NationStates Jolt Archive

So one of my friends is looking at buying a new computer (the one she has is oooooold - I'm talking Windows 95 old) and she asked if I might be able to help. I said yes, then realised that I have no idea about searching for a decent deal on PCs - I have always and will always be a dedicated Mac user, but that's not important right now.

Basically what I'm looking for is something good, but relatively cheap. XP compatible would be favourite, and I was wondering if anyone might be able to help out - sites, shops whatever. Any help would be muchly appreciated :)



Oh and as a pre-emptive reward and token of my gratitude I present you with a link to the most awesome game evar:

http://ec2-1.playr.co.uk/onslaught/index.php

If anyone can get past level 136 you're doing better than I so far have.

A cheap Dell.
(http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dt_e521_xp?c=ca&cs=cadhs1&l=en&s=dhs)
There ya go. Nothing spectacular, but it is fairly cheap.

Does it have to be a PC?

I got an Acer 1903WSMi, Vista Premium, and it kicks ASS.

Got it for £700, so...about $1400 minus some for the US economy (you guys got it so much cheaper than us...punks).

Stats...
2Gb RAM (Pretty good)
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 (Totals 3.2GHz, not too shabby)
17" Widescreen "Acer CrystalBrite" (Easily-viewable stuff. Smudges and smears are drawn to it though).
Up to 400Mb NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 VRAM.
Wireless and Bluetooth enabled.
160Gb hard drive (Mine was pre-partitioned, not sure if that's standard).

whatever you do read the small print. i recently got caught out buying a cheap computer that i thought had microsoft works included. turned out they used sneaky wording on their website and the particular laptop i chose does not have it. a £350 computer is now going to cost £450 minimum.

whatever you do read the small print. i recently got caught out buying a cheap computer that i thought had microsoft works included. turned out they used sneaky wording on their website and the particular laptop i chose does not have it. a £350 computer is now going to cost £450 minimum.
And that's not such a good deal anymore. If you're paying more than £350 for a laptop, either you're buying a bigger one than you want (the OP's stated intention was an adequate modern PC, but nothing fancy) or you're getting ripped off.

£350? Over here? Ripped off? Over here, from what I see, including manufacturer quotes, you'd be getting a heap that can barely run. £500 is a nearer estimate for a decent model with the basics, like Works.

it's the third cheapest from PC world. basically the update 4 years on from my old one. i went for famliarity rather than any fancy specs that mean bugger all to me.

whatever you do read the small print. i recently got caught out buying a cheap computer that i thought had microsoft works included. turned out they used sneaky wording on their website and the particular laptop i chose does not have it. a £350 computer is now going to cost £450 minimum.
I wouldn't pay $200 to put Microsoft Works on a computer, but I would pay $200 to get it taken off.

If they are using a Win95 old comp, just go into the closest computer retailer and point at something, it's going to be better regardless.

£350? Over here? Ripped off? Over here, from what I see, including manufacturer quotes, you'd be getting a heap that can barely run. £500 is a nearer estimate for a decent model with the basics, like Works.
Hope you are talking about laptops because if you arn't, I'm making a note to never buy any computers in the UK.

I wouldn't pay $200 to put Microsoft Works on a computer, but I would pay $200 to get it taken off.

If they are using a Win95 old comp, just go into the closest computer retailer and point at something, it's going to be better regardless.


Hope you are talking about laptops because if you arn't, I'm making a note to never buy any computers in the UK.

yeh, laptops. i didn't even know there were any alternatives to works.

What does she want to use this computer for?

'Cos if all she wants is to run a Web-browser, IM and (Open)Office, just get the cheapest one. Anything'll do that. If you can get it second-hand or a freebie from an office or University computing department (Ask the IT guys if they're chucking any old machines away) then even better (well, cheaper).

If she's thinking of getting into Oblivion, it'll take a bit more power.

Infinite Revolution: OpenOffice does pretty much everything MS Office does, except cost money. See: www.openoffice.org

Oh, and never buy computers from PC World ><

yeh, laptops. i didn't even know there were any alternatives to works.
Microsoft Office. Or just use Open Office.

Microsoft Office. Or just use Open Office.
That's solid advice, I use Open Office.

OK, here's what you're looking for (done American style):

I don't know about the rest of the world, but thanks to Copyright laws, and rabid lwayers, most computers can be sold at stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Depot, etc) without a copy of Office on them, which saves a person about $200. The best bet is to get, with an XP system, a 1024 MB (1.0 GB) RAM system, Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, and preferably an 80GB+ Hard Drive, and that's baseline. Though, it depends on what your friend does.

