What to get...?

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 11:32 AM

My Dad and I are looking into getting him a new computer to replace his old one.
I have decided there is a chance of 2 options. These are to either get him a laptop which has plenty of space to upgrade in the future, so I thought of 1GB RAM minimum. This would then connect to our network so it has access to the internet etc.

The other option I thought was to buy a small PC, and hook it up to the TV through a VGA cable so that whenever he wants to use the computer (mainly for emails, internet and pictures) he can swap the input to the VGA so the computer displays on the TV and he can use a wireless mouse and keyboard to operate.

Now I dont know which would be worse in cooling either a laptop or a small PC.

We are looking to spend around £400-£500 so If any of you have any ideas for a decent spec PC with expandability options would be a great help.

Many thanks,

Chris

**TheMatt** · 01-01-2008, 01:16 PM

Hi Chris,

There are a lot of small media center and cube PCs that you can get.

Please take the time to answer these questions and include them in your next reply.

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 01:24 PM

1. Budget: £400-£500

2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want? HP, Packard Bell, Emachines and the crap brands

3. Multitasking: Probably not, IE, Outlook Express, Pictures

4. Gaming: Not at all

5. Calculations: Nope

6. Overclocking: No

7. Storage: Roughly around 160-260GB

8. Legacy Support: Probably Not

9. Operating System: XP Pro is preferred

10. Case: See initial post

11. Accessories: Yes, wireless if a small box to connect to the TV, No if laptop

12. Recycled Components: No

13. Monitor: Laptop screen 15" widescreen or larger

14. Stores: High Reputation, warrenty/gaurentee

15. Location: England

__________

Ive heard that some of these Cube PC's are quite hard to get Pieces for, Not as in such RAM, Etc but the boards are hard to find due to their unique shape as we had to buy a whole new PC for one of the computers that this happened to at work (mobo problem).
So if the board is widely available and will fit a case easily then it shouldnt be a problem.

**TheMatt** · 01-01-2008, 01:44 PM

Were you thinking of building? Because you can always get a case like this:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=7&subcat=160

Which has a 430W Antec NeoHE and can take any standard mATX motherboard. Then get something like these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-257-AS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-159-IN

Just as an idea. That board has HDMI so you can also use that to connect to a TV.

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 02:00 PM

Hmm, they are a possibility.

So would it be best to consider a media PC over a laptop?

**TheMatt** · 01-01-2008, 02:02 PM

Yeah, you will have more upgrade options and it will be easier to replace failed components.

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 02:20 PM

That seems a decent idea.

How much do you reckon you could pick a fairly decent spec media PC up for if I was to buy one pre-built?

Also, if I was to build one myself, what would be a average cost for it?

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 06:25 PM

Right, I looked at a PC here...What you think.

Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.33GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7191S 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Silver) - OEM
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Also, what type of graphics card is best for a large flat panel screen of around 32" roughly?

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-01-2008, 06:40 PM

if hes not gamming then you could get a 7600gt or 8600gt (they should be runnable of the power supply)

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 06:45 PM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=912

What about that??

Also, im not the best at graphics cards, will it show a sharp image of a large HDTV?? and will the resolution be ok??

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-01-2008, 07:05 PM

yes that should be fine (though if that is a passive heatsink i would look at a different card because of the small case) and yes the card supports resolutions higher then 1080i so i would say it should be good on the tv.

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-01-2008, 07:10 PM

actually look at this its cheaper has faster memorey and is over clock (alos has a active fan http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=912

**carsey** · 01-01-2008, 07:45 PM

What do you guys reckon? A decent PC for the money?

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-01-2008, 10:21 PM

the only thing is that you dont have a hard drive selected
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=14&subcat=768

you have an os right?

**carsey** · 01-02-2008, 06:19 AM

Yeh I have a HDD and a OS.

Its a 80GB HDD which is IDE which should be enough for the purpose.

Do you think I would need anything else?

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-02-2008, 12:33 PM

Nope but if you want you could buy some arctic silver 5 to help with the cooling other then that its looking good

**TheMatt** · 01-02-2008, 08:35 PM

You need an mATX board for that case like the one I selected, it won't take full sized ATX boards. You can use the integrated video which has both VGA and HDMI w/ HDCP out.

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-02-2008, 09:44 PM

oh jeez i can't beleave that i missed the m-atx thing

**carsey** · 01-03-2008, 01:47 PM

What M-ATX mobo is best to get. Intel or AMD?

