Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 95 total)
  • PC World, Are they the Halfords or the Screwfix of the PC world ?
  • Thinking of getting a new computer as this one is getting slower and slower.
    Not done much research yet, so how does this one from PC World look ?
    http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-g5330uk-desktop-pc-09885821-pdt.html#product-information

    Are PC World like Halfords, lots of useless tat sold by numpties with the occasional gem (Boardman) ?
    Or are they more like Screwfix, the same quality stuff you’d get anywhere else, but piled higher and sold cheaper.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Are PC World like Halfords, lots of useless tat sold by numpties with the occasional gem (Boardman) ?

    Pretty much exactly that, yes. However, branded kit is branded kit, HP is good stuff.

    I like PCW as a place to go and manhandle goods before purchase. Also, somewhat surprisingly, their Business wing have always been very good to deal with (or were back in PCWBD days anyway).

    aracer
    Free Member

    Halfords have redeeming qualities compared to PC World. Not at all like Screwfix, as their prices aren’t all that competitive.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    Drac
    Full Member

    They sometimes have a good deal on, if they do take the computer take no extra warranty or crappy AV software in with the sale. Pay and they get out of there.

    simon_g
    Full Member

    Are you a technical numpty who’s going to cock up his own computer then expect lots of help and hand-holding afterwards? Probably not the best choice if so.

    If you’re buying a branded PC from there, you’re happy with the spec and can support yourself (or call up the manufacturer for it), no reason not to shop there, as long as you avoid the extended warranties.

    aracer
    Free Member

    I like PCW as a place to go and manhandle goods before purchase.

    I like PCW as a place to go and manhandle goods before purchase from somewhere else 😉

    Cougar
    Full Member

    if they do take the computer take no extra warranty or crappy AV

    Good point, well made.

    The correct answer to “would you like McAfee AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, a three year warranty, a 3G dongle and a copy of FIFA 09 with that sir?” is “would you like a good, hard kick in the manparts?”

    aracer
    Free Member

    Are you a technical numpty who’s going to cock up his own computer then expect lots of help and hand-holding afterwards? elfin?

    FTFY

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    I wouldn’t touch em with your thing, let alone my own, but yes great for that touchy feeley moment.
    Heard of too many ppl who’ve paid too much for some very basic repairs, and the kit they sell (as with all large retails who ‘stock’ kit) it ‘tends’ to be behind the time spec wise and expensive with it.

    Go look find the spec you want/need ,then save your money & buy from Dell*. 😉

    *Other online retailers are available

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    I bought a reconditioned laptop of the web from them and it blue screened a couple of times. I took it back into the shop and they refunded me no questions asked.

    Seemed pretty good service to me.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I like PCW as a place to go and manhandle goods before purchase from somewhere else

    You know, I originally wrote that, then remembered that the last netbook we bought came from there so wouldn’t strictly be true.

    Drac
    Full Member

    My Daughters laptop was from PCW, bought during one of there Bank Holiday sales so had a silly discount deal. It was a very recent model and was the cheapest by far, they do keep a mixture of new stuff and old you just have to check the prices but you do that with anything surely?

    Wow, 10 replies in 8 minutes.
    You can’t beat a mountain bike forum for IT advice. 😛

    Yeah, I’d heard before that PC World and the like make their money from the ad ons.
    I’ll stick with AVG free and take a chance without the extended warranty.
    I was thinking if I bought it, I might upgrade to 4GB of ram, which would probably immediately invalidate the warranty anyway.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Thinking of getting a new computer as this one is getting slower and slower.

    That’s a bit like saying “I’m thinking of getting a new car, this one’s getting low on oil.” Computers don’t generally get slower due to physical problems, have you considered a wipe and reinstall?

    how does this one from PC World look ?

    It’s a good brand but not a particularly stellar spec. If you want it for day to day office and spodding duties it should be fine. Personally, I’d be looking for 4Gb and a Core processor these days.

    aracer
    Free Member

    Cougar +1 – missed the obvious fact you don’t need a new PC in my haste to be rude about PCW.

    I’ll stick with AVG free

    Get MSE instead – that’s actually better than anything you can pay money for.

    geordiemick00
    Free Member

    Personally I’d say more like Halfords, but what large outfit don’t pile them high and sell them cheap??? That said I did buy a Compaq lap top from them 7 years ago and it’s still working, give or take 300 re-formats, hours and hours of dithering and multiple viruses.

    The Mac I bought two years ago has been faultless, never had to hit ctrl+alt+delete once and works about three times as fast, wouldn’t entertain a windows PC ever again….

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Get MSE instead – that’s actually better than anything you can pay money for.

    Have your +1 back, sir.

    AVG used to be the best, but it’s got progressively more annoying since version 7.5.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Actually,

    this one is getting slower and slower.

    I’ll stick with AVG free

    These two statements may not be wholly unrelated.

    Drac
    Full Member

    That said I did buy a Compaq lap top from them 7 years ago …..The Mac I bought two years ago has been faultless……works about three times as fast

    Hmmm! I wonder why?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I was thinking if I bought it, I might upgrade to 4GB of ram, which would probably immediately invalidate the warranty anyway.

