Computer Prices

[Clyde]

I've got a mediocre machine running Windows XP, Pentium 4 2.66ghz and has 512mb Ram and also a Pny Geforce fx5500 w/128 mb. Which (touch wood), seems to be ok at running stuff.

And I was thinking, with todays ever changing PC Market with new technologies, if there is in fact any real improvement from the last incarnations of PC Hardware that came out a few months ago. Obviously a Dual Processor machine with the very latest graphics card that supports all the technologies is going to be a great deal better then my system spec; as it's about 3/4 years old.

I know from talking to my brother who lives out in the States; that you can buy a brand new PC the same in dollars as it is in pounds over in the UK; making them double the price more or less. But do you think PC gubins are over priced and value for money; or are they well worth the dosh?

Cheers,
Clyde.

[rdc]

PC's are hugely overpriced. I built my current machine, (which is getting on too now), for ~$300.00 US. A pre-built machine with the same specs as mine at the time was about ~$600.00 to $800.00.

[Shockwave]

I bought this laptop which has intel centrio dual core 1.83 ghz processor.. It was not the worst spec computer that I could have had, in fact it seemed to me to be quite good in comparison to what had been offered by Dell, a mid range laptop for about Ã,£600, can't be bad I thought.

I am now sitting here writing this post on the same lappy and basically lots of things go wrong with it. The keyboard sticks, the screen is dim with no way of adjusting the brightness and already one of the usb ports has become unusable.

Speed wise, it's okay but not brilliant. Okay, granted that you can get much more powerful systems for a couple of hundred quid more, but that was a feature I wanted out of a computer.. ie. not too powerful. If I can get about 150fps out of a program I am writing on this laptop then I know that it will run quite well on most setups.

What I wasn't prepared for was the sheer number of demos that I can't run on here. It refuses to run anything that uses shaders for a start. I think really that what you have there Clyde is a good system for coding demos. If you wanted to upgrade it, that would probably be the best way.. Stick a new gfx card in there and as much fast ram as the motherboard can handle.

I remember that Parabellum used to code in Blitz basic on a 750mhz PIII! And believe me, that was one of the reasons why his work was always so polished. He had to think about squeezing every spare cycle he could out of his computer.

Rick has the right idea, if you have the know how, you can save a bundle making your own box.. I don't think I've got the bottle to do that myself. Really, a state of the art machine has to be a must if you're into playing the latest games, I dare say that most demo coders wouldn't need it. I will probably update the card in the machine upstairs next, just so I can run Introvert's intros and for no other reason!

[Hotshot]

I have saw cheap CORE 2 DUO with everythings including Graphics cards, ram and the rest for Ã,£350 (I will be getting one) or I could go for Motherboard + E6600 + 1GB Ram for Ã,£382 ( If I want better computer which it is then all I need get tower )

here for you to drool at cheapest core 2 duo in LONDON

http://yoyotech.co.uk/

[rdc]

Believe me, I am not a technical genius. Building a machine is basically plug-and-play nowadays. Screw the motherboard into the case, pop in the periphs and memory, connect up the power supply, which is usually already in the case, connect the hard drive, cdrom, etc, to the appropriate spots and you are good to go.

It only took about an hour to get my machine together. It took much longer to install the OS and programs.

[zawran]

I have the last 6-7 years or so always bought loose parts and then assembled the computer myself. You save a ton of money that way, and you get exactly what you want out of the computer. This ofcause is not the case with laptops, but the company I work at provide me with the lastest greatest anyways so I am covered there. But for desktop gaming computer, I always make my own. Currently I could do better, I have a P4 3ghz with a GF6600GT gfx card. But it runs the few games that I like playing at the moment, so its all good. Eventually, sometime late this year, I will probably go and buy components for a core-duo setup with a Nvidia 8800 gfx or perhaps a SLI solution if the funds permits. But I won't put money into something new until very late this year as I am signed up to get a PS3, which I think will cover my gaming needs for a while to come.

I don't think that PC prices are that high at the moment, but I will agree that compaired to certain other contries, like the USA, the price level in europe sometimes seems a bit high. But I still think that we today are getting a lot more value for the money than just 5 years ago.

[bikemadness]

I'd say the range of prices for the home user has stayed the same over the years, it's the power and speed that has changed by doubling every year.
I think the silicon chip is reaching its limit because I joked once to the company egg-head, years ago, that the amount of information in bytes that could be put on a 3 inch floppy would just about equal the amount of atoms in the disk strip. And he told me that's what the companies were trying to do - put a byte of information on an atom. (of what, I didn't ask.)
Just think, 25-30 years ago, all that was needed was a few hundred kilobytes for big system program and a 100 mb/s machine to run it because there wasn't the need for fancy graphics.