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-03-2008, 04:10 PM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=5&subcat=326

keep the cpu and you can ditch the 8600 and use the onboard

01-01-2008, 11:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	What to get...? My Dad and I are looking into getting him a new computer to replace his old one. I have decided there is a chance of 2 options. These are to either get him a laptop which has plenty of space to upgrade in the future, so I thought of 1GB RAM minimum. This would then connect to our network so it has access to the internet etc. The other option I thought was to buy a small PC, and hook it up to the TV through a VGA cable so that whenever he wants to use the computer (mainly for emails, internet and pictures) he can swap the input to the VGA so the computer displays on the TV and he can use a wireless mouse and keyboard to operate. Now I dont know which would be worse in cooling either a laptop or a small PC. We are looking to spend around £400-£500 so If any of you have any ideas for a decent spec PC with expandability options would be a great help. Many thanks, Chris __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 01:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: What to get...? Hi Chris, There are a lot of small media center and cube PCs that you can get. Please take the time to answer these questions and include them in your next reply. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

01-01-2008, 01:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? 1. Budget: £400-£500 2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want? HP, Packard Bell, Emachines and the crap brands 3. Multitasking: Probably not, IE, Outlook Express, Pictures 4. Gaming: Not at all 5. Calculations: Nope 6. Overclocking: No 7. Storage: Roughly around 160-260GB 8. Legacy Support: Probably Not 9. Operating System: XP Pro is preferred 10. Case: See initial post 11. Accessories: Yes, wireless if a small box to connect to the TV, No if laptop 12. Recycled Components: No 13. Monitor: Laptop screen 15" widescreen or larger 14. Stores: High Reputation, warrenty/gaurentee 15. Location: England __________ Ive heard that some of these Cube PC's are quite hard to get Pieces for, Not as in such RAM, Etc but the boards are hard to find due to their unique shape as we had to buy a whole new PC for one of the computers that this happened to at work (mobo problem). So if the board is widely available and will fit a case easily then it shouldnt be a problem. __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 01:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: What to get...? Were you thinking of building? Because you can always get a case like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=7&subcat=160 Which has a 430W Antec NeoHE and can take any standard mATX motherboard. Then get something like these: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-257-AS http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-159-IN Just as an idea. That board has HDMI so you can also use that to connect to a TV. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

01-01-2008, 02:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? Hmm, they are a possibility. So would it be best to consider a media PC over a laptop? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 02:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: What to get...? Yeah, you will have more upgrade options and it will be easier to replace failed components. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

01-01-2008, 02:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? That seems a decent idea. How much do you reckon you could pick a fairly decent spec media PC up for if I was to buy one pre-built? Also, if I was to build one myself, what would be a average cost for it? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 06:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? Right, I looked at a PC here...What you think. Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.33GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7191S 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Silver) - OEM Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Also, what type of graphics card is best for a large flat panel screen of around 32" roughly? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 06:40 PM	#9 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? if hes not gamming then you could get a 7600gt or 8600gt (they should be runnable of the power supply) __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-01-2008, 06:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=912 What about that?? Also, im not the best at graphics cards, will it show a sharp image of a large HDTV?? and will the resolution be ok?? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 07:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? yes that should be fine (though if that is a passive heatsink i would look at a different card because of the small case) and yes the card supports resolutions higher then 1080i so i would say it should be good on the tv. __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-01-2008, 07:10 PM	#12 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? actually look at this its cheaper has faster memorey and is over clock (alos has a active fan http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=912 __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-01-2008, 07:45 PM	#13 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? What do you guys reckon? A decent PC for the money? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-01-2008, 10:21 PM	#14 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? the only thing is that you dont have a hard drive selected http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=14&subcat=768 you have an os right? __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-02-2008, 06:19 AM	#15 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? Yeh I have a HDD and a OS. Its a 80GB HDD which is IDE which should be enough for the purpose. Do you think I would need anything else? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-02-2008, 12:33 PM	#16 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? Nope but if you want you could buy some arctic silver 5 to help with the cooling other then that its looking good __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-02-2008, 08:35 PM	#17 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: What to get...? You need an mATX board for that case like the one I selected, it won't take full sized ATX boards. You can use the integrated video which has both VGA and HDMI w/ HDCP out. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

01-02-2008, 09:44 PM	#18 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? oh jeez i can't beleave that i missed the m-atx thing __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

01-03-2008, 01:47 PM	#19 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,678 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	Re: What to get...? What M-ATX mobo is best to get. Intel or AMD? __________________ Submit New Articles Here

01-03-2008, 04:10 PM	#20 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: What to get...? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=5&subcat=326 keep the cpu and you can ditch the 8600 and use the onboard __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan