Home Office PC

[Sylence]

Hi guys,

Hoping for a bit of advice here. I'm looking to get a PCS Desktop for my dad as his 10 year old pc is in need of replacement.

I'm looking at something around the £600 price range, happy to go a bit above though if needed. It's mainly going to be used for general internet browsing, netflix and Excel spreadsheets. He's already got a monitor etc. His main complaint about the old pc was how slow it was to boot up so I'm looking for a relatively quick SSD for windows to boot from.

I looked at the Magma S1 (https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/files/landing/reviews/pcs-magma-s1.jpg) from the reviews page which seems to be quite good value for a budget system. Although could anyone tell me what case that is, or the dimensions as I can't seem to find it elsewhere on the PCS website or work out which case it is.

Thank you in advance.

 

[SpyderTracks]

What version of Windows is he on? If you get him on Windows 10 (still free upgrade) then you can transfer the license to the new machine and save yourself over £100 which would make the system last an awful lot longer for the money.

 

[Sylence]

He's currently on Windows 7, i didn't realise that you're still able to get the free upgrade so thank you for that.

 

[SpyderTracks]

If you get him upgraded to windows 10 as per the following:

How to download Windows 10 for free | Digital Trends

As Microsoft removes support for Windows 7, Windows 10 will ensure that you're not open to security issues. Here's how to get Windows 10 for free.

www.digitaltrends.com

Then you need to tie his windows license to a Microsoft account, which is very easy:

How to link your Windows 10 product key to a Microsoft account

If you're using a local account, use this guide to link your Windows 10 product key to your Microsoft account for easier re-activation.

www.windowscentral.com

Then when you get the new build, you just create a bootable windows 10 installer USB from here:

Download Windows 10

And then when you're setting it up it will ask you to sign in with the Microsoft account that you used to tie the windows license, and that's it, license fully transferred to the new machine for free

Then I'll spec up something a bit more futureproof for the same money.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just over budget, but a much higher spec:

Case
CIT DARK SOUL BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £632.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/89NB2jER9m/

 

[Sylence]

Both the build and windows advice is really helpful thank you Just one quick question though, is there any reason for the 4 x 4GB Ram rather than 2 x 8?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Both the build and windows advice is really helpful thank you Just one quick question though, is there any reason for the 4 x 4GB Ram rather than 2 x 8?

Good catch! that's a mistake, meant 2 x 8Gb