Currys | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 28 Nov 2019 09:30:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Currys | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Razer’s latest bundle packs a gaming keyboard, mouse, headset and surface for £110 https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/matthew-wilson/razers-latest-bundle-packs-a-gaming-keyboard-mouse-headset-and-surface-for-110/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/matthew-wilson/razers-latest-bundle-packs-a-gaming-keyboard-mouse-headset-and-surface-for-110/#respond Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:15:03 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=438462 We are heading towards the end of November and all of the deals are starting to roll in. Today, we caught on to a brand new gaming bundle from RAZER, packing together a gaming keyboard, mouse, headset and mouse mat for £110.  The RAZER Epic Gaming Bundle is now available including the Cynosa Chroma Gaming …

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We are heading towards the end of November and all of the deals are starting to roll in. Today, we caught on to a brand new gaming bundle from RAZER, packing together a gaming keyboard, mouse, headset and mouse mat for £110. 

The RAZER Epic Gaming Bundle is now available including the Cynosa Chroma Gaming Keyboard, DeathAdder Essential gaming mouse, Kraken X Lite headset and the Goliathus Mobile Stealth Edition gaming surface.

Normally, the Cynosa Chroma keyboard on its own retails for £64.99, while the DeathAdder Essential is a £50 mouse when purchased on its own, the same goes for the headset. With that in mind, £110 for the full bundle is a pretty good price and gives you all the gaming peripherals you'll need in one box, making an upgrade, or gifting to a first-time PC gamer much easier.

The bundle can be found on Currys in the UK with next day delivery, or there is the option to order online and pick up in-store.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are any of you looking at getting a full peripheral bundle like this one, or do you prefer to buy each piece separately? This certainly seems to be one of the better peripheral bundles around at the moment, so let us know if you end up grabbing one. 

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Dixons Carphone to shutter 134 outlets, insists jobs are safe https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dixons-carphone-to-shutter-134-outlets-insists-jobs-are-safe/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dixons-carphone-to-shutter-134-outlets-insists-jobs-are-safe/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:50:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=282101 The high-streets of the UK are becoming more bereft of electronics retailers day by day it seems and now Dixons Carphone is set to make that decline even more apparent, by closing as many as 134 of its outlets around the country. The plan is to begin merging the company's various shops together in order to …

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The high-streets of the UK are becoming more bereft of electronics retailers day by day it seems and now Dixons Carphone is set to make that decline even more apparent, by closing as many as 134 of its outlets around the country. The plan is to begin merging the company's various shops together in order to create more versatile and product diverse stores, selling everything from PCs to phones in one place.

The new scheme is called a “three in one store concept,” which will see the lieks of PC World merge with Curry's, while Carphone Warehouse becomes a little sideshow attraction inside the joint shop front. Despite this contraction of its various outlets around the UK though, executives insist that it will not result in a loss of jobs. It claimed to have been trialling the system in some locations and found a reduction in staff is not required.

In fact it said that it was, “very confident that the impact on sales and colleague numbers will be neutral or better,” (via FT).

currys

Currys, PC World, Dixons… it's hard to imagine a better list of antiquated businesses. Source: Dixons Carphone

Despite announcements of store closures though, Dixons Carphone was keen to let everyone know that it is actually projecting a five per cent increase in year on year revenues for the Christmas period. This was two per cent over what analysts projected in 2015.

As you might expect from any such announcement, commentary on social media has been rampant, with one user in particular expressing a sentiment that is hard to refute:

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Does anyone actually buy a smartphone from a shop anymore? I know there's a bunch of people who wait outside Apple stores for various releases, but for everyone else, surely they just do it all online or over the phone?

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Dixons and Carphone Warehouse to merge in £3.8 billion deal https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dixons-and-carphone-warehouse-to-merge-in-3-8-billion-deal/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dixons-and-carphone-warehouse-to-merge-in-3-8-billion-deal/#respond Thu, 15 May 2014 10:57:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=193340 Two of the UK's biggest highstreet hardware businesses, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse, have announced that they'll be merging into a single electronics retailer, in a merger that is said to be worth £3.8 billion. It's taken months and months of talks and no doubt a lot of lawyer fees, but the two companies have now …

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Two of the UK's biggest highstreet hardware businesses, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse, have announced that they'll be merging into a single electronics retailer, in a merger that is said to be worth £3.8 billion. It's taken months and months of talks and no doubt a lot of lawyer fees, but the two companies have now agreed to a deal and it's going to lead to a new company, known as Dixons Carphone PLC.

