When a customer is in the market for a new computer they usually ask me most of the same questions such as; desktop or laptop, which brand to buy, how big of a hard drive, etc. I am going to touch on a few of the major things to think about when buying a new computer.
The first thing you need to do is figure out if you want a laptop or desktop. Back in the day I would say desktops had the advantage in things like performance and flexibility. But now, laptops have become desktop replacements and can usually match them step by step in all aspects except for screen size. The only downfall is that they are a little more expensive, but if you need portability then it’s a no brainer. The best thing to do is to take a trip to Best Buy and take a look at both types and see what fits you better.
One of the biggest questions is what brand to buy. For me personally, I prefer Dell. I have always had good success with them and so have my customers who took my recommendation. Is Dell the best? Its hard to tell. I think in today’s world all the major companies (Dell, HP, Compaq, IBM, Sony, etc.) are all relatively the same. You can’t go wrong with any of them. They are all going to have problems that you’ll read or hear about so don’t let that sway you one way or another. Like I mentioned earlier, go to a computer retailer like Best Buy and see what brand and style PC catches your eye.
One of the most important things to look at when buying a computer are the specs of the machine like the amount of memory, size of the hard drive, and the speed of the processor. Here are the specs that I recommend as a minimum for today’s applications and Windows Vista:
1. 2 Gigs of Memory
2. Dual Core Processor (Intel or AMD)
3. Video Card with 128 megs of ram
4. 120 Gigabyte Hard Drive
If you purchase a computer using these specs as a guide you will have a machine that will last you a long time. To many times I see people buy computers with a below average processor and 1 gig of RAM or less. With an operating system like Windows Vista, which takes up a lot of resources, your computer will be slow right out of the box. When XP was still in the game you could get away with those specs and actually have a pretty fast machine if you kept it optimized. Overall, it’s usually worth it to spend the extra $100 to have more memory and a faster processor so your not out looking for another computer in a year or two.
The last thing I want to touch on is whether you should buy a computer in the store or custom order one online. If you aren’t in a rush and don’t mind waiting a couple weeks, ordering a custom computer online is the way to go. First off, you are getting a custom computer that is built just for you at the time your order it. Some of the computers that are in retail stores could be sitting on the shelves for over a year which isn’t really a good thing since they get outdated quickly. The other biggest factor is that when ordering online you get to choose exactly what you want in the machine and leave out things you don’t want. Lastly, when ordering online, you usually can get a way better deal in price. Dell for example has $100-$200 off coupons always floating around the Internet. These can’t be used in retail stores. Here is a good site for online deals > http://www.cheapstingybargains.com.
Hopefully this information helps you out when purchasing your new computer. If you need any additional help, feel free to contact me. Happy Shopping!