Ok, my old computer has packed it in - so am looking around.
Any recommendations on brands etc etc? I've no idea on the latest tech, brands etc and am only really familiar with Dell and HP through work.
Looking at around $2k.
Cheers

call Ken or get onto him dude. He has teh mad contacts bro. Failing that get i will get andy to give you a bell his brother works for dell or some shit.

2 easy steps.

1: find where sp33d lives

2: steal his computer.

voila, a top pc and you dont have to pay $2k for it

dont buy a dell...

i'd say dont buy any off the shelf type of pc...

my dell laptop seems to be working fine. couldn't find anything that would match it for the same price.

http://www.scorptec.com.au/systems/all/

IMO one of the better 'custom' off the shelf style computer companies.

Interesting about Dell.
The computer that just died was 6 to 7 years old and was a dell precision workstation. Lasted pretty well...maybe they aren't built the same>>?

PM sent brah

I've had Acer most of the time, now I had to settle for a cheaps ass desktop as my laptop died.

I'll get something better one day.

Brother in law got himself a new Vaio.

http://ibuypower.com.au/

where you can buy more for less

Upgrading from a 6 year old Dell, the cheapest machine on the shelf will surpass it. If your looking for a quality, custom built is the only way. I can build you whatever you want at the right prices.

is it for work or just home net surfing? My bro is a graphic designer and if you want it for work he should be able to build you a good one for a great price...

What do you use it for? ie do you play games alot? or just surfin the net etc. are you going to re-use the old monitor/keyboard etc, or do you want a whole new setup?

What he said.

Are you gonna use all your old peripherals? If so, 2K aint so bad. Im gonna assume you want it mostly for work crap. Not for hardcore graphics chewing games.
Because you sound like a noob, Id say a brandname jimmy strap might suit you, as that way you can just strut back into Harvey Norman/WOW sight and sound and tell em 'its fucked' when something goes wrong. Or ring those friendly tech support people in the philippines. Brnadnames like Dell and Acer and HP etc... are good like this. But they are harder than algebra to upgrade, and slow as fuck, and really like having un jailbreaked iPhone: you miss out on all the good stuff.

If your a little more competent, and know what you want in terms of hardware type and size, you can customize your own. Try Here


http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/build.php





Or just buy one of thier off the shelf systems.
This is a complete system with peripherals but youll have to use your old operating system, which you probably dont physically own becuase your previous PC was a Dell-do and they only give you 'image' disks of your operating system.I.E you have an O.E.M. version of Windows, which can be reinstalled on that machine many times, but ONLY only on that machine. Which is gay.
This is a pretty decent kit for all round work and play with everything bar softeare installed. Just remember, if you use a 32bit version of either Vista or XP, you are limited to 2GB of ram. 64bit versions (x86) of Vista, Xp and of course Windows 7 (rocks!!) you can use I think up to 12 GB.

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/produc...oducts_id=33352








But if you like gaming and still have all your peripherals, and a RETAIL version of Windows that you want to re-use, then this is pretty good valiue.
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/produc...oducts_id=37425

Great CPU in that machine, 45nm and can be easy peasy overclocked to 4ghz+ making it faster than a lot of $1000+ cpu's currently available.

Ive dealt with centrecom for years buying components and they are the least problematic.

Thanks for the replies all...sincerely appreciated.

Yep, will be retaining all peripherals, and primarily for home work use (CAD/3d modelling) and the occasional game. Have considered upgrade to flat panel in lieu of the sony trinitron, purely for space.

I gave up keeping informed on the latest computer specs/configurations around 5 years ago as I considered it a waste of my time (would rather play with my cars...), however am more then capable in being hands on to diagnose software and hardware issues.

Preference would certainly be for a component based system. I've also considered a RAID 1 mirror for additional data integrity, however have wondered if it would just be better to periodically back up to a second hard drive.

Anyways, cheers again!

LoL this appears to be a room full of nerds right now trying to win a race for the chance to build him a computer.

Bottom line is of the shelf besides Asus or Alienware are shit and though cheap aren't reliable, trust me I see 10's of HPs and Dells a day come through work. With your old one you got one of the lucky ones, as we say at work 2/10 last...

Best is get someone who builds custom shiz, for 2k you can have a VERY decent system that will put the system of a DELL or HP to shame.
Easy to do these days, mate built one at work for $1800 that run top end games sitting at 100fps easy...
But remember anyone can build a PC but not many know HOW to build one, matching components and making sure they run nicely together also making sure the Operating System (Windows XP etc) is configured correctly also even the machine BIOS.

Keep that allllllll in mind

That was actually my next question...matching of components... ok, granted it was years back now, but I had a component system built and had nothing but problems with compatability of components. No doubt this is somewhat better these days...

Well, time to get some prices in and get a new pc. This 'other' old clunker dell may pack it in too

Its gotten a little more complicated these days with different cores etc

Alot more CPU's and CPU type with different GFX card etc.
Also be worth building something with a bit of RAM for Windows 7.

here's that link again....

http://ibuypower.com.au/

This guy......

Yes, this guy

i7 920 - $364
asus p6t-se - $275
500gb seagate sata -$62
6G Kit (3x2G) DDR3 1333 Kingston - $146
1GB 9600GT asus - $135
Seasonic S12 II 430W PSU - $93

All prices from MSY computers, would have to chuck a bit on top for postage..

Throw it in any random case (diff people have diff taste so i didnt pick a case..) good system, for around a grand..

Im my experience, running RAIDs is more effort then its worth, just dont be stupid like 99% of people and actually keep a recent back up, and u be right.

MSY dont ship though. Sort of organise your own courier and hope for the best.....plus they assemble pretty ordinary. Old man bought one last year. (their east malvern shop on waverly road has been there since.....10 years plus now. Still packed to the ceiling with case boxes, so asian ) Had to clean it out and put it back together properly.

hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm laptop goodness

Dell Studio 15 Laptop
Midnight Blue Colour with Black U-Trim
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz/
1066 FSB/ 3MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 64 bit
Dell Services: Essential Help:
Microsoft® Works
15.6 " Full HD(1080p)WLED (1920 x
1080)Display with TrueLife™ w/Camera
8GB (2x4GB) 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM 2X4G
primary 500GB SATA 2nd Hard Drive
2nd 500GB SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R
double layer write capability
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
Integrated Stereo Sound with Subwoofer
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery MT325 1
Intel® WiFi Link 5100 (802.11a/g/n) Half
Mini-card
Dell™ Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
Dell™ Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad
Silver Palmrest
Integrated Fast Ethernet 10/100/1000
34mm ExpressCard Slot,
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Cam W438J 1
3 Yrs Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service
after Remote Diagnosis
McAfee® Security Center 10 3 Years

AH didnt know they didnt post, ive never bought from them before.. well even if u organised your own courier, still saving 1k from what most palces in darwin would try charge for a system like that

that's what mine has. only have the 2.4ghz preocessor, 4gb ram and smaller HDD though.

took over a month to get here.

the full HD monitor is beautiful, and the backlit keyboard rocks.

works well then?

But a month!! bejesus

yep. and if mine works well, the one you described should be awesome.

it took a month cos they had a big sale on at the time and ran out of the processors. i asked if they could just upgrade it but there was nothing at the time they could upgrade to.

my only complaint is that i can't get the tv tuner software to work properly, but that could be a software problem.

oh, and the built in speakers are pretty lame.

how much was it adam... pm me if you want

pm sent with more details.

and here with less details - $1655 after discounts. about $2000 before.

I couldn't find anything that came close to it for the same price.

for around 3....