AOL and Dixons

[dozysplot]

Ohhh........my...........God.........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3120495.stm

Just when i thought it couldn't get any worse.......

I'm gonna put in a request for free dishing out of Asprins for all the headbutting of walls im gonna be doing


a pcworld techie

[Lord Nikon]

I think its kinda fitting...

c**p computers bundled with a c**p ISP

and before anyone says otherwise...


Median systems sold with Nova series motherboard.
Anything at ALL by Packard Bell

etc etc

[Shaun]

The sort of people that buy their computers from Dixons deserve all they get. But saying that I like AOL's style.

[grum1978]

Originally posted by dellwear
The sort of people that buy their computers from Dixons deserve all they get. But saying that I like AOL's style.

Where would you suggest people go to get a pc then?

[Lord Nikon]

Originally posted by grum1978
Where would you suggest people go to get a pc then?

Build your own...

Maplin do a book on building your own computer

Soltek Golden Flame mobo £60 (according to another site)
AMD CPU £50
Case £30
DVD Drive £15
CD WRiter £30
Ram £100
Hard Drive £100
Decent Graphics card £100
Mode £10

Operating system - ranging from Free to £200

Also Office package - Super Office, Star Office etc, both MS complient, but a LOT cheaper - ie FREE

Monitor - take your pick
same for kb/mouse/speakers.

Nuff said

[grum1978]

Originally posted by Lord Nikon
Build your own...

Maplin do a book on building your own computer

Soltek Golden Flame mobo £60 (according to another site)
AMD CPU £50
Case £30
DVD Drive £15
CD WRiter £30
Ram £100
Hard Drive £100
Decent Graphics card £100
Mode £10

Operating system - ranging from Free to £200

Also Office package - Super Office, Star Office etc, both MS complient, but a LOT cheaper - ie FREE

Monitor - take your pick
same for kb/mouse/speakers.

Nuff said


:spin:

I would prefer as many people do to get one already built :)

[Shaun]

Dell,
Mesh,
your local computer retailer.....

Anywhere but not Dixons/Comet/PCWorld

PLEASE:p

[Lord Nikon]

Each to their own, but by building your own machine you can be assured of the quality of the parts you fit.

so many companies make a machine with an impressive looking spec which performs abysmally by installing low quality hardware with poor performance characteristics.

Having said that, of the machines I have here at home, I do like the build quality of Dell (not so impressed with some of the others but Dell are EXCELLENT)

[The_real_dj]

usually build my own stuff but just bought a laptop from pcworld online!!

Athlon XP 2500
512mb RAM
40 GB HD
64MB Geforce 4
15" Screen
DVD Writer!!!

All for £899

Bargin if you ask me!!! cant find anything of that spec that cheap!!!

[timewarrior2001]

I used to be against PC world, but now i find they are alright for buying the machines as long as you dont listen to the bull**** from the salesperson.
Know what you want BEFORE you go into the store, Dont let a salesman talk you into anything.......DO NOT buy the extended warranty, its never worth the paper its written on and limits upgrades to be done solely by the supplier.
However I do like the prices, and recently persuaded my mate to buy an Emachines P4 2.4 from there.

Time I used to like for their laptops, but now they joined in a shop with Tiny I wont touch them.

If I want anything these days I use mail order or my small local independant computer shop.

[Dave Stones]

Originally posted by The_real_dj
usually build my own stuff but just bought a laptop from pcworld online!!

Athlon XP 2500
512mb RAM
40 GB HD
64MB Geforce 4
15" Screen
DVD Writer!!!

All for £899

Bargin if you ask me!!! cant find anything of that spec that cheap!!!

but did you get the extended warranty? ;)

i also think people are overly unfair on pcworld etc sometimes, obviously sometimes they deserve the stick (90% of time) but that otehr 10% they arent that bad... i will be going there to get my laptop in the future...

[Lord Nikon]

Firstly IS it a DVD Writer or is it a DVD/CDRW combo drive? [EDIT[ found the machine its DVD-RW

IPC Notebook PC

· AMD 2400+
· 512Mb Memory
· 40Gb Hard Drive

· DVD/CDRW
· No O/S

Price: £699 Ex. VAT

n21online at http://www.n21online.com

Specific model page http://www.n21online.com/powernotem.php

[Shaun]

Originally posted by timewarrior2001
I used to be against PC world, but now i find they are alright for buying the machines as long as you dont listen to the bull**** from the salesperson.

The only problem is people who shop at PC world generally DON'T know what they want before they go in. They speak to the (spotty) kid behind the counter and go home with an expensive computer that is already obsolete and an extended warranty thats not worth the paper its written on.:(

Thats commission based sales for you, and when something goes wrong with your new door stop well thats another story.:dozey:

If I was to advise someone where to go my fist place would be www.dell.co.uk. But then again I'm biased, I worship my Dell and the ground it sits on.:luv:

These are only my experiences of PC world so don't shoot me down for ****ging them off. :p

Oh in todays times there was a leaflet for dell offers. I'm sure I remember seeing a lappy of that spec for roughly the same amount only with an intel 2.6Ghz and combo dvd/cd +rw drive



Athlon XP 2500
512mb RAM
40 GB HD
64MB Geforce 4
15" Screen
DVD Writer!!!

