Ready built vs building my own?

d3moliti0n

d3moliti0n

d3moliti0n

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Hi

A family member (who doesn't really know much about computers) has asked me to help with getting them a computer that is 'fast' and has Microsoft Office, for £400, and the monitor and OS will be needed along with this, but no graphics card as they won't be using it for gaming at all.

Is it worth trying to build one for £400 or is it easier to just go out and buy a ready built computer from a store at this price?

If building is easier, could you list a spec for me including monitor and OS?

Thanks for your help.

Best regards.
 
The OS and Office alone is gonna cost you over £100. leaving you £200 for the machine and £100 for the Monitor.... Not going to happen i dont think
 
You could possibly, just about, get an Inspiron desktop from xxxx Outlet and then buy a monitor. This would come with Microsoft Works, but you could install OpenOffice if you'd like a fuller Office package.

Another option would be to get a laptop, which would save on the cost of a monitor. Again, you should be able to get a reasonable laptop from xxxx Outlet for £400.
 
With £200 go for something like

a celeron E3200 dual core 1MB cache: £37
a gigabyte G31 board: £32
2GB PC6400: £20
DVD burner: £18
160GB HDD: £28
Inwin MATX case w/ 300W powerman PSU: £43

Total £178 gives you change for keyboard/mouse/basic speakers
 
Bout cheapest you could do, add open office which is free, its same price building as it is buying pre built at this budget, though you are getting more by building yourself, its cost of RAM that hinders too

Dell IN2010N 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor £101.99 (£88.69)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail £72.99 (£63.47)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £69.99 (£60.86)
Asus M4A785TD-M Evo AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £67.99 (£59.12)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £45.99 (£39.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 320GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (ST3320418AS) £34.99 (£30.43)
Antec Basic 350W Power Supply £27.99 (£24.34)
Sony Optiarc AD-7241S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe Optical Drive (Black) - OEM £19.99 (£17.38)
Akasa Genesis AK-5004 Midi Tower Case - Black £16.99 (£14.77)
Total : £458.91
 
Good spec, dude.

Looking at the Outlet's current stock, the best is a C2D e7300, 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 256MB Graphics Card for £286. This would include mouse / keyboard.

You could then add the monitor you've mentioned
 
Last edited:
95thrifles said:
Bout cheapest you could do, add open office which is free, its same price building as it is buying pre built at this budget, though you are getting more by building yourself, its cost of RAM that hinders too

Dell IN2010N 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor £101.99 (£88.69)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail £72.99 (£63.47)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £69.99 (£60.86)
Asus M4A785TD-M Evo AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £67.99 (£59.12)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £45.99 (£39.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 320GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (ST3320418AS) £34.99 (£30.43)
Antec Basic 350W Power Supply £27.99 (£24.34)
Sony Optiarc AD-7241S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe Optical Drive (Black) - OEM £19.99 (£17.38)
Akasa Genesis AK-5004 Midi Tower Case - Black £16.99 (£14.77)
Total : £458.91
Click to expand...

that is a good spec, probably the best you will get for the budget
 
Bonjour said:
Good spec, dude.

Looking at the Outlet's current stock, the best is a C2D e7300, 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 256MB Graphics Card for £286. This would include mouse / keyboard.

You could then add the monitor you've mentioned
Click to expand...

Does that price include VAT and delivery? As Outlet prices usually don't.
 
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