Spec suggestions for new PC

[Lee]

Hi, my father-in-law needs a new PC. I'm a bit behind on my knowledge of current CPU's, future proofing etc. and I'm looking for some suggestions for a build spec.

He's not a heavy user, only uses it for Internet, MS Office and e-mail, but I'd like to build him something that'll last quite a while and have significant potential upgrade options in the future.

I can't really wait for any new technology releases (unless something is due in the next week or so) as his current system (some old Tiny P3 based system ) has what appears to be an intermittant hardware problem, which I suspect will become terminal sometime soon.

He needs a new monitor (he's currently got a 15" CRT), k/b and mouse also.

We have no real budget in mind, but something less than £600-£650 all in would probably fit well.

Anyone got any suggestions ?

 

[razorback09]

Im not sure weather to tell you to wait till sandy bridge or not, since its a new socket (socket 1155). If you want future proof its pretty much the way to go (9th jan release). It really decides on the price of them when released.

If you need it now, or not really bothered on the extra 15% speed it apparently has, get an complete system such as

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-237-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=

Maybe even switch down to an i3 if speed isnt an issue.

As for the monitor, although you say he only uses internet/office etc you can get a HD resolution screen quiet cheap now.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-034-BQ&groupid=17&catid=949&subcat=

For the mouse id get an Mx518. Really cheap and probably the best mouse on the market.

 

[Grimley]

Building it yourself?

If not, buy this

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
"Titan Nero" AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz DDR3 System "Titan Nero" AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz DDR3 System £356.48
(£303.39) £356.48
(£303.39)
Options applied to the above product:
No Hard Drive Upgrade £0.00
(£0.00) £0.00
(£0.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £82.24
(£69.99) £82.24
(£69.99)
BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
(£102.12) £119.99
(£102.12)
Sub Total : £475.50
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £16.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £86.14
Total : £578.39

If you can, then wait for someone else on here to spec you some bits!

 

[Lee]

Thanks guys, happy to build myself (I'd enjoy doing it) or to buy a prebuilt system. All down to value I suppose.

Thanks for your suggestions, they are very helpful. I'll see if anyone else has any others.

 

[RJC]

Any use:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Iiyama ProLite E2208HDD 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £110.44
(£93.99) £110.44
(£93.99)
MSI 870A-G54 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £77.98
(£66.37) £77.98
(£66.37)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 630 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £75.19
(£63.99) £75.19
(£63.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £44.99
(£38.29) £44.99
(£38.29)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB GDDR3 SILENT Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card (H545HR512) £34.99
(£29.78) £34.99
(£29.78)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.74
(£9.99) £11.74
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £407.06
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £17.10
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £74.23
Total : £498.39

 

[Lee]

Thanks RJC, that looks pretty decent value for a quad core system. Will need to add Win 7 Home Premium 64 also. I'm tempted to go for a board with on-board video, eg the Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3. Does anyone have any idea on the limitations of the on-board HD4250 ?

Am also tempted to go for 2 x smaller capacity HDD's. Appreciate this will cost a little more, but with 2 HDD's I could set up a back-up system in case the primary disk fails. Any views ?

 

[RJC]

I am using that board with the I completed today with the AMD 630. I would have gone for that board but it's out of stock!
When I ordered there were 2 left