Desktop PC

[Sandyn]

I need to get a new PC, but I don't think I can be bothered building my own.

Anyone had experience of any of the box builders such as PC Specialist, Cyberpower or Mesh?. Would be similar spec to the one I have, i7, 16Gb, couple of Gb graphics card 512Gb SSD

 

[flying haggis]

had a couple of mesh ones in the past but last one was a lenovo from john lewis. just as good spec as i required and cheaper

 

[Jameshow]

My son uses CCL computers Bradford.

Good service and prices.

Cheers James

 

[JSW]

My son uses CCL computers Bradford.

Good service and prices.

Cheers James

+1 for CCL, I've been a customer for 15+ years, these guys really know their stuff, incredibly helpful, real enthusiasts.
Planning a trip there tomorrow as it turns out, meant to go today but got sidetracked, need a couple of new gigabit network switches. Must remember to wear blinkers, their showroom is just too tempting.

 

[martin.pearson]

I always ask people what it is going to be used for as it will generally make a difference what sort of spec is required & that obviously affects the price lol

 

[J-G]

I need to get a new PC, but I don't think I can be bothered building my own.

Anyone had experience of any of the box builders such as PC Specialist, Cyberpower or Mesh?. Would be similar spec to the one I have, i7, 16Gb, couple of Gb graphics card 512Gb SSD

I see you are in Scotland so even more reason for me to suggest 'Kustom' who are in Ayr. I've been using them for some years for most of the components I need to build the specialist PC's I build.

Graeme has been a very accommodating supplier. Send him an enquiry to [email protected] - or just visit his web-site :-
https://www.kustompcs.co.uk/
I certainly would not consider Mesh or any 'Lenovo' product!

 

[niemeyjt]

Another option - look at the Dell Factory Outlet - if you can be a bit flexible you will find overstock products at a decent saving.

I still make my own, and just had a motherboard failure last weekend - so the whole system had to be stripped down (I used the opportunity to rework some wiring). I purchased a new motherboard and sent the old one back under warranty suggesting they refund the new one. No way - the old one goes back for repair or replacement - in up to four weeks. Imagine a dismantled PC spread across your desk and being unable to use it for up to six weeks (allowing for shipping and fitting times). A whole system with 3-year vendor support would have had no such issues - so there are benefits not building your own.

 

[niemeyjt]

I always ask people what it is going to be used for as it will generally make a difference what sort of spec is required & that obviously affects the price lol

I so agree with you - and so many times someone sends me a link (often Costco) of some totally inadequate machine built down to a price with a crappy processor that will under-perform for most tasks apart from maybe web surfing.

 

[TRITON]

Budget ?
Alienware fan here. Pricey I know, but it's done everything asked of it for many a year.

 

[ian33a]

I used to build my own and had more obsolete junk from old computers stored in my roof than I care to admit to.

These days we just buy finished units - I haven't the time or interest to keep up with marching technology.

My last two models have come from Chillblast. Not the cheapest but decent spec and nicely built.

The last one we bought for my wife has a similar spec to yours and we bought it from John Lewis. It's an HP and works really nicely.

 

[clogs]

I just buy Apple.....never had any real problems in 10 years

we have
2x27" iMacs
1xmini mac
1x mac book air
1x iPad
iphones verson 5,6,8 and 2x10's and a 12 I think, on it's way from my daughter, cast off....
plus a tiny music thingy.....
wouldn't consider anything else unless it's as and a lot cheaper....

 

[Superduner]

I've just bought one of these (available in the UK as well):
Mini PC, processeur AMD Ryzen 7 3750H Quad Core, Mini Ordinateur de Bureau 16 Go DDR4 / 512 Go SSD évolutif avec Windows 10 Pro, Ports HDMI, DP et USB C, WiFi Double Bande, BT 5.1, USB 3.1 * 4 : Amazon.fr: Informatique
It replaced a 12 year old 6 core AMD and I have to say is really, really good. It set up Windows 10 Pro instantly, and then gave me the choice to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro the next day (that runs pretty well for me).
It takes up next to no desk space, and all I had to add was a USB sound device and a couple of USB hubs.
They have a forum which is good for advice, as well.
So far, well recommended.

 

[martin.pearson]

I just buy Apple.....never had any real problems in 10 years

If I did that I would need to run an emulator since some of the software I use is not available for the Mac.

