12 August 2010

Computer Upgrade Time - Locals? Market?

| Tim Kelly
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Having seen warnings of scams on All Classifieds on RA before, I thought I’d ask if any of the readers had ever dealt with a seller I have found on there. They list their company name as A.I.Trilogy. I am looking at a Computer upgrade and a couple of theirs look appealing. Not encouraged, however, by the fact their own website isn’t up and running.

Any RA readers a past A.I.Trilogy customer? Or alternatively, can the hive mind recommend a good local retailer of an upgrade box that’ll stand by their work and not rip me off? Have had a couple of friends offer to do upgrades to my current box after a trip to one of the Computer Fairs/Markets, but worry that makes taking back defective components that much harder.

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Well, that thread lasted a lot longer before degenerating into a fanboy discussion than expected. Cheers gp for holding out as long as you did to call the flames.

And for those still following the fun, I’m trying to run Starcraft 2. Yep. Gamer nerd.

Dome said :

… saw a Dell ad on the telly that day…

Cheers for the suggestion but regard the Dell (and for that matter, boxed packages sold at Harvey Norman/DSE etc) with great suspicion.

Davo111 said :

Are you just looking for parts? or a ready made box?

Looking for either really, but not without awareness of what goes IN the box and how adequately its all put together.

troll-sniffer said :

…and the CPU and RAM are correct in the My Computer details, there’s no reason to think it’s not a kosher deal….

Bugger My Computer – I’d be opening the case and checking serial numbers.

troll-sniffer said :

Dells are good as well but you’ll be paying about 30% more than AI trilogy and your computers won’t be as flexible for future upgrades etc.

Bingo.

Cheers Harvyk for feedback on Markets, and the many who +1’d ATM in Belconnen. Got some good starting points for my shopping about now.

Basketcase – yeah ran a seach for Trilogy over Whirlpool, nothing there.

🙂

Woody Mann-Caruso8:57 am 13 Aug 10

You wont be upgrading individual components, unless you buy genuine branded parts from genuine resellers

Oh. I guess I must have imagined upgrading the memory and HDD in my iMac using generic parts.

having to network one once, which meant buying an Apple network card which cost about 6x more

Oh. I guess I must have imagined ethernet, Bluetooth and wireless b/g/n working seamlessly out of the box. Seriously, what year was this? Because your claim is like me saying ‘ooh, don’t buy a PC – all that mucking about with your autoexec.bat and config.sys just to get Comanche to run. Get a Sega MegaDrive instead! Also, Informer is an awesome song!’

If you plan on following any technologies such as graphics or games development where you might need new hardware as it evolves

Yes – buy a console instead. By the time you upgrade your PC’s memory and graphics card, and maybe the processor and OS, then reinstalled and upgraded all your drivers and installed half a dozen patches, you might be able to play COD4 and only have it lock up two or three times per mission. Well, when you’re not busy upgrading your anti-virus and spyware definitions, anyway. Sorry – I forgot doing all that stuff was ‘fun’ and shows you’re ‘in control’ of your machine. You, and that Russian child porn botnet.

gp said :

Sorry everyone, but I just have to…

Get a Mac.

That also gets around the whole upgrade problem too. You wont be upgrading individual components, unless you buy genuine branded parts from genuine resellers, who obviously have to pay the mother company for their right to use the name ‘mac’ in their name. Only experience Ive ever had with a mac, was having to network one once, which meant buying an Apple network card which cost about 6x more than the cards we bought for the PCs.

If you just want a computer to turn on, type some documents in and browse some websites that will never have any more demands on your system than current, then go buy a mac. If you plan on following any technologies such as graphics or games development where you might need new hardware as it evolves, dont even think of a mac.

Also, back on topic, you can ask at the front door of the computer fair for the name/details of any seller in the fair. In this way you can confirm they are legitimate, and also if you have a problem you can goto the fair the following week and ask at the door where to find the seller who you need a warranty from, for example. Ive bought several bits of hardware from the fairs, which have failed, and have been replaced on-the-spot by the sellers at the fair. Ive bought many more parts from the fair, which havent had any problems and are generally cheaper than buying retail as theyre not having to cover wages/rent/etc from the sale of 1 or 2 items per day like in the shop, but from the sale of 200 items per day.

Woody Mann-Caruso9:04 pm 12 Aug 10

Get a Mac.

They’ve dealt with all the dodgy Chinese people for you.

If I could meet Michael Dell, I would punch him.

Sorry everyone, but I just have to…

Get a Mac.

This guy was as cheap as the markets

Onward Technology Pty Ltd
Address: 5/74-76 Townsville St, Fyshwick, ACT, 2609
Phone number: (02) 62807519

Built me one to spec, took it back with one problem, fixed on the spot, and been trouble free for the last 20 months.

ATM Belconnen (Oatley and Nettlefold St) are OK also. Bought a computer from them in 2004. One small problem they fixed without question.

You can also check whirlpool

I got my latest computer from Best Price Computers in Civic (Petrie Plaza across from Ted’s) and I’ve been very happy with it.

