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Need Some Pc Advise


GWilso
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I'm looking to buy a new PC quickly as this one is pretty old and on its last legs,

I've been looking on-line at some of the different PC's available and to someone who does not understand the Jargon is a bit baffling as there is so many out there,

Could someone abbreviate these letters for me please pretty please

1.GB Ram

2.WXGA

3.Sata Hard Drive

4.Double Layer Lightscibe

5.Dual Core processor

I want something that is pretty quick I don't really download that much but I do copy From Music sites onto Pc onto disc every now and again, I don't really watch movies etc etc just general internet use

looking to spend between £500-600 I've been looking mostly at HP as I trust their a better brand but I've come across much cheaper brands such as Zoostroom and Logiq they seem to offer a lot more for less but are they any good? will they last?

Thanks in advance

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1.GB Ram

2.WXGA

3.Sata Hard Drive

4.Double Layer Lightscibe

5.Dual Core processor

1. This is the physical memory that the computer uses to do all of it's work. 1GB = 1024MB. XP runs ok with 1GB but better with more - whereas with Vista you're really going to need 2GB or more for it to run as smoothly as XP.

2. This is just the graphics resolution, a lot of this you can ignore as any graphics card nowadays can handle way beyond the maximum resolution of your monitor. It's typically say 1024x768, 1600x1200 and so on.

3. This is the hard disk drive where all of your data and programs are stored. This will be maybe 250GB or more. The computer loads data from this into the physical memory which is many times of magnitude quicker for it to access than the hard drive.

4. This is talking about the DVD Writer. Dual Layer means the DVD format - single layer is about 4GB and dual layer is about 8GB. Lightscribe means it features some technology which if you have the correct disks you can write graphics onto the top of the disk instead of writing a label - it's all in monochrome though - not colour.

5. This is the brains behind it all. Older processors had a single core, maybe presented to the OS as two using Hyperthreading, whereas Dual Core means it's literally two processors on a single die. Having two means your computer can simultaneously process two things at once. Many operating systems support multitasking which gives you the impression that it's doing two things at once but all it's doing in reality is timeslicing and causing excessive context switches on the processor which slows things down. Dual Core processors mean you can say encode or watch a video while browsing the web and there is much less latency then you'd have with a single core processor which means things feel much snappier to you :)

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Thanks for taking the time aido really appreciate that mate,

The one i'm looking at does have Vista Home Basic built in, with 3GB of ram I guess this would be good and fast enough for what I want? As described

HP Intel Dual Core E2200 processor. 3Gb RAM. 320Gb SATA Hard Drive. 20in WXGA Brightview monitor. DVD writer, SATA DVD RAM double layer with Lightscibe. nVidia GeForce 9300GS graphics. 15 in 1 memory card reader. Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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To be honest mate for the stuff I mainly do at home I could buy the lowest spec PC they do nowadays and it would still be more than enough :)

That sounds plenty fella, how much is that if you don't mind me asking?

It's always mainly games that call for the latest and greatest hardware - Vista was just a resource hog but that spec looks like it will be fine - what sort of stuff are you planning to do?

As much as people hate Dell their desktops just work - may be worth a nosey there as well? Neighbour has one and for the money you can't complain!

I've used HP and IBM / Lenovo desktops and laptops for years and they're fine.

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The HP one I just metioned is up at £629,

But for £400-500 I can get all the same stuff with Zoostorm or LogiQ i've just never heard off these brands and bit wary of the reliability factor,

I really only use the computer for internet browsing and talkng to this lot :shutit: also occasional downloads from music sites as I said,

Cheap and cheerful would be great but fairly Quick and reliable is a must,(i get stressesd quickly lol)

I'd love to browse more openly on the net for Pc's but but if i'm honest the current climate ties me to my trusty mail order catalouge at the minute mainly because I got a 20% off voucher (littlewoods) that brings their inflated prices back to reality,

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that one at PC World, i would buy if i needed, and am a hardcore computer user, not games but everything else.

other makes dont bother me, as the equipment inside is always more or less the same, intel, geforce, etc etc, just the company who put it together are not high up there

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Everything we have discussed at half the cost OUCH..........thats seems great spec for the money I may need to re think,

My experience of laptops have always been fiddly a bit slow and easily breakable

What about something like this mate:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw...gory_oid=-35410

It would be more than enough for what you're thinking of doing mate?

