The days are nearing and this year you can get great value for money if you know were to look. My ultra-fast Dell computer cost me £308.00 because I knew where to get the best value for money, however if I had bought this from anywhere else it could have had cost me a fortune (at least double what I paid). this is my guide to getting the best value for money this year.

What is the use?

This is the first question you should be asking. Are you a high performance gamer or do you simply want an office/email machine. Is this machine going to be for an adult or for a child? Remember a child is not likely to need a high performance and highly expensive computer whereas a teenage gamer might.

What you should be expecting.

Performance is everything. If you want a computer which is future proof for a while you should be looking at Windows Vista. Never buy a computer with Windows Vista Basic as this is a complete waste of time and you will just waste money upgrading. For an office you are likely to need the business edition. For the home you will need Windows Vista Home Premium. For a laptop going into the office you will need Windows Vista Ultimate. Flyers and advertisements from suppliers such as 'Littlewoods' try and sell you a computer with Windows Vista basic, don't buy it.

Hardware

Any computer you buy this year should have a minimum processor speed of 1.7GHZ with (Dual Core) technology. Keep a look out for the (Dual Core). This makes your computer twice as fast as it would be if it had a single core processor. Dual Core is the new standard.

You are looking for at least 2 Gigabytes of RAM. This is because Windows Vista consumes about 1GB meaning that you will have an additional 1GB for spare use. This can come in handy when you have a lot of applications open at once. Never accept 512 MB of RAM as you computer will run like a HOG. You have been warned, however if you can only afford 1GB this should be sufficient.

You should have at least 120 Gigabytes of hard drive space. This is because many users will now need o store digital photos, music and other things which take up a lot of space such as games. A serious games would be looking for around 500GB of hard drive space.

Those are the basic of hardware, lets look at the software side.

You should be looking for Microsoft Office 2007. This is the new standard for offices and the like. Don't accept anything less than Microsoft Office 2007 standard edition. If you are an academic you may qualify for a discount ensure that you check (don't be afraid to ask).

Bundled software is sometimes okay, however it may be cut down on features. Ask before you buy the computer what software is included with the machine. it may be worth paying a few extra pounds to upgrade something with hardly any features to something with a few extra features. plus it will save you time at home.

Internet or High - Street

Okay, my Laptop was bought on the high street, my PC on the Internet. Look for the best deals, be warned that you are far more likely to get a more assured-warranty on the high street then you are on the Internet. Some Internet retailers have a habit of going bust meaning that they become untraceable when something goes wrong.

At the end of the days it's down to personal choice. I prefer to see what I am getting before I buy it so as you can see I prefer the high street.

Barter for More.

If you don't ask you won't get and sometimes a retailer will be only too happy to chuck in some free extras to get our business. i did this when I got my mobile phone and obtained a free blue tooth headset worth £20.00. Now think i wouldn't have got that if I hadn't have asked. It really is worth asking trust me.

Warranty

You will need a 1-2 year warranty. Most computers become slow after 2 years of use. By then you will probably be looking at upgrading all over again.

Some Links:

Computers and Accessories: http://www.currys.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.currys.co.uk/
eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.co.uk

One thing I would bear in mind is that although prices seem attractive, eBay is not always the best option. In fact some sellers over-hype descriptions in order to get you to look at the product they are selling. This is actually common practice. Be extremely cautious and check the sellers feedback and ensure you have read the description fully. I have nothing against eBay, however I am aware of the scams that lie within the realms of the site.

I hope this helps all who are looking for a new PC this Christmas

Hello I was wondering if there is anyone out there that could give me some advice or remarks. I am going to build my next PC for the first time and was seeing if anyone would look over my specs and give me any kind of advice. Thanks. Here they are...

Power Supply-99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817171023

Processor-329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115042

Case with liquid cooling system-374.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...AIN#detailspecs

Motherboard-439.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131274

Hard Drive-99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152100

Memory-99.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145183

Video Card-154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130347

DVD Burner-22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136117

Total-1621.93 before taxes

My only real comment is that your system seems unbalanced to me. What I mean by that is: you're spending a ton of money on the processor, mainboard, and liquid cooling.. then buying relatively cheap RAM and a cheap video card.

The cheap RAM especially is what doesn't make a lot of sense for this configuration because essentially all of the extra power of the processor and mainboard will be bottlenecked by the RAM.. since you're getting liquid cooling, I'm guessing that you're planning on overclocking.. and more expensive RAM is built better and holds up better to overclocking as well.

Not sure what you're planning to use the computer for (though I'm guessing 'gaming' because that's what it seems most people on these forums uses their PC for) but for the same amount of money, I'd get a less expensive mainboard and processor, dump the rest into getting a better video card and better RAM. Unless you're going to be overclocking (or want a quieter PC) then you could save money by not getting a water cooled case.

Just my opinions though.

Listen to that and take it to heart.