Need a new PC...which brand should I go for?

[AURORA MG]

Originally Posted by e668ecp

Thats a good buy and I can't match - its a trade loss leader!

As you are obviously a proffessional would you say that is worth getting? I thought about doing it on a monthly payment schedule as I can't afford it in one lump & putting it through the business.

Strange thing just happened while typing this is that that PC was just advertised on the TV next to me!!

[e668ecp]

Originally Posted by Aurora ZT-T

As you are obviously a proffessional would you say that is worth getting? I thought about doing it on a monthly payment schedule as I can't afford it in one lump & putting it through the business.

Strange thing just happened while typing this is that that PC was just advertised on the TV next to me!!

Well PC World's backup isn't know for its greatness but yes its a good deal. I can actually build a system for less but its not worth it as time is money!

Closest I can get is:

£470 or £50 per month for 10months


22" TFT Monitor
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz 2MB 800MHz
1024MB DDR2 533 Memory
250GB SATA 2 Hard Drive 7200RPM
DVD RW +/-RAM DL Optical Drive
ATI X1650 upto 512MB DVI
Keyboard and mouse
MS Works
TV Tuner
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
1 year Warranty

[Pete]

Originally Posted by e668ecp

Yes good point Pete. I've always run my business on the service aspect is crucial. People come back after having good service

You're bang on there about customer service. The one problem with the tin market is that it is prety much matured so customer service is squeezed very tightly. You know as well as I do that there are some real pitfalls in just focusing on price and I always warn anyone who asks me to think about what happens if it goes wrong. It comes as a rude shock to a lot of people when their machine fails that fixing it may well be either laborious, inconvenient or even costly. Going through the warranty is time well spent in my opinion.

[Simon W]

Originally Posted by e668ecp

Western Digital, Maxtor, Seagate, Hitachi.. models vary....

That's a pretty good price Rob.

[e668ecp]

Perhaps I should just offer good prices to club members or some kind of discount on prices/services.

[AURORA MG]

I know that PC World do have a business section as I bought a printer through it 2 years ago & got a bit more discount, whether that is the case with this PC or not I don't know. I also believe the customer service may be better too if you are a business.
I prefer to buy complex electricals from a specialist but I guess sometimes the big stores have the edge on price through buying power!

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Zeb

Closest I could find was the Sony VGN NR10E/S with 160gb HD?

Yes thats the one...got my wireless crossed. it is a 160gb hard drive do you have any thoughts? does it look reasonable?

I also saw a HP last night with a 250gb hard drive at Comet...thetre were few details so cant make up my mind.

Doh....too many choices

[NOCTURNAL]

Just as another option, though you may be put off Dell by now, but some great deals can be had from their outlet site.. It just has to be the set-up you want at the time you look...

They are preconfigured returns for a multitude of reasons, some not even opened ...

I just picked up a pre Christmas present ..
Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop for my son,
2.2Ghz core 2 Duo
160Gig 7200prm Hard drive
wsxga+ screen
2Mb Ram
8600Gt graphics card
8x dvd rewriter
Vista Ultimate

for £650 thats well over £800 spec
1yr on site business


Now this is plain black but it feels very solid as it is intended as as an entry level small business machine, (its based on the inspiron range I believe)

all seems good at the moment...its a "flying machine" compared to my old Dell 8100 inspiron from 2001.....

one that note, I have had to replace the hinges on this old machine along with a new graphics card after about 5 years use, and i upgraded the hard drive to an 80gig when it started to miss a beat after about 6 years.

BUT... this machine gets serious serious use....and 7 years for a portable machine is pretty damn reliable imho...

I'm not saying the others are wrong, I too have heard many anti-dell horror stories... just pointing out that my experience of dell has been Very Good...

as \ side note I love the 'look' of sony's but have been told their build quality isn't what it was.....

and if deciding on laptop you generally get half the spec that you would for the same money in a desktop...

all taht said, you ahve a couple of peeps in the business on the thread so wont get beter advice than that...


Good luck...

[Frobs]

Hi,
The co. I used to work for always used Toshiba Laptops, and Dell for desktops.
They changed to Dell for laptops too when the Inspiron range was upgraded to a new chassis. The reason was the support, the price and the reliability / servicablility. They turned out to be even more rugged than the Toshi's

I started my own company 2 years ago, and have had to buy a few computers. Despite looking around, I always end up buying Dell, and so far I've had no problems (other than spilling hot chocolate over this one when it was 3 months old It had to have a new mother board, and the service was actually first rate - even though I hadnt gone for any special contract.) When I bought this machine I had my heart set on a Mac Powerbook, but that cost £1800 and the Dell of similar spec was £1k and I couldnt justify the price difference. Having said that, maybe it would have survived the mug of hot choc test

Dell outlet is also recommended if they have what you want.

As this laptop is a 17" monster, it doesnt fit on planes well, and I need something mega portable and good looking in front of customers. So I am thinking of a 12" sized laptop with really good battery life. I thought I'd end up going for a small Mac, or a Sony, or a thinkpad or something better looking than Dells (which are a bit plain Jane). The little HP's look pretty good too. But then Dell go and launch the M1330. So I'll probably end up getting one of them !!. I'm no Dell fanatic, but I always seem to end up buying one.

One other thing, Maplin have a sale on at the moment and have Free Agent 120G portable hard drives for £49. I got one, and its good so far.......

Good luck whatever you go for !!

Frobs

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Jamie-Biker in a suit

Yes thats the one...got my wireless crossed. it is a 160gb hard drive do you have any thoughts? does it look reasonable?

I also saw a HP last night with a 250gb hard drive at Comet...thetre were few details so cant make up my mind.

Doh....too many choices

Right the deed has been done...COMET price promise £499

Free 30day direct intervention support line (£30 off)
free ipod charger
£40 off Microsoft office (39.99)
3 year product warranty @ £189

250GB hard drive
2GB memory
superfast AMD athlon processor
3hr battery
15.4" hi definition screen
5in1 digital media reader
3 USB ports
remote control
windows vista premium

and so on.....it was equivelent to some of the Laptops I have seen in PC world for £899...so I am pretty cuffed at the moment, and to top it off Comet in Hanley were happy to haggle as you can see above, haggling got me £40 off the Office set, a free ipod charger and free 30 day support which was advertised at £30.

going off to play now. :weihnacht2: