Buying a new PC

[Otta]

Hello EDFers. My laptop has more or less died on me, and at 5 years old, isn't really worth fixing. We've decided to splash out on a new Desktop PC for the family.

Main uses will be media (music & film.), internet (including remote access to work), and word processing. It won't be used for gaming.

Budget ?600 - ?800

PC World have this, which to my untrained eye, looks pretty good, and has ?200 off.

Can anyone point me in the direction of something good, for a good price?

PS. I've never owned a MAC, and probably don't need to go down that road, unless anyone can convince me there is a good reason to.

[Annette Curtain]

Otta Wrote:

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> PS. I've never owned a MAC, and probably don't

> need to go down that road, unless anyone can

> convince me there is a good reason to.

Well put it this way...

You probably won't be writting a post like this again in 5 yrs time.

[Otta]

Ha ha, touche.

[Willard]

www.medion.co.uk

[Jeremy]

I wouldn't even consider a mac, for the uses and budget that you describe.

You only need a bog standard PC... maybe budget ?300 for it, plus ?100 for a fairly nice monitor.

[Otta]

Any opinions on All in ones?

[Salsaboy]

What happens if one bit of it goes wrong?

I bought a Sony Vaio laptop about 4 years ago and basically just use it as a server, ie, I plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse into it and it works just fine. It's still fast and it's allowed me to change my screen and keyboard as I desire.

Very happy with Sony and would buy another one when this one dies.

Otta Wrote:

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> Any opinions on All in ones?

[Undisputedtruth]

Otta Wrote:

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> Any opinions on All in ones?

All in ones (aio) tends to be overpriced, low 'specced' and can be difficult to upgrade/repair.

Apples tend to have quality components but their equipment are overpriced for what they do.

Sony are not exactly a player in the PC market but are renown for their reliable laptops using quality components.

PC World, the shop, tends to mainly caters for those who don't know any better. Likewise with M&S. Better informed people tend to build their own PC as they can build exactly to how they want it.

[Otta]

Yep, I don't know any better, and wouldn't know where to start.

[Undisputedtruth]

Dell sells AIOs with similar specs to the Sony for ?699 but also includes a 23 inch touch screen.

[Annette Curtain]

And then fill it with virus, ready to crash.

[Undisputedtruth]

Then get you to buy their overprice warranty.

[KalamityKel]

A word of advice - if you're going to buy through a big shop (PC World) do make sure you are aware of who actually holds the warranty - the shop or the manufacturers. Whilst the shop still have an obligation to deal with any problems within the time outlined in their T&Cs it'll save you a lot of bother especially when the shop will probably try to con you out of money to use their PC assistance thingy :)

[Jeremy]

PC World is probably fine, as long as you stand your ground and don't buy the shitty warranty.

Personally I wouldn't be tempted by an all-in-one, I'd rather have a separate monitor for the sake of repair/reuse.

Dell is OK-ish, and the prices are good for the basic models (which is all you will really need). But they do load up the PC with crapware.

[acm]

.

[Jeremy]

> I wouldn't p*ss on PC World if they were on fire.

What's the difference between an HP unit from Insight and a HP machine from PC World?

[Undisputedtruth]

Well it seems the Insight's HP units are mainly 'specced' for business users. For example it has windows professional and only 2gb of RAM which frankly is disappointing.

The monitor is okay but there are much better ones for just a bit more money. Alternatively, a monitor with much better picture quality can be bought for less if height adjustment is not needed.

Typically the going rate of 8GB of RAM is ?42 and this works out to around ?5 per GB. ACM has stated ?20 per GB for memory which sounds ridiculously expensive. Typically 4GB should be enough for most users and the only reason for buying more is to future proof your system as software these days are not very efficient in hardware usage.

ACM, are you still claiming to be an IT consultant?

[Jeremy]

I had a quick look at PC World. For the same cash you can get an HP PC, also with an i3 processor - very slightly slower, but with double the memory and double the hard drive space. I know which one I'd choose. You also have the option of going to the shop to pick it up, rather than having to take a day off work to wait for the delivery.

[the-e-dealer]

PC World = PC Worst

Try www.Ebuyer.co.uk for a good deal Medion for around ?400.

[ibilly99]

I always go to John Lewis - service and knowledge is first class and their warranties are well worth the money. Bought my HP desktop from their 3 years ago and never a problem.

In fact here's a nice one with a 2 year warranty to boot ...

http://www.johnlewis.com/231302259/Product.aspx

[Jeremy]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> PC World = PC Worst

That may well be the case. But I am trying to understand what makes (for instance) an HP PC from PC World worse than an HP PC from somewhere else.

[Otta]

ibilly99 Wrote:

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> I always go to John Lewis - service and knowledge

> is first class and their warranties are well worth

> the money. Bought my HP desktop from their 3 years

> ago and never a problem.

>

> In fact here's a nice one with a 2 year warranty

> to boot ...

>

> http://www.johnlewis.com/231302259/Product.aspx

That does look pretty good actually. And funnily enough, my wife is a big John Lewis fan, and pointed out last night that we have ?100 in vouchers left over from our wedding (4 years ago!), so it's looking like JL may well be the place for us to go. There is a JL at the new Westfields in Stratford too, which is very easy to get to from Forest Hill, ON oVERGROUND & jUBILEE lINE.

[Annette Curtain]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> > I wouldn't p*ss on PC World if they were on

> fire.

>

> What's the difference between an HP unit from

> Insight and a HP machine from PC World?

* hand held up high *

" Me sir, me. Is it P.C World ? "

[acm]

.

[Annette Curtain]

Otta Wrote:

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> Hello EDFers. My laptop has more or less died on

> me, and at 5 years old, isn't really worth fixing.

> We've decided to splash out on a new Desktop PC

> for the family.

>

> Main uses will be media i-pad(music & film.)i-pad, internet

> (including remote access to work)i-pad, and word

> processing. i-pad

It won't be used for gaming.

>

> Budget ?399-?599 @ J.Lewis

>

> PC World have this, which to my untrained eye,

> looks pretty good, and has ?200 off.

>

> Can anyone point me in the direction of something

> good, for a good price? i-pad

>

> PS. I've never owned a MAC, and probably don't

> need to go down that road, unless anyone can

> convince me there is a good reason to. i-pad

And you'll get to fall in love with what you buy.( with all the security of John lewis & your vouchers )

You just know it makes sense.

NetteB)