Which PC??

A

Aharon

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Hi,

I am in two minds as to the PC I should buy per the below two specs. Please give your opinions and / or advise as well as any possible upgrades either would need??

I don't game, but I am a fairly heavy computer user in terms of internet, spreadsheets etc and am tired of my core 2 duo needing to be restarted on a daily basis!!

Number 1 - Matrix Warehouse R9499 (No Monitor):

Intel Core i7 860 2.93GHz
P55 Motherboard
2GB Memory
1TB Hard Drive
DVD Writer
600Watt Power Supply
Geforce GT430 1GB PCI-E
Aerocool Gaming Case

Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

Number 2 (Packard Bell - Incredible Connection incl 23inch LCD):

# Intel® Core i5-750 processor 2.93GHz
# 4096MB RAM
# 1TB HDD
# DVDRW dual layer drive
# Integrated wireless LAN, 10/100 LAN and memory card reader
# 8 USB 2.0 ports
# nVidia G320 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM
# Viseo 230W
# MS Works 9
# MS Windows Vista Home Premium
# 23” LCD
# 1 year collect, repair and return warranty
 
Last edited:
Lol ponder - I have amended the typo - it should read GAME
 
I guess building my own would be last option. Can you recommend a place where I can view component prices to compare
 
Aharon said:
Hi,

I am in two minds as to the PC I should buy per the below two specs. Please give your opinions and / or advise as well as any possible upgrades either would need??

I don't came, but I am a fairly heavy computer user in terms of internet, spreadsheets etc and am tired of my core 2 duo needing to be restarted on a daily basis!!

Number 1 - Matrix Warehouse R9499 (No Monitor):

Intel Core i7 860 2.93GHz
P55 Motherboard
2GB Memory
1TB Hard Drive
DVD Writer
600Watt Power Supply
Geforce GT430 1GB PCI-E
Aerocool Gaming Case

Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

Number 2 (Packard Bell - Incredible Connection incl 23inch LCD):

# Intel® Core i5-750 processor 2.93GHz
# 4096MB RAM
# 1TB HDD
# DVDRW dual layer drive
# Integrated wireless LAN, 10/100 LAN and memory card reader
# 8 USB 2.0 ports
# nVidia G320 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM
# Viseo 230W
# MS Works 9
# MS Windows Vista Home Premium
# 23” LCD
# 1 year collect, repair and return warranty
Click to expand...

This is Apple territory, really. You'd honestly be better off wasting your money on an Apple than with what you're doing here. Here's what ends up being a hugely powerful workhorse:

AMD PhenomII x4 955 quad-core (3.2Ghz, 6MB L3 cache) @ R1859
ECS A890GXM-A AM3 @ R1066
Corsair XMS3 2GB DDR3-1333 *2 @ R722
WD WD5001AALS Caviar Black 500GB @ R591
Corsair CX500 500W @ R603
Coolermaster Elite 370 @ R402
LG GH24NS50 Internal Super Multi DVD-Rewriter @ R198
Logitech MK300 Cordless Desktop @ R373
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit @ R1356
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 Retail pack @ R1673

Total: R8843

Now look at your previous options in retrospect. You get a full-fat Phenom quad core, 4GB of RAM, a decently sized and fast performance hard drive, a better case and power supply, and the full blast of Windows 7 Professional and Office Home and Business, and its still about R1000 cheaper than it would have cost you to get ripped off at Matrix.

And then there's the upgrade options. If you feel like playing games, budget for up to R2400 and buy any graphics card you fancy (recommended case in point) - just stick it in, plug in the connectors, and you'll be installing the drivers and playing in no time. No worrying about the strength of your power supply, or the chances that it could blow up, creating a small black hole in your study. If you want more hard drive space, there's provision made for up to six if you fancy to store all the millions of spreadsheets you're bound to crunch through.

If you're uneasy about putting your own PC together, there's honestly no better joy in the world once you've accomplished it. You learn stuff as you put it in, and it gives a personal touch to your computer that you won't get from any store-bought ripoff. The individual warranties on all the separate parts far outstrip the generic ones from store-bought computers, so you're better covered for service.

Contemplate your options carefully, but for the love of God, don't go for that Packard Bell.

Also, out of interest, what are you working with now, including your operating system? You might even find that Linux would be a good option if Microsoft Office has never invaded your life, in which case your price total drops even lower to the tune of R3000 odd (if you use the excellent OpenOffice along with Mozilla Thunderbird).
 
Last edited:
NAG - Wesley said:
I think the only problem with that is that the really only offer you Intel systems, and they're all lacking an OS. Which is lazy, really, considering Windows 7 Starter only adds R300 to the base price.
Click to expand...

Sure but there is nothing stopping the op from doing that himself...?
 
Zenbaas said:
Sure but there is nothing stopping the op from doing that himself...?
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're right, but there's bound to be someone who buys one, and then complains about it being unusable. The performer PC is alright, except for the crappy Foxconn board and the dodgy power supply.
 
I would actually say that building it yourself should be option number 1 because you can do much better with a similar budget :) Ever put a pc together yourself? Where are you based? I don't mind helping out

Edit: Example http://www.evetech.co.za/PC-Hardwar...tel-core-i5-cpu-4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-ram-132.aspx

That's an awesome setup to begin with. Budget another R1-1.5K on PSU, a few hundred on Hard drive and a bit more on any case of your choice and you still have left over for the peripherals
 
Last edited:
Thanks - how are the parts / specs on the warrior pc from pcint?
 
