Need to buy a new desktop for the wife for work to replace a Pentium 4 we have, which has done a great job over the last seven years.

The only problem is not sure what to go for and need advice.

Only looking for the tower as we have a newish monitor. Just unsure of what processor to go for mainly any suggestions?

She generally has four programs running at the same time word, outlook, chrome and Trados (Translation program seems quite processor heavy)

Also where to get it from? Looking around four hundred pound mark.

Thanks
Al :good:

Check out the PC world refurbs, anything i3/i5 (preferably a 2xxx model code as these are the newer sandy bridge cores) would be more than enough from the sounds of things.

Don't bother with anything AMD nowadays, even their top end CPU's are slow in relation to Intel.

i3 refurb - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/acer-m1939-refurbished-desktop-pc-11290991-pdt.html

i5 refurb - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/acer-m3920-desktop-pc-11102617-pdt.html

Brand new i3: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-p6-2022uk-desktop-pc-11264383-pdt.html not bad.

All are Sandy Bridge. Very powerful CPU's.

I wouldn't go near pc world/currys, I have had nothing but problems with them since I bought my laptop in May. Their Knowhow people know nothing. Don't waste your money.

Cheers Matt funnily enough was looking at that new i3 one that could be the one.
What's sandy bridge? Seems awful stupid to put sand in a pc !

Or try Amazon - free delivery

http://www.amazon.co.uk/p6-2020uk-D...mp;ie=UTF8&qid=1329148489&sr=1-2

Just don't go for any kind of Dell or HP and you'll be fine.

The ones Matt linked are perfect for what you're after and there's dozens of stores around the Wirral that can fix them if you have any problems.

PCWorld has had some nice pc's at not bad prices, but don't go near the one in Chester, Iv'e walked out twice as they try to get you to buy the crap software and won't give up,even after telling them numerous times, the Birkenhead one is good but lacks lots of different pc's that Chester has, have a look in Chester but order from Birkenhead, as far as problems go with PC's from them, I haven't had any.

Why would you go to the store in the first place? Don't think I've been to a computer store to buy something for like a dozen years ..

PC world offer free delivery and I'm fairly sure they always have done.

The replies to these questions always make me laugh,
dont buy from pc world, dont buy from dell etc.
where is he going to buy one from then? mars ?

Someone said dont go near dell. I've had 3 towers and more laptops from them and they are fine.
what happend, did you buy a dell and it wasnt perfect so you now class the whole company as rubbish?

Just go to dell: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-620/fs

the tower for £399 in the listing there is perfect for your wife.

If your looking to buy from the PC World or Currys websites, check out the Dixons [same company] website as more often than not they have the same product cheaper.

>I< said don't go near Dell. That's what the quote button is for.

It doesn't really require elaborating. It's kind of like the reason people say 'avoid AVG and Norton like the plague' when talking about antiviruses. If you know about computers, the statement doesn't need explanation because the overwhelming majority of users generally agree that those AV brands suck.

The same applies here.

Just to say, never had a problem with any PC I've bought, or people I know have bought, from PC World. My last two laptops were from there, both exactly what I wanted and at unbeatable prices - bought a new one only a few weeks ago, and everyone seems to be literally gob-smacked at the bargain I managed to get out of them lol - add to which, I received excellent service from them, for the limited service I required lol. Just a case of know your rights if the product develops a fault. Most computers don't though!

Just avoid PC World's coverplans/extended warranties, like everyone else, they work out a rip-off unless you're a really clumsy person and likely to break it in the first year, accidentally. I have insurance with my bank account, covers 2 years loss, theft, accidental damage, breakdown etc... always worth checking if your bank account offers this or your house insurance covers it (or may do as an add-on for a cheap price).

The value of a PC is severely diminished after 2 years anyway.

I know where the quote button is thanks.
Nothing wrong with Dell.
buy something that wasnt "perfect" once did you? boo hooo

Sorry, didn't notice this, Sandy Bridge is the newest CPU core. To put it in simple terms, it's about 15 - 20% more powerful than the previous Nehalem core. It also has a host of other improvements, with integrated graphics that actually surpass the performance of low-end dedicated graphics, and they run much cooler, have improved hyperthreading, and have improved energy usage (use less electric).

A regular i3 on the Sandy Bridge core, at stock, tends to be able to keep up with a regular i5 on the Nehalem core (of course there's a lot more variables to consider, such as clock speed, number of cores, chipset etc... but just a general idea), or at worst, give them a good run for their money.

Ivy Bridge is out in April, which will replace it, and looks like another huge improvement, but if you wait for that, prices will be higher and it's just a never ending story. Prices of Sandy Bridge CPU's have been bottoming out recently, due to the upcoming replacement, so now is good time to grab a bargain (plus being so close after Xmas).

From what you're intending to use it for, a lowish Core2Duo would probably suffice, so an i3 Sandy Bridge would be plentiful. The i3 may be seen as the lower spec, but it's actually considered mid-high end in the grand scheme of things (Core is Intels flagship brand), behind the i5 and i7, but with the Atom/ULV's, Celeron and Pentium all being below it in the pecking order. Tis every bit as powerful as a comparable i5 in most situations, aside from a couple of features missing (turbo mode etc), that the average user probably won't have a clue about or notice. It also get a little more complicated, in that Core CPU's with 2xxx are based on the newer Sandy Bridge core, and offer, as above, a significant improvement over the original Core i3/i5/i7 CPU's.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-2120+%40+3.30GHz

This is a "very" crude way of benchmarking, but it gives you an idea at least, of the performance. Compare it to what you have now for a loose idea of the performance gain.

