I need a small PC

loopylou · 21 Jun 2006 at 14:16

I am moving into a flat with my boyfriend in a couple of months. He has pointed out to me that my old beast of a computer will be too big :rolleyes:

for the flat we want. He suggested that I get rid of it and just use his laptop. Now don't get me wrong it's a good laptop, but I am a geek and I would rather have my own, plus the likely hood of him playing football manager on there all day is high. So I am looking a small Shuttle PC, or anyother small computer.

Budget about £300 (I might be able to increase this to £400 if I have completly under estimated).

I have a spare 80gb sata hard drive, LG DVD rewriter, Corsair 512MB DDR Value Select PC3200 memory (2 x 256). I assume this can all be transferred over. I have a old CRT 17'' monitor that I am happy to use for a while until I can afford a flat screen. I have speakers, mouse, keyboard etc.

I mainly use my computer for surfing the internet, listening to music, watching DVD's and video clips, and playing games like the Sims.

Can someone please advise me on what shuttle bits and bobs I will need to make a good working computer within my budget.

paul@ · 21 Jun 2006 at 17:16

So I assume you need a processor, graphics card and a barebones system?

First of all you need to decide if to get Intel based or AMD based shuttle system.

Secondly you need to decide if you want to go PCI Express or stay with AGP architecture. Obviously the graphics card won't be high spec but more than enough to play sims2 etc.

loopylou · 21 Jun 2006 at 22:03

That seems about right. Not too fussed about the prettyness of the case. Just something that is tidy.

I have always used AMD and you generally get more for your money. What's the difference between between PCI and AGP

bitslice · 21 Jun 2006 at 22:09

here you go, a small PC

loopylou · 22 Jun 2006 at 09:32

bitslice said:
here you go, a small PC

lol brilliant!

cokecan · 22 Jun 2006 at 10:30

how about this:

its cheap, cheerful and reasonably powerful for the money, plus a bit of upgradability if ya want it

FS-026-ST Soltek EQ3801M-300 Barebones System (Socket 754) - Mirror (FS-026-ST)
£110.00

CP-135-AM AMD Sempron 64 3400+ 2.0GHz (Socket 754) CPU - Retail (CP-135-AM)
£57.95

GX-122-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GTO 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-122-SP)
£109.95

Subtotal £277.90
VAT £48.64
Total £326.54

loopylou · 22 Jun 2006 at 12:11

That looks good, going to work out my budget.

pinkaardvark · 23 Jun 2006 at 16:39

How can a flat be too small for a PC.. It doesn't mater what size the PC is you need a desk or room to work in and any suitable space to work in will always have sufficient room to host the PC. If there's not even room for a desk then the laptop is the only option and building a new SFF PC seems pointless.