Help Desktop PC

[Will]

Hi. A mate is after a desktop, around £500 including monitor. I've got no idea about these things nowadays, so any advice?

 

[nath]

Not a gamer presumably?

If so, you're in luck, I just found a nice one for about that at... *dun dun dunnnnn* PC World, and recommended it to a couple of clients.

HP G5135uk at cheap prices | PC World

Should do anyone nicely, good workhorse machine.

 

[Will]

Not a gamer, no, but she would like to be able to play Neverwinter Nights 2, which probably isn't that demanding. It does need g wifi though. Though I'm sure I could stretch to adding wifi to it.

 

[nath]

Not many desktops have inbuilt wifi so that's likely an addon on anything. As for NWN2 - perhaps a 20-30 quid 3d card?

 

[Will]

Sure...link me up to something that will work?

Thanks.

 

[nath]

Still on PC World for simplicity's sake

SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD 4350 PCI-E Graphics Card at cheap prices | PC World

A bit more but should be a pretty decent basic graphics card, someone else may weigh in though.

 

[old.Osy]

Pretty sure NWN 2 requires a better card than that. Wouldn't know which exactly, maybe having a look on the NWN fan forums should help.

 

[nath]

According to the box - ATI 9700 pro or NVidia 6600 or better. Dunno how that matches up to the one I linked.

 

[Syri]

The 4300 series is the most basic of ATI's range, as in, just a small step up from the integrated ones. I've been using an ATI 4670 for quite a while now, it's available for under £60, possibly less than that if you shop around. Really good performance for the price too, can even stretch as far as games like bad company 2 in 1080p without having to drop much on the details.
for the wireless, if you can, go for either a pci/pci-ex wireless card, or if you have to get a usb one, try to get one with an external antenna. The built in antenna for the usb ones is awfully underpowered in most cases, will get a much more stable signal from the proper aerial you get on the internal ones.
As for the pc itself, not really sure on what's a decent pre-built one, as I always build my own up. HP are pretty decent, for laptops at least, my parents both have hp laptops that have been going great for over 5 years now. Just avoid the cheap brands like Advent, Ei Systems and Patriot. Not sure if PC World still use all of those brands, but they're the own brand ones, and they're really, really awful.

 

[Yaka]

tbh i think and atom ion based system should handle the stuff your mate needs.
should be able to run nwn2 fine, boxes by zotac and acer have wifi built in and paired with a decent monitor it would prolly work out cheaper than the hp if you shop around


Buy Zotac Z-Box "Next Gen" ION 2 Mini PC*ZBOXHD-ID11 from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2008, 2007 & 2006 for laptops, desktops and computer hardware or http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=PCZ-MAG&af=50 with may be something like this Buy Acer P205HCbd 20 inch Widescreen 16:9 (HD) TFT LCD*ET.DP5HE.C05 from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2008, 2007 & 2006 for laptops, desktops and computer hardware

tho you lose the option to upgrade internal components out side perhaps the hdd, but may be worth considering if all your firnds does on it is browse, watch stuff, leech, and play not so demanding games

 

[nath]

That's very interesting indeed yaka, and very cheap. I'ma keep a note for future clients, ta .

 

[Will]

I love you guys. I'll give her the options tomorrow.

 

[Yaka]

That's very interesting indeed yaka, and very cheap. I'ma keep a note for future clients, ta .

then you should keep an eye on the acer revo's time to time play, amazon do a mental deal on em. in the past i have em easy to sell when we have had em instock. the case looks appealing to folk and can be cliped onto the back of monitors providing the stands leave space on the back. not bad media center either

 

[Zenith.UK]

Similar thing to that Zotac mini PC is the Acer Revo.
Acer Aspire REVO - R3610 - 2 GB RAM - 250 GB HDD

Ballpark is £240-£300 though you can pick up lower spec versions with smaller hard drive for around £200. They come with a VESA mount so you can attach it to the back of your monitor.
Add a 24" FullHD monitor for £150 and you've got your system.
PLE2410HDSD Iiyama 24in 2msec20000 11920x1080ECOVGADVI 24 quot LCD TFT 1920 x 1080 1000 1 300cd m2 Black Bezel Speakers PLE2410HDSD Monitors Monitors

An alternative if you're up to it is to get a second-hand laptop with a smashed screen. Remove the screen and you've got the makings of a low-profile desktop. I've got an old Acer Aspire 7112 laptop as a file server/media streamer with USB hard drives. Does the trick great.

 

[Yaka]

nice monitor tho if he does go for a ion based one maybe a monitor with lower native res would be better for the gaming side at least if his mate tries to pla somat slightly more demanding

 

[old.Osy]

I love you guys. I'll give her the options tomorrow.

What's in it for us, we pussy enabled you.

 

[Wij]

What's in it for us, we pussy enabled you.

Live webcam ?

 

[Will]

Its my ex, so don't get your hopes up. I'm not.

 

[MYstIC G]

Then why are we even helping you? (Not that I am).