Hi all,

 

I need a cheap "up to date" desktop for general home use (mostly internet surfing plus email, photos storage / editing and general use for the kids homework etc.) and to keep the wife / daughters happy and stop them grumbling...

 

I don't need any peripherals (already have screen / keyboard / mice / external HDD / spare DVD and CD writers etc.) so basically just need a new 'box' that I can set up quickly and bung the latest version of Office on (that I can get through work / school) and that will supplement the tablets / phones / netbooks etc. we already have...

 

I've therefore seen this on ebuyer:

 

https://www.ebuyer.com/901428-punch-technology-athlon-8gb-1tb-hdd-amd-vega-win10-home-desktop-pc-hdt-701-1027

 

Any thoughts or has anyone seen anything cheaper with a better / similar spec?

 

Thanks in advance

Not had too much of a look at the spec but I'd suggest getting an SSD instead of a HDD. 

Have a look on Amazon , here's an example-

 

Definitely get an SSD, it makes so much difference to a system. I'd personally prefer Intel over AMD, but I won't start that one. You're right to be looking at something with at least 8gig of RAM

 

My last 2 desktops have both been bought through Dell outlet and are still going after about 14 and 8 years respectively. If you buy through the small business channel, the support is spot on (they don't check if you are a business). Although the only time I've ever needed it was for a keyboard, they didn't even try to troubleshoot it, they just overnight couriered me a new one. 

15 hours ago, skomaz said:

basically just need a new 'box'

As others, get one with an SSD, and forget about "defragging too".

13 hours ago, StevesTruck said:

. I'd personally prefer Intel over AMD, but I won't start that one

+1 to this line...

 

another +1 for Intel though that's probably just an irrational prejudice.  SSD is a must, that and minimum 8Gb RAM makes much more difference than the processor for everyday things. SSD's are very cheap now and if you're buying a tower swapping and replacing bits is amazingly easy. A small SSD for operating system and programs and a large HDD for data can work well. We used ebuyer a lot over the years and never had any issues and while you can sometimes  find a good deal there not sure they're as keen on price as they used to be. Agreeing with StevesTruck, I always found Dell to be solid and reliable but then we rarely had issues with any of the main makes like HP or Lenevo. 

I've bought a few eBay £30 Dells/HP. You could install a SSD, download win 7 from Dell or Hp website and the update to win 10. These came with no disk and 4 GB ram easily updated to 8 or more. Not sure if the upgrade to 10 is still available. In fact one of mine is exactly the same as that one for sale, but mine cost £30 for the box with a intel G3020 (fine for most stuff). I stuck in a £16 SSD and I had another 4gb ram. (£20ish) and updated the processor to an i5 4470. (£40). I certainly wouldn't buy that reconditioned unit for that price you could get a modern Ryzen based system for not much more.

I've run AMD and Intel over the year with good results form both. AMD is offering better bang for your buck right now so can be a good deal.

Thanks all for the feedback - I'd forgotten the SSD element so a good call there and glad I'm right to look for at least 8Gb RAM.

 

I have no issues in swapping HDD's around from the old machines to a new one to act as general storage as opposed to OS.  One thought I did have was upgrading the existing machines to Windows 10 but I think that may have been kyboshed due to memory (I bunged some new sticks in it a month or so ago to try and that killed it - it wouldn't even start up but was fine with the old stuff back in).

 

I therefore probably need to do some more digging for bargains as I could do with a 'quick fix' and have the feeling I'll have loads of stuff left over from two existing older machines...

I managed to build a usable basic Linux PC on a Raspberry Pi3.

£45 inc case. The Pi4 is out now and is even more powerful.

 

 

@skomaz Im assuming by putting

Quote

"up to date"

that you dont need the latest cutting edge technology? Will you need an optical drive slot in the case? For basic stuff 8gb should be fine.
I know you said can get office through work, would the same be for windows 10 or would you need that?

The reason I ask is I build/upgrade PCs as a small hobby/business. And could probably sort you something out...for example, just looking at the rig you saw on Ebuyer, For about £20 more I could build the same but with an M2 SSD, newer chipset motherboard and high quality PSU. That way, it'd still be upgradeable in the future if your needs changed (for example, it could be turned into a mid-range gaming rig for the kids in a few years with just a GPU and CPU swap😉 ) or if you just wanted to go for cheapest parts possible (Which id never recommend, always get decent brands!) it could come in much cheaper.

 

OK @robt100 you've got my attention...

 

Nope we don't need cutting edge technology (ATM...)   I have that through work albeit very 'locked down'...   so the home PC is literally for the wife and kids to surf the net, email, do basic photo editing and to do homework on, plus occasional updating to phones / tablets and the like.  Currently all of that is done via a 12 year old desktop running XP that I 'think' is as follows (I've added to it a few times):

 

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 / Asrock Conroe1333-D667 / 2.0GB DDR2 667mhz RAM / 2x 512GB SATA2 HDD's (one purely as a back up) / DVD±RW SATA / CD RW

 

However, I'm getting complaints that it's starting to 'make some strange noises', occasionally fails to fire up and is causing the odd compatibility issue with websites, on the homework front and with other IT kit that needs updating via a PC with a newer OS.

 

No-one in our house games (all girls bar me and I have no interest in that sort of stuff) so no need for anything fancy on the graphics front but I am currently working through ripping my CD collection (hence the need for an optical drive or at least to be able to transfer the existing one over) and an SD card reader for the camera cards wouldn't go amiss as the current USB multi-card one we have is a bit hit and miss...

 

I guess I'm therefore a bit of a luddite (you should see my phone / tablet and netbooks!) so am simply looking for something that can do the basic stuff but with up-to-date OS etc. that can make use of existing peripherals (eg Canon ip 4500 printer / wireless mouse and keyboard / VGA monitor) and the like which all work fine ATM...

 

I know I'm a luddite but let me know what you think - I'm all ears!

 

PS - just checked at home re the above and no extra requirements flagged...   they just want "a machine that works with W7 or W10..."

Edited 6 February, 20206 yr by skomaz
added PS

I have had positive dealings with @robt100 BTW ...

@skomaz right, that sounds like an easy job then! Something to last another 10 years for basic tasks. What I shall do is price you up something via PM, then you can compare to what's out there (I will give a few links to systems it is similar to on 'big brand' websites so you have an idea). If you're interested we can go from there🤗

13 minutes ago, robt100 said:

@skomaz right, that sounds like an easy job then! Something to last another 10 years for basic tasks. What I shall do is price you up something via PM, then you can compare to what's out there (I will give a few links to systems it is similar to on 'big brand' websites so you have an idea). If you're interested we can go from there🤗

 

Great...   Sounds like plan and much appreciated!!

PM Sent (Yep, been typing it up this whole time!)

Bit ;late in to this post, but if you are  up to a build, then look at buying a mother board ++ job lot. Then again, the likes of Aria and  Novatech do some god ready builds or perhaps even look at a  board + from them,as no doubt you will have the HDD/cd /dvd etc . And now is prhaps the time to go SSD for the system hard drive. I'm running W10 + XP on a Kingstone 120 GB with a Sata Seaman mech one for storage.