NAG - Wesley said:
This is Apple territory, really. You'd honestly be better off wasting your money on an Apple than with what you're doing here. Here's what ends up being a hugely powerful workhorse:

AMD PhenomII x4 955 quad-core (3.2Ghz, 6MB L3 cache) @ R1859
ECS A890GXM-A AM3 @ R1066
Corsair XMS3 2GB DDR3-1333 *2 @ R722
WD WD5001AALS Caviar Black 500GB @ R591
Corsair CX500 500W @ R603
Coolermaster Elite 370 @ R402
LG GH24NS50 Internal Super Multi DVD-Rewriter @ R198
Logitech MK300 Cordless Desktop @ R373
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit @ R1356
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 Retail pack @ R1673

Total: R8843

Now look at your previous options in retrospect. You get a full-fat Phenom quad core, 4GB of RAM, a decently sized and fast performance hard drive, a better case and power supply, and the full blast of Windows 7 Professional and Office Home and Business, and its still about R1000 cheaper than it would have cost you to get ripped off at Matrix.

And then there's the upgrade options. If you feel like playing games, budget for up to R2400 and buy any graphics card you fancy (recommended case in point) - just stick it in, plug in the connectors, and you'll be installing the drivers and playing in no time. No worrying about the strength of your power supply, or the chances that it could blow up, creating a small black hole in your study. If you want more hard drive space, there's provision made for up to six if you fancy to store all the millions of spreadsheets you're bound to crunch through.

If you're uneasy about putting your own PC together, there's honestly no better joy in the world once you've accomplished it. You learn stuff as you put it in, and it gives a personal touch to your computer that you won't get from any store-bought ripoff. The individual warranties on all the separate parts far outstrip the generic ones from store-bought computers, so you're better covered for service.

Contemplate your options carefully, but for the love of God, don't go for that Packard Bell.

Also, out of interest, what are you working with now, including your operating system? You might even find that Linux would be a good option if Microsoft Office has never invaded your life, in which case your price total drops even lower to the tune of R3000 odd (if you use the excellent OpenOffice along with Mozilla Thunderbird).
Click to expand...

+1

This is what I would build.
 
+1 to the stuff that NAG - Wesley said!

Aharon: don't even bother with the pre-setup PC's from PCInt.
The only stuff that you might consider getting from PCInt are CPU's, motherboards and possibly RAM & hard drives.

Also, I think going for a Core i7 is totally overboard for your kind of use.
IMO, a fast dual core (Core i3 540) with 4GB RAM should suffice, because spreadsheets & Internet browsing really doesn't require multiple cores and I doubt that either one of them can use multiple cores to an extent that would make a difference.
Here's a pretty decent office PC as well:
matwes said:
M/B: MSI 880GMA-E45 AM3 AMD 880G+SB850: R949
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz AM3 125W Quad-Core : R1614
RAM: Corsair Value Select 2x2GB DDR3-1333: R595
HDD: 500GB Seagate 7200RPM SATA 500GB: R379
SATA: Samsung SH-S223C, 22x, SATA: R182
Case: CoolerMaster RC-370: R363
PSU:Corsair CX430: R476

R4558 incl vat (Prices from wootware)
Click to expand...
* You might have to get an entry level graphics card (~R500) with DVI+HDMI if that motherboard doesn't allow you to run 2 screens with its DVI+HDMI ports.
This setup also excludes Windows, Office, Mouse, Keyboard and Screen.

Could you perhaps tell us what your current PC's specs are?
 
Last edited:
Qwikslver said:
+1

This is what I would build.
Click to expand...

I would dump the WD WD5001AALS Caviar Black 500GB @ R591 and get a 1.5TB+ Green drive and a SSD.

SSD is gonna cost a bit but it also makes the biggest difference to performance.
 
I agree with Pada and the other guys.

Call Rory @ wootware.

He'll help you with your choice of components and he'll assemble and test the system for you.
You will also get much better after sales service, Incredible and Matrix employ anybody. Usually their techies can only fix the most basic of errors. They will also seal the chassis and try and prevent you from adding a second hard-drive etc.

It really isn't worth it buying your PC from these shops. Go wootware, prophecy or Rebel-Tech.
 
Hi

I am currently running a core 2 duo 2.33Ghz with 4GB Ram and 1TB HDD. Its about 3 years old.
 
I think your PC rather requires a Windows reinstallation.

I have a Core2Duo 2GHz (T7200) laptop with 4GB RAM and I keep it on for weeks without having to restart.

What C2D CPU do you have, because there are a couple of entry level C2D CPU's and a few high end ones too.
I'd say that it would be more worth it to just upgrade the C2D CPU to a Q9500 or another Core2Quad CPU, rather than doing a full upgrade, because from the stuff that you said it really didn't seem like you need anything more than a normal C2D CPU!
 
Pada said:
I think your PC rather requires a Windows reinstallation.

I have a Core2Duo 2GHz (T7200) laptop with 4GB RAM and I keep it on for weeks without having to restart.

What C2D CPU do you have, because there are a couple of entry level C2D CPU's and a few high end ones too.
I'd say that it would be more worth it to just upgrade the C2D CPU to a Q9500 or another Core2Quad CPU, rather than doing a full upgrade, because from the stuff that you said it really didn't seem like you need anything more than a normal C2D CPU!
Click to expand...

+1

This is the best advice so far. Normal office apps will not stress a C2D. So buy a Quad Core and and a SSD. The SSD will make the biggest difference to your user experience by far. Once you have the SSD reinstall Windows.
 
I should've also mentioned that you should look for 2nd-hand Quad Core CPU's, because you can easily save like R1000 by doing so :)

Currently the G.Skill Phoenix 60GB SSD is going for around R1200, which is pretty good, considering I paid R1400 for my imported 30GB SSD in the beginning of this year!
 
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