Things to know before you buy a computer.

1. How much money you have to spend.
How much money you have is the absolute deciding factor in what you get (unless you have money coming out your ears). Brand new computers generally range from $200 to $25,000 so what you can fit in your budget is supremely important. Please keep the price of the software that you need in mind as some of that can be quite expensive.

2. What software you need to run.
A computer’s sole purpose is to run software. Some are more demanding on hardware than others. Computer games are the most demanding thing most people do with their computers, and if this is what you do, you must configure the computer accordingly. Computers designed for gaming are usually expensive and very dependent on a good graphics card. Other software, like web browsers, office software like word processors and money management software don’t require as many resources and can be pretty much run on any new computer.

3. What operating system you want.
The operating system you want is also extremely important. Linux will run on anything and is very flexible and fast, but it is hard to use and the learning curve is enormous. Windows is fairly easy to use and compatible with most software out there, but it has a history of stability problems. Mac OS X is very powerful, easy to use, stable, robust, and comes with some of the best software in the industry, but it may not be compatible with all of the software you want to run (though dual booting with Windows is an option these days).

4. What features you need.
Do you need a computer that is mobile? Do you need a good price to performance ratio? Are you going to need things like a webcam, printer, scanner, camera, mp3 player, or other devices for your computer to interface with? How many USB ports are you going to need? Will you need Firewire, parallel ports, serial ports, or a Bluetooth module for the devices you need? Do you need an optical drive (CD/DVD/Blu-ray) or can you do without one? What about floppy drives? If you have a laptop, is it going to need all the features and power of a desktop, or will it need to be thin, light, and highly mobile? Will you need to play movies on your computer? Do you want to watch them in HD? Will you be using the computer to play music? Will you need quality sound? How much storage space are you going to need? Whatever you do, don’t buy a laptop only for use in the home. That’s a lot of money for a feature that’s not even being used (mobility). Laptops are great for students who want to take them to class. Laptops are also good for LAN parties, but you’ll need one powerhouse of a laptop to even begin to compete with the guys that have gaming-grade desktops.

5. The computer’s display.
In certain respects, the old CRTs are still the best computer displays out there. However, any new computer will come with an LCD display (if it comes with one at all) which, even though CRTs perform better, this still isn’t a bad thing. It is very important that you try out many computer displays to find one that suits your eyes in terms of resolution and size. Bigger monitors usually have higher resolutions. For example, a 24 inch monitor usually has a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. This is good enough to display full HD 1080p (which is 1920x1080). Some 17 inch laptop displays also display at this resolution. Is this going to make the text too small for you to read easily? Would a smaller resolution suit you better? Would a tiny 10 inch screen bother you? What resolutions do the software you run support? Most require at least 1024x768. Keep this in mind.

6. Tech support.
Do you know enough about your computer to fix your own problems, or are you going to rely on friends or tech support to fix your computer if it breaks? If you’re in the latter group, a computer company with a good record for tech support (Dell and Apple are two of the best for that) along with an extended warranty is what you want to look for. Some computer companies only offer tech support for as long as the warranty is active (which is usually only two or three years). Do not buy a used computer and actually expect to get tech support. Chances are you won’t get it. If you buy from a company like Dell that lets you pick from a 1-year up to a 5-year warranty, consider that five years is a long time to have a computer and you should get the warranty for the length of time you intend to keep the computer. Also keep in mind that tech support may vary even within the same company depending on what computer you buy. Dell, for example, offers the best tech support to small and medium businesses. All SMB (small/medium business) support is right here in the US, so you don’t have to talk to someone in India. Dell Optiplex and Latitude computers have lifetime phone support, while the others only last as long as the warranty is active. Apple also has a lot of tech support based here in the US.

7. Can you build your own computer?
Building your own computer has many benefits. The price to performance ratio is the best there is in home-built computers (except for laptops, where building your own doesn’t really get you any benefits). Can you even build one yourself? Do you know what parts you will need inside the case? Keep in mind that home-built computers don’t get tech support. If the thing breaks, you’d better be able to fix it yourself or know someone good enough with computers that can that is willing to help you (or that you can pay for).

