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Asus Eee Pc
Laptops
Not everyone needs a huge monitor and case: laptops are portable, powerful and energy efficient. They are also now cheaper than ever before, and are proving to be more popular than desktop systems. One of the major advances recently has been ultra-portable and ultra-cheap notebooks. Traditionally, the smaller the computer the pricier it gets, but thanks to new technology we’ve seen a deluge of really affordable systems.
The first, and one of the best, is the Asus Eee PC. It’s available in screen sizes from 7” – 10” and prices start from as little as £200. With a relatively slow processor, a small amount of RAM and a tiny hard disk it’s hardly a powerhouse, but the Eee PC is perfect for working on the train.
If you need something with more grunt, however, you’ll only need to budget for a few hundred extra. Acer and Lenovo both offer some great value systems with the Aspire and N200 range respectively. They have faster processors and plenty of memory and storage space, as well as larger monitors, and if you pay a little more you can get a reasonably good graphics card that’ll allow you to play 3D games.
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PCs
Desktop systems haven’t seen as dramatic a price drop as laptops, but you still don’t need to spend much if you have modest requirements. Dell is usually the first stop for budget PCs, and with good reason. It sells desktop PCs for just a few hundred and offers the usual support and warranties that come with a large company. But if you look around you’ll discover systems from companies like HP, Acer and Fujitsu-Siemens for around £300.
There’s also Apple to consider. Its iMac desktops are pricey, but the Mac Mini – a compact computer in a very tiny package – is available from roughly £400. The Mac Mini is underpowered, but very unobtrusive.
So what can you expect from your budget PC? Dual-core processors are now cheap enough to be included on low-cost systems and large hard disks cost very little, but the RAM and graphics card aren’t going to be high-end examples. One thing that almost certainly will be missing is a monitor, so if you don’t already own one you will have to take that into account when buying.
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Monitors
If you’re still using one of the older square monitors, by which we mean those with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a screen size of 17, 19 or 20 inches, then shopping for a new monitor is going to be an eye-opener.
Flat widescreen displays are now the most popular computer screens, and the price of the technology has dropped so far that you won’t have to go into debt to afford one. 19-inch widescreen displays from well known brands such as Hanns.G, Samsung and Viewsonic come in at under £200. Spend just a little more and you can enjoy the luxury of a 22 or perhaps even 24-inch display.
Widescreen panels more naturally shaped and their width means you can have a web browser in one side and be watching a video next to it, or align them vertically to view large pictures. The only thing to be aware of is if you play games then you’ll require a fairly powerful graphics card to drive the larger 22-inch and 24-inch displays. Otherwise, you can enjoy all the benefits of a widescreen desktop, particularly when it comes to viewing high definition movies!
Printers
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Epson Stylus Photo R285 from £96.11 on Ciao
You’ve probably seen loads of inexpensive printers just doing your food shopping, visiting the Post Office or walking round the shops; we don’t need to tell you that they’re really cheap. But while it may seem like you’re getting a bargain there are a couple of points to keep in mind. The biggest problem with any printer is that the cost of the ink refills can be astronomical, even to the point where you’ll spend more on a single ink cartridge than you did for the printer in the first place.
This is where the manufacturers make their money, and you’ll typically find that the cartridge included is only half the size of a normal refill. Cheaper printers are less economical, too, so it’ll work out better in the long term to spend more on the printer in the first place.
When buying a printer stick to the well known brands – Epson, Canon and HP. There’s a genuine and noticeable difference in quality over the budget makes, both in the quality of the prints and the quality of the printer itself.
Peripherals
Buy a new PC and it’s likely you’ll receive at least a mouse and keyboard with the system, but you can also buy some added extras for very little money. Keyboards can be purchased for under £10, but it's worth splashing out just a little bit more for a nice Logitech or Microsoft model – it’ll last longer and be kinder to your fingers. The same applies to mice, though the concern here is build quality.
Cheap mice can have very poor sensors and break easily, but in general the low-cost Logitech mice prove reliable. If you’re looking for an affordable joystick or game pad then we recommend looking at the Saitek and – again – Logitech range. For ultra-cheap gaming gear Logic 3 produces a wide range of basic kit, like its ‘Rumble Pad’ controller at under a tenner.
The most important thing with peripherals is to try them out for yourself whenever possible. You may find that the cheapest keyboard available is the one that feels the most comfortable, or that the joystick which costs hundreds isn’t actually worth the asking price. Get some hands-on time with these devices before splashing out.