I build computers, so if you TG what the computer needs to handle (videos, webstreaming, WoW, pictures, Music, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, basic e-mailing, etc.) I can tell you what you need and where to look for it.

Hehe, this lady is getting on 70/80ish, so I doubt she'll be needing a gaming rig - sorry, should've clarified in the OP. If it were for me I'd probably be on Alienware spending far too much money on the sexiest machine I could buy.

However, all she needs it for is basic things - web browsing, emailing, possibly some Office docs here and there. Nothing fancy you understand, hence why it doesn't need monstro-specs. I just suggested that she get a computer with XP because, well, it's reliable, good, and with the release of Vista is presumably a fairly cheap OS right?

Oh and also a site that can ship to, and prefereably from, the UK would be a bonus - cut down the ol' shippin' costs, you know how it is. But that's not hugely necessary - a cookie for someone who can find this rare bonus of a thing.

It's odd, I tend to consider myself something of a computer buff, in many respects, but I never realised before how little I actually know about buying. 'Spose it doesn't help the way, hbeing 17, it's generally been my dad doing the actual buying, and me and my brother trying to persuade him that awesome specs are a necessity rather than a luxury :D Still, what is life but a learning process eh?


edit: And a hearty thanks to all you who've alreayd replied and helped out :) Enjoy the game, but if you're going to do so be prepared to kiss your evening goodbye.

A cheap Dell.
(http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dt_e521_xp?c=ca&cs=cadhs1&l=en&s=dhs)
There ya go. Nothing spectacular, but it is fairly cheap.

And as an added bonus. Dell are switching back to XP.

I have a IBM from '99. 466Mhz processor, 128Mb ram and 8 Mb graphic card. The hard drive is 8Gb. Here's the totally fair thing done by my parents. We have three new computers which are really powerful, two laptops and one ordinary. But I get to stick with the old one even though they don't use their computers for anything that requires such great capacity. I also have a really small room so a laptop would give me a lot of space to study on since my computer takes up the whole desk but no no no.

Go to small stores in your area and check the prices there. When (I am not saying if here intentionally) problems occur, they normally help less buereaucratically than the big stores. Alsao they have normally qualified sales clerks.

Oh, also do not buy Vista. It's too many bugs for too much bucks.

it's the third cheapest from PC world. basically the update 4 years on from my old one. i went for famliarity rather than any fancy specs that mean bugger all to me.
oh shit dude, don't use PC World. that's my main advice to the OP!

i recommend these guys (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/). we use them a lot in our business and have a couple of these (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?ISP) running just great in our office. i recommend the one on the right if its not too much. you can get Vista pre-installed on it, or buy XP OEM (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MS-WXPHVU) for 50 quid and install it yourself (its really, really easy - just stick in the CD and it does the rest for you)

this range (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?ISI) is a cheaper alternative that would do the job, but has poor graphics

£350? Over here? Ripped off? Over here, from what I see, including manufacturer quotes, you'd be getting a heap that can barely run. £500 is a nearer estimate for a decent model with the basics, like Works.
too right. i personally wouldn't want a laptop less than £700 most likely, as i'm a bit of a power user and i need good graphics for my work. the one i'm on right now was about £1400, in fact. what i really want though is this (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m2010?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) :D

I have a IBM from '99. 466Mhz processor, 128Mb ram and 8 Mb graphic card. The hard drive is 8Gb. Here's the totally fair thing done by my parents. We have three new computers which are really powerful, two laptops and one ordinary. But I get to stick with the old one even though they don't use their computers for anything that requires such great capacity. I also have a really small room so a laptop would give me a lot of space to study on since my computer takes up the whole desk but no no no.
that is not too bad... use fvwm2 as window manager, koffice instead of open office... use mpg321 instead of audacious and it should be usable.

Microsoft Office. Or just use Open Office.

i didn't even know there was a difference...

now downloading open office though. thanks for that! :)

oh shit dude, don't use PC World. that's my main advice to the OP!

oh well, too late now! still, hopefully i won't have to ever use their help thingy. the last incarnation of this laptop i had was very reliable and durable right up to the catastrophic end. hopefully this one will be too. fingers crossed anyway..

i personally wouldn't want a laptop less than £700 most likely, as i'm a bit of a power user and i need good graphics for my work. the one i'm on right now was about £1400, in fact. what i really want though is this (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m2010?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) :D

I've seen that laptop before. Expensive like hell, but it kicks ass.
Even if my Acer does have more VRAM. Steals some 300Mb from the RAM when it needs it.

