Advice On Buying A New Desktop Pc

my old vista desktop is now an oap and it's time to replace. I've done a lot of searching on reviews of different desktops available in the UK but would be grateful if anyone could offer me guidance on the following:-
1. I want a desktop PC not a laptop and I'm thinking of getting an all-in-one system with Windows 10 installed. Are all-in-one systems a good buy?
2. I use the PC for surfing, emails, photo editing/storage and storage of documents, watching video and playing music.
3. I know the basics of computing but not much more and I dont want to mess around too much linking up separately purchased components.

4. When I read the advice websites they tell me I don't need a superfast PC as I won't be using it for gaming and it will be far cheaper . My concern with this is that I still want a fast PC as I've had enough of waiting for minutes on end while pages etc load. Everthing is so slow even things like 'My Computer' and My Documents. My budget is around £500.00. I have an ok (but not great monitor) so this could save me a bit of money and I also have a good printer and fast broadband connection.
Thanks

 

It's essentially a laptop's hardware placed inside a PC monitor case. It will give you more space on your desk but you'll get laptop compromises like lack of heat dissipation, uprgadeability and replacement of failed hardware.

Most PCs on the market will handle this fine so the main factor will be your finances. If you don't want to settle for the bare minimum, don't.

Unless you build a custom system, you'll just be connecting cables.

Get at least 8GB RAM and an Intel i5 CPU, i7 if it's in your price range. You didn't list anything graphically demanding though I'm assuming you're not doing photo editing on a professional basis, so onboard graphic should be OK. Any modern PC should be noticeably faster than your Vista era PC, however page load time is far more dependent on the server it's on and the demand on it than your PC. Maybe someone will recommend an AMD processor equivalent to Intel's offering. They're good but I don't think they're quite up to par with Intel yet but the price difference may be enough to sway you.

 

Thanks for replies people. I'm still tempted by an all-in-one as the Which report seems to like them and doesn't mention limited lifespan. The comments above have perturbed me a bit though. I will have re-think. The PC I was looking at which seems nearest to my needs is the Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IC but its too expensive. I cant seem to find any information which describes a PC with similar features although I know there will be less features as I will be paying less. I dont want to build a PC with separate components. If I dont get an all-in-one I will buy a traditional desktop package I think. The search continues!

 

I don't mean to scare you off of All-In-Ones. If you're not inclined to open up your PC and upgrade it and would rather replace a problem one than try to fix it, than the advantages of buying a tower PC over an AIO are moot. Just check the reviews to make sure the AIO that caught your eye (or it's antecedents if it's a new model) has a good track record.

 

Ok and thanks again to all for your advice

 

If you go directly to Novatech, Portsmouth, UK website, for a desktop PC similar in specs to the ASUS, go for a 'Pro' PC, then customise it to your own requirements. Seriously, you will get a lot more for your money - and without any bloatware at all - than that ASUS.
You will also find Which? awarded them as one of the top 2 system manufacturers.
For your needs an Intel i5 processor is fine, 8GB of Ram would be fast, and you only need an i7 and 16GB if you are a big time gamer.
A 120gb SSD for the system, and separate 500gb SSHD for data.
Those high specs at Novatech will be significantly less money than the cheapest UK price for that ASUS.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/?s=3,4,2

 

Hi Max Turner. I am sure I could do that and go to Novatech with the specs you have provided. I have always tended to buy local though from a shop eg PC World as if there is any fault I wouldnt be able to fix it myself and a lot of warranties are back to base only. I will have a look though. Thank you

 

PC World is a pretty awful 'McDonalds' style member of a multinational group. It's not 'local' in any sense of the word and they manufacture zero. They sell you what they buy from suppliers in boxes. And all their systems, without exception, will include significant amounts of bloat-ware - software programs you may not want, may never use, including rubbish trials that you may never use - but will clog up your new shiny system.
As far as I know Novatech are the only seller that don't stick one solitary thing on your system that you haven't asked for.
Novatech is a genuine local UK manufacturer of home and business systems. It is ranked joint top with Sony by the Which? organisation for the reliability of its build quality and its customer service rates better than any other organisation making or selling computer systems in the UK.
It offers warranties like any other seller that are back to base or not, depending on what you choose to pay.
The point is, if you want something similar to the ASUS you mentioned, you will get it many, many £100s cheaper at Novatech. My estimate (i5/8gbram/120gb ssd/500gb SSHD) you will get for at least £300 cheaper than the ASUS model with those same specs. The ASUS model with higher cpu and ram specs is close to £1200.

