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OK peeps, need a bit of help on this one!
Not in a massive rush just yet, 'coz won't be off to uni (hopefully) till next September. However, I'm currently viewing my options with regards to a computer system to take.
Now, I've applied to do computer science, and am an avid gamer, so the machine needs to be something of a brute. My budget will be around £2000, so this shouldn't be a problem. There appears to be two possible options:
1) Get a laptop
2) Buy the parts and build a PC
Now, I've just totted up a few figures, and at this moment in time a P4 3.2 with 1024mb DDR400 RAM, Radeon 9800 XT 256Mb, 160gig SATA HDD, 17inch TFT with all the trimmings will set me back about £1500.
A P4 3.2gig laptop with 1024mb DDR333 RAM, 9600 128mb, 80gig HDD and 17" widescreen will cost me closer to £2000. So, the advantages of building a PC are obvious - get a lot more for a lot less.
However, a few concerns with building a PC:
1)Transferring data to and from home won't be as simple as taking a laptop home.
2)Security. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable leaving the PC at uni when I pop home for weekends or whatever. I could ofcourse bring it home with me, but then that'll mean unplugging it, sticking it in the car etc...
Grr...decisions, decisions! To most, this would probably be a trivial matter and I expect getting a laptop would be the more popular choice. But the prospect of having so much more grunt, which is future-proof also is oh-so tempting...
Any words of wisdom? :)
Not in a massive rush just yet, 'coz won't be off to uni (hopefully) till next September. However, I'm currently viewing my options with regards to a computer system to take.
Now, I've applied to do computer science, and am an avid gamer, so the machine needs to be something of a brute. My budget will be around £2000, so this shouldn't be a problem. There appears to be two possible options:
1) Get a laptop
2) Buy the parts and build a PC
Now, I've just totted up a few figures, and at this moment in time a P4 3.2 with 1024mb DDR400 RAM, Radeon 9800 XT 256Mb, 160gig SATA HDD, 17inch TFT with all the trimmings will set me back about £1500.
A P4 3.2gig laptop with 1024mb DDR333 RAM, 9600 128mb, 80gig HDD and 17" widescreen will cost me closer to £2000. So, the advantages of building a PC are obvious - get a lot more for a lot less.
However, a few concerns with building a PC:
1)Transferring data to and from home won't be as simple as taking a laptop home.
2)Security. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable leaving the PC at uni when I pop home for weekends or whatever. I could ofcourse bring it home with me, but then that'll mean unplugging it, sticking it in the car etc...
Grr...decisions, decisions! To most, this would probably be a trivial matter and I expect getting a laptop would be the more popular choice. But the prospect of having so much more grunt, which is future-proof also is oh-so tempting...
Any words of wisdom? :)
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You have a few options really, with £2000 you could get a top spec pc and a low spec lappie then you have the best of both worlds? or you could get a good lappie with good graphics (for gaming) and the buy a large screen good keyboard and mouse and leave the screen, mouse and keyboard at uni and take the lappie home then when you go back to uni you could just plug the lappie into the monitor, keyboard and mouse and your off, If you want a pc that you can carry around with you then just wack a handle on the top of a case, you can also buy pc straps, you have so many choices, is this £2000 one of those loans that uni's do for a pc?
Colin
Colin
Although the shuttle are nice little pc's there expansion is low, the AGP slot has enough room for a lowish spec video card with a smallish heatsink and fan on it and there is only 1 PCI slot, also it is not ideal for overclocking as there is not good enough cooling for it.
Colin
Colin
Thanks for that bit of input there Icarus, leaning towards building a PC now. Just read a review of the Shuttle XPC SB75G2 - a P4-based shuttle with a gorgeous black finish (always wanted an all-black PC - looks more expensive).
Features an 80mm case fan, 40mm northbridge fan and some fancy 'ICE heatpipe system'. Mag is called Custom PC and is well into overclocking and they say they easily overclocked their P4 2.6Ghz to 3.32Ghz, with an FSB speed of 255MHz and says it has no overheating problems - impressive. It does however mention that it's a bit noisy when overclocked, and I probably wouldn't do such a thing to my rig anyway.
Might be leaning towards a solution here...
