Specs:
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz
1TB HDD
8GB DDR3
Windows 10
DVD-RW
Keyboard & Mouse incl.
12 Month Warranty also incl.
Top comments
Tommy_K
15 Jan 1726#2
Ok. Let's work it out.
Specs:
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz = £55
1TB HDD = £45
8GB DDR3 =£40
Windows 10 =£20
DVD-RW = £15
Keyboard & Mouse incl. = £5
1150 Motherboard = £55
Case with PSU = £25
So that's £260.... ok, you might find the parts slightly cheaper but you still have to build it & you don't get 12 Month Warranty also incl.
So it's hot for the spec your getting.
Tommy_K
15 Jan 175#5
Yes, but you then have to prove that it wasn't your installation that damaged the part.
It's just nice to know the whole thing is covered and you don't need to try to ascertain which part has gone wrong and then go through the hassle removing that part and sending it back...
But if you can build your own computer you wouldn't be building this spec anyhow or going for this deal..... unless you just want a cheap computer for word and surfing :-)
Jam240
15 Jan 174#1
CPU benchmark score 3418 - seems good for the money.
Ryz0r
15 Jan 174#10
Stick a GTX 1050 or RX 460 in this for an extra £100 and you've got a budget gaming PC that can handle most games on medium settings at 1080p. Good find!
All comments (98)
Jam240
15 Jan 174#1
CPU benchmark score 3418 - seems good for the money.
Tommy_K
15 Jan 1726#2
Ok. Let's work it out.
Specs:
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz = £55
1TB HDD = £45
8GB DDR3 =£40
Windows 10 =£20
DVD-RW = £15
Keyboard & Mouse incl. = £5
1150 Motherboard = £55
Case with PSU = £25
So that's £260.... ok, you might find the parts slightly cheaper but you still have to build it & you don't get 12 Month Warranty also incl.
So it's hot for the spec your getting.
K1LLER HORNET
15 Jan 173#3
Each part you use will come with its own 1-3 year warranty.
Quids
15 Jan 172#4
£170 for something that will do most tasks required of a basic PC? Hot from me.
I'm currently looking at PCs £700 and above to get the minimum specs I need - and no games involved either.
Tommy_K
15 Jan 175#5
Yes, but you then have to prove that it wasn't your installation that damaged the part.
It's just nice to know the whole thing is covered and you don't need to try to ascertain which part has gone wrong and then go through the hassle removing that part and sending it back...
But if you can build your own computer you wouldn't be building this spec anyhow or going for this deal..... unless you just want a cheap computer for word and surfing :-)
simont_space
15 Jan 17#6
Be aware that when I contacted Zoostorm to confirm an i7 they had for sale on their ebay store had USB 3.0, they stated they couldn't confirm as they used whatever motherboard was available at the time of assembly.
TheVoice to simont_space
15 Jan 17#19
You'd struggle to find a motherboard that doesn't have USB 3.0 these days.
2015
15 Jan 17#7
I'm prepared to get shot down for this... Would is be able to handle mine craft at all? Or could someone please point me in the direction of a cheapish set up that would.
allsa001 to 2015
15 Jan 172#9
I would be interested in this also. Keep the kids of my machine
vulcanproject to 2015
15 Jan 171#14
It isn't quite enough for Minecraft IMO if you want a FHD resolution and the nice settings. You could turn stuff down and run in a lower resolution, but it's minecraft lol, at least get a machine that can max minecraft!
I would say the minimum you want is Intel HD 4400 integrated graphics, which are in the i3. The models above this pentium. Saying that even a machine that is several years old but has a midrange dedicated graphics card will be vastly superior to the latest intel integrated graphics.
datalossfs to 2015
15 Jan 17#26
Even a low power Celeron N chip can handle Minecraft, of course any system would perform better if you fit a Dedicated Graphics Card
Fanimal
15 Jan 171#8
I'm after windows 7 machine if anyone knows what's cheap and good out there just for 2nd pc as got windows 10 and hate it
Tommy_K to Fanimal
15 Jan 17#13
They do have some systems with no OS. would just mean buying Windows 7 and installing it. Plus finding all the driver etc.
dt_matthews to Fanimal
15 Jan 17#32
I have a Windows 7 machine you can have for not very much money at all - its an hp sff desktop with a Core 2 Quad. If your interested I can list - would be interested in trades too if thats of interest.