Management will of course need a little shuffle, with current head of Carphone Warehouse Sir Charles Dunstone becoming the chairman, and current boss at Dixons, Sebastian James, taking on the CEO role at the new company. Both men believe that they're making a new retailer for a new age of sales and have announced that by merging the two companies, they can save as much as £80 million a year.
Sir Charles said: “We are incredibly excited about the opportunity today's news brings to our organisations, our consumers and our investors.

“Both Carphone and Dixons have a huge commitment to delivering the consumer the very best service, product and advice around the connected world. We have a deep respect for each other and we see the merger of these two great companies as an opportunity to bring our skills together for the consumer and create a new retailer for the digital age.”

merger

As The Telegraph reports, both retailers will benefit from a large number of outlets thanks to the deal, with over 1,000 between them when it's complete. As has often happened with these sorts of mergers though, it may lead to the closure of some less profitable ones – that could be where some of that £80 million is expected to come from. That said, that may not be the case, as Dunstone said that the company planned to create new jobs and saw opportunities for immediate and further growth of the new firm.

However, this deal has one final hurdle to cross and that's with its shareholders. Both firms need a 75 per cent approval from its stock holding members for it to go ahead. It's likely to happen, as the new company's stock is
expected to be higher than that of either previous company, but it's still no doubt a worrying time for those that have spent so long trying to make the merger happen.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I can't say I've personally been in either Carphone Warehouse or any of the chains Dixons owns, for years and am unlikely to in the future, but I do live out in the sticks. What do you guys think of this move? Is it one that'll see both companies remain relevant moving forward? 

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Curry’s opens “gaming bunker” https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/currys-opens-gaming-bunker/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/currys-opens-gaming-bunker/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:00:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=125748 While we might have seen the British gaming high street retailers fall apart in recent years, one more hardware and electronics focused company is looking to keep retail gaming alive with the creation of a “gaming bunker,” which sees one Curry's store on Tottenham Court Road, London, make several high end PCs available as gaming …

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While we might have seen the British gaming high street retailers fall apart in recent years, one more hardware and electronics focused company is looking to keep retail gaming alive with the creation of a “gaming bunker,” which sees one Curry's store on Tottenham Court Road, London, make several high end PCs available as gaming demo rigs.

The idea is to give the average gamer a chance to see what it's like to play high end PC games as they were meant to be played, with a powerful GPU, decent mouse, keyboard and headset on a stunning new, HD display. These ten machines will be available in a 500 square foot “bunker” and will be networked together to allow for cooperative and competitive play between them. They will also have some popular games installed such as League of Legends, Borderlands 2 etc.

Curry PC World
The question is, would any of this make you guys buy hardware from PC World?

All of the parts in each of the machine will be individually available from the Curry's outlet and third party manufacturers like Turtle Beach and Razer will have their own sales areas within the bunker.

KitGuru Says: Is this the kind of thing you guys would be interested in checking out? Makes me think of the underground club/bar/skateboard park that was showcased in hackers. Maybe they'll have early versions of Wipeout there?

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Are the Boxing Day sales real? https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/notebook/jules/are-the-boxing-day-sales-real/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/notebook/jules/are-the-boxing-day-sales-real/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:28:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=120257 We all love a bargain, but scouring the high street technology stores on the day after Xmas did not seem to generate any serious surprises. KitGuru is sent some snaps and breaks out ‘Analysis 101' to see just how well the shoppers are doing today. Will records be set? While Christmas Eve is a ‘coming …

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We all love a bargain, but scouring the high street technology stores on the day after Xmas did not seem to generate any serious surprises. KitGuru is sent some snaps and breaks out ‘Analysis 101' to see just how well the shoppers are doing today. Will records be set?

While Christmas Eve is a ‘coming together' and Christmas Day is a day of serious celebration, over indulgence and plenty of snoozing after boozing – the 26th December is different. Research shows that's when old differences really begin to resurface & relatives get right under your skin.

To avoid serous conflict, leave. Head out the door, breathe some of the fresh winter air and head for the stores.

Each country is different, but the UK has a strong tradition of starting sales on Boxing Day.

Fashion retailer Next opened its doors at 6am and, by 10am, it still had restrictions in place on how many people could be in the store and - once in - how much you could buy. Technology stores did OK, but not this well.

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Alongside the tradition of the kick off date, we Brits also have legislation that says any discount shown MUST be against a price that has been displayed, on the same product, for 28 days in the previous 6 months. In other words, it needs to be a genuine offer. But that doesn't guard against a huge discrepancy in on/off line pricing. It also doesn't help people who struggle to understand the brand is the same – no matter what you pay for it.

