AOL and Dixons

[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 Anyone who goes and buys a computer from any shop across the land should accept that when they buy a computer it is out of date.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.

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

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.

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..

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

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

Yet is still delivered in several smallish pieces by the courier

[Xaccers]

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

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

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

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!