Computers - Please Help.

[kowalski]

My computer is dying, let's be honest - it's a zombie, it was second-hand refurbished or something and it's never really worked well.

I need a new one, but choosing one is sooo difficult cos I just don't understand the jargon and each shop tells me the opposite of what the last one said.

what I intend to do on it:

1. I definitely want to be able to copy DVDs.

2. Download tv programs like BB


So what specs do I need to really look out for?

please advise. And give any advice about pitfalls, what to avoid etc.

[odm]

kowalski said:

My computer is dying, let's be honest - it's a zombie, it was second-hand refurbished or something and it's never really worked well.

I need a new one, but choosing one is sooo difficult cos I just don't understand the jargon and each shop tells me the opposite of what the last one said.

what I intend to do on it:

1. I definitely want to be able to copy DVDs.

2. Download tv programs like BB


So what specs do I need to really look out for?

please advise. And give any advice about pitfalls, what to avoid etc.

Hello K. My hubby recommends

Minimum CPU speed of 2.0 gig
Minimum graphics size Memory 128 Meg
System Computers Memory 512 Meg Ram
Minimum Hardrive size 40 gig

bear this all in mind as the minimum specification recommended and you should be able to get a complete base unit ( MINUS monitor keyboard etc ) for around £100 on e.bay.


I dont know if this helps but my hubby builds computers and he suggested this, however, anyone else welcome to make other suggestions or something contrary..

[Admin]

look at tesco or asda for a deal, I think I heard a comet add to day for £299.

Dont bother buying a secondhand one as new are just as cheap.

Get 1GB of ram
Processor at least 2.0 Ghz
large hard drive for all your video 160 GB
video/soundcard 128 mb min

It depends what you can afford

[rudyrudyrudy]

kowalski, if you can afford £500, look no further than this (im my opinion)http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/386047
you might have noticed the tv ads currently. if you live anywhere near a pcworld store, you colud go look and ask the sales staff all you want.

[carrickmac]

Hi ,dont know if this will help,if you want to copy DVD'S you should look for the term-MULTI-FORMAT DUAL LAYER DVD RW DRIVE I think a memory of 512 DDR RAM is sufisiant, but we all end up wanting more and there are some good deals around for a memory of 1GB DD RAM.Here are some links for you to browsewww.pcworld.co.uk/www.currys.co.uk/

[carrickmac]

rudyrudyrudy said:

kowalski, if you can afford £500, look no further than this (im my opinion)http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/386047
you might have noticed the tv ads currently. if you live anywhere near a pcworld store, you colud go look and ask the sales staff all you want.

;DYer i bought the same pc at curry's last year and have no complaint and i recomend getting the larger monitor

[andy100]

I'd say in thios day and age you might as well go for at least 1Gb of RAM. You can find plenty of deals for under £500 with that spec. DVD writers are pretty much standard these days too.

They're expensive to upgrade, but for a basic home computer Dell's offers can be quite hard to beat (if you get a good one at the right time). While PCWorld are ok, I've read about a lot of problems with their own brand makes. I've got an Advent laptop (one of PCWorld's own brand makes and *touch wood* it seems to be holding up so far (except for having to perform a complete reinstall a few months back), but Dell are built to take a lot of abuse.

I met a sales rep for Dell once, and aparently all of their office computers were bought from the Dell clearance warehouse because it was cheaper than getting them built through the company! (though sadly I think the clearance site has since closed).

Good luck in your search!

*edited to say* Currys and PCWorld are all the same company, so you'll find the same computers in both places, with maybe a slight difference in price

[emptybox]

The one that rudyrudyrudy recommends comes with XP Media Center edition, but it doesn't seem to have a TV card installed. You could buy one yourself for less than £50 (or buy an external USB one), and record TV programs to your hard-drive providing you have a TV aerial handy (the little aerials that come with them are virtually useless).

If you are going to do this, or if you are going to download a lot of TV stuff off the net, then the bigger the drive the better.
I've got a 250 GB drive that I thought would last forever, but a year later I've only 80 GB left. Mind you I could always delete all those old episodes of 'Top Gear'

The latest buzz word in processors is "Core 2 Duo", which allows the computer to cope with doing more things at once, and uses less power than it's Pentium predecessors. I wouldn't get too caught up in the jargon though, the Pentium D in the Fujitsu Siemens one is also dual core and will cope with anything you are likely to throw at it. Even a solo core processor, as long as it has HT technology, should be fine if your budget is lower.

[carrickmac]

emptybox said:

The one that rudyrudyrudy recommends comes with XP Media Center edition, but it doesn't seem to have a TV card installed. You could buy one yourself for less than £50 (or buy an external USB one), and record TV programs to your hard-drive providing you have a TV aerial handy (the little aerials that come with them are virtually useless).

If you are going to do this, or if you are going to download a lot of TV stuff off the net, then the bigger the drive the better.
I've got a 250 GB drive that I thought would last forever, but a year later I've only 80 GB left. Mind you I could always delete all those old episodes of 'Top Gear'

The latest buzz word in processors is "Core 2 Duo", which allows the computer to cope with doing more things at once, and uses less power than it's Pentium predecessors. I wouldn't get too caught up in the jargon though, the Pentium D in the Fujitsu Siemens one is also dual core and will cope with anything you are likely to throw at it. Even a solo core processor, as long as it has HT technology, should be fine if your budget is lower.

Like i sead we always end up wanting more memory

[Admin]

talking of TV on your pc, I have a link in work for all the TV shows. It's not illegal to watch it either, well for the viewer, it prob is for the site that streams them.

Ill post it later.