which pc

[westside]

i`m getting a new pc but don`t know what to get.
Is athlon or delta good makes?
What do i mainly need to look for as i`ve been told memory+processor.
What about sound cards +other stuff.
I use the computer alot but don`t really know the parts or software

 

[athanman]

What to buy depends on what you do on the computer and what you want to do on it?

Some simple recommendations:
If you are doing a lot of downloads you want to get a large to very large hard drive. Translation - something larger than 100 GB.

If you're going to do a lot of multimedia stuff on it, like play game, music or even digitally edit music and pictures. Or even if you're doing CAD work or simply watching to and DVDs you going want to pay attention to the graphics and sound cards. These days you're probably going want to get an accelerated graphics card (other wise known as an AGP) with at least 128 MB of memory on it. Then you're going want to amp up the sound card to at least a 16 or 24 bit piece. These days you can get great sound out of a 16 bit card if you then have great speakers.

CD ROMs are more or less standard. The only thing you have to decide here is weather or not you want to watch DVDs on you computer and what kind of media you want to write to. Do you want to copy and write to DVDs and CDs. Do you want to be able to use rewritable media. So you're going see things like (DVD RW - DVD read write) and CD RW (CD read write).

Get something that does everything. CD/DVD RW - that way if your needs change you don’t have to worry about upgrading that latter.

As far as RAM goes you should get at least 256 MB of RAM it'll keep the current operating systems stable and keep you going. My advice though get more now. Less to worry about later.
I am going to stop here - since I have no idea what you are going to use this machine for.

 

[nstreet]

Don't get too taken in by the bundled hardware and software, nothing is free, it just means the pc is of lesser quality parts.

 

[ninebob]

See here:

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28504

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24041

 

[Spark123]

See here:

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28504

Haven't Tiny just gone bust?
Dell seem to be pretty good value for money, although I have heard they charge a fortune to reload windows after the warranty period.
I always enjoy the trip to PC World where I lie in wait for the salesman to approach me. I then fire an awkward computer question at them and watch them squirm and run for cover . I wouldn't be tempted to buy a computer from them as I have found out they rarely give you the disks required for a computer reload should the hard disk crash.
I have found it best to go to the local independent computer shop who will build a computer for £20+parts and warranty it, I have brought my last 3 computers this way and never had a major problem. I get all the disks etc needed to reload it if the hdd fails. The support is superb and only costs a local phone call or if I'm close to the shop I can nip go in.

 

[westside]

nt got the patience to go into detail on how things work.
CAN`T BLAME HIM.
But thanks for the detailed advice

 

[breezer]

i make my own, i have some old cardboard boxes,sticky back plastic and a torch

seriously, i get bits at local computer fair

 

[westside]

i replied to thank you guys and explain that me bro built my computer and what stuff i have in it, but when i viewed it above breezers ,it just gets the end saying i got no patience with dealing with things.
SORRY people who viewed this as something has gone wrong along the line, maby my reply was to long.
me fingers seem to talk more than me mouth.

 

[ninebob]

See here: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28504[/QUOTE]

Haven't Tiny just gone bust?

Yes they have, which is exactly why I pointed to a topic discussing Tiny versus Dell in which my final post rested my case.

There seem to be a few people who want to slag Dell off, and equally I'm beginning to sound like I ought to go and work for Dell's PR department - but the Dell Dimension 4600 on which I'm currently typing this post has worked flawlessly since I had it delivered nearly 2 years ago, with the exception of a video card failure in month 2, replaced FOC under warranty and delivered by courier the next day.. I can say, entirely honestly, that ALL of my non-Dell-owning friends have had to either reinstall Windows or replace critical hardware components in that time.

I should add, in the interest of fairness, that the part about software reinstallation is less to do with the machine you buy and more to do with how you look after it. A Dell will crash just as readily as a Tiny or Time if you allow it to become riddled with spyware etc.

 

[nstreet]

[
Dell seem to be pretty good value for money, although I have heard they charge a fortune to reload windows after the warranty period.

When you purchase a dell system, you have the option to get a system recovery disk for about £10. This will enable you to reload windows etc if you need to.