Page 1 of HELP! - I`m looking to buy my first computer......

I`ve got about £1,000 to spend (well, I could stretch to a bit more but would rather stick to £1k), and want a computer and printer (preferably colour).
I will use it for e-mail, internet, word, excel, a bit of photo editing (just basic stuff, cropping, lightening/darkening - yes, I`m looking to buy a digital camera too) and copying cd`s (to make my own collections - do you have loads of cds with just one song on that you like, or is that just me?), but that`s it. I probably won`t do much printing, and only the occasional photo, as I`ll probably take a cd or camera card into my local camera shop/Boots to print the photos I want. So I know I`ll need a card reader/writer, and a cd reader/writer. I also know I don`t want to go to Dixons/PC World as they will just sell me the package they want to sell, rather than the computer I want - I`m happy to order on line, but will need to know what specifications to request.
Oh, and by the way, I don`t know much techincally about computers!

Thanks everybody.


katiekins

I would suggest your best bet is to go to a local supplier who`ll listen to what you want and custom build a machine for you. It might cost you fractionally more than a pc from, say, Dell or Evesham, but it`ll almost definitely be worth it.

Do you know any people locally who`d be able to point you in the right direction?

Good call about avoiding Dixons & PC World, by the way! ;)

Katiekins

You are already doing the right thing by avoiding PC World and Dixons (who I am sure are very nice people but are thieving gits when it comes to prices).

First thing to do is grab a copy of Micro Mart and maybe some of the other mags such as computer shopper. Just by looking at the ads you will gain a fair understanding of what you can get and for how much. Then select a "build-your-own" system from someone who looks respectible (you don`t actually "build-you-own", they will do it for you to your spec) If I was you I would be looking at:

Pentium 4, from 2.4 to 3Ghz
at least 512 Mb of DDR Ram
at least 64Mb Geforce 4 3d Graphics Card (probably something much better tho)
120Gb Hard Drive
DVD-Rom
CD Rewriter (Better to have a seperate CD and DVD rather than a combi, for on the fly copies)
a 17" LCD Monitor (much better than a traditional CRT, 17" cost upwards of £270, but probably a bit cheaper if you buy a PC too!)
Spend about £200 on the Digital Camera, at least 4 megapixels CCD
Windows XP operating system
Microsoft Office XP (borrow a mates!)
Paint Shop Pro 8 (for photo editing, again from a mate)

When you`ve got all that, sign up for Broadband for about £23 a month (pipex, zen plus others....NOT AOL!!!) and they will give you a modem and microfilters free (microfilters connect to other phones in the house) The modem will connect to a free USB port on the back or front of the PC base unit. Do that, and you will have access to everything else free, if you know what I mean. :D

Hope this helps

for a first pc,dell were advtzng in the times at weekend, an online special,
17" FLAT PANEL MONITOR, 40 GIG HARDRIVE,256 MEMORY, POWERFUL PROCESSOR AND DVD WRITER,INC SPEAKERS ETC, FOR A RIDICULOUS
£521.00 INC. VAT AND DELIVERY!!!! A BARGAIN,IT HAS TO BE.
its reached the stage where its almost cheaoer to buy a new one rather than upgrade. 8)

Whatever you dont buy from TIME COMPUTERS OR COMPUTER WORLD rip off merchants .
Also stay clear of AOL at all costs as a previous post has said.
Your local shop if you have one is a good bet with some history behind them.

I cant believe I am about to say this, but if you are new to computers, and dont have a geeky friend to pester about it, you may be best buying that dell mentioned above. The thing you have to remember with dells (etc) is that you are paying a premium for support, and for those of us who aren`t going to use it, that is money wasted, but if you think you may use it then.... worth thinking about anyway.

Other than that, for a first computer I wouldnt spend that £1000, more like £500-£600, then upgrade it if you decide you are going to use it. The big thing to think about is gaming, if you are not worried about that, then you can be along way back from the cutting edge. I would look at an AMD XP processor as well, they tend to be cheaper, and you will get more performance at that price point. There are always arguments about who is quicker at the top end, but at that price, i would go AMD.

Tom

Thanks for all the posts so far. I`ve been into my local independent computer shop and had a word with a geeky chap there, who recommended the following:
ATX MIDI TOWER
AMD ATHLON 2200XP PROCESSOR
ASROCK K7VT2 SDRAM133 OR 266DDR/LAN/AUDIO/USB2
ON BOARD SOUND
256MB 266MHZ DDR MEMORY
40GB HARD DRIVE
52 SPEED CD-ROM PLUS CD-RW
32MB ON-BOARD GRAPHICS + AGP PORT
120 WATT SPEAKERS
FLOPPY DRIVE
CORDLESS OPTICAL MOUSE AND CORDLESS KEYBOARD
WINDOWS XP HOME OPERATING SYSTEM
15" TFT FLAT SCREEN
56K INTERNAL MODEM
MS OFFICE SMALL BUSINESS
CANNON i350 PRINTER
MCAFEE VIRUS SOFTWARE
CARD READER AND WRITER FOR DIGITAL CAMERA
£1206.97 INC VAT

This seems rather expensive though, but does include 5 years warranty support (not on site), and no photo-editing software. What do you think? I know this is my first home computer, but I do use one at work and have come into a bit of money, so don`t mind spending up to the grand. Also will not be using it for games, just as listed in first post.

Thanks again for all the help.

katiekins

You could probably save a little bit by downgrading some items, the 120 watt speakers or the cordless mouse & keyboard, for example. Alternatively, try another supplier if there`s one available.

That is alot of money!!!!!

at this site: www.novatech.co.uk

You can get a AthlonXP 2600+, 80GIG HD, DVD-R copier, 512MB memory, windowsXP and a LCD monitor with money left over.

Check it out.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st October 2003, 15:25

£1206.97 sounds very expensive for the kind of system he`s trying to sell you. There must be something in there that`s bumping up the price, because the spec of the PC itself (40GB hard drive, onboard graphics, 256MB RAM - what, not even a DVD drive?) is pretty low-end by today`s standards. Do you especially want a TFT screen, for example? It`s a matter of personal preference, but I`d sooner get a decent 17 or 19 inch traditional monitor than a dinky 15 inch TFT.

You really need to go round multiple shops and compare prices. Sadly, many retailers (both big chains and independents) will take advantage of the fact that you`re a beginner, and will attempt to sell you an overpriced system that`s unsuitable for your needs.

You could even check out the local supermarket - I`ve seen some pretty respectable-looking PC packages in Tesco, for example. If it`s your first computer, buying an `off-the-shelf` system like this has definite advantages, and is probably less hassle than dealing with Honest Joe`s PC Supplies or whatever.

Finally, don`t make the mistake of compromising on the digital camera in order to get a flashy PC (which you really don`t need). Personally, I`d get the best camera you can afford, then worry about the PC afterwards.

Mike

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st October 2003, 15:58