Please help recommend a system builder in Toronto

[peemo]

I am trying to help a single mother in Toronto with not much money buy a PC. She has to be able to pay by the month. Her budget is about $1,200 Canadian (US$800). Dell is a bit too pricey for her. She and her daughter know almost nothing about computers and so need good tech support. They just want to access the web and run a simple office suite like Microsoft Works or the equivalent Corel package. No serious gaming.

Anyone know about MDG or IPC - reputation, support, quality? Other good Toronto area system builders offering financing?

Can she get an i815E board for the money or is she stuck with i810/i810E? Are onboard video & sound viable options or would they be unacceptable.

Can she run WinME with 64MB RAM or should she really budget for 128MB?

Any other considerations?

Thanks

 

[peemo]

Please? ^^bump^^ Please?

 

[yllus]

I had some bad experiences with MDG with an upgrade package but that was years back. Never bothered with IPC, all my recent computers have been from components thrown together. My personal recommendation for a place to buy a full system with serious tech support is Greytech Computers up a bit north in Markham. Excellent, knowledgable staff and support. Good prices to top it off as well, but I don't know about financing.

As a general rule of thumb, an integrated video card is the essence if evil to gamers/heavy users, but an integrated AGP card with 8 MB of RAM or more onboard is just fine. Ditto for basically any onboard sound card.

Hmm, take a look at this package. It looks like pretty much exactly what you're looking for.

64 MB of RAM is just fine for Win ME - that's what I'm running it on.


For clarification purposes, I do not work or are in any way affiliated with Greytech.

 

[peemo]

Thanks 0sully,

I thought I remembered hearing some negative feedback on MDG. I will check to see whether GreyTech offers financing.

Cheers

 

[BigToque]

I bought a computer from IPC 2 years ago (before I built my first PC), and it was a great computer. I got a P2 266 system w/ onboard sound. (crappy pc chips mobo)

I would have no problem recomending them. When I had a problem and called them, I had no problems at all.

 

[GL]

I've only heard bad things about MGD, IPC, and the like. The rule of thumb in Toronto, is if you know about computers, it's OK to deal with mom & pop shops. If you aren't into computers, your best bet is a name brand computer (Dell, Compaq, etc.). They have the best levels of support (at least relative to these mom & pop places). They don't need a top of the line computer at all from what I gather. Go with the cheapest Dell you can get, but make sure there is a good support option in there.

If she's paying by the month, she'll have to lease the computer. In the end, she will have paid more than twice the original cost of the computer. I'd highly recommend she save up her money and purchase a computer cash.

Otherwise, another option might be to purchase a decent used computer and pay you for support

-GL

 

[GL]

Cheapest Dell I can find is CAN$899 for a Celeron 566, 32MB RAM, 7.5GB hard disk, etc.

If you look at their monthly payment option, they have a 48 month personal lease for this computer at $26.87 per month. I just did a rough calculation, but after 48 months, if she purchases this computer, she will have spent $1483.

Another reason to go for a Dell/Compaq/etc is it comes with all the software. Don't give her pirated stuff if she needs the support...that's likely the only option you'd have if you went with a local store as they don't usually bundle much software with their computers (at that price level anyway).

Honestly, I can't quite see this working. She will really need net access for this computer. That'll add another $15-$20 onto the $25 a month she will pay for the computer itself. As I said, it might be wise to look into purchasing a used Pentium...old software isn't necessarily bad and it'll fly on those old Pentiums.

-GL

 

[peemo]

Stefan,
I looked at IPC and yes they use PC chips mainboards for value systems. I would prefer if my friend could get a "name" board. Glad to hear you had good service from IPC so they're still worth considering.

GL,
I was thinking of a used PC but I'm not available 24/7 (or even 8/5) for tech support.I agree that Dell is a better deal on software. Maybe we'll go with a stripped down Dell and buy extra RAM and a monitor somewhere else if she can scrape together the extra cash.

MDG said that they don't do financing themselves but use another company whose lease rates are about 29%! Ouch.

As for internet access, I think she'll be satified with free 56k dialup using 3web or funcow.

Thanks everyone for your help.