8. Don’t get scammed.
Do your homework. A lot of retailers sell lots of different kinds of computers. Best Buy, for example, sells a large variety, but they handle all warranties and tech support themselves. In the case of Dell computers, this is a bad thing. Dell’s tech support is better than Best Buy’s. In other computer’s cases, this may actually be a good thing. As far as tech support and computer repair goes, avoid Best Buy’s Geek Squad whenever possible. They charge an arm and a leg for things that are fairly easy to do (they charge $50 to install RAM, which is really easy to do yourself). Most importantly, DO NOT TALK TO A SALESMAN TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED! You should know what you want long before ever talking to a salesman. Salesmen don’t know anything about computers and will do anything to sell you something that is far more expensive than you need.

9. Learn what a computer is and what it does.
I kid you not, there are people who call in for tech support that don’t even know that the computer needs electricity to run or that it has an on/off switch. If you are one of these people, I recommend taking some time to learn what a computer is and what it can do for you. A computer is only as good as its user. Also take a little time to learn some basic computer jargon. Learn what words like hard drive, optical drive, processor, memory, motherboard, operating system, bit, byte, malware, antivirus, background process, keyboard, mouse, software, power supply, application, monitor and network mean. If there is any of those words that you don’t know what they mean, it’s time you learned. They’re very basic and fundamental terms that could mean the difference between getting your computer fixed, and really annoying the support tech and making him wish you would die after the call is over because it is your incompetence that caused the call to run on for four hours. Please, PLEASE, learn the difference between memory and the hard drive. One of the most frustrating things for me is when people have nice computers, but all they ever use is Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. Your computer is capable of so much, it seems a complete waste to buy one just for that.

10. Learn about protection.
We’re pretty much all aware of the presence of malware these days. For those of you who don’t know, malware is an umbrella term that covers viruses, adware, and spyware. Bad stuff. It is possible to live quite happily without these ever becoming a problem and also not having to use antivirus software or antispyware software (which can be a major pain and consume valuable resources) to keep them out or get rid of them. My computer, for example has no protection, and also has no problems with malware. This is because I know how to not get viruses in the first place. Delete questionable emails without opening them. Do not go to online gambling sites. Many online gaming sites that don’t have gambling are still riddled with viruses. Avoid programs like BitTorrent or Limewire. The programs themselves are safe enough, but who knows whether or not what you’re downloading is really what it says it is. Avoid programs like Kazaa, Weatherbug, and MyWeb. These programs are riddled with spyware. Above all, avoid porn sites like the plague. Your soul is not the only thing damaged by that stuff. It’ll wreak havoc on your computer too. One of the most important things you can do is back up your data. I recommend backing up your data to both optical media and external hard drives in case you have to wipe your hard drive because of corrupt files on your computer, viruses, or failed hard drives. Depending on how important your data is, you might be well off to have backups offsite. For example, when the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001, many companies that were based in there were up and running the next day because they had backups that were located elsewhere. Some companies lost their files forever because they had no backups, or the backups were inside the buildings that collapsed. These companies never survived. Seriously people, back up your data! I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve gotten from people who are seriously miffed that they will lose all of their data because they didn’t back it up. Don’t be one of those people. Important data to back up may include music files, Power Point or Word documents, financial files from programs like Quicken, photos, movies, projects from programs like AutoCAD or Photoshop, etc. Anything on your computer that you can’t afford to lose or can’t replace if it was lost. Above all, just remember that you never know when your computer will be lost, broken, stolen, or infested with a virus. People with children or are accident prone will probably want to purchase insurance or specific warranties that cover accidental damage for their computers. Remember, computers don’t last forever. If you’re still holding onto a computer that is more than five years old, it’s time to replace it. Even a cheap new computer that only cost $300 will likely outperform your dinosaur.


© Copyright 2009 Eric Williamson