New PC tower

[mkjuk]

if i buy a new tower from aria or dell, will it have XP already on it?

if not would i be better off getting a second hand one on ebay? what are the dangers of doing this?

[carbado]

I think aria will give you the option to have windows xp installed on it, but at a cost...

dell most likely will have windows xp installed on it at extra cost...

if your just after a basic new pc probably might be best going to dell as there lowest priced one at the moment is �299 with a monitor and a similar one at aria is nearly �350 and thats without a monitor ... but look into and compare both first...

[vehelpfulguy]

Dell always include XP in the price for home PCs.

If you do buy from Dell go carefully through what is included as sometimes they leave things out to reduce the price (like speakers).

A good E Value code to use on the Dell site is

NPUK5-D05116.

If you remove the 3 year of support it comes down to �329 with a 19" monitor (but no speakers or modem which are only about 12 pounds each).

[kepla]

Yes, that's the problem - just about all PCs you can buy in a shop have XP allready on them. Provide you NEVER use Windows XP - in toher words, the very first time it boots up, you DON'T accept the license agreement (EULA), then you are supposed to be able to get the cost of XP back from Microsoft. Of course you uninstall Windows from the PC and that is the whole point, yes ? If the PC has already been used by somebody, then it will be they who accepted the license agreement and they who are licensed. Microsoft EULAs are not transferrable, so that copy of Windows will not be legal for use if ownership of the PC is transferred. There are places you can buy a decent PC without Windows on it but, thanks to the way Microsoft market their products, those places are not allowed to sell Microsoft-equipped PCs as well. Of course if you build your own PC (actually rather easy) then you can escape the Microsoft trap easily.

[souldriver]

I just bought my new pc from dell and win.xp and ms works where included in the price.

[kepla]

QED, souldriver - you've proved my point beautifully. It is a bit like finding out that part of the cost of your new washing machine was to pay for the 'free' dirty laundry it came with ! I wonder: is the phrase 'Microsoft Works' an oxymoron ?