Hardware

[Street cry]

Hi guys i am hoping for some help probably from Keith as usual . My computer is 8 years old now and although good at the time and cost my dad 1700 £ it needs replacing . I had a niceish thinkpad laptop but more or less f****d it so......... I am looking to get a new system but what do i need . I like to have about ten windows open at a time so will need a decent top end presumabley and i want it to be really quick as i want to have spread sheets and bots running too . If i have to i will buy two towers with a switch box to on screen and go between the two but not sure if someone could enlighten me as to what i might need i would be greatful .My new system will simply be a betting tool nothing else so no games , music , other cr*p just spread sheets bet angel went to computer shop won't name and the geek just tried to sell me what was basically a gamers pc with loads of multi media stuff huge screen and speakers for £1750 and i didn't really see the benefits of most of the stuff on it . As you guys are knowledgeable about the type of software and activities i will be using/doing you will no doubt be more helpful reputation point for anyone who gets in there before keith !!!!!! thanks SC

[TheOldhamWhisper]

Dell do a decent spec machine for around £400 including a 17" TFT - if you're not running games, it'll handle pretty much anything you throw at it.

[Street cry]

Does it have a big ram and what ram do i need is 512 enough

[TheOldhamWhisper]

512 is OK for what you are running - if you want to spend a little more, get an upgrade to 1Gb when you buy the machine.

[Street cry]

Will 1gb be really fast even when i have loads of stuff openi am sick of the slowness and crashing

[TheOldhamWhisper]

It'll be more than enough - I run a 50 machine network on less than that!

[Street cry]

thanks OW you have been more than hopeful glad i didn't buy something really expensive . Anyone who wants to suggest a particular model or anything feel free

[Win2Win]

Dell are expensive, they just make them look cheap, what the advertise is basically a barebones system, that does nothing.

I done a lot of pricing up, and apart from building from scratch, Watford Aries (http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=19077&a=1207534&g=671439)computers can be built from scratch, but all you do is select the parts, and they build it for you, so it is fully working when you get it. http://www.savastore.com (http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=19077&a=1207534&g=671439). I sell a lot of these to my customers, and never been any problems.

You don't mention how much you want to spend, but the Performa 5573N is pretty future proof with the 64-bit chip fro £599, and will do everything you need it to, and is more than adequate to play the latest games on.

If you click on BUILD IT, select the following, otherwise leave as default;

480W ATX v2.0 Power Supply (+£34, ensures it is abel to handle future upgrades, otherwise select the 350W to ensure stability)
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (-£26, downgrading will save money, and make little difference to overall speed).
Change "Security Software Option" to Symantec Norton Internet Security 2006 (+£25)
Do not waste money on a warrany.


All that gives you one of the latest spec PC's for £637.78, delivered to your door in full working order. (Cheaper than a similar Dell model)

[bigcumba]

Does it have a big ram

There should be one in the field out back of Keith's house.:)

[Street cry]

Cheers Keith star man as usual i would have paid a lot more than that as i see it as an investment , i wil look at the one you recommend my accountant said i could get about 30% tax back on it anyway . I thought dells were generally good but i will give em a miss . what i'm on now was atop spec compaq but 8 yrs old it struggles for speed . Speed to me is all important now with trading bots etc as is reliability so if you could catch that big ram out the back of your house i would be very greatful SC

[Win2Win]

Look.........it wasn't my fault......the damn animal fell on my :icon_tong while I was having a pee OK!!!;fire

[Win2Win]

If your budget can afford it, selecting a higher grade graphics card for it adds speed more than the processor does, depending on what you're doing. But that one I point out would handle all the bots no problem.

[Street cry]

Cheers keith this computer will be solely for betting /trading purposes as long as it can handle all the bots and browser windows i need up and the screen is clear for viewing the mile long if statements then i will be happy gonna have a look at that one you said now lot cheaper than the one i nearly bought yesterday was

[Win2Win]

Instead of using long IF's get the Dummies guide to VBA from Amazon. Easy to learn, and makes the software more powerful.