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Saraj What happend to your motor mate?

that one at PC World, i would buy if i needed, and am a hardcore computer user, not games but everything else.

other makes dont bother me, as the equipment inside is always more or less the same, intel, geforce, etc etc, just the company who put it together are not high up there

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Thing is mate if you're not hammering games or video editing etc you don't need all the bells and whistles as at the end of the day that is all they are.

If you go to somewhere like PC World they'll try and sell you the top of the line kit even though you'll never use it beyond 5% of it's capacity - that's not a knock by the way - most PCs are very rarely ever used beyond that unless you're playing games or encoding video.

It's why programs like Seti and Folding@Home came about, they just use wasted CPU cycles. And also why virtualisation is a hot topic in the computer industry.

I went with a mate when he wanted a PC and played dumb when the salesmen came over. They were trying to pull his pants down. I just started ramping up the questions slowly until they were totally dumbstruck and just left us to it with their tail between their legs :lol:

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there were, there actually paid out more then i paid 300 more, but the breakdown below decided it

IS200 insurance 120 per month

Astra insurance 32 per month

IS200 petrol per month 240

Astra petrol per month 150

So the moment astra makes sense, but gives me chance to save for a IS220 or IS250

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Fancy Coming Shopping tomorrow :lol::lol: ,

Thanks fo the advise mate really helped i'll let you know how I get on watch this space

Gordon

Thing is mate if you're not hammering games or video editing etc you don't need all the bells and whistles as at the end of the day that is all they are.

If you go to somewhere like PC World they'll try and sell you the top of the line kit even though you'll never use it beyond 5% of it's capacity - that's not a knock by the way - most PCs are very rarely ever used beyond that unless you're playing games or encoding video.

It's why programs like Seti and Folding@Home came about, they just use wasted CPU cycles.

I went with a mate when he wanted a PC and played dumb when the salesmen came over. They were trying to pull his pants down. I just started ramping up the questions slowly until they were totally dumbstruck and just left us to it with their tail between their legs :lol:

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Thing is mate if you're not hammering games or video editing etc you don't need all the bells and whistles as at the end of the day that is all they are.

If you go to somewhere like PC World they'll try and sell you the top of the line kit even though you'll never use it beyond 5% of it's capacity - that's not a knock by the way - most PCs are very rarely ever used beyond that unless you're playing games or encoding video.

It's why programs like Seti and Folding@Home came about, they just use wasted CPU cycles. And also why virtualisation is a hot topic in the computer industry.

I went with a mate when he wanted a PC and played dumb when the salesmen came over. They were trying to pull his pants down. I just started ramping up the questions slowly until they were totally dumbstruck and just left us to it with their tail between their legs :lol:

agreed, sales will try to sell you the most expensive, i always go with family,

best thing is look at a few, give us the links and we'll give our opionons, then dont let salesmen try to change it.

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Insurance paying more than the car cost?

I think you may have just entered the history books lol,

there were, there actually paid out more then i paid 300 more, but the breakdown below decided it

IS200 insurance 120 per month

Astra insurance 32 per month

IS200 petrol per month 240

Astra petrol per month 150

So the moment astra makes sense, but gives me chance to save for a IS220 or IS250

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There are many people on here who could recommend a system from PC World that will fulfill your needs. You can then buy it online and go pick it up - no chance then for them to bamboozle you into buying something expensive you don't need.

I just did that for my Mum, she needed a new base unit and I told her to search for and then order product code 004402 from PC World's website. She got a perfectly adequate spec Compaq machine for £279, ready to collect when she was next passing by... Saved £40 on the price as well.

She had recently bought a new monitor though, so only needed a new tower unit...

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We just need to remember that the higher spec machine that you buy now means that you will be able to wait longer before you have to replace it. Also the warranty is quite important as Gwilso is obviously not a full on techy.

I've just had a look at the dell website and you can get something like this:

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/c...12212&s=bsd

Dual core 2.66

4Gb Ram

320Gb Hard disk

Dedicated Graphics

20" Screen

It is a business machine - as i find the Dell business support hugely superior to their home support and comes with a 3 yr onsite next business day warranty. For just over £500 inc vat with a screen is pretty good.

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