Buying A New Pc

I am in the process of buying a new desktop PC. I'm at the stage of looking what's on offer.

I'm finding it very hard to find one with a DVD player in it. Am I likely to struggle to find one?

Where would you go to buy a PC in the UK? It seems to me there are less places than there used to be.

 

DVDs are phasing out. Most people either stream content or store files as mp4s (video) and mp3s (music).
Just buy an external USB DVD burner, if you must have one. I bought one years ago because the three netbooks we had didn't have an optical drive. It also worked well in a very old all-in-one computer that only came with a CD-ROM drive.

As far as fewer B&M stores, people are getting used to shopping online especially since the pandemic forced a lot of business places to close.

 

I agree. You will greatly limit your options if you insist on having an optical drive. I feel your pain, BTW. I have over 600 music CDs, and several 100 DVD and Blu-ray movies. I still like having an optical drive in my PCs (another reason to build your own). But as plodr notes, it is easy and inexpensive to add an external USB DVD drive. As seen here, there are plenty of options for less than £30. Blu-ray drives are more expensive, of course - due to licensing issues (but that's for another discussion). If you might one day in the future have a need to use Blu-ray disks, best to buy one of those instead, since they also support DVD and CD formats too.

Of course, the nice thing about being an external USB device is you can easily move it from computer to computer.

 

I shopped online prior to the pandemic and have no objections to doing so. Although, sometimes it is nice to be able to have a good look at something before you buy. I didn't really mean there were fewer physical shops to buy from but it seems to me there is generally less choice altogether of computer retailers, whether in a physical store or online. I don't know where you are, I'm in the UK, and can think of four places from which I have bought PCs but no longer sell PCs or have altogether disappeared: Comet, PCWorld, Staples and ToysRUs.

 

I wish I had a £ for every time someone told me this. I wouldn't be rich but would probably have enough for a good holiday. I wouldn't know where to start; wouldn't have the patience to do it; I'm all fingers and thumbs and not very good with practical things. Plus, I could do with a new PC sooner than if I were to build my own. I know it can be done quickly if you know what you're doing. But there's the rub: you need to know what you're doing.

 

This is, and pretty much always has been, true. Most retailers only sell one or two brands and often one is Apple. And then they only offer a few models with a fixed set of options from a brands entire lineup. When you order on line, you typically have all the offered models to choose from and you have some, albeit limited options, such as additional RAM, or a bigger drive.

As far as building your own, it is important to remember you are just assembling and connecting parts - most of which only go in and connect one way. There are lot of tutorials, and actually, one of the best places to start is by reading through the motherboard manual. As for fingers and thumbs, I hear you. But typically the only tool you need is a #2 Phillips screwdriver. My biggest problem is nearly 70 year old eyes. But even with good lighting and a quality case, your own arms and hands get in the way of being able to see what you are doing.

As far as doing it quickly, of course experience helps, but really, assembling the components is the fast part. Installing and configuring the OS, security and all your favorite programs is what really takes the time.

That said, there is no shame in not building - or even not wanting to build your own. If someone else builds it, they assume (or are supposed to assume) responsibility for all the maintenance and warranty work, including Windows support for at least 1 year. So it is really nice to have one number to call. When you build your own, you are responsible for all the tech support, including contacting the various manufacturers.

That said, that still does not mean you have to buy a factory built computer. Most local computer repair shops will build a custom computer for you, for a nominal assembly fee. Most will help you select the components for your specific needs. The biggest advantage here is all the components will be ATX Form Factor compliant. ATX is the industry standard that ensures you can put an ASUS motherboard with an Intel processor, Corsair RAM and MSI graphics card with a Samsung SSD, all powered by a Seasonic power supply installed in a Fractal Design case and be assured they will all fit and work properly together. Then next year, if you choose, you can swap in a Gigabyte motherboard, AMD processor, and EVGA graphics card and they will still all fit and work properly together. This is because with a self or custom built computer, nothing will be proprietary - as is common with factory built systems.