 

Just as an added note to the above:

These are the cheapest UK prices for the originally mentioned Asus model:

A - Asus Zen Aio Pro with i7/16gb ram = £1,360.00
B - Asus Core with i5/8gb ram = £885.00

Novatech will do the same level of specs as 'B' above for £505

 

That is one big saving! I'm going to look and see if I can get a deal from Novatech where I dont have to send the PC back to base for repair/fault. Also thanks to David for PC World recommendation and all who have taken your time to help me out. Cant wait to get rid of this OAP of a machine!

 

Hi MaxTurner
I've contacted Novatech with the specs you recommended and they have pointed me towards this on their site -
http://www.novatech.co.uk/modifier.html?s=PC-1979. However, there are loads of extras which I need to add on. Obviously I can order the easy bits like Windows 10 and the extended warranty and mouse.With all the other options such as motherboard etc I am totally bewildered! Could you or anyone else who has responded point me in the right direction of what I need to order given my first email on this thread re-my requirements? Otherwise I think I will have to go back to PC world or similar high street shop to get a system.thanks

 

For your needs you don't need to add anything from what's 'included in the price' as far as the motherboard and processor is concerned.
The 8gb of RAM included is just fine, but if you want it lightening fast because you *will* be doing lots of things at the same time, and have £40-50 to spare make it 16gb.

I'd just keep the onboard graphics.

If you want to play/record DVDs you need to add at least the '22xDVD writer' under the 'OPTICAL DRIVE' list.

If you want a separate drive to store photos/videos/music/docs you would be well-advised to add a second Hard Drive - which is shown in the SECOND 'Hard Drive' list. (The first HD list already includes a 120gb SSD which should be used solely for system and programs).

All the rest you know about.

 

Hi again Max TURNER and thank you for your reply. I still havent bought my PC from Novatech as still struggling with the external hard drive options. I asked Novatech for advice on this and they have replied:-
'If the pc were to fail with something not to the hard drive the data would still be accessible, something like a docking station can be used: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/harddriveenclosures/6619us3.html
I would still recommend an external hard drive, in terms of cost the 1TB drives would be ideal. I would also recommend these as host powered meaning you do not need mains power just the USB into the rear of the machine and they are also smaller.
This is what I would recommend: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/portableusb3.0/hx-m101tcbg.html '

At the moment I have a Seagate external drive but have had it a few years and there's not a lot of storage left on it.

Novatech also has a transfer of of files service which would move everything over from my old Vista to Windows 10. How secure do you think this would be?
I've also decided to buy a new monitor and after reviewing small ones (as larger wont fit into my PC desk) I thought thsi one looks good ViewSonic VX2363mh1-w. The BenQ GL955a gets good reviews as well.

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to get it right so if any of you have time to respond I would appreciate.

 

Their advice seems fine.
Don't get hung up on the external USB hard drive. It's not really important to the basic PC system itself, and you can buy their recommendation or just buy any one you choose from any online stockist or a shop. Though their suggestion is a good price and choice.
If Novatech have a files transfer service I'm sure it is money back guaranteed but as you already have an external drive you can secure photos and videos and documents on that. If you need to save web browser profile data, ie bookmarks, saved logins etc, it would be simple just to follow the guides on how to do that, and save to a USB Key Drive or CD, that IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera all have.

All the best with that.

 

Thanks so much for replying to me again. I think I'm about ready to go thanks to you! I was going to order Microsoft Office as well but having done a bit of searching I have found for my needs I can get Office.com so I will save quite a bit of money there and it seems it will be sufficient for my needs.

 

Absolutely, you will find several free excellent programs that will do all the main tasks of MS Office, and are totally compatible. These two are my favourites and wont cost you a penny:
LIBRE OFFICE : http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/libreoffice_productivity_suite.html
OXYGEN OFFICE : http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/oxygenoffice_professional.html
Both will work with MS Office produced documents, and those programs will run like a dream on your new system.

