WE HAVE £400 to buy a new pc desktop or laptop / notebook etc.

it needs to be multimedia model for a bit of everything...(art, games, films, net, word...) any suggestions what i should expect?

(currently have a dell xps 2.3mhz laptop, 2 gig ram, 19" mon., geforce 7800 256mb, wifi, with xp)

i expect a big bump up from that as its 5 years old...(otherwise whats the point)

ill want to easily network it to my old laptop and a new wireless printer...(which i also have to get)...

doesnt need to be a laptop

so do you still get more for your money with a desktop

and should i build it myself if poss.?

I would definitely go for a desktop - you get more bangs for your buck. If you haven't built a PC before I would go for a pre built one - after you take into account the cost of the warranty the retail prices of components and operating system it is unlikely you will be able to make much if any savings

For £400 you will be able to get basic workhorse nothing special especially if you want speakers and a monitor

Aim for these specs

AMD Athlon II X3 445 Triple Core Processor 3.1GHz

4GB RAM

500GB Hard Drive

On board graphics

Windows 7 Home premium 64bit

21-22" monitor

If you can spend a little more or self build a dedicated graphics card would give the gaming performance a boost. You could also add in a better graphics card at some later date

HTH

David

You can get a laptop for gaming but you get a lot less bang for the buck. Furthermore laptops meant for gaming are not that mobile.


Since a mobile gaming GPU is very power intensive, the most you will get from an average laptop is about 1 - 1 1/2 hours of gaming. Some games will probably not even run unless you plug your power cord into a wall.

For gaming desktop all the way. You get more power for less cash. If you can build it yourself even better

Unless you must have the mobility a laptop affords, a desktop will give you more bang for your buck.


Another advantage of a desktop is that is relatively easy to upgrade, so you can save up and maybe get a better graphics card in the future.

It depends on your priority.

If you want the most powerful machine for the money, you have to get a desktop.

If being portable is your priority, then a laptop is the way to go.

Now, it sounds like you already have a laptop and you can use that for your "portable" stuff.. and get a desktop to do stuff that requires a bit more muscle.

i would build my own for the house, and get a smart phone for walkabout.

ya u will certainly get a lot bang for buck in desktop.

build it urself

u will get a lot of satisfaction after u have made it.

also one main advantage

*************u can upgrade it************

remember go for a better power supply and motherboard if u wanna upgrade later.