| Computer advice please 20:53 - Jul 18 with 2866 views | stickymockwell |
I know there are some pooter experts on here.
I want to get my daughter a PC as she's starting high school in September. I don't want a laptop as she'll just begger off into her room or do her homework where she shouldn't.
I want a fast reliable Windows one but have no idea on what's good.
Any advice would be great. Looking to spend around 500 to 700. |  |
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| Computer advice please on 21:00 - Jul 18 with 2811 views | Bugs |
Will she be doing any gaming on it? |  | | |
| Computer advice please on 21:01 - Jul 18 with 2807 views | stickymockwell |
| Computer advice please on 21:00 - Jul 18 by Bugs |
Will she be doing any gaming on it? |
She's not into games at the moment. So it's not important | |
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| Computer advice please on 21:06 - Jul 18 with 2793 views | Bugs |
| Computer advice please on 21:01 - Jul 18 by stickymockwell |
She's not into games at the moment. So it's not important |
I take it you would need a monitor in with that budget as well? | | | |
| Computer advice please on 21:07 - Jul 18 with 2789 views | stickymockwell |
| Computer advice please on 21:06 - Jul 18 by Bugs |
I take it you would need a monitor in with that budget as well? |
Yes! | |
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| Computer advice please on 21:38 - Jul 18 with 2756 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
There is genuinely no need to spend that much.
I would get a mini pc and velcro it to the back of the monitor. Wireless desk and mouse combo. Portable enough to move around if necessary, but not as easy to use in a bedroom.
Something like this:
https://amzn.eu/d/2qlEVVo
Or if you want a more traditional computer to definitely stay in one place, I bought one of these refurbished Dell's for work and it is insanely fast:
Optiplex Dell Intel i7-2600 Quad Core 16GB RAM 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD WiFi Windows 10 Desktop PC Computer (Renewed) https://amzn.eu/d/9lOSllE
Add a monitor for about 80 quid, and the keyboard and mouse for 30 and you get the whole lot for £250.
And a computer that is more powerful than the ones they made most of the Pixar films on. It will eat any professional application. |  | | |
| Computer advice please on 22:02 - Jul 18 with 2703 views | mrfixit426 |
| Computer advice please on 21:38 - Jul 18 by ArnoldMoorhen |
There is genuinely no need to spend that much.
I would get a mini pc and velcro it to the back of the monitor. Wireless desk and mouse combo. Portable enough to move around if necessary, but not as easy to use in a bedroom.
Something like this:
https://amzn.eu/d/2qlEVVo
Or if you want a more traditional computer to definitely stay in one place, I bought one of these refurbished Dell's for work and it is insanely fast:
Optiplex Dell Intel i7-2600 Quad Core 16GB RAM 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD WiFi Windows 10 Desktop PC Computer (Renewed) https://amzn.eu/d/9lOSllE
Add a monitor for about 80 quid, and the keyboard and mouse for 30 and you get the whole lot for £250.
And a computer that is more powerful than the ones they made most of the Pixar films on. It will eat any professional application. |
Hmmm. That's a good shout for a pc good enough for what's needed here. But the Pixar info/professional application is not entirely accurate.
I run 256GB of RAM (which I often max out) and a Threadripper, and I'm not running anything super heavy 3D wise. Don't forget Pixar films are rendered on farms containing many hundreds of machines. |  | | |
| Computer advice please on 22:05 - Jul 18 with 2684 views | stickymockwell |
| Computer advice please on 21:38 - Jul 18 by ArnoldMoorhen |
There is genuinely no need to spend that much.
I would get a mini pc and velcro it to the back of the monitor. Wireless desk and mouse combo. Portable enough to move around if necessary, but not as easy to use in a bedroom.
Something like this:
https://amzn.eu/d/2qlEVVo
Or if you want a more traditional computer to definitely stay in one place, I bought one of these refurbished Dell's for work and it is insanely fast:
Optiplex Dell Intel i7-2600 Quad Core 16GB RAM 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD WiFi Windows 10 Desktop PC Computer (Renewed) https://amzn.eu/d/9lOSllE
Add a monitor for about 80 quid, and the keyboard and mouse for 30 and you get the whole lot for £250.
And a computer that is more powerful than the ones they made most of the Pixar films on. It will eat any professional application. |
Cheers! | |
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| Computer advice please on 22:14 - Jul 18 with 2659 views | wkj |
If you want something with a good warranty, I wouldn't go retail
For workspace pc with decent upgrade potential I would go with something like this. I would change the RAM to 16mb (2x8mb) from 8mb though. Also if gaming or heavy graphics/video design is in the mix you might want to up the graphics card too - but significant price jumps happen at this point.
