Buying a New Computer

[Daleje]

It's time to replace my nine year-old Compaq Presario. It has served me well,
and I might be inclined to buy another Compaq, but I don't know what's become
of their quality since the merger with HP.
I hear good things about Dell, but they're only available online.
Gateway has a store near where I live, and I like the idea of being able to go
in and talk to a rep about what I'm ordering, etc.
Any "expert" advice on what brand to buy?

 

[Joel Estes]

You can contact a sales rep for Dell at 1-800-915-3355.

Joel

 

[The Reverend XP]

You've heard good things about Dell???? Where in an
asylum. Take note of the daily problems with XP and Dell
in these NG's. Dell has only one letter that makes it
different from Hell. Not my choice by any stretch.
Personally I can't think of any one generic computer that
would fit the bill. You are better off to go to your local
computer store and buy a tower and build your own system
with the Mother Board of your choice and then the Video
Card, Sound Card, Modem and so on. There isn't one make
that is entirely good by itself. Good luck.

 

[Testy]

My advice would be to stay away from name brands, you often do not get a
real XP CD with them. Go to a local store and have them build one to your
specs, if you can't do it yourself.

Testy

 

[Paul]

OH MY GOD Whatever you do stay away from dell. Like you
said can only buy online or phone. The support you are
able to get is not worth it. I am on a dell now, hope it
doesn't crash AGAIN before I get to post this. I could go
on and on and on and on and on, sorry I think you get it!
I could type a book (horror story) about the problems with
dell and dell support

Paul

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You'd do better going to a small, reputable "mom & pop" shop in
your local area and having a system built to your own specifications.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Larc]

On 15 Jul 2003 00:28:49 GMT, Daleje pondered exceedingly, then took quill in
hand and carefully composed...

| It's time to replace my nine year-old Compaq Presario. It has served me well,
| and I might be inclined to buy another Compaq, but I don't know what's become
| of their quality since the merger with HP.
| I hear good things about Dell, but they're only available online.
| Gateway has a store near where I live, and I like the idea of being able to go
| in and talk to a rep about what I'm ordering, etc.
| Any "expert" advice on what brand to buy?

Build it yourself. If you'd rather not tackle that, find a good local mom and
pop computer shop and get them to do it. You can have exactly what you want in
the box you want, and you'll know where to lug it back to if anything goes
wrong.

Larc



§§§ - Please raise temperature of mail to reply by e-mail - §§§

 

[rickm]

It's time to replace my nine year-old Compaq Presario. It has served me well,
and I might be inclined to buy another Compaq, but I don't know what's become
of their quality since the merger with HP.
I hear good things about Dell, but they're only available online.
Gateway has a store near where I live, and I like the idea of being able to go
in and talk to a rep about what I'm ordering, etc.
Any "expert" advice on what brand to buy?

I support 1500 Dells, the only problems I've had are not Dell issues but
idiotic users. Like the one who put a HANGING BASKET over his monitor. Duh,
you can guess what happened when he over watered that one. Yes, he went from
a 19" monitor to a crappy 14" monitor until he learned his lesson.

I'd consider a local shop. Ask around, friends, family, etc to see who
they've used. You might not get the same pricing that you can get from a
mass produced name brand, but you'll at least have service and support
nearby. If you have questions about the items, post them here people will
comment. You could make a call to the Better Business Bureau to see how a
place rates. These places will usually spend a little time with you. If you
feel rushed, ask to speak to the owner for help. I was sales manager at a
shop for 4 years, if I was busy I always sent people to the owner, as he
didn't mind spending an hour with someone who was just shopping, whereas I
wasn't going to eat if I didn't sell. You could also talk to the folks at
your local community college, their computer folks could give you
recommendations.

Gateway has stores everywhere. They put one here last September and closed
it in February. Lovely, all of those Xmas PC buyers thought they could drive
down the street for help, it's not so anymore.

Whatever you get, make SURE you get all media and serial numbers. Some of
the smaller places have been known to sell PCs without giving you the
media - if you don't get the media, tell them to sod off.

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

It's time to replace my nine year-old Compaq Presario. It has served me well,
and I might be inclined to buy another Compaq, but I don't know what's become
of their quality since the merger with HP.
I hear good things about Dell, but they're only available online.
Gateway has a store near where I live, and I like the idea of being able to go
in and talk to a rep about what I'm ordering, etc.
Any "expert" advice on what brand to buy?

Not for a US buyer, but a few pointers ..

1) Make sure you get =proper= XP CD with the thing (and if it's XP Home,
and you want NTBackup, check it's there). No recovery disks or recovery
partitions - they make it impossible to 'repair' some problems without
trashing your data.

2) You are paying a premium for a name brand (although these big guys
can buy components for 50% of 'discount retail', or less, so some of the
premium is hidden). Make sure you get enough warranty (on site!) to make
you feel good about the premium you paid. [Mailing your computer to
someone, having it absent for 4 weeks, and then coming back with none of
your data left on it, is =not= amusing].

3) Ring their technical support hotline(s) before you buy. If you get 20
minutes of canned music, and an idiot after that, buy elsewhere.

Personally I wouldn't buy from a big OEM again (I've had several in the
past, including a Gateway) - the bigger the OEM, the more likely that
everything in the case, from the PSU down, is heavily customised, and a
PITA to troubleshoot or replace. Build your own - it's educational, no
harder than Leggo, and you can have =exactly= what you want.

 

[Al Darby]

FWIW, I'm on my 3rd or 4th DELL and have no complaints, whatsoever and I
have no qualms in recommending them to anyone.

As for support, I can't fault them there either. Always delivered the
goods, when required.

Yes, my XP Pro CD is OEM, but it's done everything I've ever needed.

Been in IT since '62, most of it using IBM gear and I wouldn't touch
their PCs with a long stick!

YMMV

--
Al
(change rap-tor to eagle)

Thanks rickm,
It sounds as if you're not down on Dell, as many other respondents
are. Most have advised building it or having it built, but I'm not
convinced that's the way I want to go. A couple of my relatives have
Gateways and are quite pleased with them. Well, I'll shop around. I
certainly will be sure to get the CDs that go with Windows and any
other applications.

[...]

 

[Larc]

| AlienWare...... great online deals

That's a dangerous place to visit. It's made me want a cyborg green
laptop! ;-)

Larc



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[Alex Nichol]

It's time to replace my nine year-old Compaq Presario. It has served me well,
and I might be inclined to buy another Compaq, but I don't know what's become
of their quality since the merger with HP.
I hear good things about Dell, but they're only available online.
Gateway has a store near where I live, and I like the idea of being ableto go
in and talk to a rep about what I'm ordering, etc.

The two big considerations to me would be:

Do they have 'proprietary' components that can be difficult for
upgrading etc. That turns me right off Compaq HP for a start.

Do they supply a 'proper' CD of the system that you can boot and use for
repair - and *not* just to put things back to ex-factory state (or even
worse supply no CD at all). That again is a mark down for Compaq HP

Mostly the big makers use surprisingly standard generic components - if
you can find what it can give a clue. But that means I am not willing
to pay over the odds for the name. A friend recently paid a high
premium price for a Sony (And it gave a lot of trouble). I could find
no single Sony component inside the case. But their CD at least dis
allow a repair of the system.