Ryz0r
15 Jan 174#10
Stick a GTX 1050 or RX 460 in this for an extra £100 and you've got a budget gaming PC that can handle most games on medium settings at 1080p. Good find!
azual
15 Jan 171#11
can this play heroes of the storm :smile:
K1LLER HORNET
15 Jan 171#12
That is true. I build my own so never saw it from that point of view. Interesting.
Fanimal
15 Jan 17#15
No good to me as need it to work when plugged in lol need mainly for watching movies online not for gaming as use my 10 for that. I see zoostorm do windows 7 but are they any good
Tommy_K
15 Jan 17#16
Pass..... they are cheap machines but I personally wouldn't get anything that wasn't an i3 or i5 But it's all down to what you want to do with it. Parents have an old P4 that is fine for their needs.
allsa001
15 Jan 171#17
Can anyone find something of a similar price, that would be good for Minecraft, but without operating system, mouse and keyboard please?
czrsiNk to allsa001
15 Jan 171#18
For this price, you'd take it with OS and K/M. You won't get much cheaper as this two elements are worth about £25...
vulcanproject to allsa001
15 Jan 171#21
Buy secondhand/refurbished. Look for anything with at least an i3 4xxx or any dual core from the past 5 years with a midrange dedicated graphics cards. You should easily get something under £200.
i3 4130 has HD 4400 integrated, which is plenty enough for minecraft in 1920 x 1080. I'm the kind of person that would prefer a machine with a dedicated graphics card though, even if it was just a very old GTX650 1GB
K4SIM
15 Jan 17#20
Would this PC be sufficient for video editing?
Scottc123
15 Jan 17#22
Note that although this CPU is dual core, the single-thread performance is as good as an i5-3570K , meaning that it will work well for Dolphin emulation, or anything else that uses up to 2 cores. As noted above, stick in an 1050 for £100 or a 1050Ti for £130 (no extra power connectors needed), and you have something that will match or beat PS4 Pro performance, with the advantage of cheaper games/freebie that come with owning a PC.
chischis
15 Jan 17#23
Seen a few of these Zoostorm PCs with issues. I would highly recommend replacing the PSU with something by Corsair.
Marekj
15 Jan 172#24
Purchased one of their refurbs from the eBay site and arrived as new. It was an i5 machine that I couldn't have built for anywhere near the £250 I paid for it. Very nice and quiet, which was a big surprise.
Stuck a 1060 in it and it runs like a charm.
vulcanproject to Marekj
15 Jan 17#25
As long as these machines have decent power supplies and a free PCIE slot you could add a slot power (75w) card but generally, their PSU quality is poor as that is one of the areas they skimp on. I guess I would have to look inside the machine and judge it as I saw it. I probably wouldn't burden them with anything more than a 75w card though.
You might get away with adding like a GTX1050 to this and have a budget gaming machine.
simont_space
15 Jan 17#27
They did say there was a chance of only USB 2.0. Could well be them using any cheap components they can get hold of being sold cheap.
Scottc123
15 Jan 17#28
You can get a PCI USB 3.0 card for £4, or newfangled USB 3.1 PCI card for £9 on eBay delivered. Whack one of those in and away you go.
brendanego
15 Jan 17#29
Sorry for being a noob, but how effectively would this work as a plex server?
This CPU scores a PassMark of 3418 and the link says 2000 PassMark is needed for a single 1080p/10Mbps transcoded stream.
1spoon1
15 Jan 17#31
How much would it cost to upgrade to Win 10? I'm after a tower for under £200 for my son to play Minecraft comfortably so any other ideas would be great.
Thanks
nordicgod
15 Jan 17#33
Tempted as my desktop is so old now , I turn it on and then have to wait about 10 mins for anything to work and trying to do two things at once forget it
dt_matthews to nordicgod
15 Jan 17#35
Assuming its Windows, when did you last re-install the OS? Windows has a wonderful habit of just getting slower and slower, a complete re-install periodically usually does wonders. Probably quite cathartic too, maybe thats just me.
rickyc88
15 Jan 17#34
Thanks need an PC for my office! "
leeparsons
15 Jan 17#36
Agreed. Else clean up the system generally. I haft to do this for my mother on a regular basis. Defrag, ccleaner, orphan files, uninstall unnecessary programs running at startup. Will hugely increase your boot times, and applications loading. Mind, if you dont have anything important, a clean install of the os, is always best, and quicker process
vulcanproject
15 Jan 171#37
Search on this site, there is always various deals and ways of getting Win 10 upgrades...
You could always buy something similar to this and chuck a cheap low power graphics card in it. The main problem with this system for Minecraft is the integrated graphics aren't really fast enough. It'll do like 1280 x 720 and have trouble with higher settings which is pathetic. Even a crappy old £35 second hand GTX650ti/Radeon 7770 off ebay would make it buttery smooth with shaders and everything
Everything else is more than adequate. That is the sole problem for that game.
daichchow
15 Jan 17#38
Nice find OP. have a desktop already but this is a decent PC for the price!
Spies
15 Jan 17#39
Doesn't this come with Windows 10 anyway? Those of you asking about Windows 10 upgrades, if you run the upgrade tool, it still works, I've been doing this successfully for the last 6 months.
farmeruk1
15 Jan 17#40
windows 10 is free if you have windows 7 or 8.1 if you dont just install windows 7 pro and buy a key on ebay for £3 as i did.
Had my Zoostorm PC for over 2 years now.No problems
ohdearohdear
15 Jan 171#42
You're*
wenx
15 Jan 171#43
Can I play GTA 6 on this?
JoeyJoeC
15 Jan 17#44
You can still upgrade to Win10 for free from Microsoft from Windows 7, 8 or 8.1
paddyg007
15 Jan 17#45
For the money you really can't fault this! Great price for a desktop that'll handle Internet browsing and Desktop Publishing.
xlxaiwa55xlx
15 Jan 17#46
if Minecraft is all you're after, go for a last gen console. If you want it for more, then consider what else you would use it for. Console may still be the answer, possibly current gen or maybe a more powerful computer. Too many options with so little info, I'm not trying to be rude btw.
xlxaiwa55xlx
15 Jan 17#47
Would it look less blocky maxed out. lol.
jaydeeuk1
15 Jan 17#48
That why you buy the parts from amazon, not scan, dabs or god forbid, ebuyer.
Tommy_K
15 Jan 171#49
Thanks... I bloody hate it when people get the wrong your / you're. :smiley:
Hot for sure. This would perform better than many £350+ laptops no doubt...
Simi69
16 Jan 17#52
The i3 is marginally better. Neither is particularly quick, but both will be better than a cheap laptop.
For those of you thinking of adding a gpu, this will bottleneck a gtx 1050 (let alone a 1050 ti). A second hand gtx 950 would be a better match
urbansmartsocial
16 Jan 17#53
yes
urbansmartsocial
16 Jan 171#54
go for a monitor, it will be better on their eyes in the long run
bbfb123
16 Jan 17#55
This would be good for a basic Internet browser type system but forget doing any gaming on this machine. To those thinking just chuck in a graphics card for a gaming machines forget it. The cpu isn't good enough and the power supply will more than likely be junk.
Don't run the risk
iwannamotorbike
16 Jan 17#56
I've been using a Zoostorm Windows 7 PC for over a year now without a problem. Don't see a need to upgrade it to Windows 10.
pnaylor39
16 Jan 17#57
How get legitimate copy of Windows 10 for £20????
Even cheap LGA1150 motherboards will have at least one digital graphics output, either an HDMI, DVI, or both. Thus, I wouldn't worry about that since even in the worse case scenario you can buy an HDMI to DVI cable for <£5.
dudwood_fudwood
16 Jan 17#61
This was what I was looking for. Can it be used for gaming. Cheers. Total PC noob here but what is an easy way to work out what will run on a PC? I want to dip my feet into PC gaming but can't get my head round system requirements. What should I be looking for?
djb123
16 Jan 17#62
Minecraft on the consoles is missing a lot of the features (servers, mods, etc) that are available on the PC Java version of Minecraft. Even the pocket edition (tablet) currently has more features than the console editions. If you are used to these features moving from the PC Java version to the console version may be a bit disappointing.
brendanego
16 Jan 17#63
Thanks.
