I need a "new" spare pc

[Ancient Observer]

I know we look at this issue too often, but I'm in the market for advice about a new spare pc.

My main study pc is fine. (Intel i5, 2500, @3.3, 8gb ram, ati radeon. Win 7. About 21/2 yr old)

The great benefit to me of this pc is that it will genuinely do 2 or 3 things at once. - e.g. Malwarebytes is running as I write this, and switching to anything else that is open is a breeze.

However, for a spare I do not need that level of spec. (And my shortly to arrive Air will do for most casual browsing).
BUT - I do want the spare to be able to do different things at once. My now switched off (XP) spare would not run either malwarebytes or defender whilst I was, say, on the net and/or doing mail and/or using Office.. Playing with video creation was an exercise in patience - and could only be done when nothing else was switched on.

So my question is how well specced up does my new spare need to be?
I have googled this excessively and have ended up very confused. PC marketeers are very clever - they keep driving me to higher and higher price points............suggesting that I am a classic mug for them. I start off at UKP 250 and in 3 minutes I'm up at 500, ............and why not get this gizmo for an extra.....etc.
Help. Please.

Er, and no, I am not going to build one. Thank you for the thought.

[Bushfiva]

You mention you're getting an Air. That's at least as powerful as any backup computer you're considering at your pricing point. You might just stick with that.

[vulcanised]

Have a look at Morgan Computers sale.

If you see anything you fancy, JUN24 on the promotion box will get you 10% off the price shown.

[OFSO]

My approach would be to pick up a PC case at your local dump. (Don't chuck 'em aware where you live ? They do in Spain).

Gut it completely and pop along to Maplins, pick up a power supply, drives, motherboard and processor and a couple of fans, stick them all in the case (it is very easy if you had a Meccano set as a kid !) buy the software of your choice (WIN7 would be my choice, if you don't want to pay then Linux) load it and off you go.

You might not want to build one but this way you'll know what's in the case and be able to swap RAM and drives when necessary out of your spares box(es).

[ericlday]

In case you didn't read the question.....Er, and no, I am not going to build one. Thank you for the thought.

[Loose rivets]

W7 with key is darned expensive. I plumped for OEM since I had all the receipts for the bits. Even then, it cost c $135 for the Pro.
I only got a new case in the UK so I could use the MB and HD, and now I'm sweating on not being allowed to use the OS cos of a HD failure.

[mixture]

Ancient Observer,

Something along the lines of i3 and 4GB of RAM .... i.e. basically half the spec of what you've got if its genuinely a spare.

[mixture]

W7 with key is darned expensive. I plumped for OEM since I had all the receipts for the bits. Even then, it cost c $135 for the Pro.

The reason its more expensive is because the license terms are less restrictive than OEM.

You get what you pay for.

[Saab Dastard]

My now switched off (XP) spare would not run either malwarebytes or defender whilst I was, say, on the net and/or doing mail and/or using Office

I would hazard a guess that it was a single-core CPU.

A dual-core or better CPU > 2GHz with 4GB RAM and a moderately good graphics card with > 512MB VRAM and a HDD of 7200 RPM should suffice for the limited usage you envisage.

I bought such a PC from ebuyer for £199 a couple of years ago for a relative, and it's still going strong. Without monitor, keyboard & mouse, but you probably have those already. You can always upgrade RAM / HDD / graphics at a later date if you want / need to.

I prefer self-building, as I can select exactly what I want, but I can understand your reluctance to do so.

SD

[Ancient Observer]

Thanks all.
Sorry to have pestered y'all with a boring question.

If an i3 over 2ghz with 4gb of ram will genuinely allow me to do different things at once, that's all I need. if I find a cheap, old ( 3) i5 I can go for that.
I don't need lots of gb Hard drive as the main pc and its back up has more than I need. I don't need a sexy graphics set up as I'm not a pixel-changer, nor a gamer.
As Saab says, the old one must have been single core. It required extreme patience.

I'll look at the Morgan re-furbs as they also help keep the price down.

On the Air, SWMBO's ipad 2 has delighted her - except when it died exactly 1 week out of warranty, and Apple wanted UKP 180 for a replacement - that will get limited use for t'net, mail, photos, music and reading.

[Saab Dastard]

Morgan are by no means cheap for what you get. Their prices exclude VAT. You get better value on ebay for 2nd hand kit, and I've not seen better than ebuyer for no-frills desktop PCs.

SD

[vulcanised]

Their prices exclude VAT

Are you sure? The catalogue quotes VAT inclusive.

[EEngr]

Before dropping a lot of money on a new system, what are the specs on the old XT box? Its possible that with a better O/S* and maybe a memory upgrade, it could still be serviceable.

Sometimes, starting with a clean disk (back up your data first) and a fresh O/S install will clean all the cruft out and speed things up.

*Windows 7. Steer clear of W8

[Saab Dastard]

Are you sure? The catalogue quotes VAT inclusive.

Look online - their headline price is exc VAT. Sure, the VAT inclusive price is there, but in much smaller font.

Put it this way, in over 20 years of buying PCs for home and office use, I have never once found Morgan to be sufficiently good value to warrant buying from.

SD