🚀 go-pugleaf

John Rembetski (jrembet@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: I wanted to solicit advice on buying a PC.  I am thinking about a Pentium 
: >=90 Mhz;  16 MB Ram;  >= 1.6 GB IDE; 4X CD ROM; 28.8 Modem; >= 15" SVGA.

: I have seen some good deals at:

: 1)  Dell Factory Outlet for "refurbished" PCs

: 2)  Several small retail/assembly hacker-type shops in the Austin area

: From what I can see, I could save anywhere from 20 - 35% off of buying 
: from the big franchise superstores and/or mailorder.  Do people have 
: opinions on this???  The level of PC knowledge seems higher at the small 
: shops compared to the big franchises as well....

: Thanks in advance!

I purchased a "refurbished" unit from the Dell outlet less than a week ago.
Paid $1598 for a P-100 16MB EDO RAM 256K PB Cache 1G Fireball HD 2MB DRAM
#9 Video Soundblaster16 4X NEC CDROM w/o monitor (don't you just love these
short, concise descriptions we have of our PCs?). The next day I called Dell
to get a quote on what the same system would have been new, and the response
was $1927. Saved $329. Also saved the tax on $329, since I live in Texas and
would have had to pay the sales tax anyway, another $27. Total savings $356,
or appx. 17% off. Plus I didn't have to pay for shipping, although that
option is available. And so far I've been downright giddy about my new machine.
That's the good news. Here's the bad: 1) Refurbished units carry only a 90-
day warranty and a 7-day money back guarantee as compared to 1yr/30days for
a new unit. 2) It came with Win3.1 instead of Win95, and the new unit would
have also included Microsoft Works. I believe what OS you get will depend on
the specific machine you buy. 3) My unit came without external speakers and
a new one would have them included, but again, this may depend on the exact
unit you buy. 4) My overwhelming enjoyment of this PC may be due as much to
the fact that it replaces a 10Mhz 286 Magitronic '88 as it's quality.

More good news: They had plenty of machines to choose from, I'd guess around
50 that day. Our salesman was helpful and friendly. Happy shopping!

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