Microsoft Office 2003...and a new computer

BarginHunter1985

Hey guys I am looking to buy a computer, and would like some advice on reasonable prices or places to go.

It is for a family, so will have to be up to date and fast, i have been advised pentium 4?? is the best..i think. It will have to be able to deal with the internet. But it is not necessary for it to have any fancy technological features. My m8 told me that they dont come with Word..and i wil defo need it for essays etc.

Anyone have any ideas?
And where can i get a cheap Office 2003 package..bearing in mind i'm a student.

Cheers

BH x

consumermonkey

Hi, not sure what you want from a pc, can't really help you with that one, but Office 2003 student and teacher edition was at PC World at the weekend for £90.00 which is about the cheapest I have found. Many PC's do however come with the latest version of works, which does have a good version of word built in, along with a few other whistles and bells.

melancholly

if you get openoffice (https://www.openoffice.org) you can get software that does everything that Office 2003 does for free! it's an open source alternative that can read office files (although macros in excel documents are sometimes an issue) - and for free, you can't complain!

Nile

Hello BarginHunter1985

I'll move your thread over to the 'Techie Stuff' board, where it should get more views and responses.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

wolfman

Go for an AMD Athlon 64 system if possible. With regards to Intel vs AMD, the current Intel range use a lot more power (nearly as much as a full load AMD when an Intel is merely idling), run hotter, and cost more. They also perform better in most benchmarking tests.

My Athlon 64 is the first I've ever had. I made the switch from Intel a year ago and have been very happy.

The new Intel range however (due out in Autumn) looks set to challenge and probably better AMD. An Athlon 64 is definitely a safe bet though.

With regards to Office. As you're a student you should be able to pick it up very cheap. In fact I think someone here mentioned for free (AlexJ?).

If cost is an issue, as mentioned above OpenOffice is very good. The only slight problem is that sometimes if you have a Word doc, it may not look exactly the same when opening it in OpenOffice. The same applies vice versa with an Open Office document opening in Word. For basic essay writing though this shouldn't really be an issue.

amcluesent

>But it is not necessary for it to have any fancy technological features<

Seriously, have a look at Dell. Their lower-end systems are priced at not much more than cost - you can't build them cheaper yourself. You do start paying a premium for their fancy stuff though.

Or have a look at PCNextDay or Evesham for options.

[Deleted User]

Are you at a university? They often have site licenses or cheap student deals for MS Office and lots of other bits of software.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/editions/prodinfo/students/default.mspx

I'd also look at Dell, they do pretty decent set ups (inc. flat panel screens) for under 300 quid. There is also an outlet section to their website if you want to try to get something even cheaper. Word of warning though, avoid their printers (expensive inks).

russellgreeno

if you are in hampshire, then https://www.novatech.com are a great bet, and you can pick up from the warehouse for free, usually the same day you order online.

Very cheap too.

Only thing is the queue can be long sometimes.

MercilessKiller

BarginHunter1985 wrote:

Hey guys I am looking to buy a computer, and would like some advice on reasonable prices or places to go.

It is for a family, so will have to be up to date and fast, i have been advised pentium 4?? is the best..i think. It will have to be able to deal with the internet. But it is not necessary for it to have any fancy technological features. My m8 told me that they dont come with Word..and i wil defo need it for essays etc.

Anyone have any ideas?
And where can i get a cheap Office 2003 package..bearing in mind i'm a student.

Cheers

BH x

Our university has relations to MSDN Academy. I assume all universities are the same.

With that we get a free license for office 2003, windows xp home and a lot of other software packages.

They are FULL standard licenses, completely free of charge Ask around!

BarginHunter1985

WOW

Thank you guys....sooooo much sorry 4 ma late response, i've been revising hard for ma end of year exams

Cheers

BH x
:beer:

Astaroth

If you are buying it for your family check to see if any of them work for a company which has the Microsoft Home User Programme in place - you can buy microsoft products for an administration fee alone (£20) though technically you have to remove the software if you leave the employement of the company that you work for (you dont have your own licence for the software but go under your employers unlimited users licence).