Where's a good place to buy a PC these days?

[Blurp]

I'm desperately in need to a new computer- my laptop is on its last legs. So I'm thinking of trying to get a bargain on Black Friday. I'm just not sure where to go to buy a PC these days! My last few laptops have been second-hand from friends, so the last time I actually bought a computer was about 2001!

I have a budget of about £500, and would prefer to shop in a physical shop, rather than online. I want a desktop PC rather than a laptop.

The only place I can think of locally is Curry's/PC World - are they good? Or Argos? Anywhere else obvious that I'm missing? We don't seem to have any little local computer shops any more.

I just typed a really long reply and lost it. Anyway I’m no expert I’m hoping someone clever will suggest somewhere to get dd1 a laptop.

I did buy myself a lovely Hewlett Packard from John Lewis before lockdown. It’s one of the ones where the computer bits are in the monitor so I can carry it around fairly easily to watch iplayer or Netflix in different rooms and I think it’s about a 24 inch monitor so I’m very happy with it.

I looked at John Lewis, argos, curry’s and amazon. It felt like John Lewis was more expensive but really many of the computers had a better form of memory (I think it might be called Ssd) that is quicker and longer lasting. So it’s something to bear in mind that machines with similar looking specs can be much more expensive because of this memory.

Anyway hopefully I have bumped this enough that someone with real knowledge will reply. Or you could post in the ‘Christmas’ area as I’m sure some people will be buying them as presents.

Where in the country are you Blurp
If you're in the Bradford area CCLOnline are quite good as they have a showroom. They also sell online.
PC World are ..... Ok, but willdesperately try to sell you extras (service plans etc) but at least you can see the actual machine. As an online firm Dell are quite good and have a collect and return policy for when things go wrong. John Lewis sell Dells with an extra years warranty thrown in.
SSDs are replacing the traditional mechanical hard drive.

Thanks. I'm York direction, hadn't thought of John Lewis, so will have a look at their website. A smaller local place would be good, if possible, but we don't seem to have any open at the moment.

A vote for John Lewis - good choice and has the extra JL guarantee.

www.amazon.co.uk/ACEPC-Prozessor-Computer-Ethernet-Dual-Band/dp/B07JHJM4SB/ref=asc_df_B07JHJM4SB/?hvlocphy=1007387&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=310817362302&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-784718701392&hvrand=10276008128139664901

I've become a fan of these. Lots of places sell them but my 2 came from Amazon.

I was going to say Overclockers but even their basic stuff would be out of budget I think - theirs are more gaming PCs.

If you know what spec you need, have a Google what models are best and then look direct on the brand website - they might have black Friday deals!

Oh apologies, I forgot you wanted in-person - for desktops to buy in person I think either Currys or Argos is your best bet. Some dept stores will carry them but only online, I'd imagine?

DH says Dell. They don't have a physical shop but they are cheapish and pretty good. His top tip is to try their outlet store though check to see if a monitor is included.

Thanks for all the advice!

I'd definitely agree with Dell. I had a desktop that lasted years. It would still be going now if we didn't replace it with a laptop.

We ended up getting a Lenovo from Mesh. It was a good spec at a good price.

CCL online is a great little shop (with a big online presence), and its right on the junction for the M62, so not too bad from York (40mins). They'll build to whatever spec you want, or customise their off the shelf models for you.

In days where your best alternative is curry's, I'd be more than happy to go a little out of my way to support a decent independent retailer. You can also visit Tong garden centre while you're there, which has nice local produce and homewares.

@FixTheBone

CCL online is a great little shop (with a big online presence), and its right on the junction for the M62, so not too bad from York (40mins). They'll build to whatever spec you want, or customise their off the shelf models for you.

In days where your best alternative is curry's, I'd be more than happy to go a little out of my way to support a decent independent retailer. You can also visit Tong garden centre while you're there, which has nice local produce and homewares.

Thank you!