    PCs are supposed to be user upgradable. I’m not aware of any manufacturer that does this, and I used to work at Time Computers.

    aracer
    Free Member

    Hmmm! I wonder why?

    Is it cuz it is white?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Is it cuz it is white?

    I see your problem, the “W” and “S” keys are very close together aren’t they.

    Hmmm, so there might be a connection between running slow and AVG free then ?
    My old PC ran fine with AVG free, I did wonder if it was just a coincidence that this one got significantly slower round about the same time I installed AVG. The hard drive got full to about 99% arout then as well, which I thought was the cause of it slowing down. I deleted a load of stuff and got it down to about 85%, but it never really speeded up again.

    I bought this computer second hand with no Windows disc.
    If I had a disc I would probably try a reinstall to see if that cured it.
    I just thought buying something a bit more modern would be an easier way to do it.

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    If your PC is getting slow, it’s possibly due to the raft of Microsoft upgrades they’ve been issuing.

    Getting a bit more memory in your existing PC may get it fast again.

    TuckerUK
    Free Member

    All you need to know about PC World is contain within the Gary Glitter saga. He took his PC in for repair and they looked through his hard drive. You may well say ‘good job too’, but I wonder how many other hard drives they’ve looked through? Your bank accounts, personal photos, names and addresses? TBH I was shocked they stayed in business after that, but the general public aren’t the most discerning bunch sometimes.

    R.lepecha
    Full Member

    In my personal opinion they are pretty darn rubbish, CCL or similar type shops are much better.

    Tend to give better service and have a better know how too! Ontop of that if you are wanting slight upgrades to an off the shelf spec PC they will probably fit you the parts for a small fee.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    He took his PC in for repair and they looked through his hard drive.

    I’d wager that PCW are far from unusual in this practice either.

    I bought this computer second hand with no Windows disc.

    Ah. It’s a shame you’re not NorthWestTrailquestsGraham or I’d have offered to do it for you. Is there an OEM licence sticker on it or anything?

    headfirst
    Free Member

    PCWorld are the ScrewYou of the PC world.

    There’s a little Intel sticker and a Windows sticker on the front and that’s it. No licence numbers anywhere.

    A couple of other things I’ve noticed that started at the same time as the hard drive got full and I installed AVG.
    Quite often, when I open a new tab or window, the bottom inch or so of the window is black. If I minimize then maximise it then fills the whole screen as it should.
    Almost every time I shut down, I get the “Windows needs to install something or other, click here to shut down without installing”.
    I’ve also noticed that AVG spends a lot of time updating and, when it does, everything else slows down.

    sobriety
    Free Member

    Sounds like it needs a wipe and reinstall.

    If you’re near Nottingham and are a computer numpty I may be able to help with that.

    aracer
    Free Member

    What flavour of Windows? It sounds a lot like a clean install would help.

    It’s a shame you’re not NorthWestTrailquestsGraham

    I’m not so far away, was actually up in the Wyre Forest yesterday…

    aracer
    Free Member

    All you need to know about PC World is contain within the Gary Glitter saga. He took his PC in for repair and they looked through his hard drive.

    Surely all they found was a load of trolling. Oops, I thought you said GlitterGary.

    Drac
    Full Member

    You can get revealers that will show your windows key, you then can download XP and use the key. If you’re feeling brave.

    http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/SoftKey-Revealer.shtml

    Cougar
    Full Member

    It’s a bit more complicated than that, because activating XP post-install is a minefield these days. Safest way is to copy the activation file (wpa.dbl) from system32 before you wipe it.

    I did a similar rebuild relatively recently and found out the hard way that MS have nobbled activation over the Internet. When I rang them, they refused to help even though I had a valid OEM licence because I’d used my own media rather than the disc that came with the PC ..oO

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    I’ve always found the issue to be to locate a copy of Xp that accepts your key.

    Any students in the family, who can allow you to buy (original) cheap software?

    Mmmmmhhh will investigate Cougar’s suggestion.

    Drac
    Full Member

    It’s a bit more complicated than that, because activating XP post-install is a minefield these days. Safest way is to copy the activation file (wpa.dbl) from system32 before you wipe it.

    Been awhile but it’s the method I used in the past, might have been before activation was introduced though.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    ohhh will investigate Cougar suggestion.

    If it’s XP Pro rather than Home, you might want to google “XP SLP” for another vaguely legitimate approach too.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Been awhile but it’s the method I used in the past, might have been before activation was introduced though.

    XP has required activation from day 1, it’s not something that was introduced later (IIRC anyway). OEMs can pre-activate their installations so that the end user doesn’t have to (and corporate versions don’t require activation), which might be what you’re thinking of.

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    Whilst most PCW are like Halfords, the one in Brentford had a really knowledgeable bloke ever (as long as it was linux).
    Generally – avoid unless the deal is great (my HP Laserjet was 50-ish quid BNIB).

    Drac
    Full Member

    XP has required activation from day 1, it’s not something that was introduced later (IIRC anyway).

    Hmmm maybe my memory is fuzzy and it’s been a lot longer than XP days. The linking to hardware bit is newish though.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 95 total)

The topic ‘PC World, Are they the Halfords or the Screwfix of the PC world ?’ is closed to new replies.