Can one of you look at this and say if it is a good deal or not?

[Pushkin]

Product Description
Additional Information
Details
Featuring a 250gb Sata Hard Drive and 4gb of DDR3 1333 Memory and the Gigabyte M68MT-S2P Motherboard. GIGABYTE was the first motherboard manufacturer to realize the importance of using only the highest quality components for the critically important CPU VRM zone of the motherboard which is responsible for delivering stable power to the CPU. The GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 Classic design utilizes Solid Capacitors manufactured in Japan which are rated to last for at least 50,000 hours in operational use and also Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs which feature lower resistance, i.e. reduced power consumption and heat.

GIGABYTE motherboards feature a 3x USB power boost, delivering greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices. GIGABYTE’s unique USB power design is also able to efficiently regulate output over the full voltage range, which greatly enhances USB device compatibility. In addition, dedicated lower resistance fuses ensure lower voltage drops, and provide more stable and plentiful power delivery.

Unbeatable multi-core value with AMD FX Bulldozer processors. They deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience for high definition entertainment, advanced multitasking performance, and power-saving innovations for smaller, cooler machines that are energy efficient.

Interface: Socket AM3+ FX 4100 3.6Ghz
Bus Speed: One 2000 MHz 16-bit Hyper Transport link
No. of Cores: 4
Core Name: Zambezi
Core Frequency: 3.60GHz

Patriot Memory's Signature Line DDR3 Non-ECC Unbuffered memory delivers quality, reliability and performance expected for today's computer needs

Type: DDR3
Capacity: 4GB
Clock Speed: 1333MHz

250gb SATA hard drive reduce power consumption and offer best-in-class acoustics and operating temperature.

Capacity: 250gb
Interface: S-ATA/300

With more than twice the processing power of previous generation AMD discrete graphics cards, ATI Radeon HD 5450 Series graphics cards deliver a cinematic gaming experience and unprecedented performance.

Interface: PCI Express 2.0 With DVI and HDMI Output
Video Memory: 1GB, Hyper Memory: 2GB
Memory Type: DDR3
Engine Clock: 650MHz
Memory Clock: 800MHz
Memory Interface: 64-bit

Our ATI Radeon 5450 Graphics card has 1gb dedicated graphics Memory with the Ability to use the hyper Memory feature to boost it right up to 2gb.

Additional Information
customPCFeatures Gigabyte M68 Motherboard Technology
AMD Bulldozer FX 4100 3.6ghz 8mb Cache
250gb Sata Hard Drive
4gb DDR3 1333 Memory
Galaxy 3 Gamers Style Case
24x Dual Layer Sata DVD Writer
ATI Radeon 5450 1gb DDR3 with HDMI With Hyper Memory upto 2gb

Motherboard Manufacturer Gigabyte
Motherboard Included Gigabyte M68MT-S2P
CPU Socket AMD AM3 / AM3+
Graphics Card ATI Radeon 5450 1gb
Case Built In Galaxy 3 Case
Model Number GigaN68PFX4100v1
EAN Number 5055592800601
No OS but can cover that okay. Price for the above is £244. It sounds a great price but is the build itself a good un?

I'll be using it for normal office type work as well as some intermediate gaming ( sons have both left home now and the computer belongs to me and Mrs Pushkin again!) as well as some photo editing and all the card craft stuff missus P does.

Cheers folks.

[scaryjim]

5450 isn't even vaguely a gaming card, so unless your gaming intentions are *very* casual you might find it a bit underpowered. Motherboard is budget but OK, CPU isn't bad, 4GB memory is bog standard, 250GB hard drive is a little small. Also no mention of the brand/specs of the PSU, which makes me very suspicious that it's running an a generic no-name, which is rarely a good sign. Overall it's not a terrible build, but I have my reservations.

tbh, you'll probably get a better PC for your purposes if you look for something with an A6 or A8 APU in it - either self build or pre-built. Cheap computers are inevitably cheap for a reason: someone's cut a corner somewhere.

If you're up for building yourself, Amazon are currently doing the A6-3670K stupid cheap, and even without that I can put together an entire Llano based build for < £244 on ebuyer:

A6-3650, ASRock A75M-HVS motherboard, 2x2GB Crucial low voltage DDR3-1600 RAM, Standard mATX tower with BeQuiet PurePower L7 300W PSU, 500GB SATA hard drive, and SATA DVD-RW drive.

That spec will give very similar CPU performance, better graphics performance, probably slightly low power consumption, has a quality branded PSU, and double the hard drive capacity. And it costs less So it's all down to whether you're willing to build it yourself, really...

[Pushkin]

ScaryJim - cheers man for taking time out and replying. Here is the link to the original add that I found http://www.freshtechsolutions.co.uk/..._store=default There is a wee bit more detail on the advert itself which may clarify what is there or not!. Really just trying to get something that will more or less plug in and go and has to be reasonably inexpensive. My old system is dying in fits and starts - was good when new and has done us 6 years or so but feel it is now begining to break up. Not sure if it is worth trying to rescue or not? Spec on it is AMD Athlon 64x2 dual core processors 4400+ Socket 939. Mobo is ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Installed ram is 512 system memory. HD is 251GB Graphics is Radeon X1800 series - 256 Ram. Realtek sound card. OS is XP - when it works. Think the latter part may be down to me being a bit too enthusiastic when clearing out chaff and sometimes getting rid of too much. Tried the on board rescue and that has helped a bit (Dare I say its a MESH computer?) Never noticed that I didn't get a disc for the OS as I was pretty sure it was preloaded. In teh paast we used to have DAVE on this forum who would try to help out if it was a MESH and he aeven managed to get my MOBO manual sent out to me - don't understand why it hadn't been sent originally. Wonder if calling them would get them to send a disc in so I can re-load the full thing?

