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Recomend a computer for 200 pounds

Last response: in General UK & Ireland Discussions
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June 29, 2011 7:46:07 PM

Hi, I feel a bit bad for just joining and then asking a big question, but I think based on when I googled similar things that I would be relevant to a lot of people.
Anyway
I have around 200 pounds,defiantly no more than 10, 20 pounds more than that.
I want to get a desktop PC. And I know that it is possible to get computers cheaply nowadays.
It will be used for music, videos, internet and games.
What I really want is for it to be able to run Skyrim, Mass Effect 3 when they come out. I know its too early to tell exactly good your PCs Specs need to be, but if you think its got to run on an XBOX it cant be too demanding.
I understand I would need 2/3gb RAM (then I could upgrade to 4gb)
Processor I would say 2.ghz+
Hard Drive 200GB+
So my real question is, would you say those specs are good enough?
Any recommendation of how good the graphic, sound cards?
Any other things I should consider?
Also what would be nice if I could upgrade it in a year or two, so anything I need to have to make sure its able to be upgraded? Ram processor? other cards?
I found these two on currys? what do you think? or are they not a great deal.
any other good websites?

I honestly doubt anyone will be bothered to answer this, but thanks if you do!

Dont worry about screen/keybord/mouse/speakers.

Thanks

More about : recomend computer 200 pounds

July 1, 2011 11:46:30 PM

You could do the computer for £200 using a cheap dual core processor, you would really need to add an extra £80-£100 to get a half decent graphics card to play those games coming out.
July 1, 2011 11:52:13 PM

an4rew said:
You could do the computer for £200 using a cheap dual core processor, you would really need to add an extra £80-£100 to get a half decent graphics card to play those games coming out.


Hey, thanks for the reply! is it possible to buy a new graphics card later on to replace the other one? would it need to be same make/brand?
Related resources
July 3, 2011 9:01:45 AM

jamieb123 said:
Hey, thanks for the reply! is it possible to buy a new graphics card later on to replace the other one? would it need to be same make/brand?



it is but for that price we would be cutting out some stuff..... like a real copy of 7.... and so on..... you also got to say what you want to run them on... high? if so then look at a cheep pc and the a 2nd hand xbox360-ps3 because my £700 will find it hard too run it on max......

and don't get one from curry's best too make one because of the psu...... it will need to be a good size to run the games you looking at.....


but best is to do what i said.... get a cheep pc then get a ps3-360.....

£200 is too low....
July 3, 2011 9:11:02 AM

^ +1

Hes right, on that budget you have no chance.
July 3, 2011 10:23:17 AM

I don't want to run on full, just medium.
But, Dixons have 25% off sale on. so i can get this within my budget, and then later on dish out £50 - £!00 on a new graphics card. What you think?

Processor Intel® Core™ i3-550 Processor
- 3.2GHz
- 2.5GT/s DMI
- 4MB Intel Smart Cache
- Dual-core
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
RAM - 3GB DDR3 RAM installed
- Up to 8GB expandable memory
Graphics card Integrated Intel HD Graphics
Screen type None
Hard drive 640GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
Optical disk drive DVD-RW
Write speed: CDR: 52x / CDRW: 12x / DVD+/-R: 8x / DVD+/-RW: 4x
Memory card reader Yes
USB Yes, 4 x Front, 4 x Rear
FireWire No
Modem/Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet
WiFi Yes, 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth No
Video interface 1 x VGA
1 x HDMI
Audio interface Headphone/speaker line-out
Microphone-in
Line-in jack
TV output HDMI
Extension card slot PCIe® x16 slot
2 x PCIe® x1 slots
PCI™ slot
Sound 7.1-channel on-board sound card
Keyboard & Mouse Yes, wireless keyboard and mouse

July 3, 2011 4:11:20 PM

Do you have a link for that system from Dixons?

The cheapest i3 i can see is £329.99
July 3, 2011 7:12:40 PM

Oh yeah, this one was £300 refurbished. Apparently you have to get to checkout to get the discount. It has a big advert for it on their front page.
July 5, 2011 12:31:32 PM

You would be better off building your own, let me get home and see if I can configure you one from scan.
July 5, 2011 3:20:27 PM

Well I have bought that. (it was £225 actually).

But I would be very interested if you could get something better than that within £225.
(I'm not saying you can't btw)
July 5, 2011 6:05:59 PM

SCAN.co.uk
LN28456
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.65V £24.16 £28.99http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-165v

LN28746
1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9ms, NCQ £32.98 £39.58
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-samsung-hd103sj-spin...
LN34240
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Cache, HT 3600MHz, 125W, Retail £73.95 £88.74 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-bla...

