How to shop for a computer. What to look for and what to look out for. Far too often people purchase computers that far exceed their needs. They could have been just as happy, if not happier,
with a less powerful model which would meet their needs and leave a lot more cash in their wallets to go to the movies, or maybe enough put a deposit down on that much needed holiday.
In this article I will cover some of the key questions you should ask yourself BEFORE you begin to start shopping and what to do once you are ready to take the next step towards purchase.
What will you use the computer for? Will it be to access your emails, surf the internet, or some other recreational use? Will it be used mostly for work, creating and updating spreadsheets, word processing, or creating presentations? Will it be used for playing video games, or computer assisted drawing (CAD) activities that are notoriously graphic and cpu intensive? The answers to these questions will determine whether you need a computer that has a top of the line processor, graphics card, additional ram, or a larger than normal hard drive.
Your budget will also dictate how much PC you can afford. In general a middle of the road processor is adequate for most PC users needs. The one area which the typical PC user will see the most improvement when upgrading is not the processor, nor the hard drive so much as it is the RAM. RAM can make or break your computer experience and when it comes time to purchasing your new PC this is one area in which you should not skimp. For most users 2 Gigabytes is sufficient. Having enough RAM can mean the difference between accomplishing your tasks with ease, or regularly leaving to make a cup of coffee between clicks.
When you’re ready to start shopping, grab a pen and paper and find look for the most expensive PC in the online store. Note the speed of the processor, amount of ram, and size of the hard drive. Next do the same with the cheapest model in the store. Now, your goal is to find a model that is in the middle or just above the middle of these two models. You will note that the difference in price from the cheapest model to the middle model will not be an excessive cost for the gain in processor speed, amount of RAM, hard drive size. You will, however, see a large increase in price as you move past the middle of the road models into the high performance models. For a small jump in processing speed, you will begin to pay a large price. Remember that your goal is to find the middle of the road model or something close to it.
Resist the temptation to go for the model that has all the bells and whistles, the top of the line model that will be the envy of your friends, unless your neighbor is Jones and you’re trying to keep up with them. If you visit a shop, make sure that the salesperson knows what you will be using the computer for prior to taking their recommendation on any models they steer you to. Once you have been recommended a model, again, see where that model falls with respect to the most expensive model and the cheapest model. While a Lamborghini may be fun to drive, it simply isn’t practical for day to day use.
Key points to remember are:
With your hard drive, size matters! While you think you may never fill it up completely, it’s not just your files that you need to consider. Programmers are constantly incorporating more and more features into their software which means larger and larger programs.
RAM will make your computer faster. Ram is akin to brain power. Extra RAM is where you will see the biggest difference in performance.
The CPU is the heart of the computer and while a good CPU is important, you don’t need a top of the line processor unless you are a quantum physicist.
Remember note the amount of RAM, Hard drive size, and CPU speed of the highest priced model and lowest priced model then select a model that is in between these two or just slightly higher and you will be on the road to happy computing.
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