PC has stopped behaving properly - need a new one

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Keeps switching itself off for some reason. I suspect the problem is something to do with the graphics card, but since its nearly four years old now I think its time for a change.

So where should i be looking to buy a decent spec PC? Ideally it would be somewhere that i can take it back to if it stops working, and of course i dont want to get stitched on the price. Its to be used mostly for surfing and picture processing, but i will also be using it to get a business off the ground (hopefully!), so i want it to be ultra reliable, or come from a place that will look after me when things go wrong.

Ill also want to get the best vista (whichever one that is), the best office and a package of adobe stuff that includes PS, LR, dreamweaver, and possibly a few other bits (i find their packages quite confusing).

So if there are any companies that youve had experiences with that you can recommend then id love to hear them :)
 
working in an IT background i would always say build your own, when setting a budget it allows you to give you what you need and get a better spec than something "off the shelf" without spending the extra money and if your slightly over budget you can keep upgrading bits as time goes by (just what i have done with mine)

but if your after warranty etc i would try local PC stores around your area avoiding the bigger companies at first to see what sort of deals you can get for the spec machine yyour after
 
The cheapest way is to build your own, but if you've never done this before then it requires alot of research and time.

I'd get a Dell. Ultra cheap, built well and will last for years. I just got a new one, cost me £600 and is really powerful, will run ANY game on full/ultra high spec.
 
Just bought a PC from Dell outlet myself www.dell.co.uk/outlet. When it arrived it didn't work and made a funny smell and tripped the power out. I phoned them and they sent me another one (both were brand new not recon despite being from the outlet. They never bothered to collect the broken one so I have 2 Dell PC's one great and one that doesn't work.

Both are Inspiron 630's Dual Core Duo E8200 2.66ghz with 6mb L2 Cache, 2GB Ram, 320GB HDD, built in card reader, DVD writer, Vista Home Premium. I managed to get £50 off plus free delivery so I paid £305 all in, bargain. Despite one not working i'd certainly recommend. They also have an Ebay shop and they have some really stupidly cheap PC's available if you aren't too fussed. I thought about building one but unless you want something really special or you're into serious gaming there seemed to be little point nor did it work out that cheap. I work for an IT component distributor so I can get things cheaper than pretty much anyone. Their Vostro machines are essentially the same but in a black case and built for business (i.e. more basic but maybe more reliable).
 
dolomitefan said:
Just bought a PC from Dell outlet myself www.dell.co.uk/outlet. When it arrived it didn't work and made a funny smell and tripped the power out. I phoned them and they sent me another one (both were brand new not recon despite being from the outlet. They never bothered to collect the broken one so I have 2 Dell PC's one great and one that doesn't work.
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we have that all the time here at work, its a power supply issue on the unit that doesnt work

it may have killed the motherboard though

try another power supply and if it works you ahve a spare PC to sell on or whatever if its not being collected, or be clever and put the HDD's and RAM into yours lol
 
Get your hoover out and vacuum the dust out of the power supply, the graphics card and the cpu cooler, see if that makes a difference, it might just be over heating.
 
I was going to say same re overheating, especially the temp'res this last few days..
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk
is a decent site to find reviews of how good or bad some dealers are, as well as equipment reviews and prices.
I would also checkout monthly mags like PC Advisor.
PS: As far as Vista is concerned, it's not the be-all and end-all....if you find a bargain price machine with XP, I'd seriously consider it.
Good luck :wave:
 
Think about upgradeability for the future when buying a new PC.
 
Steep said:
Get your hoover out and vacuum the dust out of the power supply, the graphics card and the cpu cooler, see if that makes a difference, it might just be over heating.
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with dells there is a little switch on some power supplies and if they been knocked it changes the voltage, and when they blow they puff out smoke, bang and trip the power, we get them at work occasionally
 
getting back to the original topic, your software list outweighs the cost of the PC :)

The simple answer is a Mac Pro it meets all your needs apart from price :)

lol hey you can't have everything :)

PS the best Vista is Ultimate, I think. If you are going to buy the OS, I would suggest an OEM version if your building the machine yourself and know what your doing.
 
The main power switch never worked but think the PSU went bang due to the voltage selector being incorrectly set. Still what's a new PSU and a switch going to cost from Dell not much. It'll either ghet repaired and sold or stripped down and raided for parts for mine though with coponents so cheap I might sell it. Figure i'll give them plenty of time to collect it first.
 
Thanks chaps. As soon as I get some time I will vacuum the dust away, if there is any, and see if that improves things. If not I'll be off to my local PC shop, which is just around the corner :D The offer linked above looks like a great bargain, but I want to be able to drop it on someones counter if things stop working.

I realise Vista isn't completely necessary, in fact I would be perfectly happy to stay with XP pro. But I'm not sure how long it is going to be supported and even if you can still buy it either OEM or retail? Can anyone advise?

Unfortunately I haven't got the first clue about building my own PC. I'm sure if someone gave me a list of specific componenets then I would be able to bolt them all in and connect them up, but I'd rather not mess about doing all the research myself, or risk it not working and having no support.

Cheers guys :)
 
its all about preference with Vista/XP

i find Vista better to be honest and would recommend it (depending on the version you would be getting), i find it quicker using the likes of PS, internet etc but i am running a high end spec
 
XP will be supported for years to come yet, they've just released SP3 for it. Easily enough for the life of the machine.
 
Trigger2007 said:
getting back to the original topic, your software list outweighs the cost of the PC :)

The simple answer is a Mac Pro it meets all your needs apart from price :)
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Office Ultimate £350
CS3 Creative suite £1086
Lightroom £215
Vista Business £352

For some one prepared to spend over £2000 on software alone , I doubt you'll be building a PC.

As Trigger says Mac Pro is the way to go.
 
never realised Windows/Office was so damn expensive, i got fully licensed copies from work which has saved me no end looking at that
 
whiteflyer said:
Office Ultimate £350
CS3 Creative suite £1086
Lightroom £215
Vista Business £352

For some one prepared to spend over £2000 on software alone , I doubt you'll be building a PC.

As Trigger says Mac Pro is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention Mac - the thought had crossed my mind :naughty: I'm aware that adobe at least give quite a substantial discount to students, and perhaps even so do apple? Anyone any experience with this (particularly apple - I've read a few of the adobe discount threads on here already)? btw I am certainly NOT prepared to spend £2k on software! That's a shocking figure :lol: I am looking for a legit set-up this time though, IYSWIM.

Not that I am a student at the moment of course, but where there's a will... ;) (or is either company quite strict about verifying that you are a student?)

Cheers again :thumbs:
 
Ended up going for an Acer T7720 thinga-me-bob laptop from PC world. 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 3Gig RAM, 256Mb graphics, 500Gb HD, 17" screen, Bluetooth, Wifi, BluRay, Vista Ultimate, Office Pro, Norton 360 all for a little over £1k. I don't think I've done too badly. (If you think differently, I'd rather not hear why! :lol:) Adobe web premium and LR will be ordered shortly @ ~£300

Cheers for the help :D
 
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