Computer

HI Glenn, if you know very little about computers then you would probably be better off getting some personalised advice from a friend in the know. Whether they build you a system or just help you make a selection from the various 'packages' available from the bigger retail outlets. The package deals are usually quite ok for starting out although I would advise that you purchase extra RAM with the deal.Most of the package deals have just enough RAM to run the windows programs and not much left over to do anything else. This means you end up with a slow computer. The world of computers is so complex, with so many choices.Whilst a lot of components have become cheaper with time - the overall financial outlay is still considerable. I would go with a trusted experienced person to guide you so you end up with a system that suits your needs.

I pretty well agree with the previous post. If you have access and a good relationship to a computer buff, then yes, you might well have an economical computer built to suit your needs. I am fortunate in that my son's mate is a computer maniac.

The critical part is the after sales service when things lock up, crash, run slow or you start getting incomprehensible messages on the screen. That is when you need assistance from the computer supplier.

The decision then might be something along the lines of;

Do I buy a package from Dell or Hardly Normal and then rely on a "telephone help line"?

Do I buy a package from my local computer shop who may or may not be in business in three months time?

Do I buy from a computer buff and hope that his enthusiasm runs further than just building a package then passing it off.

Not an easy one to sort if computers are as allergic to you as they are to me.

Hope it all works out for you,

Ian

My experience with Dell re support has also been very positive. I have also Used Jim's Computer support. Fast effective support that comes to your home. I thought their prices were also very reasonable. This might depend on your local Jim's rep, but mine was outstanding. He helped set up the wireless network we use around the house so everyone's computers are talking to each other and the shared printer and back up system.Same bloke built me a computer to my requirements. Quite a bit cheaper than a Dell's equivalent.
ARC computers are a good place to buy bits and pieces online.

Thanks for the replies.Our last PC was built by a shop ,and as was mentioned went out of business so no after sales service.a couple of other people have mentioned Dell to me,so i will have a look.we are currently using a laptop thats about 5 yrs old and seems slower than my 2.8lt GU!

Cheers
Giffo

MSY have good deals on packages

price is usually an indictaor of value for money with this type of stuff.

Pre assembled computers like DELL, HP, Acer etc. are reasonably good computers and they do have good and bad points...

The Good Points
1) Ease of use for non computer literate users.
2) Less hardware conflicts.
3) Good over the phone support.
4) Good warranty.

The bad points
1) Over priced.
2) Made with cheaper components.
3) Uses proprietary components and can not be interchanged with after market brands making it very hard or expensive to upgrade and expand.
4) Older technology and out dates very easily.
5) Unknown hardware.
6) If a piece of hardware dies you may have to replace the whole box.
7) Average performance.
8) Hardware drivers may be hard to obtain now or in the future.
9) May not be able to load a standard operating system.

Best way is go to a good computer shop who builds their own systems and ask for their advice, compare it to a few other shops and Google review the components they are going to use.

When getting a computer custom made make sure the CPU and RAM can be upgraded.

Like all thing the more you pay the more you get but sometimes a $200.00 graphics card can be better then a $400.00 one so it pays to check.

A good computer would be...
Intel E6600 CPU (chip).
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R motherboard (MSI, Asus, Intel etc are good boards, try and get a middle of the range board).
320 Gigabyte hard drive (Western Digital or Seagate).
2 Gigabyte of good fast RAM.
Nvidia GTS 8600 video card(prefer GT 8600 card).
Computer case of your choice.
Wireless keyboard and mouse (Microsoft, Legend, Logitech).
DVD burner (brand name one).
Windows XP pro operating system (forget Vista for the moment)

All this should set you back about $1200.00 assembled.

Ask if there is anything that is better for a bit more money, some times spending another $50.00 on a$200.00 component can beneficial in performance and future expandability.

You can use your existing monitor or buy a new one, stay away from LG (we had two three month old ones fail, parts no longer available and it toke us 5 months to get our money back from LG), we use Samsung SyncMaster 204B's...the Samsung will set you back about $600.00.

Regards Richard

Which computer ?

Bloody hell Giffo


That's worse than asking what tyre is best !

I would have a tendency to go to a " buff " , as at least you will get "more bang for your buck ", and should get a fairly honest appraisal of what has good parts in it or not.

I have spent a lot of time and effort, in the past, building the things, and I can tell you that they are all good provided you can keep them running.

An example,,..... Mate turns up and sys " Bucky, can you help me decide which computer to buy at Harvey Norman ? "
So I says, " lets go down the street and have a look "..

Young fella in shop gives us a price, with all the goodies, and the blurb to go with it... $2500 plus $150 for a printer, only one left in the shop, so its already 2nd hand, and would not drop 1 cent.
So we head off home in disgust.

I looked up an old associate of mine ( whom I trust ) and got him the same computer, ( same specs, with known good parts ) with a printer for $1495 ...and the thing flies !

Hope this will help you ,, but what I am saying is,, go do your homework first.

Cheers
Bucky

Giffo

Check out some of these prices

click here

Confused,, just email me and I will help you thru it, even though you are based in Qld. the same principles apply.

Some of Richard's comments are spot on.

5 years ago, I moved over to Intel "chips" ,90% of setup "glitches" have gone.

Middle of the road,..

Just email me at ..... bryan.ohalloran@yahoo.com.au

( my advertised email site on this forum, is allways full )

Cheers
Bucky