home pc package

[Anders]

I am in the process of digesting loads of information from all the local pc suppliers for the best deal on a home pc package! Before I make a decision, do any of you have very positive or negetive experiences of the major pc stores that may help me make up my mind as to who I go with? Cheers in advance.

[wizard]

I personally have a bad experience with PC World, god dont get me started! They are rip off merchants and a bunch of amateurs, if you ever get a problem they will refuse to deal with you in person, they make you ring hundreds of different phone numbers which cost you more then the computer is worth! I'll never take my custom there again, a bunch of w*nkers. Hope that helps!

[j2buttonsw]

Buy a Compaq (HP) from PC world. You will be fine.

[BadBob]

Its much the same with many things in life, you get what you pay for. If somebody gave me �1500 to spend on a PC I would go for a Dell. They do seem to be more expensive than thers but they are very well built and come with good components. Your best option is to either buy direct from the supplier, Dell sell direct or go to one of the many local PC suppliers, however they are just as capable of ripping you off than anybody else.

[BadBob]

Can we ask what you plan to do with the PC. Just to add a bit of meat to the bones, I have had a dell, a couple of compaq and now a PC made by a local supplier. I found the compaq was good for a technophob (easy to use setup) but was pretty bad when I wanted to upgrade it so its longer term appeal was limited. The Dell was solid and reliable and offered easy upgrades, and the locally built one great for the price (�200) but used cheap componets which makes it slow and unreliable and difficult to find upgrades which worked with it. I agree PC World are not the best.

[wizard]

Am I right in thinking that Dell computers dont intergrate all of the components to the motherboard?

[j buxton]

It depends on what you intend to do with it and whether you're PC literate or not. If you've never had a PC before and your use is going to be limited to one or two specific things then consider an AppleMac instead, they're more expensive but way more reliable. This said I still use PC's myself and have bought from numerous different companies and built my own from individual components. As for individual companies - I've purchased from Dell and had quite a few problems with the machine despite their reputation for reliability and their customer service (even when I'd paid for an expensive support upgrade), was complete sh*te. Compaq stuff is generally hard to upgrade because a lot of their components are not generic and therefore you can only use compaq own brand equipment to upgrade which is generally pretty expensive. there stuff is pretty reliable though I can't comment on their customer service since I've not had to call them. Brand names generally equate to better build quality and reliability but are overpriced, although there are several newer "brand" names at the lower price range which might not have the reputation but are still being put together pretty solidly these days. As far as PC world goes - the staff are morons (mostly) and their service is cr*p but they're a lot cheaper than they used to be thanks to market forces , and if you're computer literate they're an OK place to buy from. By literate I mean if you get a problem that isn't genuine hardware failure the chances are you can solve it yourself. Otherwise as someone mentioned above you'll be bounced around a dozen phone numbers all more expensive than the last. To be fair though this is true of a great deal of PC retailers not just PC world. The main thing I'd suggest would be to buy one of the current PC magazines and go through the main ad's- compare specifications and prices etc

[Anders]

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you all. Have been looking around in all the 'biggest' places as well as some smaller outfits. Main requirements are: 80GB AMD hard disk, and space! I have pretty much decided now which bits I am going for and where from: HP Pavilion a330.uk (processor) HP Pavilion f1703 (17" TFT screen) HP PSC 2175 (combined printer, scanner & copier) All from Comet as they seem to have the biggest range of HP. If any of you have any comments - good or bad, I'd appreciate them. My decision isn't set in stone, but I would like to buy today or tomorrow. Cheers all.

[MangoRose]

I have an Evesham computer and HP Scanner and Printer (purchased from Evesham}. I have found their equipment, service and prices to be excellent.

[BadBob]

I know its a bit late but I think its all a bit of a mine field and even with the small number of answers you can see we all have different opinions. I think HP are pretty good so good luck with it. In answer to Wizard as far as I know Dell computers are made to order which means they are a little bit more flexible, this is done as you say by using a basic motherboard and adding the components on , i.e. graphics and sound cards. I have never paid for support or extended warranties.There are 2 situations with support, those that pay for it and never use it and think it was a waste of money and those that do use it and know it was a waste of money :). But each to their own.

[Sixtusthe5th]

Whilst their equipment has been satisfactory so far, note that Compaq is now bankrupt (that is why PC World are slashing Compaq prices) and who knows what the future is to be.

[ArfurMow]

Thanks for that info, Six. I had wondered what was happening to Compaq.

[ArfurMow]

Thanks for that info, Six. I had wondered what was happening to Compaq.