Pondering a new PC

Been looking at getting a PC for the boy..

I've come across Dell Inspiron 530 DT (D08505A) for £339 inc VAT and shipping

Sounds not bad - 19" flat screen, 160G drive, 1G RAM, Celeron 420 Processor,  Integrated Intel Accelerator 3100, Vista Home basics

Good buy? Any Dell buyers out there? We use them at work but the higher end models.

What about Vista? Any one using this yet? Should I go for Home Premium? Is 1G enough? Currently I use XP Pro and am more than happy with it. But I won't be using the new PC much. (ha! that's what he says...) I'll continue to use my old noisy trusted beast.

Any words of wisdom appreciated.

I'll be perfectly honest.  I won't touch Vista with a 10 foot pole right now- it was rushed to production and will need some major updates, imo before I'm ready to use it as my primary OS (but then again I'm a major computer geek and use my PC for especially techy things.)  I'm in the market for a new computer as well and I'm getting mine from a small company that will build the computer for me just so I can get XP on my computer instead of Vista.

If you do get Vista, definitely go for Home Premium, not Home Basic.  Everything I've read says that Home Basic is not worth it because it leaves out a lot of the features that make Vista an "improvement" over Windows XP.

Remember that Vista needs some pretty up-to-date hardware to run at its best- with a celeron processor you may not get all the performance out of it that you could.

My recent laptop came with Vista and it's been a nightmare! Stay away!

A recent example: I needed to do a job which involved installing software that simply wasn't compatible with Vista. It caused a huge headache and as a result, cost me the job.

I'm sure others that are more computer-savvy than me will also chime in.

Oh Mac, how I love thee now that I have seen the light

My parents have had a few frustrations with Vista, though I'm sorry I don't know which version they have.

I know, I'm very helpful.

However, what I can add is when I was a PC user, I SWORE by Dell (by them, not at them).  If I were still a PC user, I would definitely stick with Dell.  Their customer service was above and beyond my expectations (even if I did reach a call center in India; the guy who helped me with a NIGHTMARE actually took a shorter dinner break, to then call me back, and stick with me until we were both absolutely sure the problem was solved.

I've used both Macs and PCs over the years, and am a diehard PC user now. I'll never go back. And, like Elizabeth, I have a nice love affair going with Dell. Or did. My desktop is a Dell and I've never had any issues with it at all. It's great! But I tend to mostly use my laptop nowadays and it's a Toshiba (Qosmio) ... it rocks!

Thanks. It seems unanimous - vista is a no-go. (well I will undoubtedly have to maintain that machine and I really don't feel like learning the idiosyncrasies and quirks of a new OS).

I didn't see an option for XP so do you think there would be any problems of just formatting and starting from scratch? Or would Dell be difficult for drivers etc? I mean would normal XP drivers work with Dell components? I seemed to remember they were very proprietary.

The hardware sounds good for the price.

I've just recently bought a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop (1GB RAM, 80GB HD) which has Vista Home Premium and so far I haven't had any major problems with using Vista. It's got a few cool features but doesn't quite seem as sturdy as XP in terms of performance (it's constantly updating McAfee when I switch the laptop on, which slows down the performance a little).

There should be an option on the Dell website to configure the PC with either Vista or XP (at least this is the case on the UK Dell site) - it doesn't seem to affect the price, whichever one you go with.

I've had both a Dell PC (5150) and a laptop now and I've been very happy with both of them.

I've used both Macs and PCs over the years, and am a diehard PC user now. I'll never go back. And, like Elizabeth, I have a nice love affair going with Dell. Or did. My desktop is a Dell and I've never had any issues with it at all. It's great! But I tend to mostly use my laptop nowadays and it's a Toshiba (Qosmio) ... it rocks!

I have a Toshiba-Satellite laptop and I'm quite happy with it after over a year.
For some reason I want to go back to a desktop so I appreciate the Dell recommendations. I've had Gateway and Mac before all were good to me.
I think the cost of desktops have gone up in price?
I was thinking $200+ range but they are at $400. I'l have to see todays Sunday insert.

Hi Ayoubob..

To help you in your decision, I suggest you do a few things to get a good shortlist.

1. Evaluate what you'd 'LIKE' to be able to do on the new PC. If you simply MUST have the software or product you are using on your WinXP box and it currently 'hasn't' got a Vista certified update - then continue to use your old box and then possibly upgrade it to the Vista certified version once it's available.

