new computer

gubby

I am in the market for a new computer.
Can anyone tell me of a GOOD computer store in Cork.
not soundstore.. noooooooooooooo!!!

MidnightQueen

Compustore - Blackpool shopping centre. Its upstairs.

Raskolnikov

gubby wrote:

I am in the market for a new computer.
Can anyone tell me of a GOOD computer store in Cork.
not soundstore.. noooooooooooooo!!!

There are none I'm afraid.

If you want a super cheap and cheerful computer that'll do basic enough stuff like get you on the net and let you use MS Office stuff then just get the cheapest model you can find on Dell.

Soundstore = Compustore by the way!

Nukem

Soundstore no! Buddy bought a HP there the other day it lasted ehhhh bout a day.Typical!!

Anyways.Buying a comp in Cork-Not really.Buy one online www.dabs.co.uk
www.dell.ie Try the link here Dell Rebate
(laptops are better value but always double check the pricing)

mmmmmmmmmmm..........
There are a few other places online that do good deals,What you want it for?

MidnightQueen

Ok then forget about what i said. Sorry but i did buy a Dell Inspirion 8600 there last September. Its still in very good condition. I ordered it through that company.

Tiriel

you bought a Dell through compustore KittyKat? I didn't think that was possible.. hmm.. handy!

What about the ESB shop.. they sell pc's and laptops..
And Flor Griffin's on Parnell Place..
I bought mine from Dell.. would recommend that!

rymus

Dell through soundstore? If its possible, it doesnt sound right. Probably some compustore manager pulling a fast one. I'd stay well away from Flor Griffin computers for one simple reason; theyre crap.

Soundstore have a nasty habit of profiteering. Saw it recently in the Sarsfields rd branch where two middle-aged women came in to buy a computer. They started off the salesman with "We want a computer. We want a dvd thing to copy dvd's and we want a flat monitor. We want all the megabytes and gigabytes and all that stuff."

The salesman (barely able to contain his delight at the stupidity of the shoppers) proceeded to demonstrate the most expensive computer on show. They seemed to be buying into the whole thing too. Crafty bastard salesmen. Unless you know exactly what you want and exactly how much you want to pay, stay away from Soundstore.

Bottom line; go to Dell.

gubby

ok thanks for all the advice.. but I dont think i really like dell.. I have heard about their after sale service..
I kinda have my heart set on Iqon they are in the esb and in q&v in Ballincollig.
I mostly need it for home buisness and internet,, downloading music and film etc.
So I want it fairly right.
I use the computer quiet a lot but still not very good at knowing what questions to ask.. I dont want to be like those ladies in compustore lol
No way will i go to flor griffen... the sales staff there are the worst i have ever come across.
could anyone give me specks to ask for.
would I really be better getting a lap top??????????

Raskolnikov

gubby wrote:

ok thanks for all the advice.. but I dont think i really like dell.. I have heard about their after sale service..

The Dell after sales service is very good (through my experience anyway). Laptop developed a fault, two phone calls later they arranged to collect it, fixed it and had it back to me in less than a week. Go with the ESB or Compustore/SoundStore and you might not see your computer for months. After sales support with them is probably non-existant should you need a query answered. You get a computer from Dell to suit your needs for about €500-€600 easily.

MidnightQueen

Cork_girl wrote:

you bought a Dell through compustore KittyKat? I didn't think that was possible.. hmm.. handy!

Ya i just asked the manager if he could do that, so he must have rang up Dell or something. Dunno, so i bought it for a cool 2 grand.

rymus

Raskolnikov wrote:

After sales support with them is probably non-existant should you need a query answered.

And if such a need arises, chances are they wont actually know the answer to your question.

Dell have an outlet store on their website that I rediscovered last night. Some very good deals on there too. You have to supply your own monitor, but that's hardly a problem. well worth checking out.

Danni

I'd try PC Pro if i were you. They've decent machines & are not too pricey.. Oh & if you do end up buying a DELL, don't buy anything from the Dimension range coz their customer service is in India & they don't have a clue when u ring them!

namaimo

Maddens Entertainment Store on Maylor Streed do other brands if Dell is a no go...
Also i think Cork Computer Clinic sell computers or is it just upgrades???

rymus

Maddens sell Sony VAIO iirc. If you REALLY want to shell out wads of cash for a sony, why not just go to the sony centre?

Computer clinic are probably still rip-off merchants... at least they were a year or two ago.

The only way you'll get a PC Pro machine is by buying through some company that resells them. PC Pro themselves are trade only.

