Ideas for Getting A New Computer

The following are some of the basics you might consider before getting a new computer. While a lot can be gone into when purchasing one, this is meant as a general guideline.

For starters, it’s good to identify the requirements for the computer up front. It is important to understand them in the beginning.

One place to begin is how the computer is going to be used. As an example, is it just for simple word processing, e-mail and web access? Or will it be used for something that will require more computing power like video editing, 3-D rendering, high-end graphic intensive games etc. This will go a long way to help determine the hardware you would want. For example, a lightly use computer with XP will likely perform acceptably with just 512 megs of memory a 3 GHz processor and a 160 gig or less SATA drive. But if you plan on using it in a manner that will require more computing power or storage,  you may consider increasing that depending on the specific need. Also if gaming is involved, you may consider customizing it further by getting the video card of your choosing. There seem to be some exceptional ones available. Just get the one you like. As an example, one customer does surveying and uses Autocad. Their requirements are vastly different than my kids who basically use theirs for schoolwork and instant messaging.

Then where is it going to be used? Will it be used at work with possible domain or other networking and security requirements? Will it just be used at home as a single workstation? Try to come up with any other significant variations you can think of ahead of time. The different operating systems and their different versions have different capabilities and would recommend getting the one you want from the beginning.

What are the foreseeable future uses which might change the current set of requirements? For example, if now you are only lightly using the computer, but in two years you plan on developing 3D rendered games at home, you might want to get what you will need at this time. Of course you can often wait and update later but just something to consider ahead of time.

Is support an issue? If so that should be noted. Do you want on-site support or is bringing it to the local manufacturer acceptable? What is an acceptable time for a needed repair? One day. Same Day. What are the costs for these options. Or is just getting a computer on-line from a company that won’t support it at all acceptable. These are just a few things to consider.

Do you want to walk in, order a completely custom built computer, and expect to walk out in an hour? If so getting one on-line is probably not a viable solution. Nor would the major vendors or manufacturers. If this is somewhat flexible, then there might be more options available. For example, if you wait two hours, or a few days, you might get the absolutely perfect computer for you that can meet your needs for years. Or you might get a quick on off the shelf in that hour only to find it doesn’t meet all those requirements.

Other items you might want to display are Favorites, Printers, and System Administrator tools. Since it is easy to unselect items or how they are displayed, there are a lot of options here you might explore.

What are the foreseeable storage requirements? This will determine the size of the hard drive you might want. Do you plan on using it for downloading years of large size photographs and movies. If so, you should consider a much larger drive. If all you need it for is occasional Word files, e-mail and browsing the web, a much smaller drive may be all you need.

Cost might be another issue. You can spend a lot if you want. Sometimes if you shop around you can find very good prices on very good equipment.

There are many other options to consider like what kind of case you want (mini tower, full size with lots of slots, cube, vertical or horizontal tower), Power Supply, Keyboard, Mouse, Network adapter, Backup strategy, RAID controllers, external storage? But that is where working with someone can really help out.

Now while there may have a huge list of requirements, it does not mean they can be met. It could be somewhat analogous to walking into a car store and requiring that they have your exact model, color, stick shift not automatic, type of seats, special rims, sun roof and with the specific accessories in an hour. You can require all you want but it likely won’t happen.

For example with computers, while there may be a local computer company near where you live that can create a custom computer with all the hardware you specify, install the operating system, drivers, get all the updates from Microsoft, partition exactly how you want etc. they might not be able to do it all in one hour. A lot here would depend on what is more important, a short term goal of getting a computer in an hour or a long term goal of getting the exact computer you want that will meet your needs long after you get it back home.

So this is a good general starting point to help you determine what kind of computer you might want to get. Obviously there is a lot more to consider but then again I just said it was for starters.

Places to begin looking for a computer based on your requirements:

Major Retailers may have what you need from major vendors and can be gotten right away from the store.

On-Line Computer Stores are available that sell either your custom computer, ones they have available or ones from major vendors.

Building the computer yourself. Of course this would depend on your skill and knowledge but is certainly another option for getting your new computer.

Do some Research

Along with finding a particular computer, do some research on that computer or company.

If it is from a major vendor, try searching the Internet for any reviews by either other companies or people that have actually used it.

If it is from a local computer store, try and determine the reputability of the store. If you can't find anyone that has used them before, one general way is to see how long they have been in business. Often the ones that give good products and service stay in business longer.