used to subscribe to PcPro years ago, been on their website for a look at their "A List" for a new lappy/desktop but disappointed as some of the kit listed looks a bit dated??
Where;s a useful source of buying guidance these days?
Cheers Jim K
Try this site as well:
Usually John Rumm:-).
I'm sure you'll get plenty of supplies.
My advice is to get a desktop unless you need portability. Laptops are still less reliable than desktops.
Requirements - basically just a "once every 5/6/7 years" catch up purchase - nothing "mission critical", intensive, no gaming, just boring old Office, photo editing, web, email etc
Current desktop is archaic, runs Win XP, struggles with web browsing, rest is acceptable (just) using "period" versions of Excel, Word etc.
Probly after a new monitor too, current 15" flatscreen works fine but feels somewhat small... Will re-use keyboard, mouse etc, presume IDE CD/DVD burners etc are now obsolete?
Budget =A3500 max??
Current lappy is ageing Asus EEE, starting to struggle too but bit better than desktop. Running XP & mainly used for email, web browsing.
Budget? =A3300??
Cheers Jim K
A low end machine from a good maker would be suitable, I think. I've just ordered a barebones PC from CCL. I'm sure they can supply something suitable for you too. If you want Windows then it will be Windows 7 (or 8) now - although you can always install Linux. :-)
Some PCs have legacy IDE connectors but you can buy adaptors if they don't. Get plenty of RAM whatever you buy. Again some PCs don't have legacy keyboard/mouse connectors so you might need adaptors or new keyboard/mouse.
Most barebones don't come with monitors but they are easy to find.
If you want readymade PCs then HP still have some available although they're not cheap.
I don't know so much about budget laptops. I think Asus and Acer do plenty. I'm sure others here will chip in.
Office 97 mate, you can't beat it! I no longer know where anything is in Excel and I find XP a welcome relief after Fisher Price/Win7.
googled CCL's website - just mentions servers?
Jim K
cue bewildering choice stage!
Jim K
But Office 97 does frequently barf at ".doc" documents created by later versions of M$ Orifice.
& isn't XP going to be unsupported soon?
Jim K
Soon = April 2014.
from CCL
Intel Pentium G840 2.8GHz Dual Core Processor Corsair XMS3 8192MB (2x4096MB) Memory Module Kit Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V Motherboard Seagate Barracuda=A9 SATA 6Gb/s 1TB Hard Drive CCL Choice 22x DVD+/-RW Drive Dino FC-DS01A Midi Tower Case CarePack - 2 Year Return to Base TP-Link TL-WN781ND 150Mbps Wireless Lite N PCI Express Adapter Windows 8
=A3345.37 inc VAT
comments anyone?
Cheers Jim K
I don't know whether there are drivers available for XP on all modern chipsets.
I buy a lot of my PC stuff from CCL, but they only about a 30 minutes drive away from me.
They are not always the cheapest but they are quite competitive with other similar places.
There's always the free office programs to try, like libreoffice or openoffice.
Looks OK. Personally I would go up a little on the CPU if you're doing photo editing. However it should do the job.
I assume you will be using a 64 bit OS?
mmm I'll have a look - tho seems to get a bit murky on the CCL configurator...
erm - probably? ;>)
Jim K
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