You mentalists, just buy dell! Get yourself a nice TFT and buy something on the cheap from their outlet website. That's my plan anyway

deRanged

Buy a dell. it's probably the easiest and cheapest way to go.

I buy lots of machines for work(100+ in the last 3 years), plus personal ones (3 laptops and 3 desktops) and I wouldn't touch Flor Griffins or PCPRO with a bargepole. CompuStore have robbed me blind in the past (when I was young and foolish) and any other place I've used has gone belly up. So I recommend Dell - 99% of the time they're fantastic and the prices are amazing.
I don't know about service for home machines though, I've only used the server support.
I don't know it it would suit but if you are going for a laptop consider an iBook. You can get an iBook for about the same price as a decent x86 laptop (say 1200 odd) and they're great machines. You can also get a discount if you're a student.

hcvti

Try this PC.............Good value, good Price, Tidy looking, all for under 500 yoyo's, Just add a monitor.......however 1 box missing out of my last Order.....yet another english company to have stuff lost in Transit........Getting Sick of it, however Does the saving in cost warrent the hassle.
Anyway shipping is about 30stg(45+ yoyo's) so you better order alot of stuff to warrent the shipping. have solt 7 of these PC's and not a problem with any of them.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=3294621346&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=72747

Later.

gubby

Oh no... no no no
Now I am really confused. ok I decided to check out compustore in Blackpool and i am still drooling after looking at the selection of hb systems...
But most of the advice here tells me to go for dell.. but I checked and but dont feel really confidant enough to buy online.. I like to really see what Im getting and dont really understand theose mgb and ram etc...
my budget is 1500 yoyos

rymus

then try a few pc's in the likes of compustore, talk to salesmen, decide on what spec you want, have a look at the price of the system. Then take that information, go to Dell and I can almost guarantee that a pc of the same price will have a higher spec than soundstore. either that or you'll get a same spec pc for less €€€.

Why is it you dont feel confident to buy online? You'll know what you're getting after you look at whats available. A PC is a PC. Some are white, some are black but theyre all basically the same when you load windows XP on them. If its that you're worried that your credit card no. is going to get stolen, Im fairly sure you can send dell a cheque/postal order. You really needn't worry about anything going wrong with a credit card order though. Especially with the likes of dell.

Before you decide where youre getting it anyway, go to a showroom and have a fiddle around with whats available. Get to understand what spec you want for the type of applications you'll be running on the pc. Use and abuse the little amount of knowledge soundstore have.

If it's that you need someone to spell out exactly what you should be looking for for the type of work you'll be doing on the computer, post here with your expected typical usage and either myself or anyone else who posted here can suggest a pc to meet your needs. If you're not completely happy after that, soundstore will always be there.

Padraig Mor

gubby wrote:

Oh no... no no no
Now I am really confused. ok I decided to check out compustore in Blackpool and i am still drooling after looking at the selection of hb systems...
But most of the advice here tells me to go for dell.. but I checked and but dont feel really confidant enough to buy online.. I like to really see what Im getting and dont really understand theose mgb and ram etc...
my budget is 1500 yoyos

KEEP AWAY from Compustore or just about any other shop in Cork! You will pay over the odds for 6 month old technology. If you HAVE to buy in a shop, wait till Lidl or Aldi get PCs in (which they often do) and get one there. Other than that, the easiest thing is to order from Dell as normal (www.dell.ie) or from their 'outlet' store - great prices! (outlet.dell.com). Their computers aren't the best but I'd imagine they'll be fine your needs.

Remeber - say no to Compustore!

gubby

Their computers aren't the best but I'd imagine they'll be fine your needs.

ok thanks for that put down i think.. anyway its not that i am worried about buying online.. its just that there are questions I like to ask..?? like upgradability and after sales. dont want to ring support and get some geek talking flim flam.. and make me feel stupid if i dont understand.
Does anyone know about cordless mouse and keyboard? I have heard that they are not great? and when i tried out the mouse in compustore they were very "unrealiable" best word i could come up with.

tearing my hair out cos there is a sale on compustore this weekend.
might take another look tonight

gubby

ok took a look at dell online..
can anyone explaine something to this thicko
took a fancy to dell demension 4700
price was down from 1059 to 989 ok fair enough
then i continued to customize and buy and before i had done anything it had changed to down from 1203 to 1133 BEFORE i customised...
I did some changes not much and suddenly it was over my budget at (cant actually remember) something like 1700 euro
I know ye are all sick of me by now.. but I do really appreciate any help.
This will be my 3rd computer and I have been warned by "he who thinks he must be obeyed" that this is my last computer. So i cant afford any more mistakes.

rymus

they have a nasty habit of showing a "from €xxx" on the dell site. That'd be for the lowest model in that range. I think when you go to customise and buy it ramps up the price because it selects different support options. If you change the 3yr warranty to a 1yr for example, you'll save a few hundred quid.

