It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 10:16

Help finding a new PC.

Hang up your Chisels and Plane blades and take a load off with a recently turned goblet of your favourite poison, in the lounge of our Gentlemen's (and ladies) Club.

Help finding a new PC.

Postby Mike G » 15 May 2017, 20:21

Five crashes today. Slightly above average. Time I upgraded (I've a 10 year old Dell Dimension 5000 running XP Pro, with 34GB of hard drive memory and 4GB Ram).

I run Autocad and Photoshop, with the latter being secondary. I don't do gaming, or stream videos. Apparently I need 64 bits, but don't have a clue what this means. I very occasionally need to run CDs, mainly to retrieve old archived stuff. I do need 5 or 6 USB ports, and I guess it needs to run Windows 10. I don't really want to spend more than about £400.

Here are the Autocad system requirements:

Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® 10 (requires AutoCAD 2016 SP1)
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1
Microsoft Windows 7
CPU Type Minimum Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ 64 processor
Memory For 32-bit AutoCAD 2016:
2 GB (3 GB recommended)
For 64-bit AutoCAD 2016:
4 GB (8 GB recommended)
Display Resolution 1024x768 (1600x1050 or higher recommended) with True Color
Display Card Windows display adapter capable of 1024x768 with True Color capabilities. DirectX® 9 or DirectX 11 compliant card recommended.

What do I need, and where do I look? Is something like this along the right lines?

Thanks in advance.
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9836
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Malc2098 » 15 May 2017, 21:05

I hesitate to mention this, but how about a mac.

I do all my stuff on a Mac Mini desktop. I use two HD screens for all my close work (and Pinch's videos!)
Malcolm
User avatar
Malc2098
Sequoia
 
Posts: 7209
Joined: 03 Jul 2016, 11:10
Location: Tiverton
Name: Malcolm

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Mike G » 15 May 2017, 21:07

Autocad is PC-specific.
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9836
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Andyp » 15 May 2017, 21:20

I am out of touch with PCs but who are Ankermann? If I were to buy a PC I would stick with HP or Dell or other well known brand for the ease of problems solving if/when anything goes wrong and the availabity and ease of upgrades.
Have you had a look at the HP offerings. 400 quid seems to buy a lot theses days.
I do not think therefore I do not am.

cheers
Andy
User avatar
Andyp
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 11721
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:05
Location: 14860 Normandy, France
Name: Andy

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby StevieB » 15 May 2017, 21:21

Personally I would go either to a local run PC shop and get them to build to your requirements (not as expensive as you might think, especially if you don't need fancy graphics cards for video streaming or gaming) or explore a major manufacturer such as Dell (although it can be a major pain to navigate their website and compare products, but try the business user tab rather than high end).

Failing that, most computer mags have 'best buy' tables for various types of kit (laptops, desktops, budget, gaming etc) and a google search will throw up loads from places such as pcadvisor.co.uk among others. Do watch the date things were reviewed however as specs change fast in PC land.

Just don't let your local NHS connect it to their network ;)

Steve
StevieB
Nordic Pine
 
Posts: 886
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:47
Location: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Malc2098 » 15 May 2017, 21:45

Mike G wrote:Autocad is PC-specific.


The little research I have done suggests that Autodesk have rewritten AC for the Mac, although I understand it will look and feel Mac like, rather than Windows like.

But I've transferred to Mac over the last year or so, and haven't grown horns!!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mac-vs-pc-does-really-matter-you-autocad-user-jim-lapier
Malcolm
User avatar
Malc2098
Sequoia
 
Posts: 7209
Joined: 03 Jul 2016, 11:10
Location: Tiverton
Name: Malcolm

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Woodster » 15 May 2017, 22:17

There are several CAD packages for the Mac but sadly they all look and feel the same as the PC versions. :lol:
User avatar
Woodster
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2558
Joined: 26 Jan 2017, 13:17
Location: Dorset
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Robert » 15 May 2017, 23:18

The one on Amazon you linked to would do it but I think you could do better.

never heard of Ankermann so it is probably a budget brand and quite a strong possibility it is not a genuine windows install on it. There is some kind of work around to use a version of windows sold cheap for tablets on a PC. Not saying this is but it is a possibility.

look for an i5 processor and as high a number after it as you can get with the budget.

Autocad would work better with a graphics card if you use 3D a lot. For 2D the onboard graphics will be fine. It will do 3D but complex drawings may not pan/ zoom smoothly.

Bargains do show up on hotdealsuk but desktop PC's are a dying breed now so very infrequent.
I always build my computers from components. not always cheaper but I know what's inside and can fix any problems myself.

