PC advice

[magicroundabout]

then i would build yourself one for that.
i'm sure SiPi or other more informative comp guru's will tell you the same.

i'm pretty sure you could get yourself a very good pc with monitor for £500

i didnt't think i could get a system like i've got now for £300 but i have.
So if all you need it for is internet and word processing then for £500 you'll have a good system

[Sippo]

tbh i canny be arsed to build it myself. I haven't the time.

[magicroundabout]

i'm sure someone local to you will build it for you at a small price?

[sheepshagger]

TBH I work in the industry (that sounded pretentious but was not meant to !!) and I hate Dell - they are the scum that has almost completely killed the local PC builders in the UK....

In saying that if you are looking for a PC that will do browsing, documents etc. etc. then you cant really go wrong with them....

I would never buy one for gaming - and I guess that is exactly why Dell purchased Alienware to really attack the gaming market.

Looking on Dell's site you can get an Inspiron with the latest Intel CPU (not fastest but fast enough) with 2Gb Ram, decent graphics and a 20" flat screen delivered to you for £499 inc VAT - this also gives you 12 months warranty (which you can extend) so do not have to worry if anything goes wrong - unlike building it yourself....

There - do I sound like a Dell sales man ?!?!?!

[magicroundabout]

cricky i got it completely wrong!!!

someone sticking up for dell  

[sheepshagger]

soapy tit wank - doesn't happen very often !!

I completely hate the company and their ethics (or lack of them)

In 14 years selling PC hardware the number of local PC builders has dropped from around 25 to 3 or 4 - and a lot of it is Dell coming over here and squeezing them so hard on price that they have no way of competing - so eventually under they go....

It's actually pretty good for the consumer in lots of ways - less choice but MUCH lower prices - but it screws the industry in a big way...

Microsoft are completely under their spell - they almost tell Microsoft what they are willing to pay for Vista etc.. - all the locals have to stump up much much more for the same product...

I guess I am just a little bitter about all the commission I have lost over the years because of it  

Still - as I said if I was buying a PC as a consumer I would probably get it from Dell !!!

[sheepshagger]

that wasn't meant to say soapy tit wank either - sorry      

[Samdy Gray]

If you want something that's cheap, flimsy, barely fit for purpose and made from very low grade second rate components then buy a Dell.

If you want something that's nearly as cheap, 100% reliable, fit for purpose and made using the best components your money can buy then build one yourself.

If you're lazy, go to PC World.

[Sussex]

If you want something that's cheap, flimsy, barely fit for purpose and made from very low grade second rate components then buy a Dell.

I'm easily pleased. Still works a treat..  

[sheepshagger]

If you want something that's cheap, flimsy, barely fit for purpose and made from very low grade second rate components then buy a Dell.

If you want something that's nearly as cheap, 100% reliable, fit for purpose and made using the best components your money can buy then build one yourself.

If you're lazy, go to PC World.

Sorry Samdy - In the case of Dell and the PC I talked about above - that's complete bollocks....

Looking at the components in this particular PC - please let me know what is "second rate and low grade"

Intel® Viiv™ Core™ 2 Duo E6550 Processor (2.33GHz,1333MHz,4MB cache) - This is Intels latest range of processor - admittedly not as quick as a quad core but not slow or second rate either....

Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English - The latest from Microsoft - some people prefer XP - some Vista
Memory 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024] - Quick enough DDR2 - nothing wrong here

Keyboard Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)

Monitor Dell™ 20" Black Wide Flat Panel (E207WFP) - UK/Irish - I have a Dell 24" monitor - to be honest it's bloody good

Video Card 256MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 2400 XT graphics card - Again, not the latest and greatest - this would be one of the new 3000 series ATI cards BUT plenty good enough for the purposes required...

Hard Drive 500GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst™ cache - Again - decent spec "midrange" Hard drive....

Looking at Mesh Computers who are one of the only UK PC Builders left - their similar spec PC is £100 more - yes it is slightly higher spec BUT not needed for these purposes ?

I don't like Dell - but to say the things you said (which may have been true 6-8 years ago) doesn't really paint the true picture - in my opinion of course...

[Sippo]

I think the dells would be fine. Its for the missus grandad so wouldn't get overly used anyhow.

[Bogus Dave]

for someone who doesn't like dell you dont half stick up for them  

[sheepshagger]

I know - it does sound like it I guess - I genuinely don't like them - but I think their PC's have got a lot better over the years....

I still hate how they have fucked up the industry though - for one thing it means less nights out with the customers coz there are less of them      

[Samdy Gray]

Sheepshagger - granted, the "branded" components Dell use aren't half bad. But they generally have problems with other proprietary components not lasting half as long as you realistically could expect them to.

Hard drives failing completely after a year or so.
Graphics cards overheating.
CPU overheating because of shitty heatsinks and fans.
RAM failing because of overheating.
DVD/CD drives not working.
PSU's overloading = new motherboard = it's a Dell so you can't.

[magicroundabout]

Sheepshagger - granted, the "branded" components Dell use aren't half bad. But they generally have problems with other proprietary components not lasting half as long as you realistically could expect them to.

Hard drives failing completely after a year or so.
Graphics cards overheating.
CPU overheating because of shitty heatsinks and fans.
RAM failing because of overheating.
DVD/CD drives not working.
PSU's overloading = new motherboard = it's a Dell so you can't.

that i agree with  :evil: