Best place to buy a new PC?

[CheeseOnToast]

Anyone got any good tips?

I'm looking for a budget PC but I want some good power, pref 512mb RAM, firewire compatible etc

[JsT]

Bought mine from eBay through http://www.computerelectronics.co.uk/ and I've had no problems.

After buying off this local guy off eBay I probably wont buy a 'branded' system again.

[Mist]

I did some sums recently and it worked out that if I want all the nice bits inside then it is cheaper to buy the bits and do self-assembly, but if you are not fussed particularly about what is inside your PC then you can buy one from PC world or whatever for as cheap as anywhere else.

[noog]

novatech do a nice amd 2500 barton bundle with 512ddr and a top end motherboard for around 150 notes, throw in a harddrive and graphics will add another 70 odd quid, tenner for a case and you're laughing :-)

[rushin]

I just had a look at that computer electronics site. The prices seem not bad for example they have a package for £399 inc VAT which includes a Athlon XP2400+, 512ddr and 82Gb 7200 ATA133 Hard Disk, as well as various other things. It seems that what they do is basically build a computer from scratch according to your needs which obviously makes them cheaper. Only thing I'd be concerned about is a warranty, I couldn't find any mention of one. I think the best way would be to build your own, I reckon you could build a half decent one for what about £500 maybe less. I would do it that way, they're easy enough to assemble.

[CheeseOnToast]

Yeah I used to build PC's for a living, I'm just a bit out of touch with the bargains these days!

I want the full port connectors, DVD-RW etc so I probs just will build my own..

It's just a pain because the brands like Tiny etc make their packages look so pretty and ready..

lol

[noog]

Originally posted by CheeseOnToast

It's just a pain because the brands like Tiny etc make their packages look so pretty and ready..

lol

check out www.ebuyer.com, they have a huge range of rather sexy looking cases, some with matching keyboard/mouse/speakers

[Mr_Wobble]

Wherever you buy one from, keep away from the big brand names, such as Dell, Compaq, Hewlet Packard, etc. ...Unless you're buying a laptop. And don't bother with PC World.
The best deals can be found online, at local small independant computer shops, or from some of the larger companies like Tiny. Tiny actually have some phenomenal deals (ie they pack in a lot for the price) on their mid-top range of computers, and you couldn't build one that well specified for the same money.

Of course, if you've got the know how, or know someone who does, self building can be inexpensive and rewarding. I've always built my own computers.