| In today's fast paced high tech world it is hard to | | | | range. Computers have come down dramatically in |
| fathom what life would be like without a computer. | | | | price over the past several years. A basic computer |
| They can be found everywhere from restaurants to | | | | built by a major manufacturer such as Dell can cost |
| your own home. Yet it seems as soon as these | | | | you as little as $299. Or if you money is no object you |
| machines are un-boxed they are already obsolete. Or | | | | can find yourself spending $2500 or more on a |
| perhaps you have had your computer for several | | | | desktop system. |
| years and it is so slow that it would make a more | | | | After spending many years providing Network |
| efficient paper weight. In this article we will cover the | | | | Consulting to many clients I can say from experience |
| basics about buying a new computer, what to look for | | | | that buying the cheapest brand name model may |
| in a new system, and how one can save money | | | | sound like a great deal. But they are usually cheap for |
| when purchasing a new computer. | | | | a reason. They are often made with the bare |
| Making the decision to buy a new computer is not one | | | | essentials. From personal experience with cheap |
| to take lightly. If you buy something that does not suit | | | | "bargain" computers they often suffer from a range of |
| your specific needs, you have essentially bought a | | | | problems from hardware failure, overheating, and |
| worthless item. | | | | many other problems. Newer operating systems like |
| Basic Computer Purchasing Steps | | | | Vista demand a lot of CPU and memory, and when |
| - Determine Primary Use | | | | run on low end bargain computers can cause many |
| - Determine Price Range So one of the first steps that | | | | errors such as crashing, random reboots, hung |
| you have to do when determining what kind of | | | | applications, general slowness. |
| computer that you are going to purchase is what do | | | | When purchasing a new PC on a tight budget you |
| you primarily use your computer for. A user that | | | | should reasonably expect to pay at least 600 for a |
| generally just uses their computer for internet browsing | | | | decent running system. If you are truly interested in |
| and basic document/spreadsheet creation, etc... does | | | | video games or work with a lot of media and graphics |
| not need as high end of a system as someone who | | | | some of the main hardware components that you will |
| enjoys playing video games. After you have | | | | want to make sure are top of the line are the |
| determined what your primary use is, it leads us to our | | | | Processor, Memory, and Video Card. |
| second point. | | | | So these are just a few things to consider when you |
| Secondly the next major determining factor of what | | | | are considering purchasing a new PC. |
| kind of computer you should purchase is your price | | | | |