Semi-Decent PC/laptop for multimedia? ?330 max budget

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

Hi guys, I sold my old gaming PC a few months back. But now I need a laptop or a PC (refurbished or new) for a maximum budget of ?330. I'm not looking to play the new or to come out games. Just something that'll play PR with a decent FPS rate, and do media tasks.

If it's desktop, then I'll possibly need a new monitor too, but that all depends on my budget after purchasing, I could possibly make up to ?90 for a monitor after the PC. But I'd rather have a laptop.

Now, I've seen the Dell inspiron M5030 for ?300 and the spec is as followed:
Dell Inspiron M5030 Black - AMD Athlon P320 2.1GHz 2GB 250GB 15.6" Win7HP 64Bit DVD/RW webcam 1YR 5 - Laptops Direct

However, I'm not a hardware guy - so any help would be great! Alternatively, if you've got a rig laying about you'd be willing to shift and sell for the price I'm looking at. Hook me up!



Regards,
Ross.

[karambaitos]

that needs more ram

and this GPU doesnt cut it, only has 256mb dedicated ram, it runs SC2 on low at 60 FPS, but thats SC2
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250,

have the same CPU and GPU, just with 4gb DDR3 and it doesnt really cut it in games, its great for office stuff though,

goodish laptops are from 400 dollars and up, ofcourse if you find an insane sale on one its always good
and then the ones which will do well in games are 800dollars and up.

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

that needs more ram

and this GPU doesnt cut it, only has 256mb dedicated ram, it runs SC2 on low at 60 FPS, but thats SC2
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250,

have the same CPU and GPU, just with 4gb DDR3 and it doesnt really cut it in games, its great for office stuff though,

goodish laptops are from 400 dollars and up, ofcourse if you find an insane sale on one its always good
and then the ones which will do well in games are 800dollars and up.

Aye, I should have done my research.

I've just been linked to an advert on gumtree - Dell Studio Desktop PC XPS 8100 i5 Processor 650 3.20GHz 6GB Ram and Acer 22 in Crawley, West Sussex | Desktops & Workstation PCs for Sale | Gumtree.com

I'll have the money thursday. This is a bargain and a half.

[Cossack]

Aye, I should have done my research.

I've just been linked to an advert on gumtree - Dell Studio Desktop PC XPS 8100 i5 Processor 650 3.20GHz 6GB Ram and Acer 22 in Crawley, West Sussex | Desktops & Workstation PCs for Sale | Gumtree.com

I'll have the money thursday. This is a bargain and a half.

Now that is even better.

[karambaitos]

Mcafee Security Centre

*runs in the corner and starts shivering*

thats a good PC for the price apart from the GPU, but it should have no problems with PR and source games
even with new games (not sure how well it would preform with ARMA2 though)

[ydderFx]

Hi guys, I sold my old gaming PC a few months back. But now I need a laptop or a PC (refurbished or new) for a maximum budget of ?330. I'm not looking to play the new or to come out games. Just something that'll play PR with a decent FPS rate, and do media tasks.

Ross.

I'd say save up another 200 or 300 pounds, and get a rig as opposed to a laptop. With 500-600 quid you can get a decent mid-gaming pc. You'll be able to run PR and Arma with no problems at all, plus doing media tasks would perfom much better on a rig.

I've made up a rig which would run most games medium-high settings and PR no problem running maxed out.

i5 2500k ?161.13
Asus P8P67 Pro R3 ?123.74
Corsair 4GB DDR3 XMS3 ?38.42
XFX 6870 ?139
Artic Cooling Freezer Pro ?15.09
Antec300 ?46.98
Antec TruePower 650W ?67.98
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD ?42.99
LiteOn DVDRW Sata Optical Drive ?14.99

Total: ?650.32

I'd deffinatley choose a desktop over a laptop. Laptops run very hot and cause lots of overheating issues. A good gaming laptop generally cost a lot for what you could get in a normal rig. If you spent 650 on a laptop you get no where near as good as performance as a rig.

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

I'd say save up another 200 or 300 pounds, and get a rig as opposed to a laptop. With 500-600 quid you can get a decent mid-gaming pc. You'll be able to run PR and Arma with no problems at all, plus doing media tasks would perfom much better on a rig.

I've made up a rig which would run most games medium-high settings and PR no problem running maxed out.

i5 2500k ?161.13
Asus P8P67 Pro R3 ?123.74
Corsair 4GB DDR3 XMS3 ?38.42
XFX 6870 ?139
Artic Cooling Freezer Pro ?15.09
Antec300 ?46.98
Antec TruePower 650W ?67.98
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD ?42.99
LiteOn DVDRW Sata Optical Drive ?14.99

Total: ?650.32

I'd deffinatley choose a desktop over a laptop. Laptops run very hot and cause lots of overheating issues. A good gaming laptop generally cost a lot for what you could get in a normal rig. If you spent 650 on a laptop you get no where near as good as performance as a rig.

