[Dave]

In all honesty there are minimal numbers of people who use the full power of their PC's (hard gamers excluded). I run a dedicated HTPC to drive my Plasma with MCE, & also use as general PC for PS, Video Editing, surfing etc. It's only 1.4 Ghz CPU with 512MB RAM, but is more than up to the job for 99% of the time

[mrgubby]

Never ever ever ever bought a PC , built my own since starting with a 286 running at 12MHz . Back on topic , my father bought a desktop and a mate bought a laptop , both Medion , both from ToysRus and never a problem. Had the lid of a few times on my fathers PC to add/change stuff and it seemed a well put together machine

[RobertP]

You just beat me then. My first self build was a 386. Quite a perfomance jump from the Amstrad 8086 with 20Meg (yes meg) hard drive I was using.

[GfK]

I built my own PC too. I simply don't see the point in paying more than I have to when I can do it myself. Athlon XP3000+, 512mb RAM, 40Gb HD, Radeon 9600 128mb graphics card, LAN, 6xUSB2.0, winxp, 17" CRT, CD writer, cost me a shade over £400 about 18 months ago, and an hour or so to build/install it.

Since upgraded to a 17" TFT monitor (£170), 1.5Gb RAM (£50), DVD writer (£40), 80gb second HD (£50) and added a Firewire card (£15) for the DV camcorder. Plus my home network (desktop + laptop) is now wireless.

It whups ass. Really.

[Warspite]

If it was myself I would build one - simple, quick, and nothing to really cause any problems - you just buy the pieces you need and from there its very difficult to go wrong - Like MrGrubby I've done this for a long time and to be honest its actually difficult to make a mistake, because most components will only go where they are supposed to and also alot of modern motherboards have alot of protection features built in to protect themselves from overheating, burning up, etc.

It will not be cheaper though - the main advantage I do it for is I put in what I pay for and I know what its capable of, so I dont get it home and discover the video needs upgrading, or the soundcard isnt very good - and therefore costing extra because of upgrades (which you have already paid for).

However as mentioned it would be cheaper in most cases - economies of scale that you cannot compete with are in force. Also alot of people discount the cost of the O/S which is going to be £70 minimum for an OEM, probably closer to £150 if you buy retail from PC World (for Win XP). Another advantage of the ready made PC is you will atleast get cover - parts are guaranteed for a minimum period, and you will have access to tech support.

In general quality will not be an issue - what most people hear about poor quality PCs is like any product - there is always someone who has a bad experience, but the majority will have a good one. Also all manufacturers suffer from the quality issue. Dell are also so cheap mainly due to the business model rather than the fact their components are produced to a lower standard than others, Dell probably have one of the strictest QC standards of them all.

Basically if you want a decent PC that you dont have to worry about the technical side and is powerful enough to run desktop apps, buy one. If you want a very fast PC for games and you have knowledge of which components to buy to reach that performance - build it.

[GfK]

I got 12 months warranty on all the parts I bought for the original system.

[Warspite]

True - but you will have a warranty with various manufacturers of each component, so if your HDD fails you will RMA and receive a factory refurbished replacement in most cases. With the ready built PC he deals only with the manufacturer - and all faults (if any) would be rectified by them also.

[GfK]

Originally Posted by Warspite

True - but you will have a warranty with various manufacturers of each component, so if your HDD fails you will RMA and receive a factory refurbished replacement in most cases. With the ready built PC he deals only with the manufacturer - and all faults (if any) would be rectified by them also.

Nope, I just take it back and they replace it with a new one. Built a PC for a friend once and the PSU died after about 9 months. Took it back and they exchanged it there and then.

[Venomator]

Originally Posted by stevannie

hi
decided i've had enough of the laptop shutting down on me, so i've opted for a new computer.
I was going to buy another Dell (desktop this time though) until i saw this in a local paper, and i think its better value.
Would like some opinion of what others think too. If you dont think its any good, please say so.
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.asp...Desktop/779415
many thanks
steve

Well Stev - I guess we are all waiting with bated breath ... aren't we chaps ??? What did you go for in the end ...

[Boon]

hi all
well i went and done it, toys r us can bog off as far as i am concerned, i went there, bought the Medion, and got to the checkout and was asked to fill in a form to say i HAD a tv license, damn cheek i thought, talk about Big Brother, so i told them to stuff it, and i walked out.

on my return home, my wife insisted i logged on and sorted out something else (bless her, i am spoilt to death) so i went to mesh computers, where all the components are sony or other well known brands, and i ordered one from them, and i will put the spec up when i find out how to copy/paste it from their site, it cost £825 but i also saved £75 to boot, and it includes 3 yr return to base parts/labour and delivery.

Edit:

AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ with HyperTransport Technology
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
Mini-Tower Micro ATX Case +550W PSU - Black/Silver
ASUS A8N-VM - Nforce 410 PCI-Express Mainboard - Micro ATX
2048MB DDR400 Memory - PC3200 (2x1024) [upg £ 75.00]
300GB Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer [upg £ 30.00]
SONY 16x Dual Layer DVD-Re-Writable +R/-R/RW
256MB nVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE - TV-Out + DVI - PCI-Express
19" TFT Flat Panel Monitor - DVI & Analogue
5.1 Channel Surround Sound Audio-SoundMAX (on-board)
Creative Labs SBS260 - Stereo Speakers
Logitech Desktop Keyboard & Optical Mouse
Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
Free Cyberlink Video Editing Suite - 7 titles (oem)
Network Ready integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Classic Warranty - 3 Years Back-to-Base - Parts & Labour

[Warspite]

Congrats - Mesh are one of the better manufacturers, particularly in terms of using the kind of components that those of us who self build would use. Also they have won countless awards for quality and service so sounds like fate was on your side

[IanC_UK]

Originally Posted by stevannie

got to the checkout and was asked to fill in a form to say i HAD a tv license

Go anywhere and buy something with a TV card in it (or even a TV card) and they are supposed to ask you to sign something that says you have a TV licence ! Not the shops fault, Licencing Authority !

[evilowl]

Originally Posted by Matt

You'll sometimes find Medion PC's in PC WORLD/Curry's and ALDI, they're not just confined to Toys'R'US.

I must be a total badge snob then lol - I've never been in an ALDI (or a Netto's for that matter) and I wouldnt shop at Currys or PCWorld purely out of principle (can find things cheaper on the net)

[GfK]

Originally Posted by Warspite

Congrats - Mesh are one of the better manufacturers, particularly in terms of using the kind of components that those of us who self build would use. Also they have won countless awards for quality and service so sounds like fate was on your side

I've actually heard nothing but horror stories about Mesh. So much so, I wouldn't buy from them in a fit.

[Boon]

Originally Posted by GfK

I've actually heard nothing but horror stories about Mesh. So much so, I wouldn't buy from them in a fit.

well they certainly win an aweful lot of awards to say their stuff is iffy, oh well, i will just have to wait and see.