I need to buy a computer or laptop and I would value any advice on which one/make to buy.
I won't be travelling much with it and want to pay a medium price,

Not sure whether I would find a laptop easy as I have never used one but will persevere if that's the advice I get.

I've just looked on the Dell site and find it a bit confusing.
I thought of my friends on the Forum and know they know more than me (about computers ).

hazel

First you need to decide whether you want a laptop or not as that makes quite a big difference.

If you're not going to travel with it, will you really gain any advantages from having a laptop, or will you just be paying for things you don't need?

Secondly, set a budget and if you can detail what you are likely to use the pc for, ie. games, office apps, digital photography, digital video, media centre or any other specifics.

And at that point we can probably point you in the right direction.

i find typing on a pc keyboard is MUCH easier than on a laptop :)

Come down and have a chat with us at very pc, we're nice people. We'll give you free advice, no pressure, and show you some cool stuff.

www.very-pc.co.uk

Pete

Thanks cyclone, I don't use half those things so you are right I should be paying for things I don't use.

I shall go for computer then, not laptop, as computer is what I am used to;
I have never used a game but that's not to say I won't.

I use it for word proccesser, -- using lotus. digital photos. google for info, email and Sheff Forum., ebay. and not much else. I'm BT broadband.

Caan't think what else, but would miss it when I move. so def need a replacment. Thought by buying Laptop I woould be able to buy before I left but the benifits of a computer against laptop. out weigh that

you are right pete. the only time I used laptop keys I found it difficult.
hazel

Check out http://www.europc.co.uk/ it's where i got my computer from and for value or money you cant do much better.

If your not sure about what you want/need call them, tell what you would use your computer for and give em a price range.

You can get yourself a very nice PC for around £300-350 (without a monitor).

They're based in Glasgow and my computer was delievered within 48 hours.

Also the after sales suppot is very good, if you have a problem they'll try and sort it over the phone if they cant do tat they'll take it a away and fix it.

Good luck

P

Tip 1 - Dont go to PCWorld
Tip 2 - Dont go to PCWorld
Tip3 - Find a nice friendly compnay to buy from who arent going to disappear suddenly (like the one i bought my PC from did)
Tip 4 - Have an idea of what you want to use th PC for, and how much you want to pay.
Tip 5 - Buy a basic PC mag such as ComputerActive, this will give you a good grounding in PC speak and they run some good workshops on what to do if your PC goes wronf.
Tip 6 - Did i mention PCWorld?

don't buy a display one
dont't buy at high street stores.

Originally posted by Avalon
Tip 1 - Dont go to PCWorld
Tip 2 - Dont go to PCWorld
Tip3 - Find a nice friendly compnay to buy from who arent going to disappear suddenly (like the one i bought my PC from did)
Tip 4 - Have an idea of what you want to use th PC for, and how much you want to pay.
Tip 5 - Buy a basic PC mag such as ComputerActive, this will give you a good grounding in PC speak and they run some good workshops on what to do if your PC goes wronf.
Tip 6 - Did i mention PCWorld? Now your frightening me,as I bought my lap top from PC World.Never had any trouble with it but what happens if I do ?

Hey hang on there one minute Avalon I heard PC WORLD are very good...oh hang on, no i didn't.


High street shops baaaad, small indepentant retailers goooood.

Originally posted by pattricia
Now your frightening me,as I bought my lap top from PC World.Never had any trouble with it but what happens if I do ?

I dont think their PCs are bad, its the customer service that stinks. People always have problems with customer service at PC world, its their whole attitude.

Originally posted by hazel
Thanks cyclone, I don't use half those things so you are right I should be paying for things I don't use.

I shall go for computer then, not laptop, as computer is what I am used to;
I have never used a game but that's not to say I won't.

I use it for word proccesser, -- using lotus. digital photos. google for info, email and Sheff Forum., ebay. and not much else. I'm BT broadband.

Caan't think what else, but would miss it when I move. so def need a replacment. Thought by buying Laptop I woould be able to buy before I left but the benifits of a computer against laptop. out weigh that

you are right pete. the only time I used laptop keys I found it difficult.
hazel

Basically then you need a budget to mid range pc, mid range will last longer and give you a bit of space to expand your activites, budget will do everything you currently do without any hastle.
Personally I'd go for the budget end of the pc and get a decent monitor keyboard and mouse as they are your interface to the pc.