Entering into one of London's largest shopping malls, the first store we came to was WH Smiths, a traditional newsagent that's expanded its range to selling almost everything to do with paper and the office – from books and art supplies to ink jet printers. The window was full of its biggest offers and the eye was drawn to a massive 16GB SD card poster.

It's Class 4, so quite slow, but good enough for casual use. But how does the ‘WH Smith's lowest ever price' compare to high street rival Currys and online retailer, Amazon?

Amazon could almost offer '2 for the price of 1' and still be the same price as 'WH Smiths great SD deal ever'

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Informed readers will, no doubt, realise that Amazon is able to undercut honest British retailers because it took £7 billion in sales revenue over the past 2 trading periods, but managed to pay ZERO corporation tax. A normal UK company, operating in a more straightforward way, would have had to cough up close to £100m in tax for that kind of revenue.

Question: Could the £5.99 be achieved without the ‘clever accountant discount'?

Overall, today, around 10 million Brits will take to the high streets and more will shop online for bargains like the PCY card (simultaneously available at £5.99, £9.99 and £14.99).

Once all of the Xmas fairy dust has settled, the result will be a record breaking £2.6 Billion consumer spend in a single day. That's the highest ever for 26th December.

Based on average store opening times, that's close to £5 million a minute.

Recession? What recession?

While we're on the subject of Amazon, it's worth noting that while the rest of the country slumbers in front of the TV on Christmas Day, Amazon actually takes a huge wad of ‘corporate tax free' cash on 25th December – with sales up more than 250% over the past 5 years – driven by electronics and gadgets. We're thinking that each new iPhone/Galaxy creates an urge for covers, speakers and other accessories. Looks like Amazon is satisfying that urge instantly.

Overall, online retailers will receive more than 125 million visits today. Google Ad Words anyone?

For a while now, KitGuru has been wondering what the hell is going on with mainstream laptop pricing. Two years ago, it was possible to buy a 15" Toshiba with a Core i5 processor, 6GB of memory and large hard drive for £420. That price has hardly been touched since, but was finally beaten at Currys today - with a £150 discount on an HP machine. Roll on more of the same for 2013!

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KitGuru says: Based on the reports we're getting in from high street shoppers across the UK, retailers are trying damn hard to take your money. The sales are real, in the sense that store prices have been slashed – and the sub-£400 HP Core i5 laptops are a welcome addition to customer's selection options. Overall, records have been set at the end of 2012 – we can't wait for more positivity in the New Year.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Comet dying due to Deloitte’s doomsday deal? https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jules/comet-dying-due-to-deloittes-doomsday-deal/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jules/comet-dying-due-to-deloittes-doomsday-deal/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:21:27 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=115407 When a company enters administration, one of the first things they do is blow out any remaining stock to get cash in – so that the business can be kept alive while a rescue plan is put in place. Comet seems to be going with a different strategy. KitGuru drives down to a Comet store …

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When a company enters administration, one of the first things they do is blow out any remaining stock to get cash in – so that the business can be kept alive while a rescue plan is put in place. Comet seems to be going with a different strategy. KitGuru drives down to a Comet store to see, first hand, just how badly things can be run.

Once the darling of the high street electronics stores, Comet suffered from not being quite big enough to cope with rapid changes in the competitive landscape.

While its online store is pretty good, it was up against huge challenges from Amazon, eBuyer and others. At the same time, it was carrying a huge burden on rent with another big bill for the staff needed to run those stores.

In the end, it was all too much and the company is presently teetering on the edge of the abyss.

Having heard rumours that Comet has just pushed a BIG spend into advertising price cuts, while actually appearing to put prices up, we decided to pay a visit to our local super store to see what gives. Our preferred product was a simple drinks cooler – the kind of glass fronted fridge you find in modern bars.

Here's our experience.

The staff were friendly and we soon latched onto a cheerful chatty chap from the provinces. We'd scanned the pricing on regular fridges and were struggling to see anything under £150, and certainly no bargains on the drinks cooler we had in mind. We asked “What gives with the product pricing?”.

“Well, that's Deloitte for you”, he said. “We've been told that lots of the stock we had does not even belong to Comet. It was bought on consignment, which means that the manufacturers still own it and they want it back”.

That explains the empty shelves. What about the seemingly high prices?