Bigfootpete
16 Jan 17#64
Nice price, shame about that Pentium processor, worth checking to see what this motherboard can take as an upgrade.
AndyR675
16 Jan 17#65
If I wanted to install an SSD in this machine, is it possible to transfer Windows 10 from the HDD (presumably it comes pre-installed) to the SSD?
rus4u
16 Jan 17#66
Is this computer going to be good enough to work with video editing software such as Camtasia ?
honestman1958
16 Jan 17#67
Thanks for spotting this deal. This will be absolutely perfect for my wife who has struggled with a poor spec and increasingly slow PC for many weeks.
avatariii
16 Jan 171#68
Yeah, that would be pretty easy, just a case of cloning the hard drive to the SSD.
This PC meets the minimum specs for Camtasia, but not the recommended specs for processor speed (minimum is dual core @2.0Ghz, this pc is a dual core at 3.3Ghz, recommended is a Quad-core i5), also this PC does not have a dedicated GPU so it would not be able to utilise GPU acceleration, although you could easily fit one. The program would work, but I would expect processing to take a very long time. This would be an easy PC to upgrade with a new processor, (something like an i5 4460 for £170) if required though
wozwebs
16 Jan 17#69
Got one to replace an ageing Dell. Thanks for posting!
MR1123
16 Jan 17#70
Anyone k ow which motherboard it is? Or if I can upgrade the CPU on it. Thanks
vulcanproject
16 Jan 17#71
You won't run shaders or some of the better mods that Minecraft is all about. I recently built a machine with an i3 4150, an old Radeon 7770 and a small 240GB SSD for someone specifically wanting to play Minecraft on PC and use it for everyday office and browsing stuff.
It's like the perfect cheap machine. It boots in seconds, speedy everywhere and runs Minecraft with a bunch of mods peasy. I would say it's about the basic minimum you should have buying a new PC today.
calv1987
16 Jan 17#72
i wouldnt want to depend on onboard graphics if im honest, putting in an RX460 nvidia 1050 wouldnt sort out though. which would add another £100 onto the price. still a great price
fishmaster
16 Jan 17#73
Look for Dell Optiplex 7010 usually around £119 on eBay with a 2nd generation i3, easily good enough.
Windows 7 end of support is January 14, 2020. The OS will still work but won't receive any Windows updates after that time. So still a few years left yet.
2sheds
16 Jan 17#74
I bought a cheap Zoostorm pc a few years ago now and its still going strong. I couldn't build one myself for the price they were asking. The PSU has always been a little noisy, but that's about the only gripe. Over the years I have added a cheap graphics card and a 128gb SSD. I can't recommend adding the SSD for your operating system highly enough, it solves probably the biggest gripe most people have with computers instantly, i.e. boot times and speed of use. Essential upgrade I'd say.
abigsmurf
16 Jan 17#75
Big shame it isn't a G3258 which overclocks to a massive degree. Would make this a great budget base for a gaming PC.
As it is, you could put in a 1050 for £100 and possibly run it off of the same PSU and have a solid low end gaming PC (better than PS4 graphics). I'd personally spend another £30-35 and put in a branded 350w psu.
markystarky
16 Jan 171#76
I got a 3rd Gen i3 HP 6300 for £55 off Ebay just before Xmas. Lovely condition too :smiley:
denners111
16 Jan 17#77
The price has gone up to £189.99 now :-( Does anyone have any suggestions for at least an i3, 16gb Ram, 1tb for around £200-250 please?
rockthesmurf
16 Jan 171#78
I bought a couple of ZooStorm PC's for my business, probably about 5 years ago now from eBuyer, specs wise they were more powerful: i7-2600 3.4GHz, 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM for 569.99. Over the years, since buying them they have had their RAM increased to 16GB, a SSD added, and one has a 760 GTX the other a 960 GTX and they are used 5 days a week for games development (which means quite heavy loads on them), with the 960 GTX machine doing VR games development (even more load) and I have been pleasently surprised with how well they have held up. Build quality no problems, software/drivers no problems.
They are next on the list for upgrading, however I have held up getting them upgrades as there is little justification right now - they either needs to stop functioning, or technology needs to take another iteration forwards to make them start to feel not cutting edge (and to be clear, we have more than a dozen machines, typically with cutting edge CPU/RAM, some 1080, some 1070, some RX 480 cards, and whilst these machines are obviously faster, for the nature of work we do, these old ZooStorms really don't hold the developers using them back very much).
So, errrr, I recommend ZooStorm from my experience :smiley:
blitzmmccv
16 Jan 17#79
No because of 2 reasons. GTA 6 is not been released :wink: and it doesn't have a graphics card.
weeklycoconut
16 Jan 17#80
Anyone know how to stop the excessive noise from the machine?
2sheds
16 Jan 17#81
It is probably the PSU, it is on mine anyway. Easily swapped for a decent branded one.
weeklycoconut
16 Jan 17#82
Any chance you can let me know the one you're using?
REAL_DEAL
16 Jan 17#83
some one bought 3 after price rise , nice , still a bargain.............
2sheds
16 Jan 17#84
I haven't changed the one in my Zoostorm (I just put up with the noise!). I have recently built a mid-range Gaming PC for my daughter though, for that I went for an EVGA 600-B. It had good reviews and was powerful enough for the graphics card and other bits in it. You don't need so much power if you are not into gaming really and you don't need to spend an awful lot. Loads of options out there, have a look at Corsair and Coolermaster too.
HammerTime10
17 Jan 17#85
£209 now! from £189 b...ds!
rickyc88
17 Jan 17#86
got mine this morning! Just setting it up! :laughing:
HammerTime10
17 Jan 17#87
someone bought 2 at £209! sod that i wouldn't have knowing it was £169 about 24 hours ago. just for the principle of it :smirk:
MR1123
17 Jan 17#88
I wouldn't pay £200 for this
wenx
17 Jan 17#89
:P
Catantez
17 Jan 17#90
Mine has arrived but cannot set it up yet as I have no monitor and it does not have HDMI to connect to my tv lol!
Anyway I need a small DVI monitor for as cheap as chips, say 18-21 inch and less than £80. Any ideas please? Preferably with built in speakers if possible. Cheers.
Set mine up earlier, i'm impressed. Seems well built and farily nippy too. Only using it for surfing the net and word processing etc. First time ive really used Windows 10 too, not as bad as I thought it would be.
Opening post
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz
1TB HDD
8GB DDR3
Windows 10
DVD-RW
Keyboard & Mouse incl.
12 Month Warranty also incl.
Top comments
Specs:
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz = £55
1TB HDD = £45
8GB DDR3 =£40
Windows 10 =£20
DVD-RW = £15
Keyboard & Mouse incl. = £5
1150 Motherboard = £55
Case with PSU = £25
So that's £260.... ok, you might find the parts slightly cheaper but you still have to build it & you don't get 12 Month Warranty also incl.
So it's hot for the spec your getting.
It's just nice to know the whole thing is covered and you don't need to try to ascertain which part has gone wrong and then go through the hassle removing that part and sending it back...
But if you can build your own computer you wouldn't be building this spec anyhow or going for this deal..... unless you just want a cheap computer for word and surfing :-)
All comments (98)
Specs:
Intel Pentium G3260 CPU - 2 x 3.30 GHz = £55
1TB HDD = £45
8GB DDR3 =£40
Windows 10 =£20
DVD-RW = £15
Keyboard & Mouse incl. = £5
1150 Motherboard = £55
Case with PSU = £25
So that's £260.... ok, you might find the parts slightly cheaper but you still have to build it & you don't get 12 Month Warranty also incl.
So it's hot for the spec your getting.
I'm currently looking at PCs £700 and above to get the minimum specs I need - and no games involved either.
It's just nice to know the whole thing is covered and you don't need to try to ascertain which part has gone wrong and then go through the hassle removing that part and sending it back...
