New System

[Monkeh]

A laptop hard drive can held in place with one screw only, as long as you don't share a trampoline with your PC they are light enough to stay in place if the PC itself is kept stationary its not ideal but if it works then who cares!!

Quality workmanship right there. Again, for two pounds more you get a faster, larger HDD which doesn't require bodging.

Exactly what is bodged, depends how anal you are really! the extra £2 is a moo point the build I put together was a suggestion at what could be built on a very tight budget

Depends on how much you like having a warranty.

And no, it's not a moot point, it shows how you think when assembling a system..

But yes, let's agree to disagree. I have little interest in carrying on 'discussions' with someone who emphasises price over quality.

 

[LooPrEvil]

Lee makes a good point. If you have a limited budget you have to compromise on quality. Well possibly not, lesser known brands can be as good as the market leaders.

Analogy: Look how popular Skoda became as soon as VW took them over, its still the same car, but now suddenly it too is seen as quality!

 

[Monkeh]

Lee makes a good point. If you have a limited budget you have to compromise on quality. Well possibly not, lesser known brands can be as good as the market leaders.

How do you propose to get the components of a good quality PSU and a case for £20, let alone a ready made one with warranty?

 

[LooPrEvil]

I didn't mention £20, obviously any budget has to be realistic

 

[Monkeh]

I didn't mention £20, obviously any budget has to be realistic

There goes the £150 PC then.

 

[LooPrEvil]

I give up!

Surprisingly, it sounds as if you haven't been to any computer fairs recently, or visited the shops of some of those who sell their wares at them.

I'm with you on this one Lee, regarding low budget computers.

 

[Monkeh]

I give up!

Surprisingly, it sounds as if you haven't been to any computer fairs recently, or visited the shops of some of those who sell their wares at them.

I'm with you on this one Lee, regarding low budget computers.

So you say there has to be a realistic budget, but you're still willing to buy a £20 case and PSU combo to get a cheap PC?

 

[Igorian]

Come on guys, lets put this one to bed, at least in this thread. I think the OP has all the relevant information and any further discussion should be in a thread of it's own.

 

[LooPrEvil]

My last word on this: Every person has a budget which determines what they can buy. But lesser known products are not necessarily lower quality.

I have given the Skoda analogy, but their is also a specific computer related analogy of CPUs we should remember - I remember when AMD processors first broke into the computer market, many people would not touch them and referred to them as low quality compared to intel products (and that was without even using them!), now look at AMD, they are a recognised market leader!!

People get screwed up about the need for brand names - they should look at the specification and compare like for like instead. Lets stop acting like sheep!!

 

[headworx]

Have a look at Aldi, they do really good PC's for the money - Got good reviews too.

In regards to self builds, then I do prefer that for my own system, but only as I am very picky what components I have - Doing it this way WILL be more expensive and if you've never done anything like that before then the likelyhod of it all going 'tango uniform' is high.

Think their (aldi) base units are on offer again this week or next - check their website. It's probably a Medion brand which you most likely wont have heard of, but they are very good spec for the cash.

When they are on offer though, you do have to be very quick, most stores only have limited stocks.

Hope this helps.

 

[joinerjohn]

A friend of mine , built his own computer a few years ago. Got the latest quad core processor, top of the range graphics card, HDD, mobo, psu etc. Final cost ran at about £1800 -£2000.
Within 6 months, he could have built the same spec computer for about half the price and could have built a better spec machine for 3/4 of the price.

 

[Monkeh]

A friend of mine , built his own computer a few years ago. Got the latest quad core processor, top of the range graphics card, HDD, mobo, psu etc. Final cost ran at about £1800 -£2000.
Within 6 months, he could have built the same spec computer for about half the price and could have built a better spec machine for 3/4 of the price.

That's technology for you. I did the same thing (for a more sane price). It's still running smoothly to this day.

 

[securespark]

OK.

Let's say Mrs Secure wants a ready-built system from a high street retailer. She has around £350 to spend.

What would you choose?

 

[EFCLee1]

Again the million dollar question!

What is it going to be used for?

If it will only be used for Internet and Office then an entry level PC or Laptop would easily suffice

Comet do this laptop for £299.99, or does it have to be a PC?

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-COMPAQ-CQ56-101SA-Laptop/676381

 

[securespark]

Yes, just internet, email and MS office apps, no serious gaming.

But a bit of storage for images would be good.

It does not have to be a PC, but most laptops in her price range have a pretty mingey screen.