New pc at work. Where to start?

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blue-eye-boy

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So it's been a few years now that I have a laptop, so I'm not sure whats hot and whats not these days. I think I'll be able to build a pc from scratch, cause I did it a few years back.

So, what must I look for, what make and model, Motherboard, and so on? It will be a work pc, which will be used just for basic office work, word, excel, pastel, email, browsing, and thats about it, so no need for a high end model. There is a good screen atm, keyboard and mouse, so it's just the main box.

It must have a dvd writer, at least a 250 gig sata drive, wired lan port, usb, and onboard graphics. I think we'll go for windows 7, but vista will do too. I'm not sure about that, cause my mom will use it most.

Where is the best to buy, retail shops like game, or pc shops like incredible, computers r us or matrix( just mentioning the ones we have in Pietersburg). Is it better to buy parts and build myself, will I pay less at the end, or is it better to buy a ready build pc?

Thanks
 
Depending on your level of proficiency, I would buy a pre-build PC with a warranty from a reputable dealer. The warranty may cause it to cost a bit more, but for a work PC this is worth the cost.

If at all possible also buy a pre-build brand name like HP, Dell, etc.
 
jacqvt said:
Where is the best to buy, retail shops like game, or pc shops like incredible, computers r us or matrix( just mentioning the ones we have in Pietersburg).
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That will end up being more expensive. Only go that route if you *must* use a brick & mortar shop.

Rather buy the stuff from pcint.co.za or from prophecy.co.za. Otherwise from digital addiction...some forumite here bought it. Conradl I think.

I'd advise against onboard graphics. Win7 & Vista use the gfx card to render the desktop, so a low end gfx card would be better. Onboard will work too though.

jacqvt said:
Is it better to buy parts and build myself, will I pay less at the end, or is it better to buy a ready build pc?
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Price will be +- the same. The benefit of self build is that the parts will be balanced better if you do it right. With the ready builds they tend to stick some fancy component in it & advertise that whilst not mentioning that they had to cut corners elsewhere to fit the good component into the budget. I'd do a self build, but there are some very solid pre builts out there.

From what you said you could probably get away with a R4k build. That will however mean you'll have to upgrade later again.

Oh, and who is using the PC? Is it for your work or your mom?
 
Thanks so far, well I didn't think of the warranty, so I think I'll rather go the pre-build route. I want to get myself a pc sometime, then I'll build my own. But for now the pc will be used for work, my mom will use it most of the time in the office. I was thinking about more or less R5000.

Now off to search for the right pc....
 
Oh yes, and what specs would you say must the motherboard and graphics have?
 
The on board gfx will be fine if its ati or nvidia.
 
If it's just for office use then onboard graphics would be fine, look for a Gigabyte or Asus motherboard, they're quite reliable. Get a small core2duo and gig or two of ddr2 800 and Win7. With a budget dvd-rw drive and smallish Sata Hd and get a basic pc case with PSU included. This would not be expensive for a solid office pc. Assembly and installation should be a breeze. Win7 works fine with onboard display if you disable some of the extra bells and whistles.
 
We'll whats your budget? But i'd also say just buy a prebuilt pc for work. But it's always nice to choose your own components..
i'd go with:
i3 530 R1000
2GB ram R500
250GB R350
DVD combo R200
Intel media series mobo R900
Case+PSU R200 - R400 depending on your choice.
So about R3200 from pcint.co.za
 
Thanks for all the replies, think I have a good idea what to look for now. We did budged for R5000 for the new pc or upgrade, so if it'll be less we're glad.
 
Just one thing bothering me here, what if something goes wrong with the new pc? Then I suppose I must send the whole thing back, at my cost? And these days no one can guarantee me all will be okay. When, if I buy at incredible here in Pietersburg, I can take it back, and they must send it away or whatever.
 
jacqvt said:
Just one thing bothering me here, what if something goes wrong with the new pc? Then I suppose I must send the whole thing back, at my cost? And these days no one can guarantee me all will be okay. When, if I buy at incredible here in Pietersburg, I can take it back, and they must send it away or whatever.
Click to expand...

Good luck buying @ Incredible Corruption. . . err. . Connection. . . .
 
If an item does not work then yes you have to send it back. This is sometimes at your or the companies expense. Just read their warranty and returns policy.
I've only ever had one thing wrong with a component that I've bought from an online site (just packed up). Bought it from prophecy and they got me sorted out very fast. One of the best service orientated companies I've experienced.
You could try locate a company that is closer to you, since internet based companies can be located anywhere.
 
Celeron dual cores (E3x00) are great for home/office PCs. Coupled with a G41 motherboard which will handle full HD res no problem.
 
If it is a work pc then get a pre-built one with a next business day on-site warranty. When I sell a pc to a business it is one of the conditions. No on-site warranty, no interest. Pietersburg may however not be covered by any supplier.
 
Okay just tell me if I'm wrong here, isn't this pc supposed to be running better? I mean it is 4,5 years old, but is this specs really that much outdated to cause that much trouble? I was told by a IT guy here that I must upgrade the pc, but now when I check what the specs are, I dont really think thats necessary. The main problem at this stage is,
-Programs just crashing,
-Lan not always working, I know the lan port is not very lekker.
-Pastel evolution, which is a new version, "lost" the registration details almost every week. Then our IT guy must re do the registration process.
Dvd drive not working good anymore, will buy a new one.
It takes ages to open small programs, or to do anything.
So here's the specs:

Intel Pentium dual cpu E220 @ 2.2 ghz ( is this really that bad?)
1 gig ram ( I will upgrade this, just dont know where to check what ram it takes)
40 gig hdd ( will upgrade this)

Now what I was thinking, If I get more ram, a new dvd writer, and new hdd, get a new copy of windows, and install all the new programs onto the new hdd. That way we still have all the data on the current hdd, and have a better new hdd. And also to get a new lan card to use that instead of the onboard lan.

What do you guys think?
 
Upgrading is just trouble, if you like that then go for it. More RAM, DVD writer and HD, new Windows, what will be left of the curent system? M/B and case. So how much can you save?
If you sell your old PC, and because you do that you can just reformat and reinstall, you can probably get the money for a new M/B and case, and then you have a full warranty on you computer. Ah, and stay away from Celerons.
 
Dude there's nothing wrong with Celeron's these days, a dual core Celeron E3300 is faster than any Pentium extreme edition ever was and runs Windows 7 just fine!
 
Synaesthesia said:
Dude there's nothing wrong with Celeron's these days, a dual core Celeron E3300 is faster than any Pentium extreme edition ever was and runs Windows 7 just fine!
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To save how much, R200? On a PC which may have to work for another 4 years?
The price will upsets me once, but a PC which crawls, or is suspected to be crawling will upset me every time. I would consider the better CPU an investment in my health.
 
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