Fjool Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 So this week the wife's PC coughed and died (it's probably the HD) and I discovered that my dad's ancient motherboard only supports USB 1.0 and, hence, will not supply enough power to / isn't compatible with the wifi dongles we have. Since my own PC is old and getting a bit clunky, it's upgrade time! Found this site which looks really good for such tasks: http://www.lambda-tek.com/computing/pcdesigner.htm Anyone used this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Just tried it out now, seems to be pretty comprehensive but I'm not sure if it means you are buying all from one site or if they are going around many sites to get the best deal. Good if they are, if not you could probably pick up the components cheaper if you're prepared to build it yourself. Anyway, here's my dream machine: http://www.lambda-tek.com/computing/pcdesigner.pl?cart=%0ACPU%09B96483%091%0AMOTHERBOARD%091407761%091%0AMEMORY%09B89245%091%0AGRAPHICSCARD%09B101134%091%0ACASE%09B94079%091%0APSU%09B80379%091%0AHDD%09B92839%091%0ADISC%09B85474%091%0AMONITOR%09B75525%091%0AKEYBOARD%09B94749%091%0A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted June 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Your monitor is pretty much half the cost of that system! I have been using Lambda-Tek piece together some ideas. They're selling the items themselves though, so it's only their own prices they provide. Places like eBuyer.com (thanks J) seem a bit more competitive overall if you know what you want. Since I'm building it myself but don't want to buy from multiple different places, I'm probably going to order from ebuyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifi Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 So this week the wife's PC coughed and died (it's probably the HD) and I discovered that my dad's ancient motherboard only supports USB 1.0 and, hence, will not supply enough power to / isn't compatible with the wifi dongles we have.I read that as 'wife's dongles'.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Your monitor is pretty much half the cost of that system! Since I'm building it myself but don't want to buy from multiple different places, I'm probably going to order from ebuyer.And that's without VAT. But think of it... 30" of hi-res widescreen loveliness, just imagine Oblivion, maxed out, on that baby (drool). I think the GFX card would just about handle it. Seriously tho', I've always been puzzled by people who build a high spec games machine then cripple it with a crappy little monitor to save money. I think it's far better to go for the biggest, best monitor you can afford even if it means compromising on the specs of the rest of the machine, after all, the rest of the machine will be out of date (for gaming anyway) in 2-3 years whereas a good monitor will last you 10 years. I'm typing this on a computer I built 3 years ago using a 21" CRT made 10 years ago which I got off ebay in 2001, the best computer buy I ever made. Another thing, before you buy anything I would advise you to get a hold of Custom PC magazine. They have an excellent section where they recommend the best kit they have reviewed in the last year or so with recommended products in budget, medium and high-end categories, also I think this months edition has a mobo supertest ( I haven't got it yet). Anyway, happy shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 And another thing, unless you're after bleeding edge technology, I would advise you to grab that graphics card Bonobo35 is flogging in the small ads section. You won't get better for the same money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted June 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Unfortunately my budget hasn't stretched to the level of Bonobo's card this time, but at least I have the upgrade capability now. I agree with you on the monitor thing. I'm currently using a reasonable 19" at both home and work, but they're both CRT and getting long-in-the-tooth. Perfectly functional and a shame to dispose of though. Infact, my home monitor was a cast off from one of the local colleges, who could barely give them away. I've been mulling over a flatscreen for my new PC, but this monitor is just fine for now and it really does keep the cost down to stick with existing parts where possible. If I had the space and money, I can't say that monitor wouldn't be very tempting I've ordered some parts on the recommendation of a colleague and they look promising. Should be a huge improvement over a similarly priced Dell, and with less of the crap that goes with them. I even spoke to a Dell sales-minion this weekend and asked him why I couldn't get one of their boxes without all the crap (rubbish keyboard, mouse, 'free' software...); he wasn't interested: 'But it costs just the same, it's free'. How can it possibly be free to have this stuff mined, manufactured and moved? Dell's attitude is just to take it and throw it away if you don't want it, etc.. I told him what I thought of that idea. Not going to buy any PCs from them until they start selling them without the shameless heaps of sharn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I agree with you on the crappiness of Dell budget boxes. Dad bought one a couple of years ago which I recently opened up to install a DVD-writer. It didn't even have an AGP slot let alone PCI-E! And the less said about the Keyboard and mouse... Dad's happy enough with it tho'. It does him for e-mail, t'web and occasional photo-editing. Horses for courses I suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 A word of warning about widescreen monitors. Looked great on the website of a major company compared with my 17" crt but although the monitor looks great now.........with most programs.......I had to update the graphics cards on both my Windows and Linux computers and even now I am only able to get the best screen resolution on the Linux machine with a lot of work and for some versions of Linux I just had to give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcdilly-Willy Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Save money and stick Ubuntu or Sabayon Linux on your machine Fjool, must save about £60-£70 on windows? Have a look on ebay aswell, there are some great deals on CPU's etc. I wouldn't say the DELL are the only computer manufacturer that pack their machines full of bloat, far from it - It's a common practice among every company, theres no way around it. Although I have to say that DELL's ubuntu computers are reasonable value - And no bloat that I'm aware of... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted July 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Thanks for the suggestions! Going with Linux is a good idea but, unfortunately I have to go with a Windows environment for many reasons, not least of which being that I develop Windows software and also rely on Terminal Services to connect to my work environment. Perhaps Ubuntu would let me drive my remote desktop...? I've no idea. bloat ... It's a common practice among every company, theres no way around it.Apart from to shun them entirely and build the PC for one's self. They probably are all as bad but Dell, as one of the market leaders, has a greater responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roachmill Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Dell also have a really annoying habit of using their own custom connectors on things like fans and CPUs. So, when you want to upgrade yer hardware, you can easy find yourself in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted July 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Although I have to say that DELL's ubuntu computers are reasonable value - And no bloat that I'm aware of...Interestingly, the Ubuntu PCs are amongst the few deals which Dell do that don't force you to take a keyboard and mouse. They still charge the same price however, which is silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medziotojas Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 So this week the wife's PC coughed and died (it's probably the HD) My laptop has just given up the ghost; also the HD I suspect. I am snowed under with work at the moment which means I can't get at it. I'm currently running my system from a Linux CD and saving my documents to a USB storage device. I guess I'm also going to have to look at a new setup, but with a trip to Shetland planned for next month it really couldn't have happened at a worse time. Ach weel, such is life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstevens Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 I wouldn't normally promote Linux to people who don't want it, but I do regularly use it to connect to windows servers running terminal services without any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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