Get my new Windows 7 eBook (PDF) for $7 with 70+ Tips. Download Now!
Tips for Buying a New Computer that is Just Right for You
Trevmister sent me an email with the following tips on picking the right computer for yourself. There are a lot of excellent points here that you should try to keep in mind when you purchase your next computer.
- Don’t just get something that just meets your needs. Go a little above just in case you decide sometime in the future that you want to do something that requires more than your computer can offer. If you don’t you will have to buy more computer parts later on and spend more money than if you got it when you got the computer.
- You won’t always want to go for the newest operating system. If you want the new OS, wait about a year after release, that way they have some time to work out most (if not all) the bugs.
- Do NOT download everything that you think is cool. Chances are you won’t use it for more than 3 days. Sure, you can delete them, but there are still small traces of memory left from the files that do add up.
- Make sure your mouse will be compatible with the new computer. If you want a wireless mouse, make sure your computer can use it. An example is when you buy a bluetooth mouse and your computer doesn’t have bluetooth you will have to go back to the store and spend more money for an adapter which could have been avoided if you just got one with a USB receiver. If it is a wired mouse, see what it needs for it to be plugged in. Most likely you will have what it needs, but in some cases you won’t.
- If you don’t want to get an external harddrive maybe you should get a CD or DVD burner to save important files. If you get the burner though you will have to buy blank discs. The external hard drive may save you money in the future, but the discs are a little more portable. It depends on what you need. If you need about 25+ GB of storage, get the external hard drive.
GoToAssist lets you provide support to your friends or customers even when they aren't at home. By using the unattended support feature, you can fix their software issues, install their updates, or nearly anything else you would normally do on-site.
11 Comments
Useful Habits | Habits to make your technology GO!
March 4th, 2008
at 11:03am
Tips for Buying HardwareTips for Buying a New Computer that is Just Right for YouWindows Vista’s Rants Social Media Questions and Answers ADD and OCD Help GTD How to Build an Audio and Video Podcast Dell Home Coupons Tips for Choosing the Best ISP for your Needs Top 5 Tips for Calling Computer Tech Support
evilpentaxuser
March 3rd, 2008
at 10:49am
sound advice, but there is one question I get ask of what I would suggest for the OEM or where I would buy from.. but there is 1 question I ask them to answer that no one ever can actually answer… What is the largest program you would like to run on it? no one actually knows the answer. obviously, if you plan on games, I would suggest at least 2 GB , but at least maxs out at 4 GB or more., of memory and a basic video card of at least 256MB of onboard RAM just on it only, sharing RAM with system memory is an obvious you do not want to do, it bogs the system down. plan on editing pictures using PSP or PS 7 or CSA3, about the same suggestion, lots of memory, a large grapgics card, and lots of HD space. a DVD burner is nice, but a Blu-ray drive is over kill, 25GB and it is not 100% compatible with players yet. and of course extranl HD, at least a minimal 160GB or higher. you will be suprised how fast the HD will fill up with the 6MP and higher cameras. a scanner, and you may as well say you are tripling the size of each picture compared to the digital camera. it is nothing to have a pictue be 30MB or 100 MB per image. I am not sujecting any type of particualr scanner, but I use a basic legal sized that can scan 35 MM. I do have a few 120MM film negatives, but I have 99.99% in 35 MM and 110 film, the scanner can handle. last, have at least a minum of 4 USB 2.0 and at least 1 Firewire or 1394 conneciton, you just never know when you will need the connections. as for internal card readers, forget having them, I have yet to find a internal card reader that works fast to read them, and most of the time, buying a new SD or CF SDHC memory card usually come with a card reader. I have a Dell laptop I got for christmas, but the SD reader built in is slow to read a SAndisk III card, and that card is super fast with the camera to save. technology changes almost daily, but I do not plan on buying a new computer for at least 4-5 years. by then, it is too slow to run new programs and the HD is usally about to fail anyway or is too full. laptops are fine, but you are really limited to the upgrades you can do, hence, at least 4 USB ports standard.
