Computer Supplier?

[Joe_Cole]

It's time I got a new computer, my old steam driven one is passed its best.

Any ideas on who I should go to?

 

[LadyInBed]

If you can double the size of your memory and maybe, but only if required, put in a larger hard disk, you will think your lod dog is on viagara.

 

[jac]

I've had a Mesh for over 3 years - would look at them again for next one.

 

[Joe_Cole]

Thanks for the suggestion but I think it's passed that! This machine hasn't been very reliable (an understatement!) and now the monitor is beginning to pack up. I think it's time to say "Goodbye" (or perhaps "Good riddance"!)

 

[tcm]

my advice wd be to go to someone really close by - so you can take it round no prob for them to fix, and refix, and oops reinstall the drivers and so on, until it's all perfect )or at least, nearly perfect) . Some one miles away will be £100 or miore quid cheaper - cos their customers can't do this. Note that internally, all puter will have chips from japan and bits from korea, and the suppliers and parts chanmge all the time without major announcements, so some dells/compaqs etc are ace, and some others of the same brand are a total pain.

key point for the private buyer is to forget the average this that and the other - buy 100 puters for an office and almost all will be fine - but for private buyers this is no good - there are always a few DOAs and private remote users can't easily take back, if at all.
best of luck

computer supplier

 

[Escapeii]

Buy a Dell. I have been using Dells since 1988 and I am still happy to recommend them to friends. Plus buying on-line is easy.

 

[billmacfarlane]

There's so many out there it's difficult to know which is best. I've got an HP 3 Ghz Pentium 4 job which has given me 2 years of unblemished service so far. I'm in the business so to speak, and the most reliable of the older workstations I look after are the old( 5year) Dells. I couldn't vouch for the newer models though their servers seem reliable. The ones that give me most trouble are Acer, both laptops and desktops. They have an after sales service which is pretty bad to boot. I've also got a load of GMax workstations which are at least 3 years old and seem pretty good, the only probems being with the disc drives, but that's the same with them all as they age.

 

[wishbone]

I buy local I have it built to my spec, they do ship out and do insurance repairs, very good prices i do buy some of my stuff through the trade, they have some small cabs for boat use depends what you want, the last system i bought for my son was specific for use in his studio for music, AMD are great processors and from the last report i read they are leaving intel standing, the best thing about having one built you can upgrade easy and repairs are easy. I have been in the trade.. if you do need any further help pm me.

 

[T_S]

What area do live in Joe?

 

[paul_lomax]

I've heard good things about Dell actually

 

[lockwood]

If you are computer savvy - use ebuyer.com for all your bits & pieces. Worst case scenario would be a new motherboard, processor & Ram - and you should be able to get top spec for less than £400.

If you are a bit unsure of putting the stuff together yourself - I agree, Dell are good, Time (computershop.co.uk) also have some great deals at the moment.

 

[T_S]

Had mine upgraded with a new mother, H/drive etc...cost £130 @ a local shop I use!

 

[Torontotonto]

From an Intrnational perspective Dell every time. From an UK perspective Mesh.

 

[Danny_Labrador]

After years of buying locally built “boxes” and having some problems, (getting worse recently), I have taken advice an now buy a “brand” - twice recently DELL – very impressed.

The problem with the box concept is that you are reliant on the relationship you have with the local bod who screwed it together and the unknown quality of the bits inside it. If he is under margin pressure with a local PC World or whatever the quality goes down.

For branded items try here :- http://www.europc.co.uk/
I can’t beat the prices, but two I have bought recently came as “reconditioned quality” (?) on the invoice but were obviously brand new. Service very good.

 

[oldharry]

[ QUOTE ]

you should be able to get top spec for less than £400.

.

[/ QUOTE ]

Take a look at:Novatech homepage

A Portsmouth firm with an excellent reputation for quality, speed of service, and back up, with a range of 'off the shelfs' which can be readily modded to your specific requirements, or built to your specs, or will sell you the bits to build it yourself (but at very little saving over the discount package prices).

I rarely use anyone else nowadays, as they are so competitively priced, and helpful with advice and support if anything is not as you think it should be. Their starter packages come in at under £400.

And I have no connection, except as a V satisfied customer! (in case you were wondering! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif)

 

[cardinal_mark]

Why not think about making the switch to Apple (unless of course you want to use it for nav purposes!). The new OS, which is Linux based, is a work of pure genius making the whole use experience very stable and intutive. I know they used to have a justifiably dodgy reputation but now Steve Jobs is back at the helm they are a very different animal and make your Joe Average PC look like something out of the stoneage!

Mark

 

[paul_lomax]

I concur, as a supplier of bits, are fantastic. Very efficient.

I used to build my own PC's out of bits, but you never end up with a 100% stable system - there's always some minor incompatability between say a graphics card and a motherboard. When you buy a brand, they've done serious testing to make sure all the bits play nicely.

And most people upgrading now are doing so from PC's that are probably cheaper to scrap and start again rather than just swapping some bits. You'll find that if you replace the CPU, you'll need a new motherboard, and then you're RAM will be too slow, etc etc, and all you're left with that's original is the £30 case.

I'm definitely computer savvy, but these days I'd still just go with a brand, personally.

 

[Rowana]

Agree with that. My old one was a Gateway, but I replaced it with a Mesh 18 months ago. Never had any bother.

 

[oldharry]

[ QUOTE ]
I used to build my own PC's out of bits, but you never end up with a 100% stable system - there's always some minor incompatability between say a graphics card and a motherboard.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do not entirely agree. I am now using my third 'home built' machine having saved a lot of money (allowing much higher specs than I could otherwise afford), had a lot of fun (OK and frustration at times too!), and own a mchine which i know very thoroughly and have so far been able to sort when things have snagged up. It does precisely what I want it to do, does not have expensive add ons that I do not need, and only very rarely do I have problems, then usually to do with software add-ons that have messed up existing drivers, which would happen on any machine.

Now I have to admit that both my sons have Graduated in Computer Science at Cambridge /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, and one has a PhD in something to do with computers that I do not even understand /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif, so that I have something of back up to fall back on. But it is a point of pride with me to solve my own computer problems without asking them.... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

And so far I have got away with it!

However, the price of some recent discount offerings is below what I would have to pay to build, so that when the time comes for the next major upgrade, I will certainly be looking very hard at what is on offer as a starting point.

 

[LittleShip]

These are great value and very strong, used by engineers and capable of being dropped without damage so good for the boat??

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/panasonictoughbooklaptopcf27.html