But if you can build your own computer you wouldn't be building this spec anyhow or going for this deal..... unless you just want a cheap computer for word and surfing :-)
I would say the minimum you want is Intel HD 4400 integrated graphics, which are in the i3. The models above this pentium. Saying that even a machine that is several years old but has a midrange dedicated graphics card will be vastly superior to the latest intel integrated graphics.
I'm not saying buy this exact machine, but a 30 second look on ebay comes up with this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Veriton-M2631G-PC-Tower-4GB-Ram-500GB-HDD-Dual-Core-i3-4130-DVI-HD-Win-8-1-/252458554022?hash=item3ac7b3d2a6:g:sTgAAOSwyDxXhMWj
i3 4130 has HD 4400 integrated, which is plenty enough for minecraft in 1920 x 1080. I'm the kind of person that would prefer a machine with a dedicated graphics card though, even if it was just a very old GTX650 1GB
Stuck a 1060 in it and it runs like a charm.
You might get away with adding like a GTX1050 to this and have a budget gaming machine.
The machine in this deal easily exceeds those.
This CPU scores a PassMark of 3418 and the link says 2000 PassMark is needed for a single 1080p/10Mbps transcoded stream.
Thanks
You could always buy something similar to this and chuck a cheap low power graphics card in it. The main problem with this system for Minecraft is the integrated graphics aren't really fast enough. It'll do like 1280 x 720 and have trouble with higher settings which is pathetic. Even a crappy old £35 second hand GTX650ti/Radeon 7770 off ebay would make it buttery smooth with shaders and everything
Everything else is more than adequate. That is the sole problem for that game.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade
For those of you thinking of adding a gpu, this will bottleneck a gtx 1050 (let alone a 1050 ti). A second hand gtx 950 would be a better match
Don't run the risk
This PC meets the minimum specs for Camtasia, but not the recommended specs for processor speed (minimum is dual core @2.0Ghz, this pc is a dual core at 3.3Ghz, recommended is a Quad-core i5), also this PC does not have a dedicated GPU so it would not be able to utilise GPU acceleration, although you could easily fit one. The program would work, but I would expect processing to take a very long time. This would be an easy PC to upgrade with a new processor, (something like an i5 4460 for £170) if required though
It's like the perfect cheap machine. It boots in seconds, speedy everywhere and runs Minecraft with a bunch of mods peasy. I would say it's about the basic minimum you should have buying a new PC today.
Windows 7 end of support is January 14, 2020. The OS will still work but won't receive any Windows updates after that time. So still a few years left yet.
As it is, you could put in a 1050 for £100 and possibly run it off of the same PSU and have a solid low end gaming PC (better than PS4 graphics). I'd personally spend another £30-35 and put in a branded 350w psu.
They are next on the list for upgrading, however I have held up getting them upgrades as there is little justification right now - they either needs to stop functioning, or technology needs to take another iteration forwards to make them start to feel not cutting edge (and to be clear, we have more than a dozen machines, typically with cutting edge CPU/RAM, some 1080, some 1070, some RX 480 cards, and whilst these machines are obviously faster, for the nature of work we do, these old ZooStorms really don't hold the developers using them back very much).
So, errrr, I recommend ZooStorm from my experience :smiley:
Anyway I need a small DVI monitor for as cheap as chips, say 18-21 inch and less than £80. Any ideas please? Preferably with built in speakers if possible. Cheers.
Quick look; https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/bc7/AOC-18-5-inch-Monitor-Speakers-Vesa-E975SWDA/B01CO2SECM/ref=sr_1_24?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1484677675&sr=1-24&keywords=monitor
Is this rubbish for a teenager?
1) Removing a part and posting it?
2) Posting an entire PC?
I don't know if zoostorm offer a collect service, there returns doesn't make it very clear who pays for the returns either
https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/12289403612359192298?q=windows+10+oem&biw=1517&bih=708&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.&bvm=bv.144224172,d.ZGg&tch=1&ech=1&psi=XVmBWMTfE6zagAaTj4KADg.1484872031485.9&prds=hsec:online&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjw5M_Ju8_RAhXMIcAKHbtsADIQ2SsIwAE