SJ - not sure what a Llano based build is that you talk about in your reply? You can tell I don't know very much eh?

Regards

Pushkin

[scaryjim]

I've had a look at that website and I wouldn't buy a computer off them, they are using cheap generic PSUs, priced far too low to actually be any good.

I'm afraid your old PC is probably past saving now, the technology is several generations old and it's definitely time to get something new. Based on your old specifications I think the new rig you were looking at would be a bit disappointing. I'll have a shop around and get back to you later with some pre-built recommendations

[Pushkin]

ScaryJim - thanks very much for your input. Kinda thought the old system was basically past it. I look forward to what you can come up with - all help warmly welcomed.

Regards

Pushkin

[Pushkin]

Hello again folks, Still on the hunt for a reasonable priced computer with fairly good innards. I've come up with two from the same company and I wonder what others of you on the forums think of them?

Option 1 is £299
AMD A4 3300 FM1 APU PROCESSOR (With high end onboard graphics!)
8 GIG DDR3 MEMORY
2000 GIG SATA HARD DRIVE

ASUS FM1 F1A75-M MOTHERBOARD

ONBOARD HD GRAPHICS WITH HDMI
7.1 CHANNEL SOUNDCARD
SONY DVD±RW 24X SATA 7240S DVD WRITER
CIT 1007 PC CASE
POWER SUPPLY 600 WATT UPGRADE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option number 2 is £345
AMD ATHLON II X4 651 FM1 4 CORE PROCESSOR (2.8GHZ)
8 GIG DDR3 MEMORY
1000 GIG SATA HARD DRIVE
ASUS FM1 F1A55-M LE M-ATX Motherboard
PALIT 1GB GEFORCE GTX 550Ti GRAPHICS CARD
7.1 CHANNEL SOUNDCARD
SONY DVD±RW 24X SATA 7240S DVD WRITER
CIT 1007 PC CASE
POWER SUPPLY 600 WATT UPGRADE

Both these options will need an OS. I still have my Windows XP disc but would also consider moving on a bit.
Any and all help/advice warmly appreciated.

Pushkin

[Larkspeed]

My advice would be if you are going to buy from a site like that factor in your budget immediately replacing the PSU

It's one thing you never want to scrimp on, if your PSU blows it can take lots of other things with it, plus I have heard of quite a few stories of cheap PSU's spontaneously catching fire.

out of the 2 you list there option 2 looks like the nicer system, stick a good quality 600watt PSU in there and you are good to go.

Also if you still have your XP disk and key, I read recently they are doing Win 7 upgrades for 15 quid from XP

[scaryjim]

Hi Pushkin, many apologies but I complete forgot about this thread! Shocking, I know

Anyway, I've found a very simple solution to this. Buy one of these: http://www.ebuyer.com/389624-zoostor...p-pc-7873-1067 and then get one of these to go with it: http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microso...ia-1-gfc-02050

That's a Zoostorm A6-3670K desktop box, plus a Windows 7 64bit OEM license, total cost £330. Zoostorm are a fairly reliable OEM, and that's a far better PC than anything I've seen at anywhere near the price. The core components are basically the same as the AMD bundle 3 forumites won in a competition recently, we've all done reviews:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-reader...ml#post2548937
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-reader...le-review.html
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-reader...amacallit.html

Fantastic box for general use and moderate gaming. Orders over £50 get free saver delivery from ebuyer, which is very reliable and occasionally turns up next day! So if you need them you can stick a new mouse and keyboard etc. in the order too.

I honestly don't think you'll find a better deal anywhere else.

[Pushkin]

Larkspeed and Scary Jim - thanks to both of you for replying. If it helps, here is the link to the manufacturer of option 2 in my last post above.
http://www.3000rpm.com/acatalog/copy...PC-System.html

From the details page - the PSU is a 6oowatt one Larkspeed.

ScaryJim, how does this one compare with the Zoostorm one you speak of?

Thanks very much for helping me with this guys - I think iot is all getting a wee bit clearer in my head now: especially after reading the links you posted scaryJim.

Pushkin

[Larkspeed]

well personally I would not trust that PSU, retail price on it is between 13 and 15 quid.

It's not even bronze 80 certified, it's only 72% efficiency which is pretty bad

It's got very few power connections on it.

It is just a very cheap and nasty PSU and I think you will find that anybody on these forums will tell you not to trust it.

I know I would not want it anywhere near my PC, I use a Coolermaster GX Lite 600 which retails for around 40 quid, has lots of power, lots of connections, is bronze 80 certified and I trust it.

[dacads]

The zoostorm has a 300w which will probably be very poor too and hanging on a string..boom

[vettieboo]

The zoostorm has a 300w which will probably be very poor too and hanging on a string..boom

Nothing wrong with a 300W Power Supply (PSU) if it's a decent quality one (80+ certified and a reputable manufacturer), but I would agree that if you got the Zoostorm I'd replace the PSU immediately. Rule of thumb is that if it isn't mentioned on the specs, the PSU is not generally to be trusted. I would probably go for a Be Quiet for a cheap modular option (has detachable cables so you can take off any you don't need for management) Here but generally look for 80+ certified and don't be tricked by something with high wattage and low price, it's usually (not always) about 100W per £10.