I would also add silver warranty on for £5 which extends collect and return from 1month to 1 year, 1 year parts, 3 years labour
Without monitor it is about 800 quid including VAT.
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/view/Scout-Elite/
I can heavy vouch for this company as I have bought over 15 pcs from them before from gaming rigs to office terminal - their customer service is second to none and well worth the peace of mind.
The drawback is, if you don't get express build it can take a couple of weeks or so for them to deliver. [Post edited 18 Jul 2023 22:20]
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| Computer advice please on 23:57 - Jul 18 with 2529 views | bournemouthblue |
| Computer advice please on 22:02 - Jul 18 by mrfixit426 |
Hmmm. That's a good shout for a pc good enough for what's needed here. But the Pixar info/professional application is not entirely accurate.
I run 256GB of RAM (which I often max out) and a Threadripper, and I'm not running anything super heavy 3D wise. Don't forget Pixar films are rendered on farms containing many hundreds of machines. |
Rendering is different to the actual producing of the content, they'd still be using work stations for that in fairness, albeit in a massive team, bringing it altogether |  |
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| Computer advice please on 07:59 - Jul 19 with 2407 views | DanTheMan |
| Computer advice please on 21:38 - Jul 18 by ArnoldMoorhen |
There is genuinely no need to spend that much.
I would get a mini pc and velcro it to the back of the monitor. Wireless desk and mouse combo. Portable enough to move around if necessary, but not as easy to use in a bedroom.
Something like this:
https://amzn.eu/d/2qlEVVo
Or if you want a more traditional computer to definitely stay in one place, I bought one of these refurbished Dell's for work and it is insanely fast:
Optiplex Dell Intel i7-2600 Quad Core 16GB RAM 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD WiFi Windows 10 Desktop PC Computer (Renewed) https://amzn.eu/d/9lOSllE
Add a monitor for about 80 quid, and the keyboard and mouse for 30 and you get the whole lot for £250.
And a computer that is more powerful than the ones they made most of the Pixar films on. It will eat any professional application. |
I'm fairly sure the the Pixar films would have had graphics cards! Most phones are incredibly fast compared to the moon landing computer but software requirements change with time. Workstations that made Toy Story would probably have trouble running the least Windows 11.
With that said, I'd agree that a Dell refurb is something to look at if all they're doing is essentially browsing and work.
https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/item/dell-optiplex-5070-sff-618bdfea/dell-opti
Something like this would be good, a processor that's unlikely to be outdated any time soon and enough RAM to keep the machine running nicely. It's a little light on storage so you might need to add to that but an external hard drive is usually the easiest bet there.
In terms of monitors, they're all much of muchness for what they'll be needing I imagine. I'd probably got for a reputable name though, just in case of issues.
Something like this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-V24ie-G5-FHD-Monitor/dp/B0B88BNPDF/ref=sr_1_26
Keyboard + Mouse - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Windows-Connection/dp/B00CL6
That brings you up to about £540 overall. |  |
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| Computer advice please on 08:47 - Jul 19 with 2382 views | blueasfook |
Whenever I want a new pooter, I build one. But then, that's not for everyone.
There's load of places you can pick up a "school spec" machine. Just dont go for anything designed for gaming as it will have a high spec GPU, etc and will be expensive. |  |
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| Computer advice please on 11:37 - Jul 19 with 2297 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Computer advice please on 22:02 - Jul 18 by mrfixit426 |
Hmmm. That's a good shout for a pc good enough for what's needed here. But the Pixar info/professional application is not entirely accurate.
I run 256GB of RAM (which I often max out) and a Threadripper, and I'm not running anything super heavy 3D wise. Don't forget Pixar films are rendered on farms containing many hundreds of machines. |
It was over-statement for effect. But I meant a lot of the back catalogue of Pixar films, rather than the current ones.
Here is a discussion of the specs for the original Toy Story computer's:
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-specs-of-the-computers-used-to-render-the-ori
If the OPs daughter isn't going to be hard-core, competitive, every millisecond counts, gaming on this computer then what I have said is spot on.
I used to render video on a Pentium 133 upgraded to 32MB of RAM and 4MB graphics card. When I upgraded to a Pentium 3 500mhz I was in heaven!
The idea that anyone "needs" 16gb of RAM for Web browsing and Office type applications is just ridiculous. The refurbished Dell I linked would be able to real time render HD video no problem, maybe close to real time for 4k. | | | |
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