All for £899

[The_real_dj]

its definalty a DVD writer!! im usiing it now!!! :D :D :D

and thats what swayed it for me!!

Ive got a digi video camera and with the software that came with it (power DVD producer) I can bore all my friends with a holiday DVD later this year!! :)

Thought it would look a bit cheap and crappy but suprisingly it looks rather smart!! (silver rather than the murkey colour shown on their website!! )

Now my laptops faster than my pc upstairs!! :'(
Time for an upgrade!! :D :D

oh and dells???? I spend half of my time fixing them (we've got 100s of them at work!! ) but always top support from dell when they do go wrong!!!!

[Dave Stones]

yes i have a dell dimension 8100. beast of a machine...

dream to play around with inside too when i want to tinker... everything nicely tucked away etc
the only gripe is that the processor is hidden behind this gross lime green air duct thingy...

[Shaun]

I cleaned all the dust from inside mine at the weekend with a can of spray air, everyting inside is so tidy and theirs so much space!!

[Lord Nikon]

last couple of machines I have been building have been into the icute case with the transparent side panel.

rebuilt a twin fan PSU with LED fans (Blue / Red), mounted a side panel fan (blue) 2 rear fans (also blue), round IDE cables and a black lite cold cathode in the base... next mod is to mount blue LEDs in place of the normal Power / HD LEDs

[dozysplot]

Jesus, I come back to the forum after a couple of days and what do I find †“

All these daggers protruding from my back †“

†œc**p computers bundled with a c**p ISPââ‚Âà ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ�
†œThe sort of people that buy their computers from Dixons deserve all they getââ‚Âà ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ�
†œAnywhere but not Dixons/Comet/PCWorldââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ�
†œto the (spotty) kid behind the counterââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ�
†œexpensive computer that is already obsolete and an extended warranty thats not worth the paper its written onâ₠¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â�
Everyone hit the deck, dellwear is spitting his dummy all over the place.

Iâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢m the first to call the company I work for but this is going a bit far. All companies can sell crap stuff and good stuff and dixons is certainly no where near as bad as a lot of other big pc suppliers out there. Someone mentioned Emachines which I think are the best we offer just now, Their cheaper than a lot of other brands and Iâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢ve seen them to be very reliable, good build quality etc.

Dellwear says †œexpensive computer that is already obsoleteââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ�âà ¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚¦. Anyone who goes and buys a computer from any shop across the land should accept that when they buy a computer it is out of date. The way the market is with new technology coming out all the time has made that the case for yearsââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚¦

†œextended warranty thats not worth the paper its written onââ‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ� †“ in short †“ Boll*cks. I know how to fix PCââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s, so do a lot of people in this forum. An extended warranty/Service Agreement/whatever on a PC is not something we would buy because we donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t need it. However, I am not I Bike Mechanic. I wouldnââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t know the first thing about changing the clutch on my Suzuki Bandit, nor would I try!!! In other words †“ Each to their own. For Mr Average in the Street who knowââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s how to turn his PC on and not much else the Idea of someone being there to Fix his PC no matter what goes wrong is a valid point. If my bike dealer had offered me a Service Agreement on the bike I would probably have took it. Also I did take out an extended warranty on my colour lazer printer and my digital camera for this very reason.

<dozy gets down off high horse>

[Shaun]

Originally posted by dozysplot
An extended warranty/Service Agreement/whatever on a PC is not something we would buy because we donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t need it.

I have an extended warranty on my Dell, its not the warranty thats the problem. I have had limited experience with Dixon's, but what I have had has not been good, I don't go there any more because I was fed up with being given incorrect information, the wrong product for the job or having to take the product back because what was in the box was not what I'd asked for!

As for PC world my ex bought a PC from them, he got it home and set it up, worked a treat for 2 days. Wonderful, then the PSU went and blew half the components (so they said). We took it back to the one in Leicester, they fixed it but wouldn't let him collect it, because it had been bought with his parents credit card at the Grimsby store so had to to be delivered to his parents house in Grimsby. After a few irate phone calls by his parents along the lines of how were they suppose to get it back to Leicester, they paid for UPS to deliver it back to the Leicester store for him to collect. Almost as good at cocking things up as Ntl. :rolleyes:

Now AOL on the other hand, I said I like, they are friendly, efficient and the software is easy to use. I don't know if I would like to use it on my computer, but my family all use it and like it.

I also said
These are only my experiences of PC world so don't shoot me down for ****ging them off.

