New Computer

[The Diabolical Biz]

Do you already have a Windows license, or will you need to buy a copy?

I have one

Do you already have a monitor? If so, what is its resolution?

No

Are there any particular games you have in mind?

Dawn of war or similar

Are you comfortable building the computer from parts?

No

 

[e2density]

If your willing to build it (and the price mite be a bit high)

CPU: AMD Athlon 2 X4 620
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-s2
RAM: Patriot 4GB DDR2/800
GPU: Radeon HD 5750
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB
OS: Ubuntu or any other linux distro GO LINUX!

Im guessing you have a monitor and the case and optic drives are your choice

(if anything, keep the CPU, GPU, and at least 2GB of RAM and pick the other parts your self at newegg or something to better match price and needs, them alone will let you play almost any game out there. even fallout 3 with tons of mods on ULTRA HIGH! yes, that is the setting lol)

That is definitely less than 500 Euros I think (I got a similar rig with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, 320GB HDD and ATI 5770) all for about $760.

 

[Darktau]

I would look here (Yes they are valid)
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/business/

You might want to fork out a little more for the Isys EX PRO, but thats my view, buy what you want .

 

[Arachon]

Actually I was quite serious. The mac was designed for high visual capabilities, and while it's now an invalid option due to the price range edit that limited the cost to 500 pounds, any Windows platform Bootcamped on to it would gain the hardware capabilities of the Mac.

The thing is, considering the iMac's price, it is hardware-wise inferior to a PC, for example, the cheapest iMac goes for $1,199 and comes with:

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz (Dual Core)

RAM
4 Gig DDR3

GPU
NVIDIA 9400M (Integrated GPU)

Screen
21.5"

Hard Drive
500GB

I got my PC for about the same price, and it has:

CPU
Intel i5 2.33 GHz (Quad Core)

RAM
4Gig DDR3

GPU
NVIDIA GTX 260

Screen
21.5"

Hard Drive
1TB

Now I don't want to call you out for liking macs, I've been an avid mac user in the past, but considering their price, and the hardware you get for aforementioned price, they are somewhat inferior to PCs. And the "OSX doesn't crash" argument is not a good one, my Windows doesn't crash either.

 

[The Heik]

Actually I was quite serious. The mac was designed for high visual capabilities, and while it's now an invalid option due to the price range edit that limited the cost to 500 pounds, any Windows platform Bootcamped on to it would gain the hardware capabilities of the Mac.

The thing is, considering the iMac's price, it is hardware-wise inferior to a PC, for example, the cheapest iMac goes for $1,199 and comes with:

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz (Dual Core)

RAM
4 Gig DDR3

GPU
NVIDIA 9400M (Integrated GPU)

Screen
21.5"

Hard Drive
500GB

I got my PC for about the same price, and it has:

CPU
Intel i5 2.33 GHz (Quad Core)

RAM
4Gig DDR3

GPU
NVIDIA GTX 260

Screen
21.5"

Hard Drive
1TB

Now I don't want to call you out for liking macs, I've been an avid mac user in the past, but considering their price, and the hardware you get for aforementioned price, they are somewhat inferior to PCs. And the "OSX doesn't crash" argument is not a good one, my Windows doesn't crash either.

Ok, you left out some details: which iMac are you talking about, and what kind of Windows software are you comparing it to?

Also, hardware capabilities do not say everything about the computer. A Mac is certified to work with it's hardware, and get the optimal amount of output from it. And while a PC may have a higher hardware output, the fact that it's system was designed to be customized to use multiple different kinds of systems means that it'll never get the maximum output from that hardware, as the software was not written for specifically that layout. It's the "jack of all trades, master of none" situation

Note: The guy already put out his limit of 500 pounds (approximately 1000 dollars) so even this cheapest iMac is a non-valid option anyway.

 

[RockKillsKid]

If you know how to build one yourself, you can get a pretty good machine from newegg.com parts for ~350 dollars that will last you at least 3 years.

 

[Who Dares Wins]

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2134201636.1266421788@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfiadejjeejhgicflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=670584&category_oid=-37528

This one sounds too good to be true... (if you're only searching for the base unit)

 

[Horticulture]

Do you already have a Windows license, or will you need to buy a copy?

I have one

Do you already have a monitor? If so, what is its resolution?

No

Are there any particular games you have in mind?

Dawn of war or similar

Are you comfortable building the computer from parts?

No

Take a look at this unit [http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Ultra_ATHENA_SE/] from Cyberpower. They allow a fair bit of customization; drop the CPU down to an Athlon II X2 and bump the video card to a Radeon 5750 or 5770 and throw in a 500W PSU to keep it all running. If you end up looking at other systems, make sure they have a decent video card: at least a Geforce GTS 250 or Radeon 5750. For gaming, the GPU matters much more than the processor, and DOW2 is particularly demanding in that regard.

 

[Laughing Man]

Just get a Mac. You can then add on any PC platform you want with Bootcamp

Just for now we'll stick that in the 'dumb ass comments' section.

£500 not difficult, all prices from Overclockers.co.uk

Intel Core I3 530 £88.99: more powerful in gaming than the above mentioned AMD primarily due to it's higher throughput and larger cache. It also contains hyper threading so it is capable of quad thread operations.

XFX Ati Radeon HD 5670 £85.99: Mid range 1gig GPU should be more than capable of handling anything you throw it, maybe not max in everything but less than £100 it should do nicely

Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4Gig £76.99: I use it in my I5 combined with my Maximus Formula 3 mobo and it handles everything that I have thrown it, plus you get a freee copy of 3D Mark

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2 Intel H55 £74.99: It's a mobo that will work with the stuff listed, it's also the cheapest, as a mobo it will do the job. If you're gonna OC or are looking for extreme performance then you will need to be looking at a good deal more cash.

Samsung 1TB F3 £64.99: Another component I use in my rig, got two of these and they are fast, quiet and huge. Yup their are cheaper alternatives but I doubt you'll find anything as fast.

OCZ StealthXStream 500W £48.99: More than enough power for what you're wanting to do and the OCZ units are proven good PSUs.

Akasa Midas Case £30.64: Well you wanted a case that looked good and you had a budget, it took me a month and £150 to find my Silverstone Fortress but I think this one looks ok and it's cheap. It also comes with a fan as well as the ability to fit several additional fans.

Total = £471.57

That leaves you with a bit of wiggle room on items and prices but you will have to also factor in that the system won;t come with an Operating System.