Oh, and if you get one, VISTA PREMIUM! Ultimate's not worth the extra cost, I can assure you. Only good if you're desperate to have your hard drive encrypted.

I'd advise anyone looking for a computer, if they actually need a new, shiny one, to read one of the big, fat computer magazines (PC Plus, PC World - not related to the shop - and so forth) to see what's available, get a bit of background info. Hopefully there'll be one with a roundup of machines in your price-range out.

And if you don't need a laptop, don't get one; they're slow, expensive and rubbish compared to desktops at the same price. And the keyboards are tiny and awkward.

Not necessarily. Mine was cheaper than the PC's I looked at, oddly enough. Although, it was £100 off.

And it has a full-size keyboard including numpad. So there :p

i'm so used to laptops now that i find desktops awkward, especially the keyboards. the only thing i miss about fullsize keyboards is the number pad. but then i have a laptop cuz i need one too, nowhere to put a desktop (no desk and no room for one) plus and unstable living situation.

And it has a full-size keyboard including numpad. So there :p

/me gets out measuring tape

That's got to be at least 40cm wide... My laptop (a ~2000 Dell Latitude C600) is only 32cm wide. That has to be a big bugger.

And I'd still rather have one of these (http://www.techfreaks.org/reviews/nke4000.shtml) and a proper mouse (http://www.everythingusb.com/razer_copperhead.html) :p

/me gets out measuring tape

That's got to be at least 40cm wide... My laptop (a ~2000 Dell Latitude C600) is only 32cm wide. That has to be a big bugger.

And I'd still rather have one of these (http://www.techfreaks.org/reviews/nke4000.shtml) and a proper mouse (http://www.everythingusb.com/razer_copperhead.html) :p

my laptop has a numeric keypad too... it is 40 cm wide, indeed.

and i never really 'got' ergonomic keyboards - can't get my head round how you're supposed to type on them :p

my laptop has a numeric keypad too... it is 40 cm wide, indeed.

and i never really 'got' ergonomic keyboards - can't get my head round how you're supposed to type on them :p

40cm wide. And those "ergonomic" keyboards are a pain in the ass. I hurt myself more with those than with a normal one! Typing with your hands at 30-degree angles to each other is a pain in the neck.

and i never really 'got' ergonomic keyboards - can't get my head round how you're supposed to type on them :p

40cm wide. And those "ergonomic" keyboards are a pain in the ass. I hurt myself more with those than with a normal one! Typing with your hands at 30-degree angles to each other is a pain in the neck.

Weirdos :p
Ergonomic keyboards are great!
*Huggles both his MS 4000s, and his old MS Natural Pro too*

and i never really 'got' ergonomic keyboards - can't get my head round how you're supposed to type on them :p
I'd assume "properly" which makes them only usable by trained typists. My style of typing devolves from playing too many FPS so I do most of my typing with my left hand based around WASD and use my right hand where needed on the rest of it, an ergonomic keyboard would screw me up.

Then there is the problem with the ergonomic keyboard melting around the middle of the main keys...

I'm a trained touch-typist and I honestly can't use them. It's really a pain in the ass. It hurts to use them for me.

That, and they're no good for BF2.

I'm a self-taught touch-typist (Dvorak at the mo, but I used to use QWERTY), and I love them. It's uncomfortable to go back to a normal keyboard for me now (especially my laptop's tiny keyboard).

And I might not play BF2, but I rarely have a problem in any other game, FPS or no.

Ah well, each to his own. You can keep your small, expensive, slow, uncomfortable, un-upgradable laptops, and I'll keep my huge, heavy, room-heating, electricity-munching desktop ;)

My laptop wants to hurt you for calling it slow... :p

A cheap Dell.
(http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dt_e521_xp?c=ca&cs=cadhs1&l=en&s=dhs)
There ya go. Nothing spectacular, but it is fairly cheap.

Dude, you're suggesting a Dell!

And as an added bonus. Dell are switching back to XP.

And shipping Linux!

I have a IBM from '99. 466Mhz processor, 128Mb ram and 8 Mb graphic card. The hard drive is 8Gb.

My first comp was a 1998 one with 466mhz and 32mb RAM and a 4gb hard drive. That cost $800 (Aus, about $500 US or 250 pounds).

Do what I do, go to www.newegg.com and custom make yourself a top of the line machine. (If you have over five grand lying round...)

Dude, you're suggesting a Dell!

Well, why not?

Well, why not?

Sorry, slightly obscure reference: http://www.slate.com/id/2066488/

To tell you the truth I have never used a Dell. They have a few in an electronics store near me but there wasn't that many there.\

Edit: Sometimes deadly? Thats an odd title/designation.