Buying a new PC...advice greatly appreciated!

shopping_addict

As the title says, im looking at buying a new pc (or laptop) as my laptop died a few months ago...

Anyway, I really am clueless when it comes to all the techie stuff, so if anybody knows of any good bargains going in the main computer shops (i.e. PC world....Currys...Comet etc...) please let me know because I have no idea what im looking at!

I have been in and had a look but the sales men always bamboozle me with processor talk and try to talk me into the more expensive models which i probably dont really need.. I only need it for basic things really, word processing, emails, watching videos (like iplayer and youtube) and thats about it.

Am I right in thinking i'll get more for my money with a pc than a laptop? I dont really want to spend more than £400..

Thanks for your help you knowledgeable people

OneADay

You would be better off going direct with known brand (dell for example) and get something like a cheap (but powerful enough) dell dimension model. And using quidco or topcashback you can get a discount too.

closed

what happened to the old laptop

LillythePink

You could try Mesh Computers - OH bought one at christmas - they do both pc & laptop.

They are found through google

cajef

Do not go near Mesh computers, they have a terrible reputation for build quality and their service back up is even worse, just Google them to see the number of complaints and warnings about them.

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3232318

shopping_addict

closed wrote: »

what happened to the old laptop

Not really sure......it just died and doesn't switch on anymore, my housemate took it to a laptop repair shop who said it would be too expensive to repair and we may aswell just get a new one... She told me he said something about the 'motherboard' which seems a little vaigue to me.... I dont really want to pay out for some cowboy to fix it up for a while then it break again in a few months....

gonzo127

will let closed go through the normal for checking whats wrong with your old one as he is fab with those things

now as for new system (if you need one)

just bare in mind that most big companies will charge you more for a lower spec system than some other retailers, and their customer service is usualy dire

next thing to think about is laptop vs desktop,

desktop usually does mean better spec systems however you lose out on the fact it isnt as portable and you will need to connect it to a monitor/tv this of course can add to the cost as a normal desktop monitor is 19 inch or more compared to a laptops 15 inch so costs more to produce, but the main thing is portability and space, do you want to be able to easily move it around? and do you have the space for a desktop?
if i am honest most people do not need the extra power that a desktop can give in this day and age, and the laptops are perfectly capable of doing what you require with ease, so in a lot of case's laptops are more useful to the average consumer.

just remember you do not need any more than a duel core processor
2gb of RAM (4 IS better and would be preferable but not yet needed)
250gb hard drive is the minimum these days however if you do not store a lot of films music or photos you wouldnt need much more.
HDMI connection is good if you wish to connect the laptop up to your TV to allow you to play iplayer etc on your tv

oh and do check out refurbs, which most of the time come with a 12 month warrenty (although check what this covers) and usualy means that you get higher spec systems for less money because they are no longer 'new'

Basil1234

wow some recomending mesh hmmmm ok.

right dell offering some clearance laptops atm
look here http://www.dell.com/uk/p/clearance-deals?dgc=IR&lid=71616D4B&cid=&ref=gzilla

i personally would recommend the second one in from the left with the t4500 which is basically a dual core processor at 2.3ghz basically 2 cores which will do more than you would ever want also has 3gb of ram and a 320gb hardrive and windows 7 home premium.

i know tech stuff gets u so thats the main bits you ever want to be interested in. i have one of these myself and for the money are not a bad option. yes prob could get a less spec laptop than this but i dont think you would want to as you may end up wanting to do more later anyway have a look. £328 delivered good value i think and delivered in 2 days
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n00n5330&c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&model_id=inspiron-15-n5030

---

They do other cheaper ones but there processors are celerons one they have there is 2.2ghz but single core i personally would this one a miss myself as is a single core and a celeron at £298.99

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n00n5329&c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&model_id=inspiron-15-n5030

hope this all helps with someone actually bothering to put some links in of stuff that might intrest you rather than looking up and saying those ibms amazing machines those!

basil

Selidie

The first thing you need to let us know, before anyone can accurately recommend anything beyond a place to buy, is tell us what you normally use the laptop for? Do you use it for gaming at all, word processing, general internet browsing etc.

The intended use will heavily affect the cost.

shopping_addict wrote: »

Not really sure......it just died and doesn't switch on anymore, my housemate took it to a laptop repair shop who said it would be too expensive to repair and we may aswell just get a new one... She told me he said something about the 'motherboard' which seems a little vaigue to me.... I dont really want to pay out for some cowboy to fix it up for a while then it break again in a few months....

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't trust the majority of laptop repair shops as far as I could through them. Half the time they really don't know what the problem is and just waffle at the public to make themselves sound good.

It could be motherboard, although in my experience that is probably one of the less likely culprits. It could be the power supply, damaged cord, power socket etc. Some of which are fairly easy to fix.

When you say 'it just died', were you using it at at the time and it just suddenly turned off and wouldn't turn on? Or did you shut it down as normal one day and it wouldn't start the next?

How old is the laptop and exactly what make and model is it?

As for the £400 and will you get more for your money with a PC. Possibly in pure tech yes, however you need to also consider if you need the portability of a laptop and also, as I said above, what you are going to be using it for?

shopping_addict

Thanks for your replies Gonzo, Basil and Selidie. I only thought about getting a desktop as somebody had said you get more for your money, but if the difference in performance isn't huge then I think I would rather have a laptop to be honest. I only use it for word processing, emails, online shopping and watching videos etc...on iplayer. Im not a gamer and dont download films or anything like that (although I have just got an ipod so I will be downloading music, not massive amounts though)

I will have a look at it tonight for the make and model (I think it was a HP), and it was about 2years old when it died... And by that I mean I turned it off as usual one day then the next time I tried to use it, about a week or so later, it wouldnt power up...

Anywho, thanks again, I will have a look at those links and get back to you with the make and model of mine tomorrow

Selidie

As a side note, and this is my personal preference, I wouldn't use PC World, Currys or any other major highstreet retailer to buy a PC or laptop. There are many very good and well established online retailers, if you buy from one of those I can almost guarantee you will get more for you money. The only real downfall is they aren't on your doorstep if you have a problem, but they all provide the same sort of warranty as the highstreet.

Maybe have a look at some of the following:

www.aria.co.uk - I use these all the time.
www.ebuyer.co.uk - Also use these alot.
www.novatech.co.uk - Been around quite a long time and heard many good reviews from people I know that have used them.