LN35906
Asus M4A78LT-M, AMD 760G, AM3, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 1600/1800, SATA 3Gb/s RAID, Micro ATX, VGA £39.78 £47.74 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-m4a78lt-m-amd-760g-...(x16)-ddr3-1600-1800-sata-3gb-s-raid-micro-atx-vga

LN39293
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM £12.08 £14.50http://www.scan.co.uk/products/samsung-sh-s222ab-bebe-2...



Net Total
Carriage
VAT
£182.95
£7.99
£38.20
Total£229.14



OC.co.uk
Case & PSU = £35

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA...

Total cost = £265
July 5, 2011 6:22:10 PM

Pretty good. But £35 over mine.
Is that a trusted website (scan.co.uk)?
July 5, 2011 6:57:07 PM

Yes based in bolton I've used them for 11 years
July 5, 2011 6:59:46 PM

And that 35 quid buys you a quad core you can oc to 4 ghz, a 1tb hard drive, a very good motheboard and 4 gig of high performance RAM.
July 5, 2011 7:11:22 PM

Forgive me for not knowing much..,
But, Don't you need a graphics card, a sound card and a power supply?
DVD/CD drive?
and Windows?
July 5, 2011 7:40:32 PM

Yes, thats why there included, look again. Also the graphics card is integrated on the mobo just like it is on yours, however the graphics solution on my option is far superior than the one on the PC you bought.
July 5, 2011 8:40:11 PM

Wheres Windows>?
July 5, 2011 9:03:53 PM

Ubuntu 11.04 ! As you don't need Windows cos the pc u bought won't run any games anyway.
July 6, 2011 5:04:26 PM

Yes it will! Not newer ones but defiantly pre 2011 games.
It mainly wont be used for games, but the other programs are defiantly windows only programs. So I cant use Ubuntu.

I was thinking of making a computer. The reason I decided against is that because of the price of windows the difference in price wasn't too big. Plus with this I get a warranty and it comes already made.

I'm going to upgrade the graphics card later on. I don't see why it wont be decent enough for most games?
July 8, 2011 12:08:19 PM

On board intel graphics, good luck with that, let me no how you get on.
July 8, 2011 7:08:27 PM

Sarcasm maybe? Hard to tell when typed. But yes, I will let you know.
July 9, 2011 10:09:09 AM

Also if you remember, I said I was going to upgrade the graphics card
July 9, 2011 10:32:25 AM

In which case you would of been better off with a self build, because your present PSU in that system will not support an additional graphics card.
July 11, 2011 11:49:30 AM

But you tried building one and it was over my budget (admittedly no too much)
but it didn't have windows. and windows is the most important thing I needed.
Plus i spoke to someone else on this forum who said that my psu would handle the graphics card i needed.
July 11, 2011 11:59:37 AM

Ok, look at the PSU you have and write down all the details here thats written on the side of your PSU and then tell us what gpu you are hoping to support.
July 11, 2011 4:02:16 PM



I don't often build to order these days but just in case anyone else reads this thread, a good source for cheapie builds is http://www.novatech.co.uk where you can buy a barebones system and add to them as you wish.

As always, the OS is the biggest expense if you insist on using Windows, as I suspect most games do.

Under £200 was a big ask - second hand from e-Bay might have found something useful.


July 11, 2011 10:33:04 PM

Well dixons called me a week later and told me they were out of stock.

OK. For £250 can you find all parts + windows?
July 12, 2011 5:21:23 AM

jamieb123 said:
Well dixons called me a week later and told me they were out of stock.

OK. For £250 can you find all parts + windows?




Very doubtful in my view. It could possiibly be done by picking up the best second hand system you can find that definitely has a legitimate Windows system running then upgrade it to suit. I have seen high end systems go fo rlow money on e-Bay when a gamer wants to upgrade. They seem to let their old boxes go cheaply when they decide to build a new one.

July 12, 2011 2:26:57 PM

I agree with saga, you are better off trying to get your self a 2nd hand gaming system with Windows for that money, otherwise ur just asking way to much, remember you get what you pay for.
July 12, 2011 6:13:24 PM

Yeah I said I wanted to get a refurb system.
July 15, 2011 8:39:06 PM

jamieb123 said:
Yeah I said I wanted to get a refurb system.