2. Vista is 'stable' to the extent of what you want to do with it 'currently' If all you'll do is surf the web, maybe use a spreadsheet or word processor and look after digital pics and maybe music files, it'll be fine now. If you are like Andrea and myself and tinker and/or use specific software and devices - then it'll be worth waiting until Vista Service Pack 1 is released towards late 07/early08 (no specific or official release time as yet) - this will provide for better driver support and allow manufacturers to get Vista certified versions of their devices/software etc out to market.

3. Nip in WHSmith and pickup a PC magazine with reviews of different systems for the budget you are willing to spend. Compare with Dell's offerings on their website, check also fantastic builders such as Mesh.co.uk and Cube247.co.uk who'll build powerful PCs at good prices.

4. Look at any peripheral items you have, printers, dig cameras, external hard disks etc and see if their manufacturers have Vista updates for those models. Many are only doing Vista compatible stuff for their NEW items - leaving the older ones not getting updates.

5. Techy solution - If you do go for a new PC with Vista on it (Home Premium is DEFINITLEY the one to get) you can make it into a 'Dual Boot' machine. This means XP and Vista can be installed and you choose which one you want to boot into at start up. It's 'harder' to get XP installed on a machine with Vista on it already, rather than one with XP on it already and putting Vista 'on' it. However, you 'could' get the new PC, not install or load ANYTHING on it, reformat it, install windows XP on it, then install Vista on it as well. Then, once you have the dual boot machine, you go into XP, and install everything back to how you are working now, and then bit by bit you use vista as and when you feel like it and install use your docs etc on that until you feel more comfortable with it and there are vista updates for the stuff you must have and then make the complete switch !

there is more to it than just the above of course..  that was all an outline! if you don't fancy all that faffin about, I'd suggest running the 2 machines separatley, get yourself a wired or wireless router, and setup a small 'network' between the two! - I used to speak to many many client who did this when the Windows 2000 and XP changeover was happenign and also to many USA people coming here with thier USA machines who didn't or couldnt do the dual boot thing -

Recommendations? - I still have my first Dell laptop from 1998 and it still works! it's battered beyond comprehension! you can see the screen's PCB boards and wiring! but press the power and it boots up! amazing! I then bought a Dell powerhouse laptop in 2003 and it's what I use now - I've had to call support once when it was new for a new screen which they replaced within a week. So, my next laptop will be a Dell as well! hpefully going to order it next week! Have a Dell desktop at home as well which my niece and nephew use - never gone wrong at all - plus a few other brand laptops and desktops dotted around.

Have a look at other manufacturers too, I'm really liking the Mesh Quad core machine for £999 inc VAT and is a great overall machine. I'd personally stay away from Celeron Processors, at definitley go for a Core 2 Duo (a quad in the mesh example above!) with as much RAM as you can afford. 1GB is recommended, 2 GB is cheaper to upgrade to and is an excellent amount to have.

There's way too much to suggest via a web forum but the points above should help you start creating a shortlist. Drop me a PM if you like on more specific areas and I'll be happy to advise!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Mac Mac Mac!!! 

OK Thanks peeps. A lot of good guidence. Going with Mac. JennRedd convinced me. LOL Not really. Maybe next time. 

ksand24, it looks like Dell UK only offer 3 choices with this model and all variants of vista.

I think I may opt for this one but will look about. As I said it is really for the wee boy (4) to kick about on and learn. A few kid games perhaps, nothing really memory hungry. I don't really plan on using it but will need to become conversant with Vista. (unless he learns really quick).

Thanks Den. I'll look at at Mesh. I nearly forgot about them. I been down that dual boot route before. I still have a Amstrad 1512  with a 20M hard drive, 2xCompaq Deskpro 386 with Windows 3.1, 1xCompaq 386 with DOS 5 (?), 1xCompaq 486 Deskpro with dual boot (95 & SCO Unix) 1 x KAMCO 486 with 8M of RAM!!!(only cost £1750!!! ). I had them networked ages ago when I was cross training to IT. Got my self a job as a network engineer after learning Novelle and NT. I hated, absolutely hated the IT industry for the treatment of staff and customers and after a few years, went back into telecoms. I have kind of lost the buzz that computing once had.

ksand24, it looks like Dell UK only offer 3 choices with this model and all variants of vista.

Ah, yes - I've just had a look at the Dell site too and now they are only offering XP with selected models of PCs (the expensive XPS ones) and laptops. I bought my laptop back in May and haven't checked the website since then.

I went to reply and it all turned into a smile. I did say not this time to Mac, I didn't say never. 

Ah, yes - I've just had a look at the Dell site too and now they are only offering XP with selected models of PCs (the expensive XPS ones) and laptops. I bought my laptop back in May and haven't checked the website since then.

Yikes! £2,770!! Ultimate warrior machine. I didn't think you could still pay £2,770 for a home PC.