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Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

After being through hell and high water with my current Dell XPS M1530, I'm shifting towards a custom build.

Anybody reccomend a UK based custom PC builder? I like PC Specialist, they quoted me £819 for the following:

Quote:

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9400 (4 X 2.66GHz) 1333MHz FSB/6MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
4GB CORSAIR XMS2 800MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x2GB)

Motherboard
ASUS® P5QL: DDR2, SATAII, PCI-e x16, 3 PCI, 2 x PCI-e x1

Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-bit Edition + SP1, CD (£69)

USB Options
8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
320GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

1st CD/DVD Drive
20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM

Graphics Card
512MB RADEON HD 4870 PCI Express + DVI

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Case
Stylish Black Aluminium Trigon Case + 2 Front/Side USB

Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£22)

5 WORKING DAY GUARANTEED BUILD

I was torn between the 4870 and the GTX260, but after reading numerous reviews, the 4870 looks best.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:23 pm

i know a good distributor of Tired old crap in Accra-Ghana?

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:30 pm

I've used PC Specialist and have had no trouble. They can be slower at answering the phone than they were, but I guess that's down to their growing popularity.

They give you a good software bundle too that doesn't get mentioned in the blurb. I got a few games, decent video editor and other useful bits n' bobs.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:36 pm

If you are a gamer then switch the quad core for a dual 3.16 Ghz and get the 4870 X2 instead of the 4870. Most apps don't fully utalize the quads so it may be worth getting the faster dual anyway. Other then that for a scratch built it's not bad. Sure you can get a PC world cheap 'n' nasty for 99p but you get the 'questionable' quality that goes with it.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:00 pm

An additional £15 would get you a 500GB hard disk and an extra £25 a 750GB one.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

I know, but I don't think I need it. I currently have a 120GB HD, and I have 6G8B left.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:43 am

You're switching from a notebook to a desktop PC if I understand correctly?

The Dell XPS M1530 is overall getting pretty much positive reviews, don't they give next business day on site warranty for your Dell? I'm a bit of a Dell adept for years, I'm curious of what problems you ran into on your machine, I don't know that type myself ..