28-11-2012, 09:46 AM
You don't have a video card - you are currently just using the on-board SiS video driver which has a max resolution of 1024 x 768 x 32bit and no hardware acceleration which is pretty rubbish.
Get a new machine, but a couple of quick points.
Don't buy the manufacturer's memory or solid-state disk unless its very very cheap - they tend to completely rip you off. Go to Crucial at http://www.crucial.com/uk - this is the retail arm of Micron, one of the world's largest memory manufacturers - they make a lot of memory for people like Kingston etc. as well as the PC manufacturers themselves. i.e. their stuff is absolutely first rate and completely reliable, as well as being dirt cheap.
Here's a good tip - when buying from Crucial, create an account before checking the pricing on DIMMs & SSDs (the site will ask which MB etc. you have and will tell you exactly what your options are).
By logging in, you get even better pricing than that shown when you are logged out (which is excellent anyway). e.g. they are currently doing a 256Gb SATA3 2.5" SDD for GBP 120 including VAT.
Consider NOT going for the traditional mini-tower - maybe go for a Small Form Factor (SFF) board, e.g. "Pizza Box" miniATX or microATX, use a 2.5" rather than 3.5" disk and keep it all on the desk top rather than have all that gubbins on the floor. Make sure you can install a decent graphics card though - I would point out that the newer Intels (i3 & i5 series) have pretty good on-chip graphics now and for non-high-end graphics they are more than adequate. Note that newer processors are also multi-core, typically they will do up to 4 things at once. Some of the Intels do NOT have integrated graphics, so do check the specific chip you intend to get if that's what you want to use.
Avoid Windows 8 - we've been evaluating it and its horrid - never use a "new" Microsoft o/s until atleast the SP1 pack is out - typically a year after release.
Go for Windows 7 64bit Home Premium with at least 4Gb of RAM or something very similar. Its very good & stable.
When buying components for a system you'd like to build yourself, I tend to recommend people to look at the PC Pro "A-List" at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/alist - this is the best of their current reviews & recommendations - a very good starting point. Some of their reviews are a year old and the pricing is quoted as being too high, e.g. their SSD estimates are way too high as pricing in that sector has plummeted in the last 12 months...
Get a new machine, but a couple of quick points.
Don't buy the manufacturer's memory or solid-state disk unless its very very cheap - they tend to completely rip you off. Go to Crucial at http://www.crucial.com/uk - this is the retail arm of Micron, one of the world's largest memory manufacturers - they make a lot of memory for people like Kingston etc. as well as the PC manufacturers themselves. i.e. their stuff is absolutely first rate and completely reliable, as well as being dirt cheap.
Here's a good tip - when buying from Crucial, create an account before checking the pricing on DIMMs & SSDs (the site will ask which MB etc. you have and will tell you exactly what your options are).
By logging in, you get even better pricing than that shown when you are logged out (which is excellent anyway). e.g. they are currently doing a 256Gb SATA3 2.5" SDD for GBP 120 including VAT.
Consider NOT going for the traditional mini-tower - maybe go for a Small Form Factor (SFF) board, e.g. "Pizza Box" miniATX or microATX, use a 2.5" rather than 3.5" disk and keep it all on the desk top rather than have all that gubbins on the floor. Make sure you can install a decent graphics card though - I would point out that the newer Intels (i3 & i5 series) have pretty good on-chip graphics now and for non-high-end graphics they are more than adequate. Note that newer processors are also multi-core, typically they will do up to 4 things at once. Some of the Intels do NOT have integrated graphics, so do check the specific chip you intend to get if that's what you want to use.
Avoid Windows 8 - we've been evaluating it and its horrid - never use a "new" Microsoft o/s until atleast the SP1 pack is out - typically a year after release.
Go for Windows 7 64bit Home Premium with at least 4Gb of RAM or something very similar. Its very good & stable.
When buying components for a system you'd like to build yourself, I tend to recommend people to look at the PC Pro "A-List" at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/alist - this is the best of their current reviews & recommendations - a very good starting point. Some of their reviews are a year old and the pricing is quoted as being too high, e.g. their SSD estimates are way too high as pricing in that sector has plummeted in the last 12 months...
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