You could still go budget laptop, but to be comfortable at home you'd still need an external screen, keyboard and mouse, and if you're never going to move it and use it whilst away from home, there's really no point.

Thanks guys for the small independent retailer votes :) :thumbsup:

Wondering between a laptop and a pc,
How about go half way and get a mini pc, they are about the size of a shoebox and mostly use the same parts as a desktop.

We've got a special offer:

Powerful little mini PC (3000) With DVDRW
Really good DVI 17" Digital Flatscreen
Windows XP, Openoffice, Antivirus
Nice Keyboard, Mouse and Speakers
3 year warranty.

£599 inc.

Given the spec mentioned I'd suggest you look at something that has the following sort of specification...

> 80Gb+ hard drive
> Low end Graphics card (avoid gamer machines)
> 512Mb of RAM at least
> Almost any processor type will do, with the bog standard now around 2400 - 2800Mhz
> Flat screens are worth getting nowadays but don't accept one for more than £150 (inc) and possibly consider getting one seperately from a box unit... CRT's (the old style TV type screens) are cheap as chips now though (just very big and take up lots of desktop space)
> CD Burners are cheap as chips and probably of use to you if you share pics


I'd reckon you could get something in the £350 - £450 price bracket without a problem but be sure to make sure you secure it properly with anti-virus and anti-spyware, etc... (see other posts on the subject).

If you're not too fussy then there are some good deals on Dell for your sort of usage but word of warning, avoid choosing Dell upgrades as they're 100% premium on normal prices, especially extra RAM... Oh and they're not very upgrade friendly...


Hope that helps...



PS: can we drop the PCWorld, etc bashing, it's old hat and there's a whole other thread for that... It's been said once, needs no further discussion.. and is just confusing the original issue.. Ta.

Martin, I would somewhatg disagree with some of the things that you are saying:
Re: flatscreens if you get one for less than £150 inc, it's likely to be of poor spec. (16/25ms refresh for example), it is also likely that you maybe landed with some dead pixels. My advice is to look at flatscreens working, get one with a low refresh and one that is bright and has good colours. If possible get one with DVI (digital interface) as this will mean your pictures will be sharper. I would personally spend £150+VAT on a monitor to make sure I got a good one.
DVD burners (DVD RW) are available for only £20 more (or so) than CD burners, so get one of these.
Avoid dell's wonder deals, they are often too good to be true.
£399 Dell Boy PC Bundle (No upgrades, no VAT, no moneyback, 30day guarentee) *in the style of only fools and horses*

Hi im Weenireeni's other half :-D

I can help if you want a PC, I have been building PC's for about seven years and work in IT (I will be starting at one of the major banks next month)

From me around £300-400 will get you a decent machine with a TFT monitor, that you can upgrade to a higher spec easily. It will be more than fast enough for most people, something like the following spec:

AMD Athlon 2800
120Gb hard drive
512MB RAM
DVD writer
TFT monitor
Cordless keyboard and speakers
Windows XP etc.

Plus, and probably the most important part, any problems there someone (me) on the phone to give you a hand

Some more advice,

Avoid Socket A, as this is now discontinued and provides no upgrade path, the socket A stuff being sold at the moment is clearout stock. Socket A is good if you want an end of line super budget pc. You can spot socket A by:
AMD Athlon processor (without saying 'AMD Athlon 64')
AMD Sempron processor slower than 2600
Also generally avoid intel as these are not as good, less reliable and cost more in electricity and money.
Try to go 64 bit as this will put you in a strong position for future releases of Windows.

Buying a computer be this High Street stores including Dixons, PC World, John Lewis etc or the local independents is like buying a used car from a 2nd hand car dealer.

www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61156 has some useful advice on issues to consider when buying a PC.

After all the problems I have been through since 1997 I learned the hard way it pays to proceed with caution, invest substantial time research the product and supplier before parting with cash or paying on credit.

It is essential to consider post-sales support and software licensing arrangements.

The shenanigans my then business partner/supplier subjected me to back in 1997 put me out of business, led to mega-debt, seriously damaged my credit references only partially repaired after my supposedly ethical Bank finally investigated and found adverse date on my credit files.

There are local independents I definitely would not touch with a barge pole end to end and as Trading Standards is a useless bunch of cretins asking them to resolve post-sales complaints is like going to the moon without an oxygen tank.

