Here at My PC Surgery, I am often asked about what to look for when buying a new desktop computer or laptop. It can be daunting these days as there is simply so much choice out there. So where to start? Well, first you need to know what you want to use your computer for!
Sounds a bit obvious doesn’t it? But it is surprising how many people seem to have a blank when it comes to knowing what they really need. Think about it. You wouldn’t buy a car without having some clear idea about what your requirements were, would you? Hmmm, I fancy a new, red, two-seater sports car with a 0–60mph time of 5.5 seconds. But it wouldn’t be of too much use if I had a family of five and a dog, and the car was to be our main vehicle, and the typical pattern of usage revolved around the daily school run and the weekly visit to the supermarket. The analogy is a bit extreme I know, but the same principle applies to purchasing a computer. Why fork out a grand for a laptop when your needs could easily be met by something at half the price? If money is no object, and in these recession-hit days that’s an enviable situation not many of us find ourselves in, then go ahead and buy that top of the range piece of kit. You know you won’t be happy unless you do! For the rest of us mere mortals, who have to tread the financial tightrope that bit more carefully, what are the criteria we need to consider?
Well, we’ve already mentioned money, so let’s start there. Set a budget and stick to it, come hell or high water! There is a very wide price range these days, so there will always be something available to match your pocket. You can pay under £100 for an old, second-hand or refurbished machine. eBay listings are full of them, and if you know what you are doing this can be a really cheap way of getting some kit, especially if you want a desktop machine. If you don’t, then steer well clear. There are always some unscrupulous individuals out there only too keen to part you from your well-earned cash. I’ve always worked on that well-worn principle that if something appears to be too good a bargain to be true, then it probably is! At the other end of the scale, you can pay as much as you want. Top-end laptops and desktops can set you back well in excess of £1,500.
I’ll take a closer look at exactly where to buy your kit from in a later blog. The really important point here is to stick to your budget! When buying computer kit, it is so very easy to get sucked into what I call ‘scope creep’. You know, you march into that well known high street vendor’s superstore with a vague idea of the machine you think you need, get carried away – or simply confused – by the rows of shiny new PCs and the slick(?) patter of the young sales whizz-kid, and before you know it you are coming out groaning under the weight of the new computer, printer, scanner and bundled software – oh, and the MP3 player you didn’t really want but that was on special offer as you purchased your particular model of computer. You think you might have gone a bit beyond your budget, but are reassured that you have at least got a good deal and are future proofed for the time being.
Stop right there. If you have to go and buy your kit from the high street, which probably means you will be paying a premium straight away, at least do some homework before you go. So, with that thought in mind, let’s get back to taking a look at some of the criteria you should be considering.
OK, so you’ve set a realistic budget you are not going to exceed. The next thing to decide is what type of computer you are after – a desktop, laptop, netbook or even a tablet. There was a time not so long ago when the choice of anything other than a straightforward desktop would mean forking out twice the amount of money to pick up a portable device with an equivalent specification. Those days are over, as manufacturers have cottoned on to the growing demand for portability and style. There are laptops which are genuine ‘desktop replacement’ models, with high-end graphics cards and hard disk sizes that were once the preserve of a desktop. The choice these days is also influenced by personal preference. Besides having the potential to be equally as powerful, the modern generation of laptops are normally a lot more stylish and visually appealing than their desktop equivalents for more or less the same sort of outlay. And it doesn’t stop there: the drive for portability has led to thinner designs, the netbook and now the tablet – pioneered in its most recent guise by Apple with the iPad.
As I mentioned earlier, part of the decision as to what type of computer you need will be determined by who is going to use it and what they will be using it for. My needs for a media server PC to sit at the heart of a home network are likely to be very different to those of a teenage daughter who needs a portable computer for college and online access to all her social networking contacts. In the former case, hard disk size and performance are going to be key considerations. In the latter, dare I say it, style and a compact size will probably head the list of requirements.
The need for speed – fast graphics cards and multi-core processors – has traditionally been driven by gamers. It remains true today. If you want to play the latest generation of interactive computer games, fast components and good networking facilities are a must. If you are seriously into video editing, then your computer will need lots of RAM memory (at least 4GB and preferably double that amount) and as big a hard disk as you can sensibly afford, in addition to a fast processor and decent graphics card. Wherever graphics are important, then the size and quality of your monitor (or laptop screen) also comes into play. In fact, I believe that the screen is one of the most important components of any computer, and I would always recommend ensuring that you make this one of the priority components of your purchase. Screen size, display resolution and refresh rates all influence the quality of the image you see and can also have a real effect on your eyesight, one component you can’t easily replace or upgrade!
Determining how your computer will be used will give you a good indication of the type of machine you need. Having made that initial assessment, next time we’ll take a closer look at a machine’s specification and what all that confusing jargon actually means! In the meantime, remember: if you still find the prospect of selecting and setting up your next computer daunting, come along to My PC Surgery in Bristol and we will take the stress out of your computer purchase.