Psvt2's Computer

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psvt2

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Hi all,

As a very new member (yesterday!) I'd value some advice. I'm having a new computer built this month with a loose spec as below - meant for small business (2 people) and personal use. I already have 6.5mg wireless broadband and will be networking this new pc with a laptop. The quoted price for what's included plus build is about £1300, which seems about right but what do members think of the components?

PC based on AMD Sempron 2800+ 64 bit 754 chip, Foxconn 760GXK8MC motherboard, DVD/CD combo, Sony Floppy, Genius mouse and keyboard, 250 Gig HDD, 1 Gig PC3200 memory, Radeon 9550 256 Mb Graphics card, (DVI+TV), MS Windows XP Pro Operating System.
19” TFT monitor

USB External 250 gig Hdd:
USB External Floppy:
TV Tuner card:
Have a query here too - I like the Nebula digitv but am not sure whether to go USB so that both computers can use it or card and wireless access for the laptop - ant experience out there?

Should I be tightening the spec and defining the monitor for example?

Help, please!!!
 
Should I be tightening the spec and defining the monitor for example?
Click to expand...
Nope! ... you should cancel the order and get something a little more up-to-date for your money.
nod.gif


£1300 is what I would call a "rip-off" for that spec PC ... it will handle business work, but you can get 939/PCI-E 2gig ram and still have change from £1000. ;)

Foxconn 760GXK8MC motherboard = no more than £30
AMD Sempron 2800+ 64 bit 754 = no more than £35
1 Gig PC3200 memory (you need two x 256) = about £70
Radeon 9550 256 Mb Graphics card = about £35-£70

I won't bother going on, that's the bits that matter ... a decent TFT monitor is only £150 :thumb:



user.gif
 
I agree totally with Mucks - that is a rip-off!!

Total cost of those componants you list are £750 inc VAT max for old technology - that means they are charging a massive £550 for labour :eek: (check prices at overclockers)

Where is your firm located?
 
Well, that's clear then! I did wonder from looking at various reviews but am really not knowledgeable enough to spec it closely. I hadn't wanted to buy off the peg because of all the data transfer and set-up etc - want to use the current hdd as a slave - but would I do better going the Dell route and just bringing someone in in to do the extras? We're in the Banbury area to answer that post.

Thanks for your help - any more ideas to go forward would be welcome!
 
Are you saying that the £1300 wasn't just for the PC, but included on-site setting up and data transfer etc?
 
Thanks! Looks a great site and you've already been so helpful. Yes, the £1300 includes build and £160 for data transfer, setting up networking, transferring old hdd etc but I am still worried about speed etc - that chip is "only" 1.6ghz - should I be looking for more? I do tend to multitask and, apart from the business, we want to catalogue 5000 + books and ditto photos.

So pleased google found you!
 
I would get something like this from pcspecialist for £900 inc VAT & Delivery, add a external USB 250GB HDD and Floppy from overclockers for around £100 = Total £1000 - then get someone in to set it up.

It will do all your office tasks and more, with some future upgradability :thumb:

CPU
AMD® ATHLON® 64BIT X2 3800 2 x 512K L2 Cache (AM2 pin)

Memory
2048 MB CORSAIR DDR2-667 PC5300 - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)

Motherboard
ASUS® M2N-SLI DELUXE: DUAL DDR2, S-ATA, 2 x x16 VGA, 3 PCI

USB Options
SIX USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT)

Hard Drive
SATA II 250 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache

Second Hard Drive
NONE

RAID
NONE

DVD ROM/Combi Drive
16x +/- DVD WRITER (8x +/- Dual Lyr) (5x DVD-RAM) (40x CD-RW) (£19)

CD/DVD Writer
NONE

Graphics Card 1
512MB GEFORCE 6600 PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT

Graphics Card 2
NONE

Sound Card
HIGH END ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL SOUND (RECOMMENDED)

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Network Facilities
2 x 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS (1 PORT ON M2N4-SLI)

Floppy Drive/Card Reader
1.44MB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

Case
Stylish Silver/Black Sigma case + 2 front USB

Power Supply & Cooling
500W (Peak) Super Quiet Dual Rail PSU with 120mm fan (£25)

Operating System required
MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® XP PRO (inc. Genuine CD & licence) (£95)

Firewire & Video Editing
2 x FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD (NO PORTS ON M2N4-SLI)

Monitor
HIGH END TFT: 19 INCH SILVER/BLACK: 8MS + DVI! (£149)

Keyboard
Logitech® Cordless Internet Pro Desktop Keyboard + Mouse (Black) (£17)

Mouse
NONE

Speakers
NONE

Printer
NONE

Anti-Virus
NONE

Office Software
NONE

TV Card
Digital TV Card (Freeview/Radio/Remote/Pause Live TV) (Special: £32)

Warranty
1 Year Return-to-Base Warranty + 1 Month Free Collect & Return



ps. I'm sure others here could suggest modifications/improvements - but its mainly as an illustration of how much more you can get for your money.

user.gif
 
... and £160 for data transfer
Click to expand...
F F flipping heck, I used to charge £20 ... :rolleyes:

"Data" transfer is very simple ... you connect the old HD as a 'slave' and 'copy' over your data, making sure you pre-loaded the original software on the new PC ... it really is that simple.