@Superduner is it true that you need to have a Microsoft account to run windows 11 ? I haven't really looked into it myself yet but someone told me that. if that is true then can you use it offline?

 

[Superduner]

When the new computer set itself up, it did not ask for my Microsoft account, but I think that only applies to Windows Pro (which is built into it, somehow). Anyway it was incredibly quick and painless, unlike my old machine that would start and restart many times. over the course of what seemed like hours.

 

[slavedata]

This firm do a range of very affordable ex corporate high quality good spec PCs at very reasonable prices. Here is an example.
Dell OptiPlex 5040 SFF i5-6500 Windows 10 Pro Configurable Desktop PC | eBay

You don't have to have a Microsoft account to run windows 11 and you don't have to have very exotic hardware to run it.

How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PCs? | Gear up Windows 11/10

 

[Sandyn]

I always ask people what it is going to be used for as it will generally make a difference what sort of spec is required & that obviously affects the price lol

Most of the time, I could get away with a lower spec machine now, but I do edit large videos and sometimes manipulate large images of gigabit size. Most of my scanned archive pictures are around 100-200Mb. I've worked with this PC for years, so it has to be equivalent performance or better. I like to have a bit of overhead capacity. I also need to get a Windows 10/11 machine. Just time for an upgrade. The machine I have is on the verge of dying. I have saved it lots of times. It loses it's BIOS configuration regularly and has problems detecting USB devices some times. It also will not reliably run my Canon DPP4 software without crashing. I'm not a gamer. My budget is about £1000.

 

[Sandyn]

I just buy Apple.....never had any real problems in 10 years

Thanks, I just have never been an apple guy. They look beautiful, work very well but I get very frustrated by a lot of the Apple constraints. I like to be able to get into the innards of a PC. I couldn't change the hard drive on the Aple Mac if it failed.

My wife has an Apple desktop which was a present from me, I got it because I was fed up having to fix her Windows laptop. It has been a very reliable machine. It had a display problem which was repaired under warranty. She uses it regularly, but I have since got her an Lenovo i7 laptop for using in other parts of the house.

 

[martin.pearson]

The BIOS problem could very well be down to the CMOS Battery, I worked as a signmaker doing cad cut vinyl & large format digital print so although like you I am not a gamer I needed a fairly high spec machine, the link superduner put up looks worth investigating. I've not actually looked at DPP4 what do you use that for?

slavedata wrote "You don't have to have a Microsoft account to run windows 11" Thanks for that, I think I still have one but I don't use it, I don't have an internet connection at my workshop so I wasn't sure if that was going to cause problems.

 

[Sandyn]

I used to build my own and had more obsolete junk from old computers stored in my roof than I care to admit to.

These days we just buy finished units - I haven't the time or interest to keep up with marching technology.

Thanks, Until recently, I still had every PC i ever built or owned and all my kids machines as well. Right from the first PC, a Tandon 286. It was like a museum of computing in my loft. I decided to chuck nearly everything. It went to recycling at the local dump, but I kept all the hard disks.

Chillblast is another builder I looked at. They make good machines. All of these box builders make similar spec machines at similar prices. too many to choose from! There are also lots of individual box builders on Gumtree They generally make better bargains, but You just never know what you are getting and limited warranty.

 

[Sandyn]

The BIOS problem could very well be down to the CMOS Battery, I worked as a signmaker doing cad cut vinyl & large format digital print so although like you I am not a gamer I needed a fairly high spec machine, the link superduner put up looks worth investigating. I've not actually looked at DPP4 what do you use that for?

I didn't write about the one day saga with the latest failure, but I have a flash programmer arriving from Amazon today to reprogram the BIOS!! I also accidentally snapped one of the legs on the CMOS battery holder trying to change the battery . Fat fingers and not so able to do delicate work! Fortunately there was enough of a land on the board to solder a wire. There was no POST running, no beeps, the PC kept restarting. I still had BIOS chips from the last time the BIOS corrupted. They gave different results, so I thought the BIOS had gone again.
In the end I tried a different graphics cards, swapped memory modules around, re-seated everything and removed everything to the minimum configuration, and it started again, so I'm not sure what actually caused the failure, but I now suspect one of the memory modules. The BIOS is OK.

DPP4 Is Canon's RAW image software. I really like it and use all the time, but since the upgrade from 3 to 4, it keeps crashing. I found a workaround, but I see there are later upgrades, which won't install on Win 7.