The issue is, I regrettably didn't save enough last month. However, in the process of selling a custom BMX for 300, so I'd take up your advice

*runs in the corner and starts shivering*

thats a good PC for the price apart from the GPU, but it should have no problems with PR and source games
even with new games (not sure how well it would preform with ARMA2 though)

Oh yeah, the GPU would be a next month upgrade if I purchase it. So i'd probably just spend ?100 on a new GPU to ensure it's up to date.

Cheers for the comments, fellas. It is much appreciated.

Update: Just got confirmation that someone's interested in my BMX for ?300.

So I have ?650 to spend.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBOX-980-FX4 ... 7637wt_756

People's thoughts?

Another edit: Parents putting in ?150 for any upgrade, however, I'd prefer a decent monitor. What's good brands?

[Cossack]

For monitors, Samsung is pretty decent - I have my SyncMaster 226BW for 3-4 years and its still feels like brand new.

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

Ah Samsung, excellent. I will look into them. Thanks.

This is my current spec list on Arbico.co.uk. It will include an 24" Asus full HD monitor.


Thoughts?

[Pedz]

Ah Samsung, excellent. I will look into them. Thanks.

This is my current spec list on Arbico.co.uk. It will include an 24" Asus full HD monitor.

Thoughts?

If you can aim for a k processor, these sandy bridge processors are very capable of running overclocked 24/7, even if its only upto 3.8ghz, it will be useful down the line

Also as always its normally a choice between Dell or samsung monitors for me got an old dell 23" and now a samsung 27" (samsungs better, but its what you'd expect.. its newer xD)

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

If you can aim for a k processor, these sandy bridge processors are very capable of running overclocked 24/7, even if its only upto 3.8ghz, it will be useful down the line

Also as always its normally a choice between Dell or samsung monitors for me got an old dell 23" and now a samsung 27" (samsungs better, but its what you'd expect.. its newer xD)

Excuse my computer illiteracy, "A k processor" - can I ask what does this mean?

There's so much to choose. I just built this up till 785 which is just under my maximum I can spend.
Thoughts?

Case: Xigmatek Midgard Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 9MB Socket AM3 Processor
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Scorpion HDT-S1283 CPU Cooler
Optimisation and Tuning: Wired2Fire Overclocking
Graphics Card 1: Radeon HD5770 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Graphics Card 2: None
Memory: 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 x 2GB)
Motherboard: Asus M4A87TD EVO AMD 870 (Socket AM3) Motherboard (no XFire)
Hard Disk Drive One: Samsung 500GB Spinpoint F3 16MB Cache SATA II Hard Disk Drive
Hard Disk Drive Two: None
Optical Drive One: DVD-RW 22x
Optical Drive Two: None
Removable Storage: None
Sound Card: None
Speakers and Headsets: None
Monitor: Wired2Fire 22
Keyboard: Logitech Deluxe 250 Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech Optical Mouse
Miscellaneous Adapters: None
Software: None
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Build Options: Fast Build
Warranty: 2 Year Return to Base Warranty

[LITOralis.nMd]

The Intel SandyBridge family of processors have two models, i5-2500K and i7-2600K which are have unlocked multipliers, meaning you can overclock the CPUS as high as you want, (even past critical heat failure and meltdown),

I really suggest you try to build your own PC, firest off, it's good knowledge, secondly, you'll save a bundle, third, you can use the money you'd spend on the WIndows 7 OS to instead join the Microsoft Academic Alliance Developers Network, of the ACM,... INstead of paying ~100 quid for a single Windows 7 license, you can get 6 to 8 WIndows Server 2008 r2 licenses for ~ 20 to 40 quid. (not sure exact price in UK, it's only USD 30, which is like 2 Wimpy burgers in the UK)
Read this:
https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f358-s ... -win7.html
and this:
Convert your Windows Server 2008 R2 to a Workstation! -

IF you can get your OS for almost free through the above links, you can buy something like this
Gladiator Storm Intel Core i3 2100 @ 3.10GHz DDR3 Gaming PC - Aria PC
Price:

?429.66 inc. VAT
?358.05 exc. VAT

or this:
Gladiator Striker MKII Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.60GHz DDR3 Gaming PC - Aria PC

Price:

?689.11 inc. VAT
?574.26 exc. VAT

And you'll be set for quite some time.

Ok, so.. here's what I'd do (actually what I am doing now)...


