Please help me decide what to do

Hi all

I have a bit of a dilemma, my current main computer has a dodgy power supply which means it can't handle any taxing tasks such as games, because my computer turns itself off. I'm assuming it's the power supply because a funny buzzing noise is coming from it. My computer is 3 years old, based around AMD X2 4200+ 2Gib Ram and 7800Gtx. It's served me well, but to be honest i'm a bit fed up of its size and noise. I now have a few options open to me.

1. Replace the power supply ~ £70
2. Buy Dell XPS One at %50 at the moment ~ £606 (Hardware is quite out of date but I like the form factor
3. Buy equivalent Dell upto £600 (not so keen on the tower form factor unless I can get something small and quiet)
4. Less keen on this but could build my own.

Financially option 1 makes much more sense because it's cheapest. I can afford all the options but hopefully in September next year I will have a proper, better paid job so I could then afford a really good new computer, so it might be better to upgrade later.

I like gaming so the Dell XPS one would limit this, but it would cope with all that I would need, I'm not fussed about the latest and greatest games. The hardware in it is quite out of date though and I could get much better for the same price with a normal tower PC.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could give me some advice. I really really like the look of the Dell XPS one it would give me something quieter and more functional than I already have and it would take up a lot less space.

Many Thanks

Andy

Well for just under £700 you could have the Dell XPS Studio which is i7 based and an alround monster for the money :)

It's quiet too apparently.

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/...codes-coupons/

even get blu ray for under £700.

Your current graphics card may or may not be better than the one in there though, that's it's only weakness.

If you really want a smaller pc, then it is worth buying a new rig.

But if what you REALLY want is a reliabe, quiter pc, then buying a new PSU is a very good idea. That twin core AMD with 2 gig of ram and a 7800 is not a bad machine at all.

I'd stick with it for at least another 6 months for gaming, and if you get a chance of a video upgrade early next year go for it for under £100.

But both of those idea are only good if you'll then build your own pc in the future when you'll use the PSU and possibly the graphics card too.

Can you borrow a good PSU from someone? I lent a nice PSU to a mate, and he was so shocked how quiet his PC became with it, he realised that it was all he wanted.

I fear I got a little carried away there :laugh: Yes in your position I would just get a decent PSU :)

in addition, if you decided that it was worth a PSU, you COULD do this:

Go to Scan's website tonight or tomorrow before noon.
Look at the Today Only page
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Scroll down to the Coolermaster PSU's and look at the deal where you could buy one for under £70 AND get a PSU testing device.

Then, you could TEST your own PSU, make sure it's faulty or weak, replace the unit with the new one and keep the tester for the future.

If it's NOT faulty, its just not up to the job, keep the new unit, and sell the older one on ebay to someone.

Oh I'd say the PSU is definitely faulty, it made this noise sort of like a loud bang, and everything went black :s so I definitely need a new PSU, I may be able to get a warranty replacement though, so i'll look into that.

I don't know anyone that could lend me one so I can't test to see if the PSU took anything with it. So now i'm leaning more towards getting a new computer.

I'd use the money from your new job to build yourself a brand new rig, costs time and effort, buy definately worth it once you have a kick-ass rig :)