So my 8 year old Dell is on its last legs and I’m looking around for a new PC.

I really just use the PC now for browsing and streaming. Years ago someone recommended MESH to me but just wondering if those in the know still consider them to be the go to retailer?

build your own.

Actually, I wouldn’t mind giving that a go. Wouldn’t have a clue where to start though!

build your own.

This! It’s not hard, it’s cheaper and sort of fun. You can find about 1 billion videos on YouTube showing you how to do it as well. Check out someone like Paul’s hardware.

Build a pc subreddit has some useful info.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/
It has some build guides / recommendations, it will find best prices from main UK retailers and check / ensure compatibility.

Otherwise the likes of OverclockersUK / Bit-tech / Hexus forums are great for this sort of thing (among others). Go in with a budget & usage in mind and you’ll get some great help if there isn’t already a recommended build on one of the stickies.

If it’s just browsing/streaming you don’t need to spend much and as those sort of spec machines are shipped in massive volumes you don’t end up paying much for having it pre-assembled. Personally I would skip the self build, it’s not a particularly interesting thing to do, an age 8+ Lego set is more challenging – high end PC building I can see could be more interesting as you have a lot more options and things like air flow and overclocking to factor in.

Just buy an off-the-shelf one with a warranty would be my advise – who from though I couldn’t really say as a bit out of the loop on places these days (Overclockers was expensive last time I looked 2-3 years ago not sure what they’re like now though)

Blimey, are Mesh still doing? The mini-tower next to me knee is a Mesh, it’s at least 15 years old and probably nearer 20 though I think the only original component is the case.

The only compelling reason I can think of to build your own these days is if you’re an enthusiast / gamer and want to specify every individual component. If something goes wrong with the build it can be a pain as there’s far too many variables to trivially troubleshoot.

Go with an established name, Lenovo / Dell / HP / etc. You’d be hard pressed to find something that isn’t up to the job of “browsing and streaming,” even second hand. Get something with an SSD.

What’s up with the existing PC? Anything that an SSD and a clean install of W10 wouldn’t fix?

PCSpecialists are quite good with a variety of starting builds but the ability to customise and enhance bits of the spec that are important to you. I’ve got a 3 year old PC from them and a laptop arriving soon.

Dell outlet

Scan / pc specialist.
As above buy off the shelf customised by retailers as the above two do.

I am into electronics and embedded systems and wouldn’t bother building my own PC unless it was for a specific use case such as a number crunching multi node cluster.

Second Dell outlet is another good one as long you don’t want a pretty case.

Also second the SSD comment. My desktop is a ~ 8 year old i5 with SSD, soon to be converted to a server and is fine for load more than browsing and streaming.

What do you want it for? If it’s just basic office work, Internet etc I’ve just built a lovely little mini PC based on an AMD Ryzen 3 processor.

£320 all in and more than enough power for general computing tasks. Very easy to build as well. Happy to post the bill of parts :).

When I looked to build mine, PC Speialist were selling older series chips at full rrp in their builds.

For your requirements an off-the-shelf dell/lenovo will be fine.

Thanks to everyone. WFH this past week but have been busy. Hoping things will start to slow down next week and I might devote a day to searching and contrasting prices.

Buy off the shelf – for anything but high end gaming use you’re not going to need anything fancy and basic computers are cheap as chips these days. *Maybe* things have changed but I built a few mini PC’s years ago and there were various undocumented compatibility issues between motherboards and memory etc that a system builder would have sorted out for you.

My effort from CCL computers, custom build including build & delivery charge.
No windows, you can buy that for circa £100 or do what everyone else does and get a grey market key for about £10.
Add monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers to taste.

Your Customised PC

CiT Classic Midi Case – Black
Gigabyte A320M-S2H AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6GHz 4 Core (Socket AM4) CPU
8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz DDR4
Adata Ultimate SU630 240GB 2.5″ SATA SSD
CCL Choice DVD Writer Optical Drive
TP-Link Archer T3U 867Mbps USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter
3 Year Collect & Return warranty
1.8m UK Plug to C13 Mains Lead – Black

Custom Build Service
Standard Build £25.00

Built to Order
Allow 10 – 11 working days

Free Delivery

£308.74

@mattyfez – that’s almost identical to the mini PC I’ve just built. That Ryzen 3 is an excellent chip for the money.

Mine’s just for running Roon Server so didn’t need much else but I’m so impressed with it I might by a second for my astrophotography.

Another vote for Dell Outlet (or any other manufacturers outlet store).

My last 3 computers have been ordered through the outlet. Managed to get pretty much the spec I was after every time. The condition has been like brand new, I’ve not noticed any scratches or blemishes. Lastly you get a massive discount compared to a brand new computer, win win! What’s not to like.

Browsing and streaming? Just get a chromebook and an HDMI lead if you want something on a bigger screen.

Slight thread hijack, sorry. I’m in the market for a new PC for the garden office.

Won’t be building my own and will probably just get something that PC world has on its shelves.

Budget probably won’t stretch to an i7 processor – is the equivalent (??) AMD a better choice than an i5?

Again, will be browsing, streaming, spreadsheeting etc, but I will want something capable of smooth Lightroom usage. Is there anything specific I should be looking for in the spec?

Computing dumbass

Had a look around the usual places for a relative just before Christmas, for a gaming pc.

Mesh came out on top for value for money. If you choose one of their value models, and upgrade as necessary in the options.

Acually this is very good value considering it’s preloaded with win 10 pro.

https://www.meshcomputers.com/professional-desktop-pcs/home-office-pcs/home-office-mini-pc/

No wifi but has a second hard drive for storage if you need storage.

@TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR – lightroom requiremnts might need more than 8gb ram, and a dedicated graphics card and a better cpu than being discussed here, DEPENDING on how heavily you use it.

Budget probably won’t stretch to an i7 processor – is the equivalent (??) AMD a better choice than an i5?

Depends which generation(s) you are refering to, a new ‘low end’ 2019 AMD processor for example Ryzen 3 3200G , is marginally better than a ‘mid range’ 2015 Intel i5, and its only an £80 chip.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-6500-vs-AMD-Ryzen-3-3200G/3513vsm824486

will probably just get something that PC world has on its shelves.

Don’t do this – you’re basically guarenteed to be paying over the odds.

I will want something capable of smooth Lightroom usage. Is there anything specific I should be looking for in the spec?

RAM.