Need new desktop

Hello everyone. Have decided to replace Acer Aspire 8530 laptop with a desktop and would appreciate some advice, as the Acer continues to overheat and other problems are beginning to creep in. Currently using Windows 7 Home. Budget will be around €450 max (having decided to abandon the idea of buying Kindle - and thanks to all those who replied to that question).


My requirements are simple: Word, Excel and using social media - so no big resource-eating games. Must be able to burn DVDs (DL). OS - quite like Windows 7 and have been told Windows 8 does not support POP - can someone confirm this?


A friend recently bought a Lenovo system complete with touchscreen and loves it, but they are a bit pricey. Has anyone bought Dell - I've heard the support is quite3 good here in France.


Thanks in advance. Sheila


Thank you for the suggestions Sheila

Hi Steve. Might I suggest that you update your profile, and include full information about what you do, including your appointment as "Dell Partner" and include a phone number? It might also be useful to specify more precisely what regions/départements you are prepared to cover.

That's good to know!

Good Morning Sheila. I have set up a PC support business to do computer repairs around N Lyon and the Beaujolais, most of the time it is disinfecting PCs that have become overloaded with adware and viruses. I have just been appointed as a "Dell Partner" which means I get access to their professional range of laptops and desktop PCs which can still be ordered with Windows7 and are available in English or French for delivery anywhere in France.

Good morning all and thanks for all the responses, suggestions, advice. Steve Yates - can you give me some more information about what you do - I'm sure there are SFN members who could use your services. Thanks, Sheila.

I honestly believe Dell is about as good as it gets, particularly if you need to determine different options to what may be described as ‘standard’. There are some good Promos around with other retailers, but you have to accept the sellers’ versions of bells and whistles, and it might not be what you want. It has to be worth a visit to the Dell site to give you detail about the options. When I bought my laptop from Dell France they fitted it with a QUERTY keyboard and supplied the English versions of Windows 7. If I was starting again with going the desktop route, I would be tempted by the ‘Tout-en-un’ the Inspiron 2330 starts at 699€. The best laptop ‘Springtime’ offer is the Inspiron 15 Efficacité which starts at 349€. Must stress I’m not a Dell rep, just trying to be helpful.

Hello Sheila

We bought a Dell laptop over in the Uk and brought it back to France. The sales team is great - you get through to Ireland and no communication problems. When there is a problem, the support is farmed out to the Indian subcontinent and we had terrible problems understanding the helpline people. May just be us but we got so fed up that when we got a new computer, we didnt buy Dell

I wish I had time to check this group more regularly as I could have supplied a Dell PC with Windows 7 in English and a QWERTY keyboard, delivered and supported by Dell France.

Jacqueline, As Brian says, there is, of course, no customs to pay. As for the conversion. you'll pay maybe €505 plus postage. If you pay with a French C/card, Amazon will convert it for you and let you choose whether to pay in € or in £. In fact, if Amazon quote £449 to UK customers, we would only pay £447.50 (+ shipping) 'coz VAT is 20% in the UK & Amazon have to charge French TVA @ 19.6%. It might only be £1.50 difference but 'tis better than the proverbial smack in the face with a wet poisson.

TY Brian! Anybody knows about how much is in € for £449? (Sorry, I am too lazy to look it up)

I've had either Toshiba or Acer for years now and replaced Acer with Acer ordered on Amazon UK - no customs Jacqueline because we pay none between EU countries. On Windows 8 Sheila, when I had the new desktop built, our man said avoid it, so I have v7. However on the laptop I have v8. Why did Windows bother?

HI Peter and thanks for that. I have been a fan of Dell for many years, and was born and reared just a few miles from where Dell has its major plant in south Dublin! I am also a big fan of Acer and the desktop was bought because my Acer Aspire 8450G laptop is about to pop off this mortal coil. It was a great machine, and once I have transferred/backed up everything on it, I will try and do a factory restore and see if I can squeeze another couple of years out of it.

My QWERTY clavier works ok on the Dell and a quick download from Microsoft Knowledge Base means I can use most things in English - my French language skills are decent but it is quicker to work in English. Early days ( just 3 in fact) so I am still struggling with Windows 8.

Kind regards, Sheila

p.s. Welcome to SFN and to Computer Corner.

Peter Lewis, did you pay customs for receiving computer from another country? If not, I am very interested in getting one for myself.

Sheila, I've always been a fan of Dell and have bought a number of machines for friends from them in the past, when they would supply UK keyboards & UK versions of Windows, even in France. (European Dells are all built to order in Ireland, anyway.)

Unfortunately, as Dell no longer offer this possibility, buying for delivery in France is a no-no if you can't cope with either the AZERTY keyboard or the French Windows. (There can also be the problem of understanding the accents of helpdesk technicians who appear to be located in the Mahgreb, as has happened to friends, who spoke excellent French.) I know you can plug in a different keyboard, but many people don't know how to make the necessary changes. For these reasons, I have recently bought excellent Acer machines from Amazon UK for various people, including my better half. These were shipped very promptly, and for only £6 - £7 shipping charges. Anyone looking for UK versions of computers to be shipped over here should certainly look at them, although being careful about shipping charges if buying from an Amazon Marketplace supplier.

Hi Carl. Did some more research and found a Dell 660 MT BTS. Ordered on French Dell website. Whole package including 20" HD monitor, keyboard (French) and mouse for E395 . Ordered on Tuesday evening, and received everything on Friday lunchtime, minus power cable for monitor.

Thanks for all the help and advice.

You would need to check out the warranty small print but my own laptop came with 3 years, next day worldwide cover.

The link you provided is for a Windows 8 version although a windows 7 version seems to be available.

I would try calling Dell UK (or speak to them on the Dell UK website) and get them to sort out mailing you whatever you need in whatever language you need it.

Hi Carl and thanks for that. I took a look and did a bit of customising, and this is what it looks like so far - on the French Dell website, as I presume support is not offeerd from the UK or Ireland when in France. However, at this price, I still would have to buy camera and speakers, so it's beginning to get very expensive. :-(

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=sbds321&model_id=vostro-270&c=fr&l=fr&s=bsd&cs=frbsdt1

If I were looking to buy a new Dell PC for minimum cash then I would plump for something like this Sheila
http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/vostro-270/pd?oc=sbd2749&model_id=vostro-270&

Thanks Tracy. Have just checked Dell website, and realise that the OS will be in French, so perhaps I am not quite ready for that yet. Have bought Dell before, and was always happy with same. Would prefer to stay with Windows 7.