Which new PC should I get Hivemind?

[Satanist]

Bought parts from overclockersuk a few months back and my mate built it for me. No idea whats in it but so far its played everything I chuck at it. Came in at £520 without monitor as Ive got it hooked up to me telly.

I know thats not very helpful but for £550 you should get a good machine and my mate swears by overclockers and he is also in IT.

[Dandontdare]

I got a Dell PC with XP installed a few years back and have been thinking of oomphing up the graphics and speed- if I bought a 'tailor made' PC rather than a retail model, can I transfer XP over as I don't have it on disk? Or am I better waiting till Windows 7 comes out and buying a new PC with everything included?  I'm a tech-ignoramus, so the first option scares me somewhat!

I'm glad my personal dislike of Vista seems to have been borne out by the consensus - now if only they could prove that i-phones make your knob smaller...

[Banners]

If you got XP pre-installed on your existing machine it's likely to have been an OEM version of Windows, which means you won't be able to transfer it, quite apart from not having the disc.

It's a general rule of buying a new PC to wait as long as you dare - as by definition, things are always getting better and cheaper. You can also guarantee that the 'next big thing' will be announced the day after your shiny new machine arrives(!)

Windows XP will be supported for many years to come, but Windows 7 seems highly regarded (it's basically Vista done right) so it would just seem sensible to wait a few months to get in pre-installed, rather than have to go through the cost and hassle of an OS upgrade further down the road. For me, it's all about the apps (Adobe, specifically) and games. If they continue to work on XP then I see no reason to upgrade. Hell, I even run in 'Classic' mode so my desktop still looks like Windows 98(!)

If you're just looking to upgrade, RAM is cheap enough these days and can make a huge difference, and a decent graphics card such as the Nvidia 9600GT or the ATI Radeon 4850 needn't cost much. Also, returning everything to the factory default (assuming you have a restore partition) and starting over from scratch can can breathe new life into an old Windows machine, though in my case this takes several hours and requires lots of backing-up beforehand(!)

M@

[Minkyboy]

Well I went for this machine: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... -OK&tool=5 from OverclockersUK.
Just the box, no software. £349.99.

Pros
It turned up within 48hrs after I ordered it. Packaging was very careful, very neat.
They included all the empty boxes and literature for the components inside (motherboard, graphics card etc.)
Took the side off (obviously first thing you do!) and was very tidy inside, cable tied down, lots of space.
It is QUIET, very quiet!
Installed XP and stuck my old HD in it to make the transfer of files easier.
It boots up within seconds.
Stalker: Clear Sky and Bioshock look incredible! Just incredible.
I can upgrade to quadcore and Windows 7 in the future.

Cons
It only has onboard sound BUT it supports 7.1 and sounds fine to me.
Can't dual graphics card in the future, BUT wouldn't want to.
Needed adaptor to connect my old 19" CRT monitor to the graphics card BUT they included one in the box.
Didn't come with shiny new mouse, keyboard, speakers, monitor or anything BUT I knew that and is reflected in the price.

For a cheap and cheerful replacement games machine I am very impressed.

One happy Minky here.
I ordered Fallout 3 to celebrate!

Thanks for all your help and advice.

I dread the day I have to get a new PC. This thread might as well be written in a foreign language.

Just come on here Jimbo, tell people in English what you need it to do and a price and let the Hivemind do all the techie bit for and give you "buy this, this or this" options!

[Banners]

It's a great feeling having a new PC. Glad it arrived with no problems. Enjoy!

M@

[Minkyboy]

Oh I am! I am!

Its even staying cool in this heat!