What PC to buy?
Discussion
agent006 said:
www.dell.co.uk
Every self built PC i've ever used has been incredibly crap.
i've just bought a dell with a 17' flat screen and it's given me absolutely zero trouble so far.
as some of you are aware I posted a 'buy or build' a while ago. Having done a bit more research, I can't really see the point of building unless you have a very specific component choice in mind. On a cost basis I can buy cheaper than the sum of the parts.
If you able to upgrade (I would need new case, new MB, new power supply, new CPU) then a few components are bound to be cheaper than buying a new machine but I would argue that building a new machine is significantly cheaper than buying ready made. As someone pointed out at the time, some companies offer cheap upgrades to TFT with their systems so this makes it even more attractive to buy pre-built particuarly if you don't have much time to build one yourself (and you actually want a comprehensive warranty).
Back to the original question, where to buy? I'm probably going to buy from nethightstreet as their products seem to be well spec'd and good value as well as getting good reviews. TFT I'll probably still buy from somewhere else as I will either go for Philips, LG or Dell.
If you able to upgrade (I would need new case, new MB, new power supply, new CPU) then a few components are bound to be cheaper than buying a new machine but I would argue that building a new machine is significantly cheaper than buying ready made. As someone pointed out at the time, some companies offer cheap upgrades to TFT with their systems so this makes it even more attractive to buy pre-built particuarly if you don't have much time to build one yourself (and you actually want a comprehensive warranty).
Back to the original question, where to buy? I'm probably going to buy from nethightstreet as their products seem to be well spec'd and good value as well as getting good reviews. TFT I'll probably still buy from somewhere else as I will either go for Philips, LG or Dell.
If you insist on buying pre-built, Dell is the only way to go. They work great and even look nice now. I would trust no other PC manufacturer with my money for a desktop PC.
As far as price, I don't know the availability or price comparison of parts bewteen the UK and the US, but I just build an ENTIRE computer for a friend with higher end parts (case w/ 350W PS, P4 2.4Ghz HT/800 CPU, 512MB DDR 400, 80GB HDD, onboard audio/video/LAN, 52x CDRW, keyboard/mouse) for just under $450US. Use lesser parts, comparable to what you may find in a Dell/IBM/HP and it will be closer to $400. Buy AMD and it is a little cheaper than that.
As far as price, I don't know the availability or price comparison of parts bewteen the UK and the US, but I just build an ENTIRE computer for a friend with higher end parts (case w/ 350W PS, P4 2.4Ghz HT/800 CPU, 512MB DDR 400, 80GB HDD, onboard audio/video/LAN, 52x CDRW, keyboard/mouse) for just under $450US. Use lesser parts, comparable to what you may find in a Dell/IBM/HP and it will be closer to $400. Buy AMD and it is a little cheaper than that.
Make sure you look at the magazines and PC buying sites for any review systems which are often a lot cheaper than speccing a system on the Dell site. They give an e-value code that you type in to get the system in the review. The good thing about this is that you can still change things and get the system you want but at a much cheaper price. I bought a 3GHz Dell system a few months back that would have cost £2200 through the normal Dell configuration menus, but using an e-value code got exactly the same spec for £1530! 
cirks said:
as some of you are aware I posted a 'buy or build' a while ago. Having done a bit more research, I can't really see the point of building unless you have a very specific component choice in mind. On a cost basis I can buy cheaper than the sum of the parts.
If you able to upgrade (I would need new case, new MB, new power supply, new CPU) then a few components are bound to be cheaper than buying a new machine but I would argue that building a new machine is significantly cheaper than buying ready made. As someone pointed out at the time, some companies offer cheap upgrades to TFT with their systems so this makes it even more attractive to buy pre-built particuarly if you don't have much time to build one yourself (and you actually want a comprehensive warranty).
Back to the original question, where to buy? I'm probably going to buy from nethightstreet as their products seem to be well spec'd and good value as well as getting good reviews. TFT I'll probably still buy from somewhere else as I will either go for Philips, LG or Dell.
your buying in the wroung places then
Building a PC the first time isn't that much cheaper, upgrading the second time is.
For instance, I spent around £1200 on my machine when I built it 2 years ago and it's still runs with the latest games, it still flies along and I'm perfectly happy with it. When it comes to upgrade I already have a 19" screen, a GF4 gcard, a modem... I could upgrade to the latest chip/memory/board for around £350 and still have change.
However, Dell are superb machines and if I were to buy/build one now I'd be getting a dell in seconds! They really are a class above anything else I've seen!
For instance, I spent around £1200 on my machine when I built it 2 years ago and it's still runs with the latest games, it still flies along and I'm perfectly happy with it. When it comes to upgrade I already have a 19" screen, a GF4 gcard, a modem... I could upgrade to the latest chip/memory/board for around £350 and still have change.
However, Dell are superb machines and if I were to buy/build one now I'd be getting a dell in seconds! They really are a class above anything else I've seen!
agent006 said:Exactly - EBuyer components for same spec as NetHighStreet works out only about £60 cheaper with no warranty (apart from single component ones) no software etc and the hassle of building. That's for a P4,2.8Ghz, 1GbRAM, 80Gbdrive etc etc. If there is somewhere much cheaper than Ebuyer or dabs etc then I'd like to know!
your buying in the wroung places then
So where should we all be buying from to save alllll this money?
Well I' ve ordered a p4 3.06ghz 17" tft screen dvd re-writer etc all for less than £950 also ordered a HP PSC 2210 all in one printer/scanner/copier most sites were asking £199+ found it on amazon for £120
BTW the reason I am not upgrading is that my stepson want the old computer and its a good excuse to get a new one
BTW the reason I am not upgrading is that my stepson want the old computer and its a good excuse to get a new one
cirks said:
outlaw said:
your buying in the wroung places then
So where should we all be buying from to save alllll this money?
Exactly - EBuyer components for same spec as NetHighStreet works out only about £60 cheaper with no warranty (apart from single component ones) no software etc and the hassle of building. That's for a P4,2.8Ghz, 1GbRAM, 80Gbdrive etc etc. If there is somewhere much cheaper than Ebuyer or dabs etc then I'd like to know!
I predict the answer is something along the lines of "a mate who owns a computer shop".
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