“We've been told not to show any discounts – and to only move down 10% if we're pushed by a customer who wants to buy immediately”, said Comet man. We asked about the stuff on show seeming to be expensive and were told, “Yes, you're right. The real bargains had gone and we now seem to have just the expensive items”.

Neville Kahn from Deloitte says that Comet is experiencing “Record sales”, but we saw no evidence of this during our visit. Just a lot of disappointed vultures, walking around the same carcass, wondering why there was no juicy meat on offer.

Comet man finished by saying that “We expect there to be some big discounts in the next few days, to try and clean out the store, but everyone thinks we're going to be sacked because there's absolutely no way we will be ready for Christmas”.

We asked what he meant and he told us that in order to capitalise on the big push from November to January, Comet stores would normally be packed to bursting with product – so that customers could achieve instant satisfaction. He said that if a product was not sitting on the shelf, at the right price, when they walked in the door – then they would simply go to Currys.

Not sure if Deloitte would deliberately lie about sales success, but it does seem that the administrator's present strategy is to ‘close Comet completely' – with no hope of salvation, well before Santa comes looking for his domestic goodies. Currys and Amazon must be celebrating and looking forward to a big Q4 boost.

But with Currys, Amazon and the big supermarkets waiting to take up any slack, you now have to ask yourself "How much do I really need that 'hardly special' offer from Currys?"

KitGuru says: The Husky cooler we wanted was almost £190 in Comet with no discount available, but 10% less in Currys next door. Also, Currys had sourced the same cooler under its own brand ‘Logik' and was selling it for just £99. We bought one and paused for a moment's silence to mourn the passing of a retail giant and the job losses that seem inevitable following Deloitte's spell in charge.

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Arctic charm melts PC World buyer’s hearts https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/harrison/arctic-charm-melts-pc-world-buyers-hearts/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/harrison/arctic-charm-melts-pc-world-buyers-hearts/#respond Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:10:58 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=114362 There are a lot of things you can do in this world to increase sales. Innovation is key – and the price you decide to charge can also be a big influence – but one thing is clear: The more stores that sell your product, the more chance you have of taking money. Arctic has …

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There are a lot of things you can do in this world to increase sales. Innovation is key – and the price you decide to charge can also be a big influence – but one thing is clear: The more stores that sell your product, the more chance you have of taking money. Arctic has just opened up a few more locations.

as a store for TVs, fridges and other household appliances, KitGuru has always liked Comet. So news that the major UK electrical retail chain is in serious trouble was sad indeed. But there's one area where Comet has always been lite – and that's computer components.

In comparison, the Dixons Stores Group has not only Currys (for regular household goods), but also PC World for computers and components.

If you live outside central London, then PC World might be your only store option for components – especially on Sundays etc.

So, if you're a KitGuru reader in the UK, then  it's good news that a deal has now been signed for PC World and Currys to carry the famous range of coolers and pastes. Shipments are already being loaded into containers and deliveries into UK stores are expected before the end of November – in plenty of time for the Xmas rush.

Chilly weather KitGuru can live without... but we do like a Freezer on the CPU every now and then

KitGuru says: Arctic's market is very clearly defined. Its engineers don't aim to create £80 monster coolers for a tiny fraction of the market, instead they focus on customers who are (a) thinking about their first proper cooler and (b) those same customers two years later, when they want something with better performance. Having Arctic Freezers etc available in every major town across the UK – 7 days a week – is a good thing.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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High street DDR pricing stinks say experts https://www.kitguru.net/components/memory/harrison/high-street-ddr-pricing-stinks-say-experts/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/memory/harrison/high-street-ddr-pricing-stinks-say-experts/#respond Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:07:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=88806 The global IT market is huge. So big that no one man/woman/Guru can keep track of everything. At times like that we rely on our network of friends to give us a heads up on the grass-roots happenings that affect technologists. We've had a camera-pic in this morning that's caused a little shock. Now we …

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The global IT market is huge. So big that no one man/woman/Guru can keep track of everything. At times like that we rely on our network of friends to give us a heads up on the grass-roots happenings that affect technologists. We've had a camera-pic in this morning that's caused a little shock. Now we share the shock with you.

We recently revealed how Tesco's purchasing team had been shafted, without the slightest hint of lube, and then passed it on to you – the unsuspecting public. The errant product was SD memory and the pricing in Curry's (part of Dixons/PC World) was close to 50% of the Tesco cheeky price.

Today the shoes on the other slab of chedder.

If you have any intention of increasing your system memory, then a ‘quick trip to your local electronics store' may not be the best option.

