New computer advice sought

[PIGGLET]

I'm looking for a new desktop 'pooter and was told about cube 247 a while ago.
At the time I asked what folk thought and Fanum thought they seemed expensive. After having another look at their PULSAR ST7 it seems well spec'd and fairly reasonably priced compared to other stuff I've looked at. My GF reckons that Dell have some good deals available but to get the same spec as the cube they seem to be more expensive when I look We've both got laptops at the mo so a base unit isn't an option. I'd ideally like something that will handle digital SLR images/photoshop and videos and last 5 years if possible
Anyone got any thoughts or recommendations?

TIA

 

[enabb]

If it,s for pic,s and stuff I would go down the Mac route.....got a 4/5 year old ibook I us for pic,s, it still knocks my new dell laptop (good spec) for six...


just me 2d worth.....

 

[PIGGLET]

Whats the compatability like between mac and microsoft now? The missus will need it to work from home on MS office based stuff as thats what her company uses. Also is mapsource now compatible with apple?

 

[cookie]

Whats the compatability like between mac and microsoft now? The missus will need it to work from home on MS office based stuff as thats what her company uses. Also is mapsource now compatible with apple?

MS Office 04 for Macs runs very happily on mine.

latest garmin Bobcat beta looks good, but not really tried it. it's a testbed for eventual release (i hope) as a mapsource equivalent for mac.

for running full mapsource you'll need to run windows on any mac you buy. very doable.

 

[PIGGLET]

Just had a look at the Imac, it seems about twice the price of a conventional PC Is that right or am I missing something
They look nice but with the budget now set at £600 they might be out of my price range for the performance I'm after.

 

[POG]

Why not build your own ? It's not as hard as you would think.

 

[cookie]

Just had a look at the Imac, it seems about twice the price of a conventional PC Is that right or am I missing something
They look nice but with the budget now set at £600 they might be out of my price range for the performance I'm after.

you've not missed anything. they are somewhat overpriced compared to a pc of similar performance

 

[PIGGLET]

you've not missed anything. they are somewhat overpriced compared to a pc of similar performance

Bummer, looks like that ideas out the window untill I'm a bit better off then

Why not build your own ? It's not as hard as you would think.

I must admit I've not costed the components out this time as last time I did it only worked out about £50 cheaper than buying one with a warranty. I'll stop being lazy and give it another go. Are dabs and ebuyer still the best places to look?

Ta

 

[POG]

Bummer, looks like that ideas out the window untill I'm a bit better off then



I must admit I've not costed the components out this time as last time I did it only worked out about £50 cheaper than buying one with a warranty. I'll stop being lazy and give it another go. Are dabs and ebuyer still the best places to look?

Ta

Yes and also have a look at http://www.cclonline.com/ in Bradford, as well as www.overclockers.co.uk as they both have deals on various components regularly

 

[cookie]

i'm a fan of tekheads for bits, but although i tend to build my own pcs, i wouldn't recommend it as a cost saving measure

 

[PIGGLET]

Cheers guys

i'm a fan of tekheads for bits, but although i tend to build my own pcs, i wouldn't recommend it as a cost saving measure

Is that because of the potential to feck it up or due to the law that dictates all self build projects whatever they are will go over budget due to "well i might as well get that one for an extra couple of quid"

 

[cookie]

Cheers guys



Is that because of the potential to feck it up or due to the law that dictates all self build projects whatever they are will go over budget due to "well i might as well get that one for an extra couple of quid"

building a pc is not that hard. depends on a bit of knowledge and aptitude i guess though.
hard to do it cheaply, but at least you get to pick the quality of the components.
having said that, Personal Computer World Magazine did a step by step build of a pc for about £100 recently. true, it was running linux, but they did cover a slightly better model with XP.

only build one if you'd actually enjoy the job itself, or want the satisfaction of using something you've made.

tip: cheat nick the spec of a pc by Dell say, then hunt around for the components. improve as required.

 

[BeemerBaz]

I am in a similar boat whereby I am looking at buying a PC. I have built my last 2 and have to agree that the savings are very minimal for the effort it takes to collect and install.

I do like the look and spec of that ST7

 

[BeemerBaz]

Buggerit....... Bought it !!

 

[PIGGLET]

Anyhting that keeps me inside on my days off causes great frustration at the moment (a recent plumbing job is springing to mind) so the DIY route is probably a recipe for disaster

Buggerit....... Bought it !!

Nice one, let me know what you reckon when it lands
I'm now looking at the cube lynx st or a quad core mesh for around £600.
Need to save a few pennies for some wilbers

 

[BeemerBaz]

I compared like-for-like with High St shops and nothing can match the spec for the price.

 

[Andy Davies]

Buggerit....... Bought it !!

Well I'd be interested to hear your impressions when you've had time to get some!! I've squeezed the last bit of performance from an 8 year old Evesham machine (it was high spec at the time) and it's end is nigh! The Cube looks good!

Andy

 

[AxeGrinder]

Bummer, looks like that ideas out the window untill I'm a bit better off then



I must admit I've not costed the components out this time as last time I did it only worked out about £50 cheaper than buying one with a warranty. I'll stop being lazy and give it another go. Are dabs and ebuyer still the best places to look?

Ta

I built a quad core intel based flying machine for £404 (inc shippng for each component and a very apt Ferrari Enzo case) six months ago...got most parts from ebay...takes a while to find the bits at the right price, but definatley doable, and very satisfying. Six months later athe machine is still flying and never had a problem...other then the rare and to be expected lock up...saved cash, getting an slightly older (one year), yet perfectly serviceable graphics card, which can be upgraded any time in future...

I didn't skimp by buying low quality parts either, and I also selected parts with lowest power consumption availble, so it's a green flying machine.

All the Cubes I've seen are expensive. Same goes for Mesh.

I'm not a Mac fan...they always crash and slow down when using Autocad...my #1 tool.

My previous machine, I had also built myself nearly 5 years ago...a P4, which is still realtivly quick, considering...just not quick enough for proffesional design work...hence the Quad, which I expect to last many years to come, due to a motherboard capable of clock speeds I cannot even get components for at this time, without spending as much again on a CPU alone...these will be way cheaper in 3-4 years time, when I need to upgrade