As for networking, get a Router. ;)
 
muckshifter said:
F F flipping heck, I used to charge £20 ... :rolleyes:

"Data" transfer is very simple ... you connect the old HD as a 'slave' and 'copy' over your data, making sure you pre-loaded the original software on the new PC ... it really is that simple.

As for networking, get a Router. ;)
Click to expand...

Thats a fairly old fashioned way of data transfer :p You could look into this more modern technology available for around £10 to £15 in the uk . Only linked to this site cos its full of pretty good clear info .

http://www.usbgear.com/link/usbnetwork.html

:wave: :bow: No offence intended muckshifter . :D
 
keep it simple..

Thats a fairly old fashioned way of data transfer
Click to expand...

Theres a saying in this business....Keep it simple, why bugger around with usb it's not going to be any faster anyway..;)
 
crazylegs said:
Theres a saying in this business....Keep it simple, why bugger around with usb it's not going to be any faster anyway..;)
Click to expand...

Theres another school of thought that says ........ why make life dificult . Plug in a usb cable to one pc then plug in the othere end of the cable into another pc , drag and drop folders/files . job done :D
 
Thanks all!

Following Ady's advice, I have a quote from pcspecialists which comes in at £987 (they keep changing the allowed parts!



AMD® ATHLON® 64BIT 3800 (Venice) 512kb L2 Cache (939 pin)

Memory

2048 MB CORSAIR DDR400 PC3200 - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)

Motherboard

ASUS A8N-VM: DUAL DDR, SATA II, x16 slot, 2 PCI ETC

USB Options

SIX USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT)

Hard Drive 1

SATA II 250 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache

Hard Drive 2

NONE

Raid

NONE

CD Writer/Combi Drive

16x +/- DVD WRITER (8x +/- Dual Lyr) (5x DVD-RAM) (40x CD-RW) (£19)

DVD ROM

NONE

CD/DVD Writer

NONE

Graphics Card 1

512MB GEFORCE 6600 PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT

Graphics Card 2

NONE

Sound

HIGH END ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL SOUND (RECOMMENDED)

Modem

NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Network Facilities

10/100 NETWORK CARD FOR BROADBAND - AS STANDARD

Floppy Disk Drive

INTERNAL 7 IN 1 CARD READER WITH 1.44MB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

Memory Card Reader

NONE

Case

Stylish Silver/Black Sigma case + 2 front USB

Power Supply & Cooling

500W (Peak) Super Quiet Dual Rail PSU with 120mm fan (£25)

OS Required

MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® XP PRO (inc. Genuine CD & licence) (£95)

Firewire

3 PORT FIREWIRE CARD. (£9)

Monitor

HIGH END TFT: 19 INCH SILVER/BLACK: 8MS + DVI! (£149)

Keyboard

Logitech® Cordless Keybrd + Rechargeable Mouse Sil/Bk (Pre-Order Only)

Mouse

NONE

Speakers

NONE

Printer

NONE

Anti Virus

NONE

Office

NONE

TV Card

Digital TV Card (Freeview/Radio/Remote/Pause Live TV) (Special: £32)

Warranty

1 Year Return-to-Base Warranty + 1 Month Free Collect & Return

Price (excluding VAT)

£840.00

Price

£987.00

Order Quantity

1

Bulk discount

£0

Total order price (Ex VAT)

£840.00

Total order Price


£987.00





I shall add a Western 300gb external
hdd which is networkable ex overclocking


and use my current hdd as a slave, transferring data via a usb cable etc to the laptop. Will probably still need help in transferring all the "little" things - bookmarks etc - and setting up new users/websites/transferring emails (definitely!) but feel much better future proofed thanks to you all. As a (nearly) silver age but not yet granny, I'm very grateful - started programming with minis in the early 70s, when most of you probably weren't born! Did think of RAID 1 but decided that external back-up and networking, allowing the laptop to be backed up as well, was probably better.

Will let you know how I get on - any other ideas that I might adopt? Enjoy yourselves!
 
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