Holden Caulfield2:56 pm 12 Aug 10

Look, I’m not a tech head, I just want one that go faster than 12.

troll-sniffer said :

Dells are good as well but you’ll be paying about 30% more than AI trilogy and your computers won’t be as flexible for future upgrades etc.

As I said – look for the “TV” specials – usually (much) higher specced than the brochures, and usually quite a bit cheaper.

T1G3R said :

Local computer stores are overpriced unfortunately but the service is somewhat worth it. Don’t get dell’s as they may be “impressive” they use cheap parts within the machines/laptops. If you want that you can buy at any retailer but I recommend HP, they are affordable and seem to never break down for me. If its laptops go for Toshiba and Asus.

The computer markets fellows HATE MSY but they are great, I always get my parts from them from either Melbourne or Sydney and build my own PC. If you really like them you can also get your gear couriered.

Another geek favourite if you want to do some online shopping is http://www.scorptec.com.au/

My mistake, the sellers at the computer markets don’t like MSY because they cannot compete and match their prices, not that the products sold are bad 😛

Local computer stores are overpriced unfortunately but the service is somewhat worth it. Don’t get dell’s as they may be “impressive” they use cheap parts within the machines/laptops. If you want that you can buy at any retailer but I recommend HP, they are affordable and seem to never break down for me. If its laptops go for Toshiba and Asus.

The computer markets fellows HATE MSY but they are great, I always get my parts from them from either Melbourne or Sydney and build my own PC. If you really like them you can also get your gear couriered.

Another geek favourite if you want to do some online shopping is http://www.scorptec.com.au/

I’ll thow a word in for ATM computers at belconnen – bought there first in 2002 and have purchased another 4 there over the years since – always found Eva and staff very helpful

I often purchase equipment from the computer markets, however I know hardware quite well and I know what works and what doesn’t.

If you know what you’re doing the computer markets can be a great way to get hold of really cheap hardware, but do your research first, otherwise you’ll end up with overpriced crap and \ or the “really fast card” won’t be as fast as the salesperson says it should be.

As for warranty, I’ve only ever had to replace one thing under warranty, yes I did have to wait a week until the next fair, however the person had a working replacement for me. Keep in mind that if vendors don’t honour warranties you can complain to the markets themselves. Furthermore a computer store having a Canberra shopfront is no guarantee that they don’t sell dodge equipment, there are at least 2 such stores which I can think of which have come and gone.

My partner and I bought a PC from this guy several years ago. I think we got the basic home/ office pack with a few specific upgrades (you can mix and match). Its just a young computer geek type guy running his own business, but he seems to know his stuff.

We had a few issues with the PC not being ready on time and the original motherboard blowing up within a day or 2 (replaced and given an upgrade as an apology). But were happy in the end and at least 3 years later (can’t remember exactly how long) its still going fine. We had to get the power supply replaced last year, but for a budget job its pretty good.

I think we got what we paid for here.

I buy all my computer stuff at the computer markets, all the stands at the markets are acctual computer shops with their stores being located interstate (so provide warranty and contact details). I have never had a problem with anything I have bought there.

OA Computers in Belconnen did a good job for me, and they’re responsive to whether you want cheap or high-end. They would be good to talk to if you want to ask about a piece by piece upgrade.

and +1 for Dell too.

troll-sniffer11:17 am 12 Aug 10

I forgot to mention that Elemax in Fyshwick are well known as computer suppliers with prices only a bit above the markets…

troll-sniffer11:16 am 12 Aug 10

AI Trilogy ads look ridgey didge and the specs are good. Seems to me if you can pick up the computer, confirming that the thing works, loads up Windows 7 as the operating system, and the CPU and RAM are correct in the My Computer details, there’s no reason to think it’s not a kosher deal.

For basic home computing, internet and watching a few youtube clips etc the $580 package would be fine IMHO but if you have the funds the $1490 one quoted loks like excellent long term value.

Dells are good as well but you’ll be paying about 30% more than AI trilogy and your computers won’t be as flexible for future upgrades etc.

I nearly bought one of his computers but found a second-hand one that suited me better the same week, but otherwise I would have bought one of the top of the line ones.

Are you just looking for parts? or a ready made box?

IJK has an affiliate store in Fyshwick – http://ijk.com.au/branch/canberra/ I haven’t bought from them personally, but have told you can save instead of shipping from interstate.

I went to the computer fair and didnt have much success tbh. I found it interesting to look at overweight smelly computer nerds haggling over $1 as per this post. http://the-riotact.com/?p=1961

In the past I’d always used a local shop to build my PCs, and last year organised a “quote” from the usual place, but coincidentally saw a Dell ad on the telly that day. The Dell machine was massively over specced compared with the quote I had, and was roughly $500 cheaper.

Ordered it, got it a week later and its a beauty. The flat panel 24″ monitor didn’t work out of the box (BTW was not included in my local quote either), but one phone call had a new one delivered the next morning. Never thought I’d be recommending Dell having had 3 work laptops go U/S on me – but there you go. Watch out for “TV” specials.

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