Buying a computer

[ciphergoth]

My desktop isn't fast enough to play DVDs. I think I want to buy a computer. Whole. I'll dual boot between XP and Linux; I guess I want about half a gig of memory and a nice big hard drive (120Gb or more). It doesn't have to be fast, you can't buy one that isn't way fast enough these days. I don't need a monitor; I already owe conflux £50 for a very nice one (or did I ever pay you? If not, are you at Bisexual Underground tomorrow?)

Who do you prefer to buy from? Recommendations so far include

http://www.scan.co.uk/
and of course http://www.dell.co.uk/ (but they insist on throwing in a monitor and speakers and suchlike)

UPDATE: Two people so far have suggested I buy an Apple. No further discussion of this possibility is needed. Thank you. Update to the update - the same goes for PS2s, thanks...

(PS I didn't do what I said I'd do - I went to Alternator. Blame goth peer pressure. Had a damn fine night though!)

Comments

[skx.livejournal.com]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/

[sheepthief.livejournal.com]

Seconded. For me they've always been fast and efficient as well as cheap.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Thanks. The unfortunate thing though is that it seems their configurator is a bit broken compared to Scan's or Dell's...

[sheepthief.livejournal.com]

Damn.

Scan tend to be fine unless something needs to be returned, and then they get a bit crap. I've only dealt with the business arm of Dell, and they were a nightmare.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Scan tend to be fine unless something needs to be returned, and then they get a bit crap.

This was what I popped in to leave a comment about - I've heard nothing but dire warnings about Scan due to their incredibly poor after-sales. They do tend to be cheap, but not cheap enough to justify the incredible hassle of trying to get them to exchange something, apparently.