Have a Yahappy day.

[Shockwave]

A byte onto an atom... Shit, that has to be impossible doesn't it?

G

[rdc]

A byte onto an atom... Shit, that has to be impossible doesn't it?

This is the idea of quantum computing. The data isn't written on an atom, it is written in a "hole", a one-dimensional quantum point that can hold a either a 1 or 0, or a superposition of states between 1 and 0.

What is interesting about this paradigm, is that it is more akin to an analog system rather than a digital system. Quantum mechanics is a statistical based science, so it is possible for quantum states to exist in different configurations at the same time, enabling parallel processes within the same hardware configuration. That's the theory anyway; only time will tell if it pans out. (I'm still waiting to see the "intelligent" computers everyone talked about 20 years ago).

[Hotshot]

I have saw DUO SYSTEM KIT called E4300 ( which is very good for overclocking the computer) with GEFORCE 7300 and tower plus ram all for Ã,£333 which is good.

E4300 is 1.8GHZ but it can overclock to 3.2GHZ as that mean it is better than E6600 CORE 2 duo 2.4GHZ !
Correct me if I am wrong!

cheers

[Clyde]

With alot of these package bundles, you often have to weigh up the pros and cons. As what you'll be getting better in some areas, the others will be weaker; and vice versa.

I have to agree building a PC is much cheaper then buying a pre-made; and you'll know exactly what your getting as you've choosen the spec to suit your tastes - thats what I did with my very first PC and I got my brother to build it for me.

A bit of a contradiciton to the above, I find that PC's from Dell to be pretty reliable and well made. Plus you can upgrade certain components depending on what deals they have at the time, quite cheap too. Also you can spread the cost of payment which isnt too high with the amount of interest to payback.

Onething I don't really see the point of is the Windows XP Media Center Edition. If all you were going to do is play movies and listen to music, and not play games on it. then you could buy a top of the range DVD combo with surround sound speakers, and Woofers;which would have the whole caboodle, and a widescreen HD TV.

[Clanky]

Too true! PC's are way over priced. I've got a resonable one:
P4 3.8GHz Dual Core, 512 MB RAM, not too sure about the video or graphics card (if there not the same thing lol), 60GB HD running XP with a 19" New Gen Flat Screen Monitor for $1100AUS, which is about ~$500UK (maybe?, think it's 1aus:3uk, unless that's Euro?)
So, that was an alright buy... but my friend built his own, with the same stats but 300GB HD and only a 17" Screen, for ~$700AUS... so that was waaaay cheaper!
I just got the already made one because I just needed it and I couldn't be bothered with making a PC from scratch, or searching for parts so a mate could build it for me... so, it depends on the sercomstances really - my friend downloads about 20GB a month of music, so he needs the space, I only download about 500MB (that's my limit ) so I only need 60GB...

[rain_storm]

I would love to build my own PC but in this country they would screw you so hard if you tried that you would reconsider even using a computer. seriously you know when I bought my PC it had Linux and I hated it so I got myself an install disk for windows which I bought in England at the cost of 35 pounds but here the same disk would have cost me 300 euros !!!! Now this was in November 2006 and XP was at the end of its shelf life ? I hate living in rip off Ireland 

[Clanky]

wow, I never knew how difficult it could be to get a PC? I just went into WOW and said - I would like 'that' computer please... and they said "Sure, pay and pick it up from the depot... It'll only cost $1100.00 for the whole computer (with XP pre-installed... all I needed to do was type in my name and set up some settings) and they also gave me 3 years extra warrenty for $70.00... hmmm...

*all prices are in AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS lol

[Jim]

Clyde - you and I are in the same boat.  My PC's over 3yrs old - it's a P4 3.0GHz - and needs replacing semi-urgently.  The new kit out there is far superior - better RAM design, dual core CPU, PCI-Express graphics, SATA hard disks.  Basically our stuff is way off the pace these days.  I advise you to build your own, or go to a local shop (NOT PC World), pick the specific parts you want/can afford, and get them to build it for you.  I suspect they'll charge about an extra Ã,£30 or Ã,£40 for that.
Unless you get a laptop, don't bother with a warranty, by the time something breaks it will either be obsolete or replaceable for next to nothing.

edit - AUD1.00=40p=US80c=EUR60c

Jim

[Shockwave]

Buy your bits from Maplins