The PC Guild » Gadget Deals & Buys

How To NOT Get Scammed When Buying A Computer

Editor — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:21:53 +0000

1. Always check the specs carefully

Often, when a deal is too good to be true, there’s a reason. I sometimes see really cheap desktop PC’s with seemingly awesome specifications, but when you look deeper you’ll see that there’s a crappy graphics card, or a useless case, or maybe some other problem with that specific hardware.

2. Check online shopping comparison charts to see if you are really getting a deal

Google Product Search or Bing Shopping can help. Just enter your product name and see if what the real world prices are on your computer. Often manufacturers will spout out a lot of BS about deals, when it may be just a few dollars.

3. Never buy software or hardware with a computer

I cannot emphasize this enough. Never, ever, buy software (such as MS Office) or hardware peripherals (such as a webcam or router) bundled with a computer, unless you know for sure that that the item you are getting is for cheaper than real world prices – which is rare. This is an old marketing trick to make you buy more stuff (and then the manufacturer gets a commission).

4. Never agree to pay any amount for Norton (or any other Anti Virus)

How many times I’ve seen people get scammed into buying that piece-of-shit Norton makes me want to bang something into a wall. Norton is one of the slowest anti virus software around, with one of the worst detection rates. Chances are, you don’t need any paid-for anti virus for home use. Check out some free anti virus alternatives which work just as well, if not better, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Avira or AVG.

5. Never agree to “installation charges”, recovery cd creation fees, or any other optional service

You can make your own recovery CD’s with a few simple clicks – just search for the tool on your new computer and follow the simple instructions. Also any other “installation” or other services are complete bullshit meant to scam you.

6. Scrutinize that “extended warranty”

An extended warranty might be worth it in a few situations. Study the fine print and see if it covers hardware, labour, diagnosis – and see what it doesn’t cover. Then make your decision on whether it’s worth it.

Marketing, marketing, marketing

Ripping off people by offering different services and packaging add-ons is an old marketing trick. In related news, check out this old internet gem – how to buy a car.

More stuff for you:

Netbook Deals For The Holiday Season Kickoff

Editor — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:04:21 +0000

Source: http://www.shof.msrcsites.co.uk/pcxmas.html

Weird, I know, starting off a holiday season deals listing with THAT comic. But we couldn’t resist!

On the other hand, we techies just love our gadgets. And the internet. It’s no longer an addiction, but the internet is now an integral part of our lives. It’s no wonder that people all over the world, not just technology enthusiasts, are drooling over the netbook. It’s almost becoming like a cell phone in popularity.

So..here are some deals on netbooks to kickoff the make-your-kids-into-greedy-little-materialistic-consumption-addicts Days!

Live in Canada?

Unfortunately, most of the items we listed below either ship only to the US or have significantly higher shipping costs when doing so. If you live in Canada like us, consider renting a mailbox in Buffalo, NY (just across the border) and driving over and picking up your stuff to save. The most popular service is Can-Am Mailbox Rental. Although they have a kiddy website, they are extremely popular, cheap and reliable – we have used them and can vouch for it.

Let the consumerism begin!

Archos 5 60 GB Internet Media Tablet – $199.99

Usual Price: $299.99

Deal available until: Only a few left in stock, order soon.

Not exactly a netbook, but the Archos is an impressive internet media tablet with some good reviews. It’s not a full-fledged computer, but a good internet companion nonetheless which can play flash video and run custom apps.

Buy Now

Acer One AOD250-1165 10.1″ Sapphire Blue – $279.97

Usual Price: $349

A more pricy laptop compared to its predecessor, but sleek and lovely. $279 was the cheapest we could find this in brand new condition provided by trusted retailers. This is the mainstream netbook choice. It is not bad at all, with one downside – only around 3 hours battery life.

Comes pre-installed with Windows XP. The large 160GB hard drive is an up – but do you really need it for a netbook?

It’s been only a few months since Acer debuted its Aspire One D150 netbook, but already the company has come out with a slimmed-down model, the D250 (D250-1165), which is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor. However much lower the profile, though, Acer has still managed to cram in the same internal specs while keeping the price a reasonable $298 ($349 for the 6-cell model).

Buy Now

HP Mini 110 (Base options) – $299.99

Usual Price: $299.99 (we couldn’t get a deal on this, but it IS a budget laptop so we included it)

A great budget laptop, though slightly thicker and heavier than its counterpart.

What do you gain and what do you lose with this more affordable model? Well, HP swaps out the multimedia dongle port in favor of a built-in VGA port (plus a built-in RJ-45 ethernet jack for good measure). The sweet-looking speaker grille planted inside the 1000′s hinge is absent from the 110, replaced by a horrid-sounding speaker mounted beneath the display. That display offers a 10.1-inch-diagonal image with a native resolution of 1024 by 576, and the slick edge-to-edge plastic cover has has vanished in favor of a big plastic bezel that makes the Mini 110 look like the love child of the Mini 1000 and the Acer Aspire One.

Buy Now

Samsung NC10-13GB 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook – $304.99

Usual Price: about $499

The Samsung NC10 has joined the ranks of 10-inch netbooks—including the Eee PC 1000H, MSI Wind, and Lenovo IdeaPad S10—and it beats them all. The $499 NC10 may have the same cookie-cutter specs as its competitors, including a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP, but its spacious, well-positioned keyboard and more than 6 hours of battery life make this system our favorite 10-inch netbook yet.

Buy Now

Samsung Go N310 Series – $344.95

Similar to the previous, this Samsung sports a high-end netbook feel. Here you can get it without the silly high-end price.

The good: Unique, rugged design; excellent battery life.

Buy Now

HP Mini 5101 – $379.24

Usual Price: $416 – $449

One might think this is not a deal, looking at the price. But HP’s business minded high-end netbook does cost a lot, so 380 bucks is not bad.

The good: Revamped version of one of our favorite Netbooks; excellent keyboard and touch pad; sturdy and durable; includes accelerometer; optional higher-resolution display.

The bad: Loses its ExpressCard slot; standard Netbook components at a premium price.

The bottom line: HP’s biz-minded Mini 5101 is a successor to the Mini 2140 (one of our all-time favorite Netbooks). It looks and feels great, but for a premium-price Netbook, we expect to get more features, not fewer.

Buy Now

ThePCGuild only lists safe, high quality deals

We only list deals that meet these quality requirements:

The deal must be a deal. We only list buys which can save you a significant amount of money compared to the usual price.
Online stores must be trusted. We do NOT list items from stores with unknown or bad reputations.
Items must NOT be used or refurbished.
The product itself must have a decent review from atleast one trusted technology community such as ThePCGuild, Lifehacker, engadget, Gizmodo etc..

Although we review all listings thoroughly, we are humans. So if you detect any broken links, sold-out deals, or other unwanted deals in our listings, please notify us in the comments with your concern.