Buying Dell Pc...

spottybotty · 1 September 2005 at 9:32PM

A couple of Months a go, two weeks in a row, I was quoted around £800.00 for something similar to the below specification, I didn't quite have £800.00, I needed 2/3 weeks more to get that amount... I've been saving for a long time for a new pc, so when I d0 have £800.00, I'm now getting prices over £1000.00 - such a big change and I've been waiting for it to come back down but nope, it still hasn't.

Firstly, what do you think of this pc quoted, anything in it really bad , anything important missing - anyone got a cheaper quote with similar spec? :beer:

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Dimension 9100 (D09916) Qty 1
Intel® Pentium 4 processor with HT technology 640 (3.20GHz, 800FSB, 2MB cache), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2 - English Unit Price Incl. VAT £1,084.92
Catalog Number: 202

Module Description Show Details

Base Intel® Pentium 4 processor with HT technology 640 (3.20GHz, 800FSB, 2MB cache)

Microsoft Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2 - English

Memory 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 400MHz (2x512) Memory

Keyboard Enhanced USB Multimedia Keyboard

Monitor Dell 17" Value Flat Panel Monitor - E173FP

Video Card 256MB ATI Radeon® X600 HyperMemory graphics card

Hard Drive 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™
cache

Floppy Drives Internal 9-in-1 Flash Card Reader

Mouse Dell USB 2Button Wheel Mouse

Modem Dell v92 Internal Data/Fax/Voice Modem

CD/DVD Drives 16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives

Sound Cards Sound Blaster® Live! 24-bit ADVANCED HD™ Sound Card

Speakers Dell 5650 5.1 Surround Speaker System

Shipping Documents Doc Dimension 9100 ENG/UK Cord

Gedis Bundle Reference List D09916 Dimension 9100

Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works Suite 2005 [Works, Encarta, Money, Word, Picture It!, Autoroute]

Standard Warranty 1 Year Collect and Return

Support Service Svc Basic 3Y At Home Support, 30day online MM Training
Learn with Dell MS Windows XP Beginner - 60-day license - English - Go to https://www.learndell.com/euro to register

AntiVirus & Security Software Norton™ Internet Security™ 2005 15-month subscription

Transfer my PC Transfer My PC

Dell Photo Album Photo Album™ SE Basic

Paint Shop Paint Shop™ Pro® Basic Edition

Order Information Dimension Order - UK

Money Off Savings Save £50 inc VAT

Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience 3.0 Basic

Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 6.0 - English

Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.

TOTAL Incl. VAT:£1,084.92

Middlers · 1 September 2005 at 10:16PM

Try Mesh Computers - better prices for better spec and three yrs warranty. The Matrix Prestige should fit the bill @ £899 or the Matrix Premier Plus @ your original £799.

pmat · 1 September 2005 at 10:50PM

do you really need all the 'add-ons'? things like software and 'transfer my pc' really push the price up. Personally, I would never upgrade anything on a Dell PC as they charge the earth. ANy extras (hardware) that you require are best bought from a cheap retailer (dabs or ebuyer, etc.) and fitted yourself, or by a friend who knows how to.

Also take note of what Middlers says....Mesh are damn good and the prices are competitive.

hander · 2 September 2005 at 10:35AM

First up, I bought a similar specced machine from DELL with a nicer monitor last November for a similar price. So you should CERTAINLY be getting a lower price than this.

Secondly, the above poster is correct. Check what items you have selected and how much it is costing you. You have, for example, a very powerful processor, huge amounts of RAM, a powerful graphics card (do you play games? is this the best option for that if you do?), and a powerful sound card (ditto graphics). On the downside your speakers are Dell's (don't open them if you order them, flog them on eBay for £50 and then, if you prefer music rather than games, buy a nice set of 2.1 speakers, e.g. logitech z2300 sound gorgeous and are £90).

You also have only 1Y guarantee which, to me, is never ideal.

Thirdly, Dell are pretty good imo. I considered Mesh when I last upgraded as they are also impressive. However, when I called in at their offices/showroom, I was less that impressed with build quality of machines and general appearance of being organised. At least I know with Dell that if I have a problem then 3Y NBD guarantees me attention virtually immediately.

spottybotty · 2 September 2005 at 9:20PM

I'll check out Mesh as I really don't want to be spending so much money ... on my way to the Mesh site now

spottybotty · 4 September 2005 at 5:04PM

I am thinking of going for the Matrix Premier (Mesh) and where you see a price next to an item listed below, is where I've upgraded - am I doing well with this one?

Case: Micro ATX Mini-Tower with tool free access

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Motherboard Features: ASUS A8NE-FM Mainboard - DDR400, LAN, IEEE 1394, SATA, PCIEX16

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+

Memory: 1024MB PC3200 DDR Memory 400MHz

Floppy + Portable Storage Options: 128MB Pen Drive (USB) at £13.62

Hard Drives: 200GB Serial ATA (150MB/s) Ultra Fast Hard Drive

Video Card: Upgrade to 128MB nVIDIA 6600 GT - TV Out + DVI - PCI Express at £25

Monitor 1: 17'' TFT Flat Panel LCD Monitor (Analogue)

DVI Monitor Cable: DVI Connector Cable (for DVI Monitors + DVI Video Cards ONLY) at £10

Optical Drives: SONY 16x Dual Layer DVD-Re-Writable +R/-R/RW

Sound: Onboard 5.1 Surround Sound 6 Channel Audio

Speakers: Creative Soundblaster SBS260 Speakers

Modem: 56kbps V92 Modem, featuring data and fax.

Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse

Video Editing: Cyberlink PowerDVD, Power2Go, PowerProducer3, PowerDirector3, PowerBackup, MediaShowSE, PowerCinema4 (oem)

Software: Upgrade to Microsoft® WorksSuite® 2005 at £29

Memory Card Reader: Internal 6-in-1 Card Reader at £16.17

Warranty Options: Classic Warranty - 1 Year Back-to-Base - Parts & Labour (Mainland UK only - Terms Apply)

Delivery: Insured Del within Mainland UK (+ £39) at £39

gizmoleeds · 4 September 2005 at 5:46PM

I say this all the time, but... I have never seen a PC magazine customer satisfaction survey Dell haven't won. Bear this in mind if you are the kind of person who would not find it easy to deal with a computer fault.

Pink. · 4 September 2005 at 10:25PM

Hi spottybotty,

I'm going to move this thread over to the techie board, where hopefully you will get more replies.

Pink

Northtim · 5 September 2005 at 1:23PM

spottybotty wrote:

I am thinking of going for the Matrix Premier (Mesh) and where you see a price next to an item listed below, is where I've upgraded - am I doing well with this one?

I ordered the Mesh Premier and it is due for delivery this Wednesday. Last PC (about 4 yrs ago) came from them also and was excellent.

I upgraded the graphics card to x700pro for £10. I also specified wanted a Viewsonic monitor. They supply either Viewsonic or Sharp but I hear Viewsonic are better.

Will let you know what I think when it arrives.

(Also took finance which works out at 6mths interest free, but this did mean it has taken about 2.5weeks from date of order to delivery)

spottybotty · 5 September 2005 at 11:36PM

Why does buying a new pc have to be so complicated... I'm still thinking about the Matrix Premier - good luck with your delivery Northtim!

wobbley · 7 September 2005 at 8:28AM

If you really want a Dell, one cost saving excersise is to save all the junk mail, special offers, and catalogues they send you once they have you 'on file'. After a few years sell this to your local paper merchant and that should significantly reduce the price of your next PC!

Buying Dell Pc...

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