Originally posted by Pete1024
Martin, I would somewhatg disagree with some of the things that you are saying:
Re: flatscreens if you get one for less than £150 inc, it's likely to be of poor spec. (16/25ms refresh for example), it is also likely that you maybe landed with some dead pixels. My advice is to look at flatscreens working, get one with a low refresh and one that is bright and has good colours. If possible get one with DVI (digital interface) as this will mean your pictures will be sharper. I would personally spend £150+VAT on a monitor to make sure I got a good one.
Just to note, I'd disagree with your disagreeing although for different reasons:
1. the usage in mind is not for games and a 16ms response time
is more than sufficient.
2. You can acquire an LG L1715S or similar for £125+VAT and delivery if you know where to look and they are VERY good screens... I have 3x 1715S's and purchased 40 of the 15" versions for a school and I found my first dead pixel on only one of them... (that's 1pixel out of 40x1024x768) So they are a good quality screen.
3. DVI is something you pay a premium for and frankly the quality of the D-SUB connectors nowadays is almost comparable so again for a basic requirement it's not essential. In all honesty I've compared DVI with D-SUB and I'm damned if I can tell the difference...


DVD burners (DVD RW) are available for only £20 more (or so) than CD burners, so get one of these.
Yep, would agree, they're worth it, but not essential if you want to save a tenner.

Avoid dell's wonder deals, they are often too good to be true.
£399 Dell Boy PC Bundle (No upgrades, no VAT, no moneyback, 30day guarentee) *in the style of only fools and horses*
Heh, true enough but there have been occassions when they are ok... just avoid the upgrades like I said...

Bottom line a £500+ machine is overkill for the specification required... and that's just my opinion...

I quite like the sound of the mini PC. Its got all the connectors you need using a standard size keyboard and screen. Great for surfing SF.

When you open up the towers you often wonder why all the space? Its not like most people are going to add 3 hard drives and six expansion cards. Most stuff runs off usb's now.

Good little entertainment system too, playing your DVD's and music being only the size of a portable radio.:cool:

With a usb tv tuner and a good set of PC speakers you've got the coolest entertainment sytem on the block.

It'll look odd though with a big box printer stuck on the side. you could make your printer disappear by making a CD collection collage along the front or putting some black stocking over it to make it look like a big speaker.

Thamks you all for your advice.
I shall print out it and take with me when I buy.
The bits I don't nderstand I will ask to be translated by the seller..
I've got to move first so will let you know how I get on.


hazel

Hi im Weenireeni's other half :-D

I can help if you want a PC, I have been building PC's for about seven years and work in IT (I will be starting at one of the major banks next month)

From me around £300-400 will get you a decent machine with a TFT monitor, that you can upgrade to a higher spec easily. It will be more than fast enough for most people, something like the following spec:

AMD Athlon 2800
120Gb hard drive
512MB RAM
DVD writer
TFT monitor
Cordless keyboard and speakers
Windows XP etc.

Plus, and probably the most important part, any problems there someone (me) on the phone to give you a hand

I am now in the market for new computer -- could you pm me please (quote)

hazel

YOu could also try Ergo Computing www.ergo.co.uk which include post sales on-site maintenance for 12 months and its for 3 years if you're in full or part-time education.

PC World- Expensive (and full of employees who are just that)
High street stores as a whole: Remember Dixons is owned by..... Dixons Group. Hmm Hang on... so is Currys, PC World, Office World.

Avoid them me thinks

Try your local independant retailers.

Try internet.

Don't bother with us, we don't sell PCs (yet!)

Rgds

Richard

http://www.forevermac.com
http://www.computerdisplays.co.uk

I have ordered my new computer from a small dealer at a Handsworth. It's being delivered today. I followed advice given and will let you know how I get on, will wear Sheff Forum Teeshirt, if delighted with it I shall share my delight of the shop with fellow forummers ---thats if they are not bored with my ramblings.

hazel

I have ordered my new computer from a small dealer at a Handsworth.

Is this from a shop or a private individual dealing from home ?

shop called complex on line, handsworth rd
computer has been delivered in 3 days and is exactly what I asked for. quick efficient service and I am very pleased with it.

hazel
Am using a server I've never heard of called --seriously --www.seriouslyinternet.com
seems ok.