Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Situ:
Moved house, now have no room for a PC with a table/chair etc so linked my current machine up to the TV. This has it's plus points but also find it a bit of a nuisance as sofa is fair distance from tv so have to zoom in or sit closer which can be a PITA.
Anyway, use of pc is simple:
*interwebs
*iPlayer/4OD (no tv in the room)
*itunes (use as our stereo)
*Photograph storing/viewing/editing
*word processing and spreadsheets
*porn
Currently have a 2007 Dell inspiron Machine which at the time I specked up with 4gb ram 64bit etc. upgraded from Vista to Windows7 about z18months ago and been happy but now it's starting to be slow as shit. I regularly use Ccleaner, avg, malware bytes and defrag etc. I never keep unwanted crap on there and uninstall anything I don't need, I think it's just getting old.
So looking to replace all I would need is the box, not monitor, so looked at a Mini Mac? These see, under specked but I'm guessing being Apple it needs less to run as efficiently. But they are pricey. Alternative is a trusty PC, always had Dells but they fucked me off with this one as they sold me a 64bit machine with 32nit operating system unbeknown to me as I'm not IT geek and it ran like crap for years and nobody could tell me why. Kept blaming Internet speeds etc. so not looking to give them any of my money really. But I do like them 
Is it best to build a pc? Ideally I'd like it as small and powerful as possible with decent graphics and sound, but not costing the earth?
Alternative is buy a laptop but I REALLLLY don't want to!
Any help or tips appreciated for a novice who doesn't know to much but is willing to learn 
[Edited on 02-10-2012 by Jambo]
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Doug
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Registered: 8th Oct 03
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I was in the same boat as you. Moved into a new place and hooked up my tower PC to the TV. I then bought a MacBook Air as it has all the processing power I need yet is epicly portable so takes the place of an iPad as well.
The Mac Mini's are cracking machines and you won't be disappointed with one based on your usage list 
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Doug
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Registered: 8th Oct 03
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Alternatively you could look to buy something like this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/261440-shuttle-sh67h3-sh67h3
Then you just need to add a processor, RAM, HDD and a DVD drive. Also a Graphics card if you require a separate more powerful unit (which I doubt based on your list).
I'm sure someone will be along soon to tell you something different, I dont build PC's so they are probably more knowledgeable 
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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My suggestions are (in order of cheapness):
1. Keep your existing PC - buy a 120/128GB SSD (solid state drive) to use your main C: drive (everything will load so much faster you would not believe!), you can pick one up for between £80-£100 these days. Use your existing hard drive as your D: drive for storing your files etc. (the C: drive is solely used for installing programs on). Install Windows 7 64-bit on the SSD.
2. Buy a Mac Mini. Prices start from £529, and the ones that are out do not have a DVD-RW drive. Takes up sod all space.
3. Buy an iPad (from £329) and/or a MacBook Pro/Air (£900+), and a NAS (network attached storage) box with say a 1TB drive (£100+). The Buffalo LinkStation for example acts as an iTunes server too and you can install an app for your smart phone or tablet (Apple or Android) that lets you browse files on there.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Thanks guys
I have an iPad already (currently writing this from it)
Sam is my 5yr old processor not causing the issues? That's the only reason I suggesting a new pc. Also if I where to get a mac mini or small pc with no disc drive, am I able to get an external one that is removable like via USB?
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Ian W
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Registered: 8th Nov 03
Location: Wirral, Merseyside
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My thoughts are that if you are not doing anything differenet now than you where when you first got your Dell then go with Sam's suggestion of a SSD. Nice cheap upgrade.
I have just put one my my 3 year old Vaio and it's better than it was at new.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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MacBook pro.
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Whittie
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Registered: 11th Aug 06
Location: North Wales Drives: BMW, Corsa & Fiat
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You can do all that on your ipad and spend the rest making your car white 
Macbook Air? Mini's are shit imo
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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Minis are great for the same reason MacBooks Airs are great IMO.
Form Factor nice small compact unit but still has good power. Nice and neat, subble, can sit in any room and no-one would be the wise bar the monitor. When combined with wireless mouse/keyboard its a tidy desk solution.
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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Mac Mini and upgrade the ram (buy ram from crucial for about 20quid)
Can also install windows 7 as a backup, you will be happy with OSX though for what you want.
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Whittie
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Registered: 11th Aug 06
Location: North Wales Drives: BMW, Corsa & Fiat
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Mac mini's would be epic, if you could use your ipad as a bluetooth / wifi monitor!
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noshua
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Registered: 19th Nov 08
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You dont need to spend a fortune on a new pc just for those tasks, I'd go with Sam's advice of an SSD. I've been waiting for a decent 128GB SSD to be on offer and upgrade.
Then again you could get an i5 4gb and ssd which would blow any of the similarly priced Macs away
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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quote:
Originally posted by Whittie
Mac mini's would be epic, if you could use your ipad as a bluetooth / wifi monitor!
Theres an App for that
http://avatron.com/apps/air-display
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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SSD in the current or build a small shuttle system, those would be my options.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Ok so im interested in this SSD thing,
Links?
Maybe i will try this for now, see how i get on and get a mac if i am not happy in a little while.
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Whittie
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Registered: 11th Aug 06
Location: North Wales Drives: BMW, Corsa & Fiat
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http://www.dabs.com/products/kingston-128gb-ssdnow-v200-sata-6gb-s-2-5--solid-state-drive-7V53.html?ReferrerID=tb&utm_source=td&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=TB00
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noshua
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Registered: 19th Nov 08
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2500 write IOPS? 
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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quote:
Originally posted by noshua
2500 write IOPS?
How about one of these. Pretty sure it will be fast enough 
http://www.fusionio.com/platforms/iodrive-octal/
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Sam
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Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
Thanks guys
I have an iPad already (currently writing this from it)
Sam is my 5yr old processor not causing the issues? That's the only reason I suggesting a new pc. Also if I where to get a mac mini or small pc with no disc drive, am I able to get an external one that is removable like via USB?
Unless the heatsink and fan is clogged up with dust and crap then no your CPU will be fine.
Yes you can get an external USB DVD-RW drive, either a branded one (cheap) or an Apple one (expensive).
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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USB Drive will be about 15quid.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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How do I go about this SSD thing? Need someone to install or can I do it?
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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Just buy an SSD and install into laptop and then install windows then get a caddy or something and transfer all files from your old drive onto your new drive.
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Sam
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Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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Nismo WTF are you on about The guy has a desktop PC, I'm sure it'll have more than one drive bay in there
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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Ah right I'm confused I thought he had a laptop for some reason 
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Was wondering about the laptop bit
Ok so here is my PC details:
Worth adding a 2gb of ram too? Ideally if i can make it last a few more years id be a happy bunny. I like Windows 7, just want it to run faster really.
Also Need to look at different wireless keyboard setups as mine seem to have a range of abour 2 feet before they stop working 
[Edited on 30-06-2012 by Jambo]
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