HarleyMac1
March 3rd, 2008
at 3:35pm
Very good points. I just bought a new iMac (my first Mac and yes, I am in love) on Saturday and I feel that I did a good job on most of these these. I actually have way more than I will need for a long time. I was messing on the computer today and I was looking at open source downloads. I was testing the waters just to see what was available and my thought was that everything that was offered on this particular site already had an application on the iMac. I will have to have the computer for more time than I have had to test all the functions. Unless there are gaps to be filled I don’t see the point of adding more software to my computer to perform mostly the same functions.
Now a mouse is something that I did not even consider. I do not have a favorite mouse so it never was purchase decision. But, I am very happy with my purchase decision all things considered.
foxtrot_MGS
March 3rd, 2008
at 5:53pm
Nice tips, but I think you meant buy hard ware that works (rather then just a mouse). I’ve never heard some one like “my mouse doesn’t work, Steve Jobs is gonna get my boot right up…”yada, yada, yada. Nice tips though.
Scamslayer
March 3rd, 2008
at 6:46pm
I agree with everything except the “Don’t download everything you think is cool” tip. While yes, if you don’t need the program, don’t bother loading it, you still have to download programs you need. Plus I’ve been beta testing a lot of software, and I have to be downloading new versions and patches and such. You need to be able to download that!
I would say, only download what you use. EX: Just the browser(s) you use, and maybe some programs that you use (Skype, Audacity etc.). But don’t restrain yourself entirely!
Pwnstrz
March 4th, 2008
at 1:07pm
Great tips. Preparing for future operating systems is a great thing to do. If you get what you think you need, you’ll be pretty much screwed later on. If you aren’t an expert on what to buy, there is always a community out there to help you. Also, don’t go out and buy a computer with an OS that looks cool, if Mac looks cool to you, but you aren’t that big into computers and know how to use XP, go with that. Also, building can be a lot cheaper than buying pre-built, ask around if you don’t know what you’re doing though, surely one of your friends does.
Kaleb S
March 4th, 2008
at 2:40pm
Another good tip is, if you can when you buy and OEM machine say with vista (preferably desktop). Reinstall an OS (MOST LIKELY NOT VISTA) to get rid of the crap that the manufacturer installs like a trial anti virus etc. This can free up space, and if you switch to XP make your life a whole lot easier.
nark
March 4th, 2008
at 4:55pm
thxs for some of the tips but u think u could make a list or something of cheap but good hardware for making a good gaming pc ?
Kim
March 30th, 2008
at 7:28am
Hi, I hope that you can help me I want a laptop computer that can do video editing and photo’s I have a hp pavilion zv5000 while it has been a good laptop it hasn’t done what I want it to do as far as video editing and photo’s the sales guy told me this is all that i would need and I paid over $2300.00 for it when I got it a few years back and have been very disapointed with it. So if you could point me in the right direction on which computer would be the best.. I would like to have bluetooth, tv out and media card reader, also would need a wireless card and a web cam/mic.. OH, and I would really like to stick with window XP I have heard that all of my Photo/video editing software isn’t compatable with Vista.
Thanks again.
Kim
HSVBoI
May 4th, 2008
at 1:07am
I got my very first Laptop about 1 and a half years ago..(before i had a desktop) and i thought oh yeah i will just get that laptop because it is cheap and i can save money…i wassssssss so wrong it has no special feture…it is just a standard laptop no bluetooth no card reader…no mic…(it has a cd burner but just about ever lappy does now) no DVD burner…only 2 USB2.0 ports…only a 60GB HDD (soooo bad have ran out of space many of times) and it come with only 512MB RAM and since then i have up graded to 1.5GB because adding more ram than that wont help performance i need a faster CPU…for that but it is sooooooooo bad…
it wont run Windows Movie Maker on it that good…
It wont run games on it the have sooo much lag its not funny…
it only have a Intel Celeron M soooooo stupid of me to run in and get this because it’s cheap…be care full of what you buy…
Geekguy
June 13th, 2008
at 7:10pm
Another important tip should be not to trust the advice of the salespeople. They may be working on commission or, even worse, may know absolutely nothing about computers. Just because someone works where computers are being sold, does not necessarily make them an expert. Therefore, it is important to do plenty of research before venturing into the store to make a computer purchase.