No, this isn’t panto…

My all-in-one thing has cooked itself.

A nice idea having everything compact, but the fan obviously wasn’t up to the job.

I’ve got the space for PC and would like a decent sized screen.

Only really need the computer for Internet, Google Earth, watching films/programmes and writing the occasional quote/invoice.

What do I need to look out for with regards to RAM and processors?

8 gig RAM and a processor that hits 4000 on cpu benchmark should be give you plenty wiggle room, you’ll want some kinda reasonable onboard graphics too, the iris 5100 on this thing handles it well enough.

playing on google earth pro desktop app there, zooming right out and in and moving about the world freely with terrain on, processor(mine hits about 4500 on cpu benchmark i5-4288u) was hitting 55-60% memory (8gig) 50-60% (usually idles at 35ish%) and disk was hitting 75-80% (5400 drive, i’m putting ssd in it tomorrow.).

Google Earth on high was playing nicely at that, biggest bottle neck was probably downloading the imagery.

i3/4GB/500GB+HDD used to be the standard answer.

Any processor/8GB/128GB+SSD would be more up to date.

I have a little Acer Revo One Celeron/8GB/SSD thing which does all of what you list and is silent, startup in about 10 seconds and about the size of a pot noodle. HDMI to a monitor with speakers and wireless keyboard and mouse keep it almost as sleek as an all-in-one.

but the fan obviously wasn’t up to the job.

Did it have enough airflow or was it jammed up against the wall for example ? Just asking so you avoid a repetition.

@seaso what is “this thing” exactly ?

my comp? hp laptop, 15 p189sa to be exact. Had it good few years now. Considering what they are punting for 400 laptops these days, it was a bit of a bargain tbh. Only criticism I’d have is the screen isn’t the best, but I can live with that(bit of a blessing tbh, as it only cost 40 quid for me to replace when I broke it last year). I don’t really play games, though it runs age of empires 2 beautifully! 😆 But for everything else I use it for browsing, hdmi to the tele as a second screen, bit of photo editing, Abelton live, happy days. SSD should make it really snappy (I was always just waiting for the price to come down on those!)

Processor = Intel i3
RAM = 8GB
SSD = Samsung 250GB for OS.
Data storage = external hard drive whatever you like.

😀

There are several Linux distributions that are much less demanding than Windows. Unless you absolutely need Microsoft then it’s worth looking into as you can get the same performance from a lower spec machine.

I’m running Lubuntu on a low end laptop from 2006 and it streams in HD or plays Youtube full screen etc with two browsers running with several tabs open on each quite happily.

There are several Linux distributions that are much less demanding than Windows. Unless you absolutely need Microsoft then it’s worth looking into as you can get the same performance from a lower spec machine.
I’m running Lubuntu on a low end laptop from 2006 and it streams in HD or plays Youtube full screen etc with two browsers running with several tabs open on each quite happily.

Why do people still bang on about Linux! Its been going on for nearly 20 years, and its still just a nerdy niche product, it will never be mainstream.

Search eBay for “dell optiplex i5 8gb SSD” easily get something solid for less than £300. I’ve had the pleasure of buying a few hundred of these in the past, and they’re solid little machines, pretty much tool-less if you need to upgrade/change anything, and fast & quiet.

https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/dell-inspiron-3268-desktop-pc-10164878-pdt.html

Windows 10
Intel® Core™ i5-7400 Processor
RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 1 TB HDD
With built-in WiFi

£549

As a benchmark, I’ve just bought this used PC for less than £100:

Intel® Core™ i5-4570 Processor (3.2GHz base, 3.6GHz boost, 4 cores)
4GB DDR3 RAM (will upgrade to 8gb for £12)
500GB HDD (will add 120gb SSD for £35)
Windows 10 1709 Pro Installed

So less than £150 for all of the above.

Finally will be adding Graphics card for £75 ish.

Did you take advantage of someone’s lack of technical knowledge? Less than 100 quid? 😆

In the interests of nerdy niche I’m going throw a Chromebox into the mix.

Will do everything mentioned. They cost about £200 which compared to your average windows pc means you can splash out on a 32inch curved monitor from PC World.

Thanks. I may need a Windows machine for some specialist software, ideally a small box to sit next to my Mac Mini and use same screen (don’t need both at same time)

Just dual-boot the Mac mini, then

Make sure it has SSD. That’s what’s in your telephone and your iPad and probably in that cloudy thing that everyone goes on about. Why fill your PC with spinning motors, record-layer stylii, magnets and hamster wheels, when you can have what your iPad has?

OP’s usage is fairly modest – web browsing and Office suite (or whatever you use for invoices).

‘Anything’ current will do really.

For the sake of sanity, I’d go 7th Gen i3, 8th will be better as they’re 4 core, but they’re very, very new and will be expensive whilst at the same time making the 7th cheaper.

8GB Ram, but don’t worry if it only comes with 4, RAM is piss easy and cheap to upgrade after the fact.

a Solid State that befits your needs, or an external drive / NAS if you have loadsadata.

All-in-ones are shite, desktops are faster and longer lasting than laptops if you have the space.

Dell are currently very good. Fujitsu are nearly as good, but use more generic internals (easy to fix) – just watch out for lack of VGA output if you’re using an older monitor. HPs are usually robust but are a pain if they break as they use HP only bits.

seosamh77 – Member
Did you take advantage of someone’s lack of technical knowledge? Less than 100 quid?

No, their lack of willingness to post + being 15 mins down the road 😆

Why do people still bang on about Linux! Its been going on for nearly 20 years, and its still just a nerdy niche product, it will never be mainstream.

If the popularity of your computers filing system bothers you then you’re probably the nerd.

BTW the LHC, Waymo and the International Space Station use it..

nathb – Member
seosamh77 – Member
Did you take advantage of someone’s lack of technical knowledge? Less than 100 quid?
No, their lack of willingness to post + being 15 mins down the road

robbing b! 😆

If the popularity of your computers filing system bothers you then you’re probably the nerd.
BTW the LHC, Waymo and the International Space Station use it..

My OS doesn’t bother me at all, I am just suggesting that recommending Linux to the ley person is not the way to go. It is to big a jump for the “standard user” to switch from Windows.

Linux has its place, but its not on the hardware of the average Joe.

That’s a fair point. It is very different in many ways but I think it does do all the things the OP mentioned without needing to relearn everything.

Though I wouldn’t call myself a computer enthusiast in any way shape or form and I got the hang of Lubuntu and Mint pretty quickly.

The problems come when you start plugging stuff in. I know that’s not in the OP`s requirements but even simple things like cameras, printers, scanners can be a problem in Linux not to mention stuff like tv cards, graphics cards etc.

I used to use Linux and nothing else for many years, but in the end gave up on it as it just wasn’t as complete of an OS with all the 3rd party vendor support as Windows.

nathb – Member

As a benchmark, I’ve just bought this used PC for less than £100:

Intel® Core™ i5-4570 Processor (3.2GHz base, 3.6GHz boost, 4 cores)
4GB DDR3 RAM (will upgrade to 8gb for £12)
500GB HDD (will add 120gb SSD for £35)
Windows 10 1709 Pro Installed

So less than £150 for all of the above.

Finally will be adding Graphics card for £75 ish.

Where did you buy that from? 😮

I want one !

eBay, but there’s CEX too: https://uk.m.webuy.com/product-detail/computing/desktops—windows/hp-400-g1/i5-4570/4gb-ram/500gb-hdd/dvd-rw/windows-10/b/sdeshp400g110b#.WhYIQ2KnyEc