buying a desktop computer - what can i expect to pay? (1 Viewer)

[Templar]

On the Dell debate, the only thing bad about Dell is virtually no expandability, but that's only important for the tinkerers. Agree with sunny, velox and jm there.

As for HDD, get 120-160GB, it's the sweet spot. As for CWorld, unless you know exactly what you want it's not recommended to ask them about parts or have them install it.

Check out some of the big stores like AusPCMarket or PlusCorp. The bit extra you pay for installation is worth it if you don't know much about building a PC.

 

[markmooks]

The smallest IDE drive you will get these days is a 80GB unit, around $89.
I'd go to a computer shop and get a machine spec'd out and *HAVE THEM INSTALL THE BITS* (if you're not comfy doingit or geek friend challenged). They might charge you $25 or so, but if they fry the bits, they replace them. You will walk out with a computer which you just plug into the power point at home.

I did this with my 1.5TB media server thats hiding in my pots-n-pans cupboard

If you want an idea on prices, http://jw.com.au/ are about the industry norm and have a good range, though they aren't who I shopped through. Yet.

 

[velox]

Yes Pluscorp is good You can get 200gb sata drives as cheap as ~$150 now.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Wait for a sale or a good deal that is sometime advertised in the paper. You'll get a better deal that way.

 

[Korn]

The people to listen to in this thread are Sunny and jm1234567890, the others are just clueless.

Korn sugessted WD drives, when seagate are clearly better, having the 5yr warranty. Im not sure 40gb drives are even sold anymore. And why would you add a dvd burner?

I would never buy from computerworld but they occassionally have a component cheaper then other places so you can use their quote to get a price match

 

[t-i-m-m-y]

5yr warranty on parts? Do you mean on selected parts or all of them, Cause I think I have lifetime garranty on my RAM, 3yrs on my monitor, various other warranty around 1yr on most other things and 5yrs on my mouse

errr... i don't mean to sound stupid.. but whats so good about 5 rs warranty on a mouse? its just a mouse.!!!. 1yr is stndard for most parts. What happens when you RAM dies? Its lifetime is over.

and spin spin: my personal opinion: buy a dell. sure the parts aren't the best quality, but IMHO their quality control is pretty good. good deals too, only thing they lack is upgradeability. Local computer shops tend to ripp off people. Oh and someone mentioned pluscorp. They haven't got the cheapest prices. but their service is awesome!!

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Try Here: http://www.digitalstar.com.au

 

[equiski]

errr... i don't mean to sound stupid.. but whats so good about 5 rs warranty on a mouse? its just a mouse.!!!. 1yr is stndard for most parts. What happens when you RAM dies? Its lifetime is over.

Don't you remember? Korn made a HUGE deal about his mouse breaking down, and then he made a entirely separate thread about getting the best deal on a new mouse.

Oh, and Korn, please leave Sugar alone. She doesn't need your misinformation

 

[fatmuscle]

hahha who had 5yrs warranty for a mouse?

i'm one of those 'if it works, GREAT!' type people. don't need a fancy mouse.

from China, u can get a small USB/optical mouse for A$5 or less. but i do have friends/family going over to asia quite often.


and i guess i'll have to step into this 'DELL' convo...
There really isn't much wrong with Dells. I have one. No issues at all!
Sure you hear some bad stories, but each store has their faults.
I bought a computer from a decent local store, and the HDD broke after a week.
However, i would not simply just buy a dell like that. Research on what you need, and look out for those Dell specials. You can really save a lot if you buy at the right time.
Also, if you know someone who works in a large business that buy from Dell, it's likely that the company has some good offer/discount with Dell.

I'm quite happy with my $2.2K Dell Latitude D600. At the time it was priced at $2.8K.
but to my bad luck, my company i bought it with sealed another contract with Dell, and they managed to chop off another $500 2 weeks after my purchase

 

[Dingo2004]

i bought my new computer from MSY at auburn just a few weeks ago
specs are:
AMD Athlon64 3200+ (939 Pin) CPU
Antec Super Lanboy Case
Samsung 710 LCD 17" monitor
Gigabyte PCU22-VG 3D ROcket-Pro CPU Cooler
ASUS A8N-SLi Deluxe NForce 4 chipset MOtherboard
Geil 1Gb RAM
Seagate 8m SATA 200GB HDD
128mb Gigabyte nvidia GeForce 6600GT SLi Video Card
Black 1.44mb FDD
Logitech z640 5.1 Speakers
OEM Microsoft Windows XP Home
20m Network Cable
LG 16x Dual Layer DVD RW
Epson Stylus RX430 Printer
3 additional Led fans
Blue Led Floppy Cable
3 colour Neon Light
Pueple UV neon light
Fan Grills
a car shaped Mouse
and a luminious keyboard
Quantum 500k webcam wit mic
fan controllers

less than $3000

peace^^

 

[Panda Bear]

that's geeky computer lol

where abouts did people hear about dell using second rate parts?

i got a dell inspiron 8500 about 2 years old.. it looks like its showing age already...

 

[fatmuscle]

20m network cable... meh!
it's nothing unless it's Cat6!!!

and if u really need 20m, why not just go wireless?

 

[Dingo2004]

yeh it is cat. 6 =P

i was gonna get wireless but i didnt wanna fill up a PCI slot in my computer.. bcoz i wanna keep the computer clean and empty and not use n e of the PCI slots... so all my lights such as my LED fans, UV stuff, and EL stickers will look good and you cant see n e cables in my case.. i hide it all ...
hehehehe

buildiing and modding ure own comp is fun ... its like building a castle with LEGO heheheh

 

[fatmuscle]

can't afford a gigabit switch yet, so no point me getting that
not that i find it feasible for me to upgrade my home network anyway.
but yeah, the performance between cat5e and 6 over a congested network does show the difference.

 

[velox]

ccfls and neons are gay.

 

[JimmyK]

i just upgraded a PC.. and it was basically a new PC - a few bits and peices and it was a VERY high end machine (think P4 3.6Ghz with HT). The entire upgraded costed about $1300 which shows how cheap machines are these days.
If you want somthing fair medium range, you cant go past an AMD processor.
I don't think you need anything more than 512MB of RAM at this stage. Longhorn (the code name for the next version of windows) is more or less going to be a windows XP service pack 3. The only good things in it now is the new shiny interface, and a file searching device similar to Apple's spotlight in 'Tiger' and Googles 'Desktop Search' .. so at the moment, I dont find the need to upgrade to Longhorn, and get that extra RAM neccessary, especially if your not going to do movie editing, or anything like that.
For a guesstimate price, I'd say arround $1200 for a fairly decent PC. I've got a low end package for $975 but its designed for people who just wanna do typing, general surfing and that kinda stuff.

 

[Dingo2004]

www.pccasegear.com.au
i spent $500 on modifications just to make the computer look pretty

 

[anti]

Well, the reason you pay a bit more for a Dell is not simply for end-user support..

You pay for a warranty on everything on the system, you pay for the entire system being built for you with customisability, and you pay for the knowledge that the parts you get will last at least as long as the warranty that Dell gives you, or be replaced.

From what my friends have experienced with laptops, if they can't fix it by a customer rep on the phone they will replace the part.

It's a lot better than getting the parts and getting some friend who's a computer enthusiast build the computer for you, IMO. I got mine through a friend who builds/services computers for a living, mostly because I'm interested enough in parts etc to get a machine built to my needs, and because I'm not going to burn my brand new motherboard by forgetting to ground myself


But yes... moving on. I think we can close this thread.