If you want the latest, fastest computer and money is no object, then this blog post isn’t for you. Similarly, if you’re content with walking into a big box store and getting a computer that comes in a big box, then this blog post isn’t for you either.
This blog post is for people who want to buy a computer just for them. A custom machine that delivers all the power and resources you need, no more no less, delivered at the perfect cost.
It’s a simple process, an easy thing to do. I once described in my series of books on buying a computer.
The first book was called How to Understand and Buy Computers, published back in 1988. It was a companion piece to a course I taught on buying computers.
That book morphed into other titles over the years, including one of my favorite renditions, Buy That Computer! It was supposed to be followed by Buy That Car! and Buy That Boat! and even more Buy That titles, but the publisher was more interested in slapping yellow covers on books than publishing anything else.
Eventually the title became Buying A Computer For Dummies, and it went through annual updates for several years. The last one was in 2006.
Regardless of the title or advances in technology, the formula for buying a computer to match your needs hasn’t changed:
- Decide what you want the computer to do.
- Find the software to fill your needs.
- Choose the hardware necessary to run that software.
- Shop for service and support.
- Buy the computer!
Too many people just do a bastardization of Step 3: Find hardware. That seems to be their first priority. Then they go out and get some software only to discover that the game needs a better graphics card or that their photo-editing program would like more memory. That’s bass-ackwards.
Further, too many people cut out service and support. Face it: You’re getting no computer service from those cheerful people in the red vests at Costco. You don’t take your computer into WalMart to get it fixed. And forget phoning up Best Buy to ask them how to re-install Microsoft Office.
I’ll review the five steps to buying a computer specifically in Friday’s blog post.
When buying a new computer, it is not always easy to know what level of service and support you can count on from a source you have not dealt