Replacement work computer - what to get?

[Nutcase]

The powers that be have agreed to buy me a new computer yay! My current one was built by dell in 2004 - XP Pro, 1gb ram. It can't cope :(

I am well out of touch with what's what these days, can anyone advise what spec to look for?

OS will be win 7 pro 64.
Mainly I'm using excel, often with 80,000 rows + so I guess a decent amount of ram is needed? 8gb? A few times I've hit the limit of how much data excel can store ;D

I also have to do a large amount of bulk file manipulation - renaming; resizing; etc. often a few thousand file at a time, so processor intensive?

Graphics wise nothing special needed. Budget wise, under £500. Don't need keyboard/mouse/monitor. Must be a major manufacturer built system (HP/Dell etc.).

Ta :)

[Flibster]

I'd be tempted by the Dell Vostro workstations, i5 cpu and the minimum amount of ram that dell do, then upgrade it for a fraction of the cost yourself.

I've had a couple of Vostros, including laptops, and they have always been rock solid.

[Nutcase]

Interesting :) And there's quite a good offer on (that ends today!). Thanks :)

[Flibster]

Don't forget about the dell outlet either, other half's laptop came from there and it was significantly upgraded from the default model, and cost less. ;)

[Nutcase]

I wouldn't be allowed to get a refurb or anything.

This is what dell have quoted (I've been told to get a monitor as another went bang yesterday so we'd need to buy one anyway):

Vostro 260 ST : Standard Base 1 SR
Processor : Intel Core i5-2400 Processor (3.10GHz, 6MB) 1 SR
Money Off - 170 £ Exc Vat 1 SR
Ship Accessory : English Docs with Start Up Guide 1 SR
Resource DVD : Vostro 260 Diagnostics and Drivers 1 SR
Memory : 6144MB (1x4096 + 1x2048) DDR3 Dual Channel 1 SR
Hard Drive : 500GB Serial ATA III (7.200 Rpm) 1 SR
Optical Drive : 16X DVD+/-RW Drive 1 SR
Optical Drive : Roxio Creator 10.3 Software 1 SR
Power Cord : UK 2M 1 SR
Display : Dell E-series E2311H 58cm(23") LED monitor VGA,DVI-D (1920x1080) Black UK 1 SR
Graphics Card : Integrated Video,GMA X2000 1 SR
Speakers : Not Included 1 SR
Wireless : Network 1525 (802.11 n) PCIe Card 1 SR
Mice : Dell Optical (Not Wireless), Scroll USB (3 buttons scroll) Black Mouse 1 SR
Keyboard : UK/Irish (QWERTY) Dell KB212-B QuietKey USB Keyboard Black 1 SR
Operating System : English Windows 7 SP1 Professional (64 BIT) with Recovery DVD 1 SR
Software : Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook 1 SR
Dell Support Center 3.0 1 SR
AntiVirus : Trend Micro Titanium (15 Month) Software MUI
(AR,CZ,DK,NL,UK,HE,FR,DE,GR,IT,NO,PL,SE,RU,ES,TR)
1 SR
Software : Adobe Reader - Multi Language 1 SR
Base Warranty 1 SR
1 Year Collect and Return 1 SR
1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day 1 SR
Declined Pro Support 1 SR
Vostro Desktop 260 ST Order - UK 1 SR

Subtotal 526.36
Freight 0.00
VAT 105.28
Total 631.64

Does that look ok? The supplier for our most recent PCs can't touch that price apparently.

[Nutcase]

Ordered :)

[Fayshun]

Keyboard : UK/Irish

Are Irish keyboards different then? :confused:

[Nutcase]

NI would be the same as UK as £ but I presume Irish would have €. Wonder what I'll end up with ;D

[Fayshun]

Oh yeah, never thought of that. </thicky>

[Nutcase]

Knowing my luck they'll send a euro keyboard ;D

[Nutcase]

Got it :cool: seems good so far. Got a proper keyboard, although the little lifty leg thingys only lift it by about 5mm at the back :angry: