Advice please: Buying a computer
24 September 2002, 08:35 AM
#1
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Wonder if you may be able to help - looking to buy my mother in law a computer for her Xmas/birthday and not sure which would be the best model. Can anyone help to point me in the right direction of what sort of spec I should be looking at re RAM, memory, etc?Looking to spend about £1,000 tops, one that has basic microsoft packages (word, ie, excel, etc).
She knows nothing about computers, so I was thinking of getting on of the packages from Currys/Comet that give a call help line?Thanks in anticipation.
She knows nothing about computers, so I was thinking of getting on of the packages from Currys/Comet that give a call help line?Thanks in anticipation.
24 September 2002, 08:51 AM
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Don't go to comet/Currys/PC world etc. They will charge you more for a lesser specification PC.
My last 4 PC's have been from Evesham. Never had a problem with them, and they offer a 2 year on site warranty. Meaning they will come out and fix it for you, not you having to send it back to be fixed.
www.evesham.com
I'm moving this to the computing forum, where you will no doubt get a 10000 more suggestions on where and what to buy.
My last 4 PC's have been from Evesham. Never had a problem with them, and they offer a 2 year on site warranty. Meaning they will come out and fix it for you, not you having to send it back to be fixed.
www.evesham.com
I'm moving this to the computing forum, where you will no doubt get a 10000 more suggestions on where and what to buy.
24 September 2002, 09:02 AM
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Some very nice deals at www.dell.co.uk
Get a very good spec pc for under a grand. Not as good build quality/casing etc as a Compaq or HP but then you pay a lot more for those with the same spec/performance.
If I buy brand new it will be from Dell.
Edited to add example http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellst...ukdhsdimen&v=d
And one that is way below a grand in price http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellst...ukdhsdimen&v=d
[Edited by ************** - 9/24/2002 9:07:40 AM]
[Edited by ************** - 9/24/2002 9:14:22 AM]
Get a very good spec pc for under a grand. Not as good build quality/casing etc as a Compaq or HP but then you pay a lot more for those with the same spec/performance.
If I buy brand new it will be from Dell.
Edited to add example http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellst...ukdhsdimen&v=d
And one that is way below a grand in price http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellst...ukdhsdimen&v=d
[Edited by ************** - 9/24/2002 9:07:40 AM]
[Edited by ************** - 9/24/2002 9:14:22 AM]
24 September 2002, 09:35 AM
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If you do not know too much about PCs i.e. cannot offer support to your mum, it is probably more important to find a company that offers a good support package. This can be far more important than the actual spec of the PC, have a chat with any potential supplier and get the terms of the support/warranty they offer in writing before buying. Ask if the warranty is insurance backed, this usually costs more but protects you against the company going bust and the warranty becoming invalid. Be aware though that the high street stores use extended warranties as a major income/bonus tool. Have a look at what they charge for the warranty and decide if you think it is reasonable, are there extras like a software support line?
As far as spec goes you want to buy something with a future but do not get persuaded to buy the the latest 3D graphics card unless your mum is into playing Quake etc. If you specifically want Microsoft Word/Excel then look for a company that offers this as part of the deal as MS Office (contains word excel) can be expensive (£400+) to buy separately. MS Office comes in various flavours so make sure the one on offer has all of the packages you want in it. Alternatively you could go for something like Star Office which is available for free and will probably do everything your mum is likely to need.
All of the above is just my opinion of course, just keep posting and I am sure you will get plenty of helpful replies.
Chris.
Edited because I cannot spell proply
[Edited by TolTec - 9/24/2002 9:38:16 AM]
As far as spec goes you want to buy something with a future but do not get persuaded to buy the the latest 3D graphics card unless your mum is into playing Quake etc. If you specifically want Microsoft Word/Excel then look for a company that offers this as part of the deal as MS Office (contains word excel) can be expensive (£400+) to buy separately. MS Office comes in various flavours so make sure the one on offer has all of the packages you want in it. Alternatively you could go for something like Star Office which is available for free and will probably do everything your mum is likely to need.
All of the above is just my opinion of course, just keep posting and I am sure you will get plenty of helpful replies.
Chris.
Edited because I cannot spell proply
[Edited by TolTec - 9/24/2002 9:38:16 AM]
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