Buying a PC for the Holidays

People often ask us what to look for when buying a PC for Christmas. A computer is a considerable investment and you will likely have to live with your decision for several years. Therefore, we usually try to urge people not to get hung up on Christmas "deals." Always make sure that the basics are included and then work on the details.

Your primary concerns are:

1. Manufacturer reliability

2. Warranty

3. Hard drive space

4. Amount of Random Access Memory (RAM)

5. Processor speed

Manufacturer Reliability
We always recommend sticking with known and proven brand names. Our two personal favorites are Compaq and Dell. Hewlett Packard also makes a sturdy computer, however. Companies like Gateway have strong marketing campaigns, but not necessarily the best computers.

Remember: You'll get a better computer online (direct from the manufacturer) than you'll get at a retail store. Software manufacturers pay stores like Circuit City and Best Buy to pre-load software onto the computers they sell. This extra (often useless) software will compete for resources and will usually slow your machine down. This also explains why you can often get a computer cheaper at the store than you can factory direct.

Warranty
Obviously, the longer the warranty, the better off you are. To save expense, many manufacturers have been slashing warranties. Try to get a 3-year warranty if possible.

Remember: Retail stores will always try to sell you an extended, in-home service warranty. These are usually not worth the money and you will often be ready for a new computer before you need the extended warranty. In most cases, you can purchase an extension to your warranty when the original wears out.

Hard Drive
Your hard drive is where all of your programs and files reside, so it is important that you have enough space for everything you want to do. Most new computers come with over 40 Gigabyte hard drives standard. This should be more than enough space to store your music files, scanned pictures and word-processing documents. This is one area, however, that many e-machines and other cheaper brands try to cut costs.

Remember: additional hard drives can be added at a later date for a very reasonable price.

RAM

RAM is very important when it comes to running multiple programs at the same time. Keep in mind that many programs run in the background of your computer. 128 Megabytes (MB) of RAM is usually standard, but it is usually worthwhile to double that to 256 MB. Make sure that your computer has the capacity to at least double that if so desired.

Remember: Additional RAM can be added at a later date for a very reasonable price.

Processor
The processor is probably the most important feature. Processor speed determines how quickly your computer can perform tasks. If the specifications of two computers look identical, but one costs considerably more than the other, take a closer look at the processor. Is it an Intel processor? If so, is it a Pentium® or is it a Celeron™? Celeron™ processors are much less expensive, but are not nearly as fast as Pentiums®. AMD® also has two lines of processors with Athlon™ being the high-end processor and Duron™ the cheaper.

2 Gigahertz (GH) processors are available, but you can save considerably on price by purchasing 1.7 GH or less.

Remember: The processor speed is generally what determines when you will need to buy a new computer. It is not upgradeable and future software programs will tax it more and more of its resources.

Don't be fooled into purchasing long-term add-ons to bring the price of your computer down. One of the most common of these is the old "buy 3 years worth of dial-up service and we'll give you a cheap computer" ploy. Faster and cheaper Internet options are emerging at an incredible pace. Don't miss out on future opportunities by pre-paying for old technology. Please call us at 317-916-1250 if you have specific questions about your holiday purchase.

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