Thinking
about a
new computer?
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Thinking
about a |
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First If you are pricing them on-line, watch out for items automatically add-in.
Watch out for:
Software packages (you may not want) and "trial versions" as you will have to pay for them later on!
Over-priced software such as Antivirus with the one-year subscription. You may be better off getting a trial version or nothing at all, then buy that software separately.
Over-priced surge protection units.
(Unnecessary) high end video and sound systems.
Extended warranties. They may default to a three year plan.
Start out with one-year, look at the cost of the extended warranty, then decide.
Most on-line configurations like Dell and Gateway start out with a low price but as soon as you click to configure your own system, the price jumps dramatically. Be sure to advance through each page and remove unwanted items.
Second Look at the details!
Software can be a very large part of the computer cost. The Microsoft Office package is perhaps the best office suite you can get but depending on the suite you get, it could cost over $300! Generally the advertised price of a computer does not have the MS Office package. Instead, it may include the lower end Microsoft Works or Corel WordPerfect suites.
Have a student in the family? You may qualify for the Microsoft Office suite Student Teacher edition which is considerably less expensive!
Is there a “free” printer? If so, it is likely a low-end printer. So enquire about free shipping, a free camera, scanner or other toy instead then purchase a good printer separately.
When comparing prices, back out all “extras” like printers, cameras and scanners and compare only the basic computer.
Future expandability (see case design below): Is it a "tower" unit? Are there available PCI slots? Are there available bays for extra drives, tape drives, etc..?
Finally, don’t forget about shipping and taxes when pricing computers.
Restore CDs
If you have the option between ordering the Microsoft Windows XP Restore CD and a restore "kit," get the Windows XP CD. See our February 06 newsletter.
After you receive your new computer, be sure to put the restore CDs in a safe place. If you do not receive any, we recommend contacting the manufacturer and order a set!
Here are our thoughts on minimum specifications:
Brand: will make a big difference in the price. Pentium is
the top of the line followed closely by AMD and Celeron.
While there are others out there, we have no experience with, and no
opinion of them.
Celeron vs. Pentium: The basic difference is the Pentium has
more cache hence a better performance however, if the computer is used for
business applications such as databases, accounting, word processing and the
like, the Celeron is plenty good with a considerable cost savings!
Speed: Businesses and gamers (for future applications) should consider the fastest available Pentium processor.
Laptops: Consider the Pentium "M" series. While the speed rating of 1.7 is less than the Pentium 4's 3+, the benchmarks are showing the M series faster! Additionally the "M" processor consumes less power extending your battery life.
One other thing to look at on laptops are ports. All come with at least one USB but do you need a serial or parallel port?
Consider the future; will you ever want a wireless network?
However if you will be using a digital camera, will
be burning CDs, or just planning for future applications, we recommend a
minimum of 512 Mb.
If you are running CAD applications or high end games, get 1 Gb.
Ideally, you should have two drives, one 40-60Gb drive for the operating system and applications and a second drive of at least 60Gb for data storage. If you want to save multimedia files (pictures, movies and the like) consider a second drive of at least 120Gb.
Note: Adding a drive later on is very easy on most machines.
If you have any interest in duping audio CD's, get a standard CD Rom in one bay and a RW CD drive in another.
DVDs are faster than the standard CD-ROM and they can hold (a lot) more data but currently there are three different DVD formats. Which one will become the "standard" is anyone's guess... More information
You may even want to consider a V.92 modem for future
changes to the phone system.
If you have DSL in your area or will be networking multiple computers, you will need a Network Interface Card (NIC), but this too can be added later.
By-the-way, get a good surge protector! We recommend the APC Phone or Network units.
0.28 Dot Pitch although if you want extremely high resolution, consider a 0.25 or better.
Flat glass screens are very nice and well worth the minor extra cost. Flat panel screens on the other hand are still fairly expensive.
While
you can order computers without a monitor, generally there is very little
savings.
However, if you want to play games you should
seriously consider the fastest available AGP or PCIExpress video card and nothing less than 128 Mb video ram.
Other video considerations:
Video/TV interface, dual monitors?
You may want to enquire on sub-woofer speaker.
While not as important, it is something to think about.
Once you have a new computer, do you need to transfer things from an old computer? Click here for some help
| Compare Items | Dell | Gateway | Other |
| Processor/Speed: | $ | $ | $ |
| Memory (RAM): | $ | $ | $ |
| Drives/Disk Space: | $ | $ | $ |
| CD/DVD: | $ | $ | $ |
| Burner: | $ | $ | $ |
| Monitor: | $ | $ | $ |
| Graphics Card: | $ | $ | $ |
| Sound System: | $ | $ | $ |
| _Speakers/Woofer: | $ | $ | $ |
| Antivirus application | $ | $ | $ |
| MS Office/other software: | $ | $ | $ |
| Shipping | $ | $ | $ |