Good deals on a new desktop?

raaaaa

I am looking to buy a new PC, but the problem I'm having is that I am not too savvy with the specifications of PC's and so am finding it difficult to work out what & where the best deals are for a new PC.

So I wondered whether anyone could offer any suggestions to get a good deal on a PC with the following general criteria:-
- budget - £400 (£500 max)
- i'd like it to be pretty fast & have a decent memory size
- to be used to play basic games (for my 4 yr old)
- i'd prefer to have a monitor at least 17"
- i'd like to have at least the basic software, Windows etc
- a dvd-r drive would be useful

I don't know whether to get one from the high street stores, or whether it's better value to get one on-line. Are there any online places that anyone can recommend for a good deal on a PC? Dell have lots of offers that sound good but are their systems actually any good?

Many thanks in anticipation of any help suggestions.

albertross_2

https://www.dmxdimension.com

steveandel

I found https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk to be extremely good. You can specify exactly what you want and they price it accordingly. They use decent components and the prices are very very reasonable in my opinion. The only downside is that because they make each PC to order there is usually a delay of about 3 weeks between placing the order and it arriving.

I bought mine from there and found them to be very helpful, I'd recommend them. (PS i don't work for them )

Mobeer

Online retailers tend to be cheaper than high-street stores. Small PC specialist retailers can also offer good prices and local service.

I've used a lot of Dell PCs both at home and at work and have generally been impressed. The Dimension C521 direct from Dell would be about £426 delivered. You have to configure the PCs online. Selected components are in the quote below.

You could probably add a Nvidia 7900-series graphics card later if your gaming needs grew.

Components
AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic - English
Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell™ 19" Value Flat Panel (SE197FP) - UK/Irish
1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
16 X DVD +/- RW Drive
Integrated nVidia® GeForce® 6150 LE graphics
Dell™ A225 Stereo Speakers
Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English/QUOTE]

dazed

Why dont you have a go at building one yourself? will get more for your money and get a lot from it too

You also dont have to be a techy to do it

ormus

try dell or ebuyer.
you cant build em for them prices.

GoofyGAT

As some others have mentioned - Dell/eBuyer, & also Play....

eBuyer* have some good Maxdata deals, & with that budget you may well be able to have the 'luxury' of a 19" monitor (an example). It's amazing what one can get for the money these days!

Another to consider is this dual-core PC with TV tuner: V7 Gateway GT5052b with 19" widescreen TFT for £399 delivered from Play.

Depending on the games played, the above may be sufficient - otherwise upgrade the g'card at some point.

If you go down the Dell route, these may be helpful to save a bit/get a better deal:
Compare All Dell Dimension Evalue Code Deals (courtesy John Gray)
How to save £100's off any deal you see online at Dell for PC's or Laptops

G

*If site is down (was for many hours today), try again later or tomorrow. Have a look at Misco's Maxdata deals for a wider choice.
Try to avoid any Celeron/Sempron system as they're not as powerful, but excellent as a basic system & good value too.

opportunity_cost

You'd be better off waiting until April before buying a PC. Intel are said to be slashing the price of its Core 2 range of processors in April (source) so assuming PC manufacturers pass the savings onto consumers, you could get, say, a Core 2 Duo E4300 PC for less than they're selling at now.

BillScarab

How about this??

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ci.asp?sku=10249

I bought a PC from Komplett last month (different to this one) and I have been very please with it. Nicely put together and the delivery was prompt. The one above has a core 2 duo E4300 which is a very good processor. Also it would probably be easier to upgrade in the future than a Dell.

BTW opportunity_cost is correct so it may be worth hanging on for a little while.

raaaaa

Thanks to you all for your very helpful replies.

How reliable would e-Bay be generally to buy a desktop - has anyone had any experiences good or bad?

Having had a quick look there, have found a couple that, on paper, would be good deals, but how risky would buying a used pc actually be?

Eg's:-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200088246208&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170088927004&rd=1&rd=1

(apologies if I'm not supposed to link actual e-bay items here)

BillScarab

Personally I wouln't buy off ebay. You're spending a fair sized lump of cash, what happens if something breaks after a couple of weeks? Do these people offer any warranty. I think you'd be better off buying from a reliable online store such as the ones mentioned earlier.

You could get a bargain on ebay but it's easy to get sucked into a bidding war and you have no idea how reliable the sellers are.

Oh, one other point the second one you linked to looked horrible!:eek:

I certainly wouldn't want it in my house! :rotfl: