PC Purchasing Tips
When purchasing a PC there are a lot of important things to consider. Most people just look at some ads and find the best deal they can, $499 does sound like a good price for a PC. At that price I could harvest a PC for its processor, memory, case, and NIC (Network Interface Card) and throw the rest out. However buying a PC for a low price is like going and paying $1000 for a brand new car, only to find out when you get home the car gets 2 miles to the gallon. Wow that car sounded like a good deal too bad gas will cost you $950 a month.
Most big name companies like Dell, Compaq, even IBM have low cost home PC’s. They usually put in a decent processor, memory, and NIC. The rest is usually crap, that’s why the price is good. The expected life span for these PC’s is barely three years. If you actually get three years out of it you should feel lucky. To top it all off most people expect that their PC will last at least 5 years or more. Yes a 5 year old PC may turn on, and you may be able to run Microsoft Word, but try loading the latest version of anything.
Here are the things you should consider when buying a PC.
1. What will the PC be used for? A PC is a tool (not a toy) so seriously think about what you want it to do. Will you use it for e-mail, surfing the web, running a small business, converting home movies to DVD, etc, etc? Also think about what you might do in the future. Answering this will help determine the price more than anything else.
2. Be careful of who you buy from. Even though I would love to stick it to the man and support the little guy, in the PC world this is not very smart. Most PC mom and pop shops are fly by night and do not last long. You should stick with companies like Dell, Compaq, and IBM. If you stick to bigger more reputable companies you will be guaranteed support through the life of the warranty.
3. Research what components you will need. Start with what software you will need because software usually dictates hardware requirements. Some software might have specific video requirements, others may have processor requirements. It would kind of suck to find out you have to upgrade you PC as soon as you buy it. Also see if the PC manufacture you are buying the PC from has the software you need for a discount price. Collage students need to check around town to see who offers the best student prices.
4. Find out about warranty and technical support. It is important to know what a company may have you do to get repairs. An example is Gateway; they have you send the entire machine back to them for any repairs other than a hard drive.
5. Look beyond the PC. There are things other than the PC that will help dictate cost. If you are considering high speed access you will want a firewall and possibly a router. You will also want to insure you get a good antivirus program. Are you going to use a printer and how much will you use it? What kind of sound do you want your PC to make? Are you going to need a digital camera? These are all things that will add to the cost.
When you finally think you have a PC picked out try to find out what the lifespan for that PC might be. It would suck to find out that 6 months after you bought your PC that no new software worked with it. The life span for a PC should be a least 3 to 5 years.
Finally, if you do feel you must throw away money don’t waste it on a $499 PC. You could send it my way and I will send you a rock. You should put Dean on the check.