[Street cry]

:dunker Thanks Keith but i don't think my brain will be able to handle it

[Win2Win]

It's easy, trust me, and for £14 you at least must give it a go, as you'll discover you can make Excel do anything. Also improves your career prospects by a huge amount.

[TheOldhamWhisper]

I'm with you there Keith - learning VBA is a must. Once you get the basics, you can go online to find the more complicated stuff but you can normally find a ready-built bit of code that somebody else has already written to do the job. Knowing the basics of VBA means you can cobble them together to make Excel do just about anything.

[Street cry]

i'll have a look at it just downloaded a vba beginners guide in adobe so if i can understand it which is unlikely i will give it a go

[Win2Win]

Took me a week to learn, you only need to do the first half of the Dummies guide, that is all you need for bots.

[John]

Look.........it wasn't my fault......the damn animal fell on my :icon_tong while I was having a pee OK!!!;fire

I bet it felt like a little prick. :)

SavaStore are excellent, I think it's a great tool that you can build your PC up from scratch and they build it for you. I've been computer-crazy for yonks now but haven't ever gotten into hardware myself, so building a PC would be a little tricky. I was thinking of upgrading this lump of beige yuck sometime this year, but am more than likely going to wait and buy myself a Mac when I can afford it (after I graduate). If I change my mind it's likely I'll get one of the SavaStore PC's and build my own.

[presto]

i completely dissagree on the 'dell are expensive' - keith.
i run 3 computers - 2 of them dell, they are both superb and great value for cash.

spec:
celeron - 3.06 GHz
504 MB RAM
80GB HDD
17" TFT
no fancy graphigs or sound - but i don't use them
price £350 dec05

pentium 4 - 2.8 GHZ
760 MB RAM
40GB HDD
17" TFT
no fancy graphics / sound
price £230 may 05

so for £580 i picked up 2 reletively high spec machines from dell.

just look out for the special offers.

[mathare]

The Dell Outlet have some good deals too, worth looking at certainly

[sparkyminer]

It's easy, trust me, and for £14 you at least must give it a go, as you'll discover you can make Excel do anything. Also improves your career prospects by a huge amount.
This is a serious question whilst using my normal flippancy.:)
What if you're crap at excel?:)

[Win2Win]

This is a serious question whilst using my normal flippancy.:)
What if you're crap at excel?:)
Then buy the Dummies guide to Excel first you dummy :rolleyes:

[Win2Win]

You call them High Spec Presto? :yikes: Ooo

If you don't have semi-decent graphics, you screen will not refresh quick enough for the bot.

Celestron are a bit of a joke in the computer world, mainly for people who don't want a real processor!! :)

[Win2Win]

I've just configured as close to the Aries as I can get on Dell, but it is a lesser powered system, and costs £684!

[Street cry]

I'm gonna get the one you suggested keith it looks good to me as long as it does what i want i'm happy it seems cheap enough too

[presto]

there high enough spec for what i use :) (one of them is nearly a year old aswell)

and even if the spec is not as good - using 2 computers rather than 1 i find has huge advantages.

[Win2Win]

there high enough spec for what i use :) (one of them is nearly a year old aswell)

and even if the spec is not as good - using 2 computers rather than 1 i find has huge advantages.
If you have a 1600x1200 display, with a dual core AMD 64 you don't need two computers me darlin' :)

[Street cry]

Keith i looked at the computer you suggested and saw one called a carrera vision plus x2 it looked quite high spec and i think i might get it but would it be wasted on me ?

[Win2Win]

If you want to do video editing, and play the latest games at top end graphic settings, yes. Otherwise, no. If you have the money to dispose of, yes....if not, no. :)

[Street cry]

Cheers Keith in honesty don't really need it but thought it would look good in my office cheers

[Win2Win]

You can always upgrade later on when the top spec graphics cards have come down in price in a year. :)

[mathare]

There is a lot to be said for waiting about a year before getting what is currently the latest top spec gear. That year is not only long enough for something bigger and better to come along and thus knock down the price of the previous best gear but it allows time for the hardware to be debugged in real systems and the drivers updated accordingly.

By waiting a year before buying top notch kit you get better support and the hardware at a more respectable price

[Street cry]

Cheers Guys