Features an 80mm case fan, 40mm northbridge fan and some fancy 'ICE heatpipe system'. Mag is called Custom PC and is well into overclocking and they say they easily overclocked their P4 2.6Ghz to 3.32Ghz, with an FSB speed of 255MHz and says it has no overheating problems - impressive. It does however mention that it's a bit noisy when overclocked, and I probably wouldn't do such a thing to my rig anyway.
Might be leaning towards a solution here...
Mm, shuttles are good, prone to overheating though. Anyway, I think Yuke' post has decided it for you; get a desktop PC that can run the latest games, possibly matching or exceeding the specs on your existing one. Then, buy a mobile storage device, like a 256MB USB keyring drive, or even a mobile hard drive, to transfer data. I think that seems to be the best solution, seeing as unis have everything you need nowadays.
Just in case you do decide to go the route of laptops; I have two at the moment, one for gaming and the other is ultra portable for transport. This one is a Centrino, which with your budget you can afford. The problem with this is that you can't play any 3D games on it, having no 3D card. Bear in mind that if you want a gamng laptop, it might be too heavy to carry around all day.
Still think the desktop is the way though.
Just in case you do decide to go the route of laptops; I have two at the moment, one for gaming and the other is ultra portable for transport. This one is a Centrino, which with your budget you can afford. The problem with this is that you can't play any 3D games on it, having no 3D card. Bear in mind that if you want a gamng laptop, it might be too heavy to carry around all day.
Still think the desktop is the way though.
Yukikaze wrote:
> I'd go for a desktop PC though and not a laptop. Whilst it is a pain
> and risk leaving it at Uni when you are not there, there is an equal
> chance of simply having the laptop stolen as you carry it around or
> if left anywhere. Plus most Uni sites have tons of PC's so you won't
> need (hopefully) a PC whilst at the Uni but just when back at your
> place.
I'll hopefully be heading off to Bath Uni (unless Nottingham really impresses me when I head up there next month), where the Comp Sci department has no actual labs - there is one central place with loads of computers for everyone to use.
> I'd still go for a cheaper system though if it's being left at Uni
> because the kind of things you will do will not stretch any decent
> modern system one bit. Also the PC will still be moved around a bit -
> at the very least the end of each term. Even most games are not that
> demanding on most decent systems today. Still, your money!
I'll certainly take out insurance for whatever I get, so that helps in that respect I 'spose.
Just been looking at Shuttle case-based machines. A viable option certainly. :/
> I'd go for a desktop PC though and not a laptop. Whilst it is a pain
> and risk leaving it at Uni when you are not there, there is an equal
> chance of simply having the laptop stolen as you carry it around or
> if left anywhere. Plus most Uni sites have tons of PC's so you won't
> need (hopefully) a PC whilst at the Uni but just when back at your
> place.
I'll hopefully be heading off to Bath Uni (unless Nottingham really impresses me when I head up there next month), where the Comp Sci department has no actual labs - there is one central place with loads of computers for everyone to use.
> I'd still go for a cheaper system though if it's being left at Uni
> because the kind of things you will do will not stretch any decent
> modern system one bit. Also the PC will still be moved around a bit -
> at the very least the end of each term. Even most games are not that
> demanding on most decent systems today. Still, your money!
I'll certainly take out insurance for whatever I get, so that helps in that respect I 'spose.
Just been looking at Shuttle case-based machines. A viable option certainly. :/
Transferring data between home and university may not be a problem, Nottingham Trent Uni (where I am) gives everyone 100mb storage space on university servers which can then, with your uni password and id, be accessed from any internet based pc, and you can load/download to it at will. We also have most PCs with USB ports for USB minidrives and many PCs have CD writers on them.
I'd go for a desktop PC though and not a laptop. Whilst it is a pain and risk leaving it at Uni when you are not there, there is an equal chance of simply having the laptop stolen as you carry it around or if left anywhere. Plus most Uni sites have tons of PC's so you won't need (hopefully) a PC whilst at the Uni but just when back at your place.
I'd still go for a cheaper system though if it's being left at Uni because the kind of things you will do will not stretch any decent modern system one bit. Also the PC will still be moved around a bit - at the very least the end of each term. Even most games are not that demanding on most decent systems today. Still, your money!
I'd go for a desktop PC though and not a laptop. Whilst it is a pain and risk leaving it at Uni when you are not there, there is an equal chance of simply having the laptop stolen as you carry it around or if left anywhere. Plus most Uni sites have tons of PC's so you won't need (hopefully) a PC whilst at the Uni but just when back at your place.