Case: CHEAP! Just make sure your CPU cooler fits inside it.
Power Supply: Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply
Processor: intel i5-2500k
CPU Cooler: Don't spend more than 30 quid. OR upgrade to a Corsair H70 liquid or OEM equivalent( Arianet ECO II 120 Water-Cooling CPU Cooler is same as Corsair H70 afaik) .
Graphics Card 1: Radeon HD6870 or Nvidia 560ti
Graphics Card 2: None
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz C9 Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 x 4GB)
Motherboard: p67 mATX
Hard Disk Drive One: Samsung 500GB Spinpoint F3 16MB Cache SATA II Hard Disk Drive
Optical Drive One: DVD-RW 22x

That is far superior, though the case will look cheaper, and will cost you less. (unless your time is valuable, will take 8 to 16 hours as a newb builder to put it together. )

Check this too:

Gladiator Z68 Core i5 2500K 4.30GHz Overclocked Bundle - Aria PC

PhenomII X6 ASUS Board Bundle 4GB DDR3 Memory Free Delivery : Motherboard Processor Bundles : Maplin

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

I'm not confident enough to build it myself. And there's no doubt I'd forget to add something...

[ydderFx]

If you're not building yourself, please head over to PC Specialist < google it . Couple of years ago they built my first gaming PC. They've been around for a long time, very friendly and they have great forums for suggestions.

Edit; Plus i'd advise self building as its always alot cheaper. There's alot of great guides on the internet on how to do everything step by step Noob proof.

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

If you're not building yourself, please head over to PC Specialist < google it . Couple of years ago they built my first gaming PC. They've been around for a long time, very friendly and they have great forums for suggestions.

Edit; Plus i'd advise self building as its always alot cheaper. There's alot of great guides on the internet on how to do everything step by step Noob proof.

Cheers for the help. I will look into the self-building. I have a friend who can build them, however I'd much rather have someone who works with computers everyday to do it. Just for accountability

Edit - Just checked out the PCSpecialist site, very impressed. Could get the same set up essentially, with a few extra goodies for like ?20 cheaper than Arbico.
Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS? M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX? 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (?29)

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Thoughts?

[LITOralis.nMd]

Quotes?
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
BAD!!! BAD!! You can't really game on Caviar Greens , I've had 2 of the green EARS models used for office backup drop dead on me so far.. stopped using them.

Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (?29)

It's fine for the hd6770, you however can't upgrade the GPU higher than that in the future using this PSU. If you don't plan to upgrade, than you'll be fine. Looks like the hard drive upgrade will bump you up the 20 quid and you'll be about even quoted between both shops.

Otherwise looks good.

[Cossack]

About Caviar Green - they are not recommended as boot drive, so take Caviar Blue or Black drives.

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I'll look to upgrade those now! I'll look for a more powerful PSU and better hard drive. Cannot express how much I appreciate the help you've all provided This time next week, I should have a PC. ;D

EDIT: I may have to drop the budget a bit - what's the Nvidia 450GTS GPU like?
Yet another edit: Case

COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 970 (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS? M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 520 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (?59)

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (?9)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (?79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft? Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (?139)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH? K200 USB MEDIA KEYBOARD (?10)

Mouse
LOGITECH? OPTICAL USB MOUSE (?5)

Now, the GPU - me and my brother have agreed if you guys think this isn't a too good of a GPU, that we will upgrade to a much better one at the end of September. However, what's your thoughts on this at the moment/

[Cossack]

GTS 450 is sh*t and GT 520 as well. Go with GTX 460 or 550 Ti. For RAM, if you can, go with Kingston - life time warranty

[ForLibertyandFreedom]

Unexpected drop in expenditure unfortunately so may have to do until the end of September.

Yet another update:

Took your advice, downgraded the monitor, as this is easily upgradable.

CIT 1008 Black
• 3 x 120mm Standard Case Fans
• Quiet Xilence 800W 4 x PCI-E 135mm Fan
• AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, Quad Core (AM3, 3.20GHz, 8MB Cache)
• Standard Heatsink & CPU Fan
• Asus M4N68T-M LE V2, 2xDIMM, Max. 8GB, M-ATX
• 4GB (2 X 2GB) Corsair PC12800 1600MHz DDR3
• nVidia GTX 550 Ti 1GB
• Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
• New 1000GB SATA III (Requires SATA III)
• NO RAID
• 22x Dual Layer DVD +/- Rewriter
• Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps
• 2 Front + 4 Back Ports
• 21.5 Inch AOC F22+ Wide, VGA/DVI, 1920x1080, 60000:1, 5ms
• VGA To VGA
• Standard Multimedia
• Standard Wired Optical
• Sharkoon HS40 Mic & Stereo Headset
• Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit Version)
• Performance Optimization
• 2 Years Return To Base (1st yr. Parts & Labour, 2nd yr. Labour)