Opinions on this system please

Hi folks.

I am looking to buy a new sys on a budget. As my nic suggests I am into online flight sims and my poor old Pentium 4 system just doesn't cut the mustard any more. I use my sys for business so mad speed isn't so important for that but my graphics capability is maxed out for the sims.

I have seen this system.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gaming-Deskto...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

I am no geek so I don't want to rush in and buy something with built in redundancy.

What are your thoughts on this one please or if anyone can point me in the right direction to something better in the U.K. at around the same price or £100 or so more I would be greatfull.

Thanks a lot in anticipation

 

Looks like a decent system. Don't know the exchange rate so no idea in usd or whether it's a good deal.

 

At today's exchange rate it would be 860 USD.

It is one of the cheapest I could find at that spec BTW (Not that I know too much about specs)

What do you think about the speed of 3d graphic rendering on that system BTW?

Thanks for the quick reply

 

http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

$871 Not too bad considering it comes with a monitor. Does it comes with an Operating System? Never mind, it says it does, but it does not say which OS it comes with... Could be the penguin.

What video is in you current computer?

 

Hi Fred.

No it doesn't come with an OS as standard. I can get XP home put on for around 80 USD. I dont want Vista.. YUK!!

My current graphics is a Nvidia Gforce 7600 256 MB. One other prob is that everything else on my current sys is just too slow. I am maxed out at 2 gig of 133 RAM. Dunno how much this means but PCpitstop says my sys is in the bottom 37 percent of all systems tested.

Again thanks for the quick reply

 

You will need a 64 bit OS (XP 64 or Vista 64) to use the 4GB of ram listed. The video card is not the greatest, but it should be a big improvement over what you have now. You can also upgrade the video card down the road.

I build my own computers, but it sounds like you want one ready to go out of the box. Seems like a decent deal.

 

Sorry to sound dumb Fred ( Coz I am)

OK so I need a 64 bit OS... is this a new version of windows XP or how do I know if it is 64 bit?

Thanls a lot again

 

Win XP and Vista come in 32 or 64 bit versions. To use the full 4GB of ram you need a 64 bit operating system and CPU. The OS may be listed as XP or Vista if it is 32 bit. Look for the 64bit part (Win XP 64, Vista 64bit). I have not used either 64 bit os, so can't tell you much about them.

If you buy the computer in your post, and install a 32 bit OS, it will work just fine, but you will only be able to use 3.something GB of your 4GB of RAM. If you are against Vista, I would lean to a 32 bit XP, just because it is most likely to be more compatable driver wise. But that is a bit of a guess on my part.

 

You could build a PC like that for like £350 and monitor for like £150 so 350+150=500 so that isn't a good deal.

But go for something with similar specs to that PC, also I would go for Intel core 2 quad if you can afford it but if not then go with the AMD Phenom

 

I was going to say the same thing.

Do you have any computer building knowledge?

I have just built a new gaming machine and it cost about £500 and is a better spec than that.

That is with an E8500 c2d, 24" monitor and a retail copy of XP.

But if not then it would be an ok buy I suppose, remember that XP is not direct x10 compatible.

 

nice specs. i like the case too.

 

Thanks for all the help so far folks

I don't have any comp building experience and to be honest I don't have the time or enough knowledge of what should go into a decent system so an out of the box package is really what I feel I should go for.

I have really looked around the net here in the U.K. and this does seem a good deal. Intel isn't an option on this sys otherwise I would go for it.

Despite what I said earler it looks like Vista is really what I need to get a 64 bit OS so with the future in mind I will go with that.

I use the comp for business and run flight sims on it so it isn't extremely demanding on graphics. Feedback from other sim addicts like me is that a sys like this will be more than adequate.

Thanks for the heads up on 64 bit OS's Fred.. I would have gone for a 32 without realising what I was doing

 

4GB of ram is a hell of a lot for this system.

I would really look more into the 64bit systems as it could be a pain in the arse at times.

That system will be very quick with just 2GB of ram, Sometimes less can be more.

 

Well folks... I've ordered it

I had it tweaked a bit to include a faster CPU, better Mobo and a more powerfull (800 W) PSU for free

I also decided to stick with XP for now. I will still see much better performance than with this sys I have got and will wait for Windows 7 rather than put Vista on.

Many thanks to all who have replied to help me out.

You geeks rock!!!