Question Need a new desktop PC, budget £300-£500

[Badgers]

Budget £300 - £500 ideally
Would prefer to pick it up (Brixton area) this weekend (or have to pay next day delivery)
kittyP would prefer a PC whilst I would prefer a laptop but am less bothered than her
For media and internet only really, don't really need MS office
Smaller unit would be preferred but not essential
Have a screen, mouse and keyboard so no bother there

It is not going to be moved around much and I do have a laptop I can use for office stuff or if we need one so is a PC the better option? Looking for something that will last for years and (if a laptop) have a large monitor plugged into it.

Have found and been suggest a few deals...

ASUS PC £549
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/deskt....html?themeid=383&token=pc-world-laptop-deals

HP PC £399
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1513747.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

HP PC £349
HP Intel Pentium 1TB 8GB Desktop PC Tower
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1084953.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

Toshiba Laptop £249
http://www.tesco.com/direct/toshiba...laptop/753-6039.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=753-6039

*Can get get these prices down £20ish with some codes/cashback

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Budget £300 - £500 ideally
Would prefer to pick it up (Brixton area) this weekend (or have to pay next day delivery)
kittyP would prefer a PC whilst I would prefer a laptop but am less bothered than her
For media and internet only really, don't really need MS office
Smaller unit would be preferred but not essential
Have a screen, mouse and keyboard so no bother there

It is not going to be moved around much and I do have a laptop I can use for office stuff or if we need one so is a PC the better option? Looking for something that will last for years and (if a laptop) have a large monitor plugged into it.

Have found and been suggest a few deals...

ASUS PC £549
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/deskt....html?themeid=383&token=pc-world-laptop-deals

HP PC £399
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1513747.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

HP PC £349
HP Intel Pentium 1TB 8GB Desktop PC Tower
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1084953.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

Toshiba Laptop £249
http://www.tesco.com/direct/toshiba...laptop/753-6039.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=753-6039

*Can get get these prices down £20ish with some codes/cashback

The Asus at 529 is way over the top, complete waste of money.
The first HP is low end but sufficient for what you're intending on using it for.
On the other hand the second HP is pretty puny, i'd aim for better.
Toshiba laptops are ok and it's well within budget.

Another option at the £400 range is this one: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/deskt...0-pdt.html?sPageInfo=2_20&sSortInfo=price-asc
The CPU is probably overkill for you but i'm a fan of overkill and a better choice of machine than the Argos HP option.
For a nice and compact desktop have a peek at this one:
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/deskt...1-pdt.html?sPageInfo=1_20&sSortInfo=price-asc
Which might be a better fit for you, the AMD low end graphics are generally better balanced.

 

[Badgers]

Cheers Bob_the_lost

Will a PC last longer than a laptop? Assume that the laptop is not moving around that much but needs to run a 24" monitor as well? Laptops have less storage but if a laptop costs £100 or so less this can be sorted with an external HD.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Cheers Bob_the_lost

Will a PC last longer than a laptop? Assume that the laptop is not moving around that much but needs to run a 24" monitor as well? Laptops have less storage but if a laptop costs £100 or so less this can be sorted with an external HD.

As a rule yes, desktops are designed for longer lifespans than Laptops. Either should be able to handle 3 years if treated with care. I trust them a lot more.

 

[joustmaster]

http://www.ebuyer.com/579770-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7873-0512
£350
quad core
3.9ghz
8GB ram
2TB HDD
Win 7

http://www.ebuyer.com/614237-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7873-0486
£420
quad core
3.1GHz
8GB RAM
2TB HDD
Win 8.1

 

[Badgers]

As a rule yes, desktops are designed for longer lifespans than Laptops. Either should be able to handle 3 years if treated with care. I trust them a lot more.

I think a PC it is then.
Kitty wants one and if it is likely give us a longer life good news.

 

[Badgers]

http://www.ebuyer.com/579770-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7873-0512
£350
quad core
3.9ghz
8GB ram
2TB HDD
Win 7

Like the cut of this ones jib
Can order for delivery tomorrow too.

8GB of RAM seems plenty
2TB HDD is more than I expected.
Happy with the Windows 7 OS

Is the AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz okay?
Never bought or used a Zoostorm machine, are they okay?
1 Year Collect and Return Warranty is fairly standard eh?

 

[joustmaster]

Like the cut of this ones jib
Can order for delivery tomorrow too.

8GB of RAM seems plenty
2TB HDD is more than I expected.
Happy with the Windows 7 OS

Is the AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz okay?
Never bought or used a Zoostorm machine, are they okay?
1 Year Collect and Return Warranty is fairly standard eh?

I haven't used that processor myself. But it looks OK on paper.

I buy these Zoostorm PCs for work sometimes. Usually when I need something cheap and powerful, that will arrive very quickly.
I've not seen one fail yet.

It is a silly name for a computer though.

 

[EastEnder]

Possibly a bit over powered for your needs...

 

[kittyP]

At the moment we are struggling by on a Sony Viao laptop, that's dying, for all our media (don't have a TV or stereo or anything else), so, as long as it plays what I want to watch and listen to and lasts for as long as possible, we are all good.
Oh and internet browsing and torrenting.

 

[editor]

Just to throw something different in the mix:

The Fujitsu Esprimo Q520 is a truly powerful business PC, with excellent ergonomics and superb build quality. It's also a mini PC with a DVD drive.

Read more: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/desktop-pc/3481653/fujitsu-esprimo-q520-review/

£460 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujitsu-Esprimo-Micro-Intel-pentium/dp/B00GOOYYPS

*Thread title edited for clarity

 

[Virtual Blue]

https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/infinity_apollo_se/

 

[Mr Smin]

I can squeeze a lot more than 3 years out of a desktop. Like Bob_the_lost said, if treated with care. Try to keep it away from small children, dust, and tobacco smoke.

 

[Epona]

I can squeeze a lot more than 3 years out of a desktop. Like Bob_the_lost said, if treated with care. Try to keep it away from small children, dust, and tobacco smoke.

And cat hair.

But yes, same here - my gaming PC is over 3 years old now but I maintain it and it still feels like 'my new PC' if that makes any sense. I upgraded the graphics card last year, and want to add a bit of RAM this year. Of course a PC for gaming is a whole different beast than a PC for 'normal stuff', it's unlikely that a web browser or media player has ever made anyone sigh and turn out their wallets for a component upgrade

 

[Bob_the_lost]

I can squeeze a lot more than 3 years out of a desktop. Like Bob_the_lost said, if treated with care. Try to keep it away from small children, dust, and tobacco smoke.

Some/many people do but i read somewhere that the average life of laptops (in at least one major use case) is about 2.5 years.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Well my 7 year desktop sparked a fire and died last night (lucky I didn't leave it on over night).

Just bought a low range sony vaio i5 for under £500.
Hoping it will last at least 4-5 years...