for real music lovers, people doing audio production and people with mahoosive surround sound speaker systems)
if you ask in customer service then you should be able to make those changes

i would guess at this coming in at ~£905 with the three changes, which leaves you £95 for a monitor
 
Last edited:
I would go with what was suggested by 'Reaper'.
I'm not sure on this but i think you're technically talking about a competitor so might be worth getting rid of the brand name ( i might be crazy tho :p )
 
Greavesy said:
I would go with what was suggested by 'Reaper'.
I'm not sure on this but i think you're technically talking about a competitor so might be worth getting rid of the brand name ( i might be crazy tho :p )
Click to expand...

nah, its all good mentioning dell, but you cant go linking to them

(unless the rules have been changed AGAIN
 
Hi,

thanks for all your help with this - much appreciated. The processor on the Dell machine is...

Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (3.40GHz, 8MB)

Apologies for mentioning the 'D' word - just thought it would give a better understanding of the type of buyer/user that I am.

I'm not really confident enough to build it myself so it would be with the ocuk configurator (I'm ok building lego with my daughter but anything with components, chips and bits scares the bejesus out of me).

Basically I'm looking to spend around £1000 for the lot (just over is fine). PC with monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and OS.
 
Intel 10200i Configurator - Extreme Gaming System £1246.74
Options applied to the above product:
- No Webcam Option (Zero Cost)
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Speakers Not Selected
- BenQ G2420HDBL 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black (temporarily out of stock)
- Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616)
- Logitech K300 Compact Keyboard (920-001488)
- Full Cable Management
- Networking Not Selected
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
- XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
- Onboard Sound Card (ZERO COST)
- OcUK Premium Aluminium 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.
- OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- No RAID Option (ZERO Cost)
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
- Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive
- No Graphics Card Upgrade
- OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX)
- Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
- No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
- Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
- BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black

(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £210.39
Total : £1,262.34

You basically spend £200-£250 for someone to do the work for you. Around 15-20% (with overclocking).
 
Last edited:
Right, this is where I am at the moment...

ocuk configurator...

BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz Quad Core Processor
No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
Akasa Venom CPU Cooler
Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB 1600MHz CAS9 Memory Kit
OcUK GeForce GT 430 1024MB GDDR3 Graphics Card
Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA 6Gb/s HDD
No RAID Option (Zero Cost)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
OnBoard Sound Card
Corsair TX 750W V2 Power Supply
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Fully Cable Managed
Samsung B2230H 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black
£1,053.26 inc VAT


What's good/bad - need changing etc?

Thinking about it - At the moment I've got a card reader on my PC and also a firewire port to run a video camera through. Can I build these into this? - if so what's the best way to do that?

Revs
 
The graphics card is really weak, then again if you're not gaming. :p
Save some money and drop the psu to the 650w, you really wont need 750w :)
 
Okey dokey...

psu dropped to 650w...

Graphics card wise, what's the difference between these?...

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6770 1024MB GDDR5
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Card - [add £10.33]
OcUK GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Card- [add £30.83]

I can add in one of these instead of the OcUK GeForce GT 430 1024MB GDDR Graphics Card.

Ideally I want to build a machine that's going to last me a good while and not become outdated... and who know's - I might stray from Football Manager 2011 in the future!
 
if you dont play many games then the 6770 would be fine (even many hardcore gamers use cards like that if they're on a budget - it's perfectly doable).

i'd go witht he 460 OC personally as it's only a tenner extra and is a better card. the 560 is probably overkill for you.

the build you posted from the configurator looks good (drop to 650W as greavesy said to save £), however personally i would go for a 2500k instead of a 2600k, and that would leave you money to get a 64GB solid state drive for your OS in addition to a large HDD for data/programs.

also if you're not overclocking or doing extensve gaming then you don't need a 3rd party cpu cooler, just stick with the stock intel. if you decide in a few months that you dont like it then it's an easy upgrade but i doubt you'll need to.

other than that the spec you mentioned is good. motherboard might be a bit unnecesarily good though?
 
Last edited:
Ok - I've altered a couple of bits as suggested and am now over budget a little bit really but willing to go with it. How does this look?...

BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz Quad Core Processor (I've kept this as it seemed high end to me and I want to try to build a machine that's going to stand the test of time as best as possible - is it £60 better than the i5-2500k? - or do I not need it as previously suggested)
No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
Akasa Venom CPU Cooler
Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB 1600MHz CAS9 Memory Kit
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Card
Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive
No RAID Option (Zero Cost)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
OnBoard Sound Card
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Fully Cable Managed
Samsung B2230H 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black
Subtotal £924.72
£1,109.66 inc VAT

Am I on the right track or barking up the wrong tree?

Revs
 
Ahhhh, ok - sorry, didn't read the previous post properly. Let's just stick to one hard drive then as I'm confusing my poor tiny little brain...

REVISED...
BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz Quad Core Processor (I've kept this as it seemed high end to me and I want to try to build a machine that's going to stand the test of time as best as possible - is it £60 better than the i5-2500k? - or do I not need it as previously suggested)
No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
Akasa Venom CPU Cooler
Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB 1600MHz CAS9 Memory Kit
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Card
Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA 6Gb/s HDD
No RAID Option (Zero Cost)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
OnBoard Sound Card
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Fully Cable Managed
Samsung B2230H 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black
Subtotal £908.88
£1,090.66 inc VAT

Out of interest, is there much gain to 2 hard drives, 1 for the OS and 1 for data/programs?
 
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287

^ there's a link to a comparison between the 2500k and the 2600k. very little difference imho not worth the extra money but obv it's up to you. the only tasks which will be noticeably faster with the 2600k will be heavily multithreaded ones. however barely any programs are optimised for more than 4 threads (2500k has 4, 2600k has 8 because of hyper threading), mainly just things like video encoding and professional type programs. that's likely to change over the next few years though so you are right in that the 2600k is a little more future proof, just not a lot.

using a solid state drive for your OS means that your pc will boot up and shut down faster, as well as feel a tiny bit more responsive. that's about it really. tbh you'll be fine without one (just get the 2TB main drive) they are more of a luxury especially as it would put you quite far over budget. once your computer is booted up you wont see much difference.

which build are you basing that spec off btw? it would be good if i could see what the alternatives for each option are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom