Buying a computer

dixie_dean_2

Not sure if this belongs here or the I want section or maybe somewhere else, so apologies in advance.

I'm after a basic computer for general internet and home use. I'd like it to be pretty quick but thats about my only requirement. Really, I suppose I just dont want it to be slow. I dont know if this is dictated by the computer or by the modem/provider or what.

But, to cut to the chase, what's the crack with second hand/refurbished (or whatever they're called). Are they worth it? Can anybody recommend a good company or deal?

Thanks in advance

nickmack

I think you are in the right place for a start!

If you are just doing some basic tasks and using the internet for browsing and email, you don't need anything very special.

Do you have a budget in mind?

The speed of the computer in general is dictated by several factors, most influential are the RAM (Memory) and CPU (Processor). Other components have a less significant effect.

The speed of your Internet connection is mostly influenced by the service you are subscribed to. In the case of Broadband, you pay for a maximum speed and generally you should be close to that. For example a 1Mb (One MegaBIT) service, you would expect a peak download speed of about 100KB (One Hundred KiloBYTES) a second. This would be sufficient for your needs, although you may find a 2Mb service for similar price. Obviously some ISP's (Internet Service Providers) are better than others and speeds can vary accordingly.

Have you seen any second hand/refurbished deals around. My advice would be, unless you know the person who's refurbished/owned the PC, depending on your budget look at a new PC for piece of mind.

dixie_dean_2

Thanks for that. Budget really is the boring answer "as cheap as possible". As I'm not doing anything special with it I guess thats ok? I've seen one on PC world with a monitor for £272 that I thought was really good. If i could get something a lot better I could go up to £500 maybe, hopefully with a printer. In the medium term I wouod want to be able to download music and maybe do digital camera type stuff! As you can see, I know my stuff!

nickmack

The jump from £272 to £500 is a fairly significant one in buying PCs.

It can be the difference between buying a very basic PC and a half decent one.

It's not for me to tell you how much you should spend, but if you can allow £500 then you should notice the difference in quality and speed. It would also give you a better chance to upgrade in the future.

Have a look at the Dell Outlet ( I keep pointing people there because I think it represents a good balance between price and quality - I don't work for them!) and you'll see you can get a reasonable PC for between £400-£500.

I wouldn't recommend PC World unless you really are on a budget and that's the best deal you can find, but I suspect it wouldn't be anyway.

I'm sure others will be able to point you towards other sub £500 PCs.

dixie_dean_2

Why would you not recommend PC world? Is the reliability on a cheap computer no good, in terms of it crashing, or is this unrelated? I can go up to £500 but would rather not. I'm really only buying it for internet use and I've managed without one at home for years so on this basis would you say around £300 would do the job?

Thanks again.

MORPH3US

PC world = cack IMHO!!!

Dell have a 3Ghz Celleron on offer at the moment for £399 with free printer, 19" TFT, 512mb RAM, 80gig HD etc. I recomend Dell but as with everything some people will disagree with me! I have just brought the PC above from Dell for Farther in Law. It won't play games because no graphics card but with a huge monitor and a reasonable processor for the price its a good deal.

M

nickmack

dixie_dean wrote:

Why would you not recommend PC world? Is the reliability on a cheap computer no good, in terms of it crashing, or is this unrelated? I can go up to £500 but would rather not. I'm really only buying it for internet use and I've managed without one at home for years so on this basis would you say around £300 would do the job?

There are quite a few reasons, namely to do with who owns them, the staff knowledge (or lack of it) and sales techniques.

This is not to mention that although they have some cheap PCs, the cost v quality in my opinion is worse than that of some other suppliers.

The reason most people buy from them is that it's a High Street store, peace of mind, lots of TV advertising, whereas if you have a little look around you can find better deals for similar prices.

Jem8472

I would go with Dell they are really really good and we have never had a problem with them at all!

sirocco72

If you want a simple to use computer with low upkeep, how about a Mac Mini? Ok, it's a bit more expensive than a cheap PC from Dell, but you'll save hassle and money in the long run.

My eMac cost about £600 three years ago, came loaded with all the usual Apple bells and whistles (iTunes, iDvd, iMovie and iPhoto), it's not gone wrong once. Actually, it's crashed 3 times in 3 years, but I've never had to have it repaired or had to rebuild the entire OS.

Here's a link: http://www.apple.com/uk/macmini/

Why do I use a Mac? I've worked in PC tech support, and have been using Windows since 1989.

john_kent

Would recommend aa dell. Good value for money and most come with Works for home office use.

zacspeed_2

Whatever you buy - make sure it has a 64 bit processor! You'll be grateful you did in future. I'd go for the AMD Sempron 3200 minimum.