Depends how much knowledge you have with computer building on where to actually buy your computer, if you dont have much and you need a pre-built, then you have no choice really than to go either the big mianstream places (pc world, dell, staples, currys etc etc) or to a local independant computer shop (risky if you don't know much about the shop)

one thing i will say and i don't care if i get bashed for it, don't bother with ANY refurbed parts EVER, and dont bother with an i3 or even the lower end i5's, you had your last computer for seven years so this is an investment, go for a top end i5 at the minimum for a little bit of future proofing as they are at least quad core cpu's.

i would perosnally recommend you build it yourself as its cheaper and you can make sure it is done right with exactly what you want, but i am no moron, i understand it takes time to learn and people already have busy enough lives!

Quad core does not always benefit the end-user much, as it depends what they are doing. Very few programs are coded to take advantage of quad-core setups, which is why all-to-often, you see dual-core CPU's managing to keep up with similar spec quad-core CPU's in tests. A more efficient dual-core CPU, can easily outrun a quad-core CPU, in all but heavily quad-core optimized scenarios.

Unless you're using an application(s) that seriously requires quad-core computing, then the only real difference to most users, is increased cost and energy consumption.

I'm a power-user, yet until my last laptop eventually became too fragile to transport around (it was a 12" with 2TB hard drive space, and had lived a very hard, portable life lol), I was (and still would be) quite content with its T5550 1.83Ghz C2D. I only jumped across to Sandy Bridge because of circumstances beyond my control.

Nowadays, even i3's are that powerful, that unless you're running some high-end CAD or graphics software etc, or spending half your time at the PC rendering video, then any benefit provided by a higher-spec PC, will be outweighed by the difference in cost.

With regards building them, sometimes it works out better, sometimes it doesn't - some of Intel's top CPU's are prohibitively expensive for the end-user - sometimes, the CPU alone, can cost 2/3 the cost of buying an ready-built PC with the same CPU thanks to the economies of scale.

Hell, I have a Pentium III 1.4Ghz Tualatin in my office with 512MB PC133, which is running XP SP3 and handles everything I throw at it, even CS4, and very smoothly. The big limitation is the Intel i815 chipset cannot address more than 512MB RAM, but if it could (I actually only realised last week that I have another Tualatin compatible mobo on the Via Apollo Pro 133A chipset which could support upto 1.5GB), it would fly, that's for sure. That's a single core Pentium III 1.4Ghz with 512KB L2. You would hardly tell it is a CPU launched 11 years ago...

Just depends how you look after it, and what you're using it for. The thing even handles 720p HD video without maxxing the CPU. Never tried video encoding on it, though I suspect it will be abysmal given its lack of SSE2 etc... Will try it someday!!

We have been buying budget zoostorm machines from ebuyer in work, really good specs and value for money

Yeah, Zoostorm are pretty darn good value; they are aiming at the Acer market. Formerly built in Liverpool by CMS Computers (who got bought out in November), but are still built in Warrington. One of my best mates has worked for them for quite a few years now, he and his dad actually frequent these boards.

One of the companies I do work for, have pretty much exclusively been using Zoostorm systems for 18 months now, must have rolled-out about 70 or so upto now, gradually replacing the entire client inventory with them, and only had one failure in the past 12 months (PSU). Not perfect, but for the price, they are cracking little systems, decent build quality too. They source them from eBuyer too, actually cheaper than buying them from CMS themselves at trade price (again, economies of scale). They also supply the likes of Argos etc...

Supporting local business there AX lol.

if you go to pc world to buy one just dont expect any good advice, there advert makes out they are trained like jedi's when in fact they know f all about anything.
if you know what your after, sorted , if you want some advice dont even bother

Yeah, I have a few contacts there, can get computers with similar performance to £1500 dell machines for like £400. They are amazing, have ever only had one fail, then I just rang them direct and they picked it up and fixed it. don't feed the corporate machines like curries and pc world, will only ever buy zoostorm

Whats your budget mate?

for cheap and reliable and for what you want this is what i would buy AND dead easy t chuck together!

simples

http://www.ebuyer.com/283385-amd-ll...essor-asus-f1a55-m-le-3500-f1a55-mle-4gb

chuck that in a 20 quid case and a hard drive to suit your needs. PC for Sub 200 quid.

Budgets about £400.

Cheers for all the input guys lots to think about!

I've bought my last 2 laptops from PC and got a great deal both times. 6 months ago I bought Samsung laptop, 4gb stick, wireless printer and wireless mouse - £350. Bargain!

Sometimes I like to play with my toys the same day

You mean this Button!


Well it would help if you did

Norton when off the biol for a short time` but its all relative`I mean`the people doing the complaining either could`tn configure it or they were running it on older slower Pc`s
Regards Dell I cant fault them I always buy there monitors as there 3year premium warrantee is second to none.As for there computers ... If you look inside you'll find they are well thought out`well ventilated` built with quality hardware ` and built to outlast many other brands which makes them alright for the Man on the street but for me`I like to build my own and put my money where it matters
AVG ..agreed it sucks big time

Agree with your post Van, I could have elaborated and pointed out in detail why their machines and their customer service sucks, but the guy was being a melon and I didn't want to waste too much time on him.

And yeah, most of us that reply to posts in this section of the forum build our own machines. It's hard to recommend that to people that have never done it before though. It's a daunting task for someone that's used to just buying a tower and plugging it in.

The problem with Dell is it's always propogated by people that don't know anything better, the same way AVG spread all over the place. Just the way of the world I guess.