Before you scroll down to the snapshot, how much do you think a single stick of 2GB DDR should be?

If you went to Aria, then this kind of chip would be less than £18 and if you choose something like ‘Zeppelin RAM', you can probably get it for around £14.

Not so from Curry's. We spoke with a memory expert who said, “This kind of behaviour just stinks. They're relying on customers not knowing better. Could they get away with selling Coca Cola for £3 a bottle?”

Curry's were doing so well on SD - but let the consumer down so badly on DDR

KitGuru says: We have nothing against companies making  profit, but a ~100% price difference from one store to another is just taking the p*ss.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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nVidia slashes prices to help welcome Radeon 7970 https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/nvidia-slashes-prices-to-help-welcome-radeon-7970/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/nvidia-slashes-prices-to-help-welcome-radeon-7970/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:29:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=71640 There are few things in the universe funnier, than watching a couple of multi-billion dollar giants clubbing each other around the head with product launches, marketing schemes and price reductions. It not only provides entertainment, it also keeps the market healthy. KitGuru's done a little price comparison, following the launch of AMD's Radeon 7970. Here's …

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There are few things in the universe funnier, than watching a couple of multi-billion dollar giants clubbing each other around the head with product launches, marketing schemes and price reductions.

It not only provides entertainment, it also keeps the market healthy.

KitGuru's done a little price comparison, following the launch of AMD's Radeon 7970. Here's what we discovered in the mass market.

They've been around for ages, with strong industry relationships, so when one of the major online resellers has their nVidia pricing trumped by a high street major – to the tune of almost 25%, then you know something's up.

Have a look at these screen grabs, taken very soon after each other, and you'll see what we mean:-

It's £93 plays £70 in the battle of the nVidia giants. While Scan was kind enough to include the KitGuru Must Have award, Curry's were not. On that fact alone, you should probably buy it from Scan - whatever the price. Ho Ho Ho.

The card we checked first was the multi-award winning Asus GT550.

KitGuru says: Dropping around 25% on a mainstream product is proper fighting talk. Looks like Jen Hsun and his Christmas Elves are ready for a blood bath ahead of the launch of Kepler in 2012. Whatever happens, price cuts like this, on award winning Asus cards, will only benefit the end user. That's the KitGuru reader that is.

Comments below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Sad lack of Sandy Bridge in the high street https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/jules/sad-lack-of-sandy-bridge-in-the-high-street/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/jules/sad-lack-of-sandy-bridge-in-the-high-street/#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:38:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=40623 KitGuru spent Saturday afternoon shopping in centres packed with folks stocking up on Mother's Day gifts. While the world looked out for that ‘special something that would make the moment', KitGuru was looking around the electronics shelves and noticed something rather surprising. Here's a quick story and a pic – tell us if you notice …

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KitGuru spent Saturday afternoon shopping in centres packed with folks stocking up on Mother's Day gifts. While the world looked out for that ‘special something that would make the moment', KitGuru was looking around the electronics shelves and noticed something rather surprising. Here's a quick story and a pic – tell us if you notice the same thing.

While the enthusiast market leapt at the chance to own a 2500k or 2600k processor almost immediately after launch, the Intel recall on Sandybridge – combined with inventory over-stocking through Q3 and Q4 2010 by companies like Acer, appears to have had a huge impact on speed of introduction for the lower-end chips.

Superior graphics processing for integrated processors will manifest itself in better game play as well as improved video quality. Both of these are features that should be very appealing to a ‘regular user' who wants a cool system for home use.

Likewise, the addition processing power that Sandy Bridge chips manage to pull out of every watt available represents a significant improvement over previous generations.

Wolfdale processors like Intel's E7500 were launched more than 2 years ago. With 2 standard cores, no Hyper Threading and no Turbo Boost capability – these chips represent what Intel was good at doing in a by-gone era. The latest Intel processors in this class are, actually, in a class above.

It would seem that the delay in getting affordable new processors to market has meant that companies like Sony are forced to carry on pushing archaic chips into high-street stores like PC World/Dixons/Currys.

PC World are offering crusty old Core 2 Duo processors in PCs costing well over £1,000. Now that's just sad.

KitGuru says: We know that customers in these stores probably don't know any better, but it still seems like a ‘bad trick' to sell them systems costing well over £1,000 with such tired processors. Come on Intel, let's see the dark doors of the past blown away with some fresh i3 products into the entry-level space. Just because these customers don't know, doesn't mean we shouldn't care!

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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