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Geek Culture / Good place to buy a new PC?

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Fallout
22
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Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 03:38
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Can anyone throw up some links to a good place to buy and heavily customise a new PC? I've bought all my systems from Special Reserve before, who are competitive price and spec wise (in fact, one of the leaders) but I'm sick of their sh*te customer service, and half arsed build quality.

This must be a UK based company. Any suggestions?

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Mnemonix
21
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Joined: 2nd Dec 2002
Location: Skaro
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 03:40
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I recommend http://aria.co.uk

They are a good shop. I build my systems with parts from here .

The 3d chat is coming...
Rights For Traffic Cones!
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Fallout
22
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Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 03:52
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Browsing now. Cheers. Looks like a good link.

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Shadow Robert
22
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Joined: 22nd Sep 2002
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 03:57
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Well UK-Based poses a slight challenge;

Personally I use:
Alienware (UK/US Based) - Top quality, but top prices
Aries Computers (UK Based, Subsiduary of Watford Electronics) - Good Quality, cheap Athlon64 Laptops, customer service isn't too bad, but delivery times are a headache
Falcon Computers (US Based) - Expensive, beyond top-end Custom Solutions.

Really would need to know a/why it has to be UK-Based, b/price-range, c/general useage purpose

I use Alienware the most, because for the UK thier prices aren't too high, and they provide you with a nice range with a good customisation process. Not to mention they are highly optimised allowing for the best possible speed.


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Fallout
22
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Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 04:10
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It has to be UK based because I live in the UK. Importing is a headache with the IR, with claiming on warrenty, with regional issues, etc.

Any price range. I'm looking for a store, not a specific computer, but I don't want cheap. I want to browse top of the range bits and bobs.

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Shadow Robert
22
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Joined: 22nd Sep 2002
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 04:25
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Well Alienware export to the UK from N.Ireland, so that shouldn't be a trouble.

Most of the international companies do:
http://www.alienware.co.uk, not cheap stuff but not overly expensive either. very very good service & quality though


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Fallout
22
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Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 04:56
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Hmm, not bad, but a little over-priced I think. I put together the same spec on special reserve and alien ware, and the difference is £350, so I'm gonna keep looking for a decent deal.

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Richard Davey
Retired Moderator
22
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Joined: 30th Apr 2002
Location: On the Jupiter Probe
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 08:15 Edited at: 19th Nov 2004 08:16
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Hiya,

I would give a massive hearty recommendation to any system built by Best Price Computers (Poweroid) - http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk

Their web site might not be the best looking around, and they aren't the cheapest, but the build quality is simply superb. I bought my main work PC from them two years ago through TGC and it has been on virtually 24-hours a day, every day since with no issues at all. All I changed were the graphics cards when NVIDIA shipped me a new ones.

Very recently I also replaced the motherboard, but it wasn't because it had died on me, simply because I needed the features of newer boards. I would have no hesitation at all in buying a new PC from them again and plan to do so once Longhorn is the "defacto" standard in a year or two.

I know their company name is cheesy, but honestly their machines rock.

If you want to build it yourself instead, then I wouldn't shop anywhere other than Overclockers UK. Great service, prices and speedy delivery. I hate looking at their web site though, because every time I go on there I end up spending money

Cheers,

Rich

"I am not young enough to know everything."
- Oscar Wilde
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Mattman
21
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Joined: 5th Jun 2003
Location: East Lansing
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 11:18
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If it's okay with you fallout, could I ask that people post some US based ones? If you want I can start a new thread but I'm interested in this too.

Song of the whenever i feel like updating it....
Man in a Dress, by Stew
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Van B
Moderator
21
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Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 19th Nov 2004 20:07
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If you have the noodles, I'd suggest just buying your components and building the thing yourself - at least you'll know the machine inside out and the extra care and attention you'd spend on your own PC is far greater than any assembly line monkey would. Building PC's is a matter of getting good quality components that work well together, the difficult bit is choosing the best stuff for the job.

I mean some places throw PC's together production line style, you've no idea how the components have been stored, or how reliable they were in the first place. When buying single components, most of the time they're properly protected for shipping, and if the worst happens it's quite straightforward to get it replaced - a whole PC can be dropped, kicked, left outside, in the damp, anything can happen to that PC before it get's to you - and it often does.


Van-B


It's c**p being the only coder in the village.
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Fallout
22
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Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 20th Nov 2004 02:15
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Cheers for that rich. I'll check that site out. I'm not intending to buy just yet, as my PC is still good for now. I might just upgrade instead. Either way, I'll have a look.

@Mattman - No probs.

@Van B

No doubt. My dad bought a PC a few months a go from Special Reserve (and this is the reason why I'm sick of their customer service). It came with a TV Tuner card and modem, neither of which worked. I tried to add the software for the cards, checked the drivers, but it simply could not detect them. They were nowhere to be seen. So I finally opened up the case to find they weren't even plugged into the PCIs. The motherboard was located too far away from the slots, so PCI cards couldn't physically fit in. Absolutely shocking incompetence.

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