Their computers aren't the best but I'd imagine they'll be fine your needs.

are you quite mad? The outlet store computers have great specs. you have to know what youre looking for though as some of the pcs on offer are a little pricey for what's on offer.

An example of a good deal to be had on the outlet store is a laptop I'm buying for someone. 3.2Ghz P4, 1GB ram, 60GB HD, 64MB geforce video, wireless b/g lan, cd-rw/dvd combo and all the normal software for €1,245. Seems like a good deal to me seeing as the pre-outlet price they quote for it is just over 1500 quid. Sure some of the machines dont come with media (dell restore cd) but if you ever need to reinstall xp, a copy of home can be got for 80 quid if you know where to look.

I fully intend on buying my next pc from the outlet store. Saw a few machines on there last night that are outstandingly good value. No monitors with anything from there but thats an easily fixed problem when you consider how much youre saving on a kick-ass pc

sound_wave

you should take a look over at the computer board and ask the lads over there. they will put together a very decent spec computer for you at that budget! all you gotta do is buy the parts off the net and im sure someone from cork over there will be more than happy to put it together for you!

only prob is no os comes with this option but as rymus says you can get a copy of Win2K or XP for a low low and i mean low price if you know where to look

batsi

Aldi has a great computer this week. I got one about 3 months ago. Great backup and the spec is superb. 3.5 pentium4 etc etc. Check it out and compare.

Nukem

gubby wrote:

ok took a look at dell online..
can anyone explaine something to this thicko
took a fancy to dell demension 4700
price was down from 1059 to 989 ok fair enough
then i continued to customize and buy and before i had done anything it had changed to down from 1203 to 1133 BEFORE i customised...
I did some changes not much and suddenly it was over my budget at (cant actually remember) something like 1700 euro
I know ye are all sick of me by now.. but I do really appreciate any help.
This will be my 3rd computer and I have been warned by "he who thinks he must be obeyed" that this is my last computer. So i cant afford any more mistakes.

Just a quick question.Did you unclick the 3yr care package rubbish.Knocks off about 250.It auto clicks it as "dell recommends"

gubby

the price changed BEFORE I had done anything..
yeah,, i did get it down to 1400 but still cant worried about after sale etc.
yeah i did untick the 3yr warrent stuff..

Nukem

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........................
Stumped so,wanna post what you require and we can see what we can do.
Would ya consider getting a Laptop?

gubby

Oh my god.....
I just popped into Maddens the other day... and I saw it!!!
Vaio RS704
P4 3.4 Ghz HT
1 GB
200GB
DVD Dual
17" XBlack
128MB ATI Radeon
XP Home
Nortons Security
TV Tuner
I year warrenty
1999

excuse me while I droolll
only one problem.. My budget is only 1500
will have to call to credit union I think
Thank you one and all for all your advice.. love you.

batsi

I was in Aldis yesterday and they still have some computers in stock. Higher spec than Maddens and a longer in home warranty. You can buy the computer with a 17 inch flat screen monitor for about 1500Euro.

dmac0202

I'm a bit late coming into this thread, so I don't know if you've made your purchase yet. But if you're willing to travel a little you could always head on down to PC World in Waterford (on the Cork Road, I believe). I haven't been there myself, so I don't know what that branch is like, but I bought my machine a few years ago in their Liffey Valley branch and I've had no trouble with it whatsoever (granted, I did wipe the hard disk completely to do my own install of Windows 2000 Professional as it came with Windows ME (yuk!)).

I've added bit's and pieces to it since then, all without a hitch. It's their own brand (Advent) of PC and I'm not sure what the support is like, as I've never had to use it. One of the best things about it is that the motherboard isn't restricted in the way it is by the big OEM manufacturers such as Dell and Compaq.

I have no doubt there are many more horror stories about PC World than there are success stories, but if you know what you're looking for, you can get a good deal there.

Failing that, my recomendation would also be to go with a Dell, or alternatively, build your own

-DM

rymus

I meant to get into PC World actually the last time I was in Waterford for a bit of a nose and a prod of the ol' shrinkwrap. Anyone been in there?