Looking round places i sometimes buy parts from i really struggled to find something within budget and with win 10 -

http://www.ebuyer.com/757510-hp-280-g2- ... 7q84ea-abu
i5 6500 Windows 10 but small hard drive and no wifi £408

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Speedy-CCL-3- ... Sw2gxYyQ9S
Ebay but CCL computers who are OK. i5 7400 win 10 £442


You can get good spec PC's in your budget but with no operating system.
Windows 10 pro is around £140 genuine or £10 to £25 for a dodgy licence code so you can see why care is needed.

I'll keep my eyes open for you.
Robert
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2490
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 19:31
Location: Woodford Green
Name: Robert

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Rod » 16 May 2017, 00:06

I used to build my own but a few years ago I bought from Novatech a company not far from me.
PC is still going strong.

https://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/minitower/

Rod
User avatar
Rod
Old Oak
 
Posts: 4471
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:34
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Phil » 16 May 2017, 07:13

Mike, that is i3 which is slow and old.

Robert wrote:look for an i5 processor and as high a number after it as you can get with the budget.


:text-+1:

If you are using it for business purposes, can't you write it off for tax and spend mabe more than GBP400?
Thats how I bought my Gigabyte laptop (i3) and wrote it off over 4 years against tax.

Phil
We don't stop woodworking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop woodworking!

https://www.instagram.com/phil_pretoria/
User avatar
Phil
Old Oak
 
Posts: 3499
Joined: 23 Jul 2014, 05:11
Location: Southern Africa 0054
Name: Phil

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Mike G » 16 May 2017, 07:55

Great stuff so far. Thanks very much.

The budget could be higher, but i don't want it to be. The thing is, I am pretty sure that any new PC would exceed my system requirements, so the temptation to keep on chasing an extra bit of performance for "just another £30" leads to spending £1000 I would rather spend on oak.
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9836
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Gone fishinf » 16 May 2017, 08:12

The only addition to the above would be a solid state main drive and a normal hard drive for file storage, it will give you a faster response while working, my Autocad v14 on XP flies on this setup, tax wise you can write off 100% in the first year.
Gone fishinf
Seedling
 
Posts: 26
Joined: 09 Nov 2016, 17:33
Location: Wild Atlantic Way
Name: Paul

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby 9fingers » 16 May 2017, 08:13

I have always bought Dell professionally and privately and not regretted it. For my own use I use the dell outlet which lists new machines often custom built to order and then cancelled. You can view the specs online and choose one to match or exceed your needs usually at significant savings.
Bob
Information on induction motors here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dBTVXx ... sp=sharing
Email:motors@minchin.org.uk
User avatar
9fingers
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 10038
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 20:22
Location: Romsey Hampshire between Southampton and the New Forest
Name: Bob

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby greeno » 16 May 2017, 08:54

Take a look at the pcpro a-list

http://www.alphr.com/technology/1002673 ... uy-in-2017

They changed their name to alphr for some reason.
Covers all budgets for all tech.

A friend in the industry always recommends them as the best source.
greeno
New Shoots
 
Posts: 188
Joined: 19 Jul 2016, 10:46
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby RogerS » 17 May 2017, 08:44

StevieB beat me to it in recommending a local shop to build one to your spec. You will get a better machine that focuses on the things that you want to do rather than what the manufacturers 'think' you want to do.

The recommendation for a solid state drive is a good one.

I'm not PC literate any longer but double-check that there aren't any odd programs that you run once-in-a-blue-moon but which won't run under the latest version of Windows.

And any older peripherals such as printers, scanners etc.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
User avatar
RogerS
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 13291
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:07
Location: Nearly finished. OK OK...call me Pinocchio.
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Tusses » 17 May 2017, 11:50

as Roger said, things like serial and parallel posts are a thing of the past, unless you have them fitted.

My CNC needs a parallel post for example, and I'm using an old Del at least 15 yrs old ! just for that.

You "should" be able to have XP and Win10 on / dual boot, for any old programs.

I presume you have completely formatted the old PC and loaded XP from fresh ?
Tusses
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1300
Joined: 08 May 2016, 10:48
Location: in the middle of the middle
Name:

Re: Help finding a new PC.

Postby Tusses » 17 May 2017, 11:53

also, don't rule out laptops .. they usually come with an OS intalled and many are under £400

I use my laptop as if it were a desk top with Keyboard, mouse and monitor plugged in.
Tusses
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1300
Joined: 08 May 2016, 10:48
Location: in the middle of the middle
Name:


Return to The Woodmangler's Retreat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests

cron