New Computer Help

Hello

Basically im thinking of investing in a new pc for my family but have totally lost track of what to look for to determine whats a decent pc. Im not really interested in a laptop as i already have one although its getting on a bit.

to be honest all i want this pc for is

playing footie manager at a decent speed (and being able to play multiple leagues) and surfing the net. Im not interested in watching films, downloading music etc through it.

any help in knowing what to look for is appreciated as is anyone who could point me in the way of any decent deals.

regards

eddie

Hello

Basically im thinking of investing in a new pc for my family but have totally lost track of what to look for to determine whats a decent pc. Im not really interested in a laptop as i already have one although its getting on a bit.

to be honest all i want this pc for is

playing footie manager at a decent speed (and being able to play multiple leagues) and surfing the net. Im not interested in watching films, downloading music etc through it.

any help in knowing what to look for is appreciated as is anyone who could point me in the way of any decent deals.

regards

eddie

try this base unit only deal eddie http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/935577

cynet that's complete overkill for FM and browsing...

all you need is a good dual core CPU, 2GB+ of RAM and a decent graphics card.

thanks cynet, to be honest i am looking for something a little cheaper,

walsh, how would you define a good graphics card and duel core processer?

computer technology and myself parted company in the mid-90's when a 32xspeed cd drive was the bees knees

You want something with a dedicated 256mb graphic card,dual core processor and 2-3GB ram

You want something with a dedicated 256mb graphic card,dual core processor and 2-3GB ram

Sounds about right.

Though I have a natural aversion to buying pre-built computers (it's just that much more expensive) something like this wouldn't be so bad:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0510513797.1256663455@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgadeijhgmjelcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=441770&category_oid=

Of course, that's just by poking into other PC World models. You could probably get a better deal by shopping around, but the spec isn't bad on that for what you want.

Cider Ed, ive just built a PC (Tower) from scratch brand new for my brother, just so he could play FM2010 and browse the web and what not, all together it came to 193.27 + Delivery of £9.50! so you could call it £200 ish. These at pc world dont get any where close to what you can make a custom build for, i put a 320GB sata II HDD in for him which will last him years and years and i dont think he will ever use it. only problem you may have though is findins someone to build one for you, but i highly recommend this option. Dont get me wrong PC world is orite, but you can get a hell of a lot more for your money.

Cider Ed, ive just built a PC (Tower) from scratch brand new for my brother, just so he could play FM2010 and browse the web and what not, all together it came to 193.27 + Delivery of £9.50! so you could call it £200 ish. These at pc world dont get any where close to what you can make a custom build for, i put a 320GB sata II HDD in for him which will last him years and years and i dont think he will ever use it. only problem you may have though is findins someone to build one for you, but i highly recommend this option. Dont get me wrong PC world is orite, but you can get a hell of a lot more for your money.

agreed, I wasn't sure whether to recommend self builds on here as I know a lot of casual gamers and PC users will simply look for a reasonably priced pre-build. If you know anyone or anywhere that can build a PC for you for a decent price, you will save a lot of money and come out with a better PC.

If you know of a local small computer store then ask them to build you one, give them a price guide (not more than x) and see what they can deliver. Custom Builds are not bad but are always a little too limited in either one area or the other.

Best option is an Asus or Gigabyte Mobo (Motherboard), a Dual-core Processor (Core 2 Duo if price is ok), 2 GB Ram and a HDD minimum 160Gb (although at current prices you can pick up 250 or 320 easy). Then whichever OS you prefer, XP should be ok as that's probably what you have on your laptop and that's it.

as i say i did it for £200 just to get him up and running he can upgrade whenever he wants now though,

i got him:-

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2200 "LGA775 Core 2" 2.20GHz (£50.99)

Asus P5QPL-AM Intel G41 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£39.99)

Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 6400C5 TwinX Dual Channel (£29.99)

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (£32.99)

LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (£18.99)

A good value tower case and a 450W PSU from my local PC shop, all in all its absolutely spot on for his needs, and enough room for an upgrade.