I've been looking out for a cheap option to replace my old Dell GX 680 which is over 10 years old.
I barely use it as it takes 5 minutes to turn on and when I do I just leave it on for days.
I want something that will stream video wirelessly to my TV as the Dell can't seem to handle this.
I don't do any gaming.
I want a tower as it fits in my computer desk.
I've seen few come through Ozbargains but tend to Procrastinate and then the deals end so I'm hoping to get a little advise on what stats I should be looking at when a deal pops up.
Under $500 (the cheaper the better).
Any good builders on the goldcoast? Most the deals are in sydney/melbourne and require shipping.
Basic PC requirements (tower) for my needs.
dan76n on 09/09/2014 - 08:28
Comments
Thanks for that.
So how does that DIY build compare to this previous deal? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/156973
No discernable difference apart from the quality of the parts I have chosen. The CM Elite has USB 3.0 which the other case is older and has no USB 3.0 headers.
Haswell i3 with 8GB RAM and an H97 mobo. You don't want a frisbee mobo, they can be reused and onsold. With the RAM, 4GB is lean, 8GB will last. You also want a basic SSD too. Closer to $600.
Not quite sure what all that means but you mention an ssd. I see them come up in the deals a fair bit. What are the benifits of them?
SSDs are a faster kind of hard drive - based on silicon rather than a spinning disk.
I'm in between Scrimshaw and ethereal on this:
- cheap motherboard is fine
- 128GB SSD and conventional hard drive (maybe you can scavenge from your old PC?)
- 4GB of RAM - should be enough to start. Buy one stick of 4GB to begin with.
- Pentium as suggested is good enough but an i3 might give you more future-proofing.SSD's read and write files faster than HDD's over several times faster. It isn't neccessary to have one, but it will make a difference to your everyday computing experience. You likely won't go back to a HDD once you've tried an SSD.
In every day tasks such as
- booting the operating system or shutting it down
- Copying large or many files, opening large files such as videos and other media
- Installing or removing programs, updates
- Decompressing zipped files
- Virus scans
gets done on an SSD much faster than a HDD. SSD's also don't suffer from file fragmentation and they produce no vibration and overall run cooler. They also don't make any noise (great if you dislike the sound of HDD clicking and spinning).
That's right. That's some specific tasks that are faster. Plus when you are doing general "stuff" on your PC - the SSD will make the PC feel a lot snappier.
UMART is located in Map: Gold coast
http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/index.phtml?bid=4
Their pricing is very similar to MSY, price is a little on the higher side but just as competitive.
Build fee is $90 dollars from most places, if you wish to save on this either build one yourself or get a friend to help you.
Core i3 / Alternative Pentium Anniversary Edition
4G Memory DIMM single — buy one or two depending on your RAM needs
Asrock HDMI + 4X USB3.0 motherboard. Note this board is an entry level mobo and has only 2 DIMM slots for RAM.
HDD WD Blue 1TB special price
CM Elite with built in 420w PSU
Windows 8.1 OEM $112
TP Link Wifi 2.4 ghz basic Wifi N card but if you have dual band get yourself a dual band adapter.