I'd still go for a cheaper system though if it's being left at Uni because the kind of things you will do will not stretch any decent modern system one bit. Also the PC will still be moved around a bit - at the very least the end of each term. Even most games are not that demanding on most decent systems today. Still, your money!
Wow, nice response - thanks peeps!
Well this PC I'm on now will always stay at home and will get upgraded as and when new kit comes out really. It's not part of the equation.
The spec I've mentioned for both a self-build system and a laptop are just current top-of-the-range specs. In reality, I'll probably wait til Summer-time til I acquire the system to get the latest kit.
gamezfreak, I'm not after a budget system. My budget will cater for the top-spec stuff, which is what I want.
Adrian, nice point about being able to use a laptop outside my room, but the thing about coming home at weekends was just an example. I'll be based at the uni most of the time.
Tigamilla, little concerned about your experiences with laptop reliability - anyone else shed any light on this?
Miserableman - I don't expect the system I get to much, if any, faster than my home PC.
gamezfreak - yeah, will defo have this PC at home, and the other system for uni. Nice idea about the USB HDD though.
Thanks for the input peeps. Still in two mind though. :/
Well this PC I'm on now will always stay at home and will get upgraded as and when new kit comes out really. It's not part of the equation.
The spec I've mentioned for both a self-build system and a laptop are just current top-of-the-range specs. In reality, I'll probably wait til Summer-time til I acquire the system to get the latest kit.
gamezfreak, I'm not after a budget system. My budget will cater for the top-spec stuff, which is what I want.
Adrian, nice point about being able to use a laptop outside my room, but the thing about coming home at weekends was just an example. I'll be based at the uni most of the time.
Tigamilla, little concerned about your experiences with laptop reliability - anyone else shed any light on this?
Miserableman - I don't expect the system I get to much, if any, faster than my home PC.
gamezfreak - yeah, will defo have this PC at home, and the other system for uni. Nice idea about the USB HDD though.
Thanks for the input peeps. Still in two mind though. :/
Wait lemme get this straight, you want a PC for home AND uni right?
How about keeping your uber fast one at home, building another and purchase a USB harddrive to transfer data ?
How about keeping your uber fast one at home, building another and purchase a USB harddrive to transfer data ?
Turbonutter wrote:
> We all want faster systems. When I boot up with 1.7ghz by accident
> (instead of 2.2) I really notice the difference. I just guess you
> want something you can live with.
Actually, apart from hard disk speed and internet connection speed, I'm pretty happy with my XP2000 and particularly my Radeon 8500. I'm going to install Beyond Good And Evil later today, so maybe the goalposts will shift by tomorrow :O)
> We all want faster systems. When I boot up with 1.7ghz by accident
> (instead of 2.2) I really notice the difference. I just guess you
> want something you can live with.
Actually, apart from hard disk speed and internet connection speed, I'm pretty happy with my XP2000 and particularly my Radeon 8500. I'm going to install Beyond Good And Evil later today, so maybe the goalposts will shift by tomorrow :O)
Uncle Albert wrote:
> Hmm, maybe. Mind you, I'm using an Xp2800, with 1024mb DDR and a 9800
> pro at the mo, and that still isn't fast enough for me.
No computer on Earth is significantly faster than that. No game or application is going to bring that computer down (where it wouldn't kill any computer you could buy today). If you consider that PC to be too slow, well, you know what they say about a fool and his money. Certainly, the percentage difference in speed between your current PC and the PC you're considering buying would be measured in low single digits.
You could alternatively spend top dorrah on a nice laptop, but it still wouldn't play games all that well. And it would be a thief-magnet at University.
> Hmm, maybe. Mind you, I'm using an Xp2800, with 1024mb DDR and a 9800
> pro at the mo, and that still isn't fast enough for me.
No computer on Earth is significantly faster than that. No game or application is going to bring that computer down (where it wouldn't kill any computer you could buy today). If you consider that PC to be too slow, well, you know what they say about a fool and his money. Certainly, the percentage difference in speed between your current PC and the PC you're considering buying would be measured in low single digits.
You could alternatively spend top dorrah on a nice laptop, but it still wouldn't play games all that well. And it would be a thief-magnet at University.
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