new computer

[jlbovo]

hi i am thinking of gettin a new computer. i went to bestbuy and circut city last night and i saw a couple of them i liked. well my question is does anyone here know of a good place online to check out a couple computers? i would also like to check there too just seeing if there are any price differences, but some info would be nice. also i pondered the idea of buildin my own, but i would rather check the good ones first. please help - justin

[Tom_Sample_UK]

www.pcworld.co.uk

[DarkX_Greece]

why not trying ebay?

[Ideas Man]

but i would rather check the good ones first.

The best computer you can get is one that you build yourself. Not only in some cases is it cheaper, but then you know that's what you want in it, no paying for crap you don't want/need and you can make it as up-to-date as possible, something that you can't really do with manufactured computers.

[Valleysboy1978]

Dell have some pretty good offers on at the moment, check them out.

[Ideas Man]

Dell have some pretty good offers on at the moment, check them out.

Another thing I like is you can modify it to suit your needs within reason. I wouldn't buy a dell personally, but it's still a nice feature.

[Valleysboy1978]

Agreed. There's nothing worse than being forced into buyig something you don't want. For example I bought a PC without a graphics card because I knew I could get one cheaper elsewhere

[dandono]

i made my own server up and i only payed £170 for it and it is fast enough to do most things. if you are going to use this new computer for gaming then i would set my budget a little higher for a good main board and a good amd proscessor (something bigger than 1.7 Ghrz. about 2.0Ghrz +). i payed £50 for my main board and £25 for a 256MB ram. i think the hard drive was £50 or £60 for a 80 GB maxtor hard drive (72000 rpm). but you can get better for a little more money. you can buy a 128 MB graphics card for about £40 now when a few years ago it costed £70 just for a 64 MB graphics card. try looking around on google, pc world and other places

[BodwadUK]

Check overclockers if you want parts

[Valleysboy1978]

PC world!?! GARGH!

Never go there because they will always rip you off. Always stay local because they are more interested in keeping you as a loyal customer than making a quick buck from you.

[BodwadUK]

In my experiance pc world is very expensive and should be avoided

[szlamany]

hi i am thinking of gettin a new computer. i went to bestbuy and circut city last night and i saw a couple of them i liked. well my question is does anyone here know of a good place online to check out a couple computers? i would also like to check there too just seeing if there are any price differences, but some info would be nice. also i pondered the idea of buildin my own, but i would rather check the good ones first. please help - justin

Those stores sell junk - I would avoid them at all costs. What's in the box is all a lie - they are not to be trusted!

DELL will give you something real. We have all DELL servers and workstations in our office. One of my customers won't buy DELL - they go for HP - but not from some junk-store.

[Valleysboy1978]

Would agree with the DELL assessment. Have found them to be very helpful and always good value for money

[dandono]

have you actualy seen the prices of the dell computers. i have made a computer up for only £180 and it is better than some dell computer. you are better off making your computer your self or getting a pro to make it. that way you know what you got in it and it does not cost as much as a dell computer.but the more power you want the more you got to splash out.

[szlamany]

have you actualy seen the prices of the dell computers. i have made a computer up for only £180 and it is better than some dell computer. you are better off making your computer your self or getting a pro to make it. that way you know what you got in it and it does not cost as much as a dell computer.but the more power you want the more you got to splash out.

I've also gone the route of building my own box - gone to local trade shows - bought all the parts - put it together. That is a valid way to go.

Big problem with that is no software.

And a questionable warranty...

The box we built ourselves was for a video-capture/editing desk we have in the office.

Of course the only part that's died on it in since we built it was the $500 10000 RPM SCSI harddrive!

[dglienna]

I bought my first computer from BestBuy, and got a good deal with exactly what I wanted, but I selected a model that was the prior year. It was a Packard-Bell with all kinds of software. All I needed was QuickBasic, oh, and I created a lot of M$-Works documents before discovering that they weren't compatible with anything.

For my second computer, I looked in the paper, and found someone local that would build it to my specs. We agreed on a price, and I was satisfied.

I bought my third one from a trade show, and got a unit that I could overclock, and bout a celeron that had additional memory, making it as good as a P4. That was the only system that lasted over 5 years.

Then, I found my local computer store. This guy will build anything I ask him to, and gives me a great deal on prices. I find it easier to pay him $30 to set them up, so that I just have to burn them in to test them before I sell them to another user. Even though I can do it, it isn't worth the hassle.

There are many choices, and each one is different. Look around before you decide what you are going to buy. If you can get it cheaper somewhere, but it there.

Dell is selling a lot of machines, trying to clear things out before the 64 bit systems take over. They have some good deals going on. My partner has one for his family.

[Rocky_Lad]

DONT USE PC WORLD!!!!!!!!! thats all the help i can give, unless u're willing to build your own

[jlbovo]

yeah i think i just might look for a local computer shop. i know what i want, and i dont need all that crap that comes along. i want like 516ram, 40gig HD, preferaily a pentium( a 1.0 ghz or greater) i cant remeber all the spec from the ones i saw, but i could take it from that and cut it in half and have a decent pc. thanks, any more idea would be great, and are my specs to low ? i dont want to built a supercomputer, just one to write papers and code, music whatever, im a college student so nothing heavyduty u kno ? thanks - justin

[dglienna]

I used to suggest all that you could afford, but I have switched to getting the minimum for what you want to do, if you know what you will be doing. What you spend today will buy the same things for half the cost in a while.

[Ideas Man]

I used to suggest all that you could afford, but I have switched to getting the minimum for what you want to do, if you know what you will be doing. What you spend today will buy the same things for half the cost in a while.

Yes, but that is always the case, and most of the time, it has only come down due to something newer being relased.

My advise is if you want it to live for years, the best you can do is buy the best possible. If you buy bare minimum, you will be upgrading a lot more than if you buy the best possible.

[BodwadUK]

Get a decent motherboard so that you can expand in the future. P.s theres nothing wrong with an AMD and they used to be cheaper dont know anymore though

[Valleysboy1978]

Yeah, I've stuck with the AMD as I've found them pretty cheap compared to Intel.

Don't forget that a lot of ppl, although all on this forum shouldn't have a problem, don't know how to build their own PC. In this case you should go to a local stor if possible, DELL if you'd prefer a large-scale retailer.