JUST GET A PS3 OR XBOX YOU CANT GET A PC TO PLAY THEM AT THAT PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
July 16, 2011 9:31:25 PM

I believe the phrase is 'Champaign taste, lemonade money'.
July 17, 2011 8:37:37 AM

Not being rude to all those who said i should just get a ps3/xbox.
I don't want to, so stop saying that. The reason im on here is because I know very little about computers. But I have read in countless forums/websites that you can build/buy a type of I need for within that money. I know it wont have good enough graphics which is why i said id upgrade it. And if it intrests you I found an ebay seller who makes them and then sells them on (saves a bit of money)
And have found, for £200

AMD Phenom x2 555 3.2 GHZ
500 GB Hard Drive
2GB DDR3 Ram
July 17, 2011 8:39:05 AM

Also has a decent enough PSU, Case, Motherboard, DVD Drive
July 17, 2011 9:18:08 AM

Well done buddy, so you going to give us the full specs for £200, and does that include Windows 7 ?
July 17, 2011 10:08:18 AM

No. But you can get windows for £56 so for £6 over budget I think that's ok.
The CPU is AMD Phenom x2 555 3.2 Ghz

But I've had the email them asking for the exact model/make of everything else because they are not listed. Seen a lot of these sellers cutting prices by using bad makes and bad motherboards and then listing without a name.
Got a couple of other options if this turns out to be bad.
July 17, 2011 10:12:27 AM

Yes your right there, the CPU is a great entry level gaming CPU, and one that gan be very easily overclocked to 4.0ghz or even have extra cores unlocked to make it a quad core, but it needs the right motherboard for all that to happen.
And some system builders will use cheap motherboards and Power supplies to save costs, i will have another look for you and see if i can do £200 for a budget system.
July 17, 2011 10:20:21 AM


Jamieb123, it would also be nice to have a link to the sale site - not on this Forum Board but in a PM to one of us if you don't mind. I can struggle some days to put a decent office use only machine together for that money and still show a profit.

July 17, 2011 10:31:11 AM

Ulther39 - Yeah i'd be grateful if you had a look if you could beat £200.

I'll send you both the link.
July 17, 2011 11:00:26 AM

Heres from Scan best i could do £219 with delivery, but has 4gb of RAM and good mobo.


LN27738
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 Classic, PC3-10666 (1333), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V £21.40 £25.68

LN32060
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition, Callisto, Dual Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 7MB Total Cache, 80W, Retail £54.16 £64.99

LN34189
1TB Hitachi 0F10383 Deskstar 7K1000.C, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8ms £30.43 £36.52

LN38733
MSI 760GM-P33, AMD 760G, AM3, PCI-E (x16), DDR3 1600(OC), SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, mATX, On Board VGA £30.76 £36.91

LN39293
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM £12.08 £14.50

LN40355
Ezcool 727-03B Piano Black micro-ATX Tower Case with Ezcool 500W PSU £19.98 £23.98

Recalculate Basket

Save Basket

View Saved Baskets

Net Total
Carriage
VAT
£168.81
£13.98
£36.57
Total£219.36
July 17, 2011 11:10:35 AM

hi
if you lower it to 2gb of ram. could you get down to £210?
July 17, 2011 11:13:08 AM


Looks good. Their VAT is out somewhere but I might just buy the board and chip at those prices for myself. I only make it £202 all-in except the carriage but the OS is, as always, the killer.


July 17, 2011 11:14:54 AM


Sorry - my bad. They've added VAT to the Carriage charge.


July 17, 2011 11:16:28 AM

Ok managed to slightly better it from Aria £205


AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.2GHz Black Edition C3 (Socket AM3) Processor - Retail #41167 £ 53.77 £ 53.77
Asus M4N68T-M LE V2 GeForce 7025/ nForce 630a (Socket AM3) DDR3 PCI-Express Micro-ATX Motherboard #45545 £ 30.34 £ 30.34
4GB Mushkin Silverline #996768 (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 #41783 £ 21.66 £ 21.66
500GB Western Digital RE2 WD5001ABYS 3.5" SATA II Hard Drive - Clean Pull #45518 £ 24.99 £ 24.99
LG DVD Writer, GH22NS50, SATA, Black, OEM #37292 £ 10.99 £ 10.99
Arianet 1107 Micro-ATX Chassis w/ 500W PSU #44302 £ 21.60 £ 21.60
(click to empty your Shopping Basket)

(click if you have changed any details)
Financial options:
Spend £103.98 or more for finance options.


Basket Total £ 163.35
Approx. Delivery £ 7.95
VAT £ 34.26
Total £205.56
July 17, 2011 11:18:17 AM

Again the above is a decent Mobo and 4gb of RAM but this time only a 500gb hard drive.
July 17, 2011 11:21:24 AM

pretty good
July 17, 2011 11:22:32 AM

Im, thinking of getting that. How good is there delivery?
July 17, 2011 11:26:51 AM

Very very good, you will get next working day for that, so if you ordered now it would be with you on tuesday, they also have a very good returns policy, if you have any issues with hardware.
July 17, 2011 11:50:28 AM

If you need any more help, let me know, im quite happy to post all the links to the hardware on aria if you want me too.
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