Okay, i imagine youve guessed i need a new Puter. This time thought a PC. Dell have some March sales going on. Does any one know something i should?

Build one yourself. Much MUCH better. And if you know where to shop, cheaper too.

When I built this PC it was worth about 7 or 800, cost me about 500 to build.

I could, but i dont want to because:

1) Although i know how to, i dont trust myself.
2) I don't have the time to build one.
3) I need a half decent warranty.

Mainly, its the time thing thats stopping me.

Fair do's, but It takes less than an hour to build a PC really. Hmm, i have a link for you derf.

Shit no i don't, it went off offer.

There was a dirt cheap computer, good specs, on off here, linked to from the cAD forums.

http://uk.aldi.com/

Twas in the special buys section. But now tis gone. It was about 600 quid.

Aldi? Talk about your typical computer stockist!

Yeh well, it probably takes about an hour to build, but what about doing all the reasearch and spending time to find the best and cheapest parts? Thats what scares me.

you want my tip? save up quite i bit of cash. The find a computer fare (Spring is nearly here, so it's fare time) Take the time out to go there on the last day. (especially if it's a touring fare, the last location, the last day) They will be trying to get rid of stock fast. Cheap cheap cheap. AND you can haggles.

even if you never end up using the parts, you can sell them on eBay for more than you paid.

You see, i cant save up because im not working. Im on university money so ill have to keep it low.

jeez, bitch bitch bitch....

word of advice...for the cheap OEM computers (Dell, Gateway, etc etc etc) it's hard to impossible to build a machine for cheaper. I'm talking about their low end stuff. The reason is the bastards by cheap shit, and they buy it in bulk.

So...you spend $700 for a complete system...and you get what you pay for. 2 pci slots (if you're lucky), integrated video, integrated sound, the cheapest monitor available, a shitty printer that gobbles ink. The OS is installed, Windows XP home, preinstalled with software from 30 different vendors who're paying the OEM to put their limited products on there in the hope the PC user will want to pay them to upgrade. Except that, there're 30 different producst. Some conflict with others, they all spam the registry with crap, the computer boots slow as shit.

You have 2 ram slots, one of which has a 128 (maybe 256) MB chip, the slowest, dirt cheap DDR ram on the market. The power supply is something insane, like a 217 watt PS custom built to push EXACTLY what's in the machine and not an ounce more.

So...anyway...good luck gaming with a crappy low level OEM box. But do they make gaming boxes? Of course they do! For 2-3x the price of what it would cost to build one yourself. As for warranties...I believe the standard Dell warranty is like 30-90 days (somewhere in there). After that, you hvae to pay for support. But if you buy the parts yourself, they come with manufacturer's warranties....most of which are around a year.

bleh....I'm droning. Anyway, OEM machines are a rip off, be warned.

Hey, I have an idea, little of topic but just a suggestion.

Make a thread sticky, with a few variences of top end PC stats that people should aim for if they are making a top ender. That way people could use it as a guide.

The reason I say variences, is simply because some people prefer GeForce instead of Radeon, etc etc.

Provide links to each peice of equipment etc. Maybe do a mid range and a low leveler too, and then just edit the post as technology advances.

yeesh...that's alot of work.

Besides the gefroce/radeon thing, there's...

intel/AMD

32bit/64bit

nforce/via/whatever

etc etc...plus the crap changes so fast, any guide would be out of date in a matter of months.

If someone wants to post the stats of a high end modern system, feel free, and I'll counterpoint. We can even sticky it if the quality is there. Only problem is it won't be accurate for long.

Fire alarm went off at uni, so i had to interrupt my reply, go home, get food, come back and here i am...

Okay, ive ordered a low(ish)-range Dell Dimension 5000.

SPECS
--------

>>>Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 530 with HT technology (3.00GHz, 800MHz fsb, 1MB cache)

>>> 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 400MHz [2x512]

>>>160GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurstâ„¢ cache

>>>128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SEâ„¢ with TVout & DVI

>>>Dell 1704FP 17" UltraSharpTM Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand

>>>16x max. DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability

>>>Sound Blaster® Live! 24-bit ADVANCED HD™ Sound Card

>>>Dell A425 Midnight Grey speakers with subwoofer

>>>Bits 'n' bobs

Price ~ £650

hehe...not with that video card. :p

Nah, sounds like a decent system. If I may be so bold, I suggest you format the hard drive and install a base copy of XP the minute you get it. OEM-installed OS's tend to suck (for reasons outlined above).

and in my layman's opinion: make it a XP professional one, too.