 

Cheers. I'll look at those as well.

 

Hello again. I am up and running on My new Novatech Windows 10 PC today! I've managed to install and organise most of my stuff. Apologies in advance if I shouldn't continue to post on this thread now I've got the PC but I need help on a few things which are puzzling me. I have managed to transfer all my stuff over from my external drive but I've also transferred over the backup set files from the external drive to the new PC. I'm scared I've made a major error here as when I look at the C drive there's only 21.gb space left and I don't know how much was there before! So I don't know if I've got all the old Vista system files as well as the Windows 10 files. Also, I thought I had purchased an external drive like the Seagate one I have which sits outside the PC as my existing one is small and needs replacing with a larger one. However, I have bought a second hard drive which is inside the new PC itself. I don't see how this works as if the PC fails and the extra drive is built in how would I access my stuff? The PC shows two drives which are the C drive and a D drive which is empty. Is the D drive the second hard drive and how do I use it? Or would I be better buying a drive which sits outside the PC which I thought I was buying anyway? The PC is supposed to have an SSD which I presume is the C drive? I have also created a system repair disc which I thought would take a while to do but only took a few minutes. I hope I've done it correctly. Do I also need to create a system image disc? I know there's a lot of questions here but hope someone can answer them.

 

Hi

Just to deal with the internal drives issue:
When you ordered and purchased the system, you had a choice of just one hard drive, ie the SSD drive for system use, but also you had a section for a second set of Hard Drive options where you could also choose a second Data Hard Drive.
That sounds like what you did.

As far as externally, in your post here #17 you said they suggested an external data storage drive and their suggestion was this:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/portableusb3.0/hx-m101tcbg.html
which was a good choice at a good price.

If the remaining free space on the first internal drive C is only 21 GB then it is either quite small to begin with or is loaded with non system and non-program data.
To find out its size go to 'My Computer' or 'This Pc' and in the top bar click on 'View' icon and make sure you are choosing 'Details'
It will show you its original formatted size (eg a 500gb will actually show as about 453gb) and the remaining free space size.
That will tell you what size it was to start with.
Likewise, it will also tell you the size and remaining space of Drive D.

Having an SSD is mainly just to store the Operating System and program files.
All other data - videos, documents, images etc - would be saved to the internal data drive, eg that drive D, or to a usb external drive.

 

On this other point where you say:

If that data was backup data ie documents, images, videos etc (and not Operating System or Program file installations) you should have copied that data over to your internal D drive, and not C.
You can still do that by just copying it from C to D, then do a full delete of that specific data on C.

 

Hi Max Turner. I've checked the drives as you suggest above and I've got a C drive of 118gb and a D drive of 931gb. I cant see my pictures and documents on the C drive but they must be there as the D drive is empty. To delete the Operating System and Program files off the C drive would it be safe for me to just to check the dates they were created and delete them as I think I have transferred them in error. For example I have things like Windows Defender and Windows Power Shell etc created date Oct 2015 which will be duplicating the new program files on the New PC. Also about the external drive, I didn't order this but think I will to backup to.

 

Looks like that C drive is 120gb originally, and if only has 21gb free then yes it is full of non system, non program data.
And you are misunderstanding. The C ('SSD') drive is precisely for, and only for, the new Windows 10 Operating System and program files. It's an ultra fast drive just really for that purpose. You need to open that SSD C drive in Windows Explorer and copy over non-system data.
I can't tell you which files specifically should be copied over to the D data drive. Only you know that as it is what you personally copied over from your OLD external drive that needs to be on D and not C. Presumably Novatech installed Windows for you. If they didn't then I can't really advise you any more specifically.

Having said all that, as you say you purchased a 1 tb internal data drive (931gb indicates its 1 tb), then apart for external back up you don't need a new external drive. Maybe the old external drive (now empty?) will suffice.

 

Ok Max Turner and thanks again. I will look at what is on the old external drive and check that against the system files copied over to the C drive in error and delete them.

 

Just a minor comment, I have found a wireless k/b and mouse much easier to use than traditional wired, but it is valuable to have wired if your wireless seems not to be working ! The two types can often be used concurrently.

Dumb_Question
7.March.2016