So there. :p

*gets out his pram to fetch his dummy

[Graham]

Just a point here about extended warranties. Whilst there may be some which "aren't worth the paper they're written on" the main problem is that people are being sold over-priced warranties through high-pressure (and often mis-leading) sales tactics by salesmen who are only really interested in the commission they're going to get on the deal.

However if you look at the whole extended warranty business, there are some interesting things to note:

For instance, the vast majority of consumer electronic items etc sold these days are sufficiently reliable that they don't *need* a five year warranty. Also you now have substantial rights from the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Act 2002 *as well as* the protection of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act which means that if you buy anything over £100 on a credit card, the card company is jointly and severally liable for any problems that arise.

Also the salesman won't tell you that it is *not* necessary for you to buy the warranty when you buy the goods, nor that you can buy "all products" warranties for lower prices from insurance brokers instead of from his shop, nor that your credit card or household insurance may *already* have similar coverage for goods failing after the guarantee runs out...!

Extended Warranties? Just say No!

[idi banashapan]

Originally posted by Lord Nikon
Build your own...

Maplin do a book on building your own computer

Soltek Golden Flame mobo £60 (according to another site)
AMD CPU £50
Case £30
DVD Drive £15
CD WRiter £30
Ram £100
Hard Drive £100
Decent Graphics card £100
Mode £10

Operating system - ranging from Free to £200

Also Office package - Super Office, Star Office etc, both MS complient, but a LOT cheaper - ie FREE

Monitor - take your pick
same for kb/mouse/speakers.

Nuff said

But DON'T buy anything from MAplins. Look around - you can buy better parts cheaper elsewhere. Maplins are good for electrical bits, but their PC stuff is overpriced I find.

[timewarrior2001]

When I purchased a laptop from TIME i got an offer on the warranty. It stated that if I made no warranty claims within 5 years I got my money back.
Do PCworld or Dixons do that kind of warranty?
Why if extended warranties are such good value for money, are the Gov trying to introduce legislation controlling these said warranties?

Yes if I had th emoney to pay PCword prices an extended warranty to me wouldnt be much trouble, however I hate to think not only am I paying for the warranty but then I have to pay PCworlds prices and installation charges on top. Even though I am capable of doing it myself.
As stated elsewhere its cheaper and wiser to purchase insurance from a broker.

[Lord Nikon]

Originally waffled by Bender
But DON'T buy anything from MAplins. Look around - you can buy better parts cheaper elsewhere. Maplins are good for electrical bits, but their PC stuff is overpriced I find.

I COMPLETELY agree, I only meant they sold the book...


little things like £56 for a 20Gb HD are off putting at Maplin.


Originally waffled by timewarrior2001
When I purchased a laptop from TIME i got an offer on the warranty. It stated that if I made no warranty claims within 5 years I got my money back.

Yes, but time know how reliable their products are and are probably 80% certain they won't have to refund.

At one point Time computers had a 40% failure rate within the quality control environment, and a 60% failure rate post shipping.
Then there was the courier who tended to make the assumption that the handle on the side of a box with a monitor in it was put there for loading them with a fork lift..

[timewarrior2001]

Originally posted by Lord Nikon

Yes, but time know how reliable their products are and are probably 80% certain they won't have to refund.

At one point Time computers had a 40% failure rate within the quality control environment, and a 60% failure rate post shipping.
Then there was the courier who tended to make the assumption that the handle on the side of a box with a monitor in it was put there for loading them with a fork lift..

Maybe true, but in anther 6 months I get £150 back.

Most couriers throw anything about, especially if the sender was dumb enough to label it "FRAGILE"
I think they play Fragile footy with the stuff, theres no way the boxes could get so smashed up by transit alone.

[Xaccers]

A dell 17" monitor in its unopened box can survive a fall of about 12foot :D

[timewarrior2001]

Originally posted by Xaccers
A dell 17" monitor in its unopened box can survive a fall of about 12foot :D

Yet is still delivered in several smallish pieces by the courier :D

[Xaccers]

Originally posted by timewarrior2001
Yet is still delivered in several smallish pieces by the courier :D

Hehehe no thankfully!
Used to deal with Dell when I worked at DERA back in 97, and a delivery of monitors jumped off the back of the lorry all over the loading bay of the store room!
Only damage was to the corner of one of the boxes.
We were quite impressed :D

A contractor working at NTL did however have trouble with a DVD drive he ordered for his latitude.
It arrived folded in half!

[Graham]

Originally posted by timewarrior2001
When I purchased a laptop from TIME i got an offer on the warranty. It stated that if I made no warranty claims within 5 years I got my money back.

Be warned, such schemes may not be such great value as they appear.

There have been several cases reported recently on the BBC's Working Lunch programme of people having problems because they tend to have stipulations like your claim for the money back has to be made within 28 days of the 5years being up, or the insurance company that was backing the scheme has gone bust (and the contract is with them, not the retailer) or you have to return specific bits of paperwork which you will inevitably have chucked away!