New computer : too many choices !

[bakerstreet]

I need a new computer. I don't want a Mac! I've done quite a bit of research.
I run Adobe products like illustrator / flash / photoshop etc.

The Which site has narrowed me down to a Novotech. Good machines, great customer service etc they say. Second only to Mac.

Given that and what I need it for I've narrowed it down to:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/home/

iFlame [PC-1570]

or

iFlame Pro [PC-1590]

I need to check re video/music/display etc to see if it is the most suitable.

Any thoughts ?

 

[Minilad]

Uh-oh. Potential PC v Mac slanging match on the cards !!

 

[Harlesden]

My opinion is that you should be more concerned with what is under the hood rather than whose name is on it. All manufacturers now offer a wide range of computers to suit every pocket and every need. In six years using computers I've never needed to contact the manufacturer other than for a repair under warranty which was a very smooth process.
Your needs actually appear fairly basic as you mention nothing about being a gamer or one of these people obsessed with stealing content from the Internet via torrents.
I use a Hewlett Packard desktop and a Samsung laptop and I am quite happy with both of them. I have never actually heard of Novotech.

 

[Nym]

Have you had a look at the offerings from Dell and Alienware on this?

The Precision series would suit what you're looking for in that relm of high spec non gaming graphics (the XPS goes gaming and non gaming, but tends more towards the gaming kit) and if you're not that flush with cash, theres some nice deals on Optiplex kit....

 

[bakerstreet]

Uh-oh. Potential PC v Mac slanging match on the cards !!

That crossed my mind just as I submitted the post!
But I'm pretty convinced I don't want a mac so no amount of slanging will convince me in that direction. Out of interest are you one of the Mac brigade?

 

[Yew]

You could do worse than dell..

How abou making your own?

 

[Minilad]

That crossed my mind just as I submitted the post!
But I'm pretty convinced I don't want a mac so no amount of slanging will convince me in that direction. Out of interest are you one of the Mac brigade?

I am yes. Typing this on a 15' MacBookPro. But best not go any further with that !!
You know what you want the machine for and what your budget is. So go with what your head says

 

[bakerstreet]

You could do worse than dell..

How abou making your own?

I'd love to be able to do that but I remember taking about a day to increase the RAM on my last PC - if I built one from scratch I fear it may be obsolete by the time I'd finished!

 

[SS4]

The extra CPU on the Pro would swing it for me (although I personally would self-build).

That being said I'd want extra RAM slots (these only have two) and HDMI out if you wanted to hook up an external monitor/tv. PSU looks a bit low at 350W but I would imagine it works.

Be sure to get a 64bit operating system, there is no need to get a 32bit one now.

For it's price it's a good computer and it will probably cope with all but the biggest stress
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I must have spent about £800-£1k on mine overall though so perhaps I'm nitpicking.

I'd love to be able to do that but I remember taking about a day to increase the RAM on my last PC - if I built one from scratch I fear it may be obsolete by the time I'd finished!

It's not too hard if you get a good manual with pictures but if you don't it's not worth the trouble.

 

[mbonwick]

What's under the hood is more important. So long as you're careful with what you do the odds are you won't need the manufacturer support.

Adobe CS5.5 needs as much processing power and RAM as possible.

Therefore I'd recommend you look for at least a Core i5 and 4GB RAM with 64bit windows (some of the suite won't run on 32bit systems)

Personally 1GB graphics is the minimum I will go for, but I suppose that's flexible.

Looking at the Novatech website, the lowest priced i7 PC they have is £829. I paid £800 for this laptop in summer which has very similar specs (actually outranks in some respects), so I would suggest that Novatech don't offer best value for money.

 

[bakerstreet]

Thanks for all your replies, really really useful. I'm off to the sales...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My eldest son in Southwold has just purchased a new HP Pavilion HPE h8se desktop which he says is soon to receive extra drives.

Has anyone any knowledge of this particular model, as I heard a rumour recently that HP were pulling out of the "home-use" market.

 

[Nick W]

CPUs have barely improved over the last few years, so you might as well go for a 2-3 year old computer with a DIY RAM upgrade. Use the money saved how you wish.

 

[Eeveevolve]

CPUs have barely improved over the last few years, so you might as well go for a 2-3 year old computer with a DIY RAM upgrade. Use the money saved how you wish.

Just done that for my christmas present to myself. Got a 1Gb RAM netbook, looked at price of exactly the same specs with 2Gb, extra £50. Went into the componant section of PCWorld, got a 2Gb stick for £20, came back to the sales guy, 'ill have that netbook and this stick of ram'.

He laughed and said 'that's the way to do it'.

 

[NLC1072]

Just done that for my christmas present to myself. Got a 1Gb RAM netbook, looked at price of exactly the same specs with 2Gb, extra £50. Went into the componant section of PCWorld, got a 2Gb stick for £20, came back to the sales guy, 'ill have that netbook and this stick of ram'.

He laughed and said 'that's the way to do it'.

That's what I did! I got an Asus EEE Pc and a 2GB stick of RAM to go with that


Sometimes I go to Cash Converters and buy a good quad core PC they have in which is at least built within the last year and then just add a graphics card and RAM, total cost £400, for a £800-900 ~ spec PC. Plays Battlefield 3 Nicely

 

[Eeveevolve]

Good old Cash Converters. The modern day fences.

Annoyingly its right next to my bus-stop in town, so I always seem to buy something from them every time...

 

[Minilad]

Sometimes I go to Cash Converters and buy a good quad core PC they have in which is at least built within the last year and then just add a graphics card and RAM, total cost £400, for a £800-900 ~ spec PC. Plays Battlefield 3 Nicely

I bet the poor bugger who had that PC stolen to be sold to cash converters is really happy you are happy it plays a game nicely

 

[deltic1989]

Ive just popped into my local CEX and bought a toshiba satellite pro running vista 2GB RAM 250GB HDD AMD Sempron 2.0Ghz CPU and Radeon graphics for £200 and it aint a bad machine for what i use a computer for (the odd game and RailUK and facebook)

 

[Spiritinthesky]

I would go Mac every time.