Viewing Thread:
"Need a PC for uni"

Could anyone give me some advice on buying a new PC. I'm going to uni is September and need a PC for then. Was gonna wait till just before I go to get a better spec PC for around the same price but then saw this-

AMD Athlon XP (TM) 2400+ with Quantispeed Technology
256Mb PC2100 DDR Memory (266MHz
1.44MB Floppy Drive
40Gb Ultra Fast with 2Mb Buffer (7200rpm)
128MB nVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
15'' Sharp TFT Flat Panel Monitor with Built-in Stereo Speakers (Analogue)
16x DVD-ROM Drive (40x CD-ROM)
Logitech Internet Keyboard & Optical Mouse (Black
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

For a few quid over £600 inc VAT and delivery.

Was thinking this was pretty good and that I should buy it. I'm not bothered by the slightly small hard drive or getting a better graphics card etc. The PC is made by a reputable company not some weird obscure make.

So is this a good deal for what it is?

I still stand by my original position though - if you're after a budget PC, you don't want one with a TFT screen as they are double the price of an equivalent CRT (unless you really need the space).

Memorandum wrote:
> Miserableman wrote:
> Not bad, but the focus is in all the wrong places - why such a
> noisy,
> fast graphics card when the monitor that comes with it doesn't like
> moving images?
>
> FX5200's are crap.


I made the mistake of thinking that all GeforceFX's were top-end cards, shows how much attention I pay to nVidia these day \o/

heh and 5600's..

Miserableman wrote:
> Not bad, but the focus is in all the wrong places - why such a noisy,
> fast graphics card when the monitor that comes with it doesn't like
> moving images?

FX5200's are crap.

Microchips wrote:
> Or you could:
>
> -Host it on the net
> -Burn to CD
> -Burn to DVD
> -Zip and email it.
> -External HD
>
> There's many ways of getting data from a desktop back home, you don't
> just need a Laptop.

Yeah I know that, but for Uni a laptop could be ideal. If your away from home then you need to pack up the PC and then take it home with you. Laptops are portable so you can easily put it in a bag and get on a train. Would you really want to be using a train when your trying to transport a £1000 desktop PC?

If you were living at home then yes get a desktop and transport files via floppy, CD, Zip etc. But if your away then a laptop may be alot easier.

Laptops are seriously nifty, although expensive. If you can afford a laptop they're absolutely ideal for University - no method of sending or hosting data beats being able to carry your whole desktop around with you. Laptops are small, extremely quiet and these days are more than powerful enough to run Windows. I would recommend getting one with a reasonable graphics card built in though, not so much to play games but more to give Windows that added kick up the backside - my gf's Vaio has some puny 8MB onboard offering, and struggles with some of Windows more dynamic elements.

Or you could:

-Host it on the net
-Burn to CD
-Burn to DVD
-Zip and email it.
-External HD

There's many ways of getting data from a desktop back home, you don't just need a Laptop.

Seriously think about a Laptop instead of a desktop PC. My friend went away to Uni and got a Laptop. He said its the best thing he ever bought, why because its portable. Think your at Uni and your going home for the weekend, if you have a desktop then you got to pack it all up and if you havent got a car or your parents arent picking you up your stuck. Laptop can be put in a bag and you can carry it while on a train or bus.

I'd head on over to dell.co.uk before Wednesday next week if I were you- they have free double memory and Free Double HDD Capacity (Ie. 120Gb for the price of 60Gb!). You can save loads of money.

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> I would wait. The 2400+ is getting a bit old now in processor terms.
> For literally a few pounds more you could get a 2600+. And it is a
> small hard drive.

An XP2400 will blow the doors off Windows for many years to come, unless they inject a criminal amount of bloatware. The hard disk isn't so spacious compared to many other offerings, but just roll it around on your tongue for a bit:

40GB
40 gigabytes
forty gigabytes...

There's not a lot you can't do with 40GB of storage

> Look around a bit more, and don't be fooled by things like TFT
> monitors. They add a lot to the price if they arre decent and if they
> are cheaper ones then they are likely to be nasty. I would rather have
> a 19" CRT than a 15" TFT.

Agreed. If you want a budget PC you don't want a TFT monitor, particularly when about 1/3rd the value of the system is in the graphics card.

> It doesn't even have a CD RW. And a 52x one of them is only £40.
> Better deals out there.

Yeh. Ideally that machine would have a lesser graphics card, and/or a CRT monitor, although a TFT is very nice for Windows apps. Personally, I'd rather have a 19" CRT, but space may well be at an utter premium in your tiny University room. The money saved by downgrading the graphics card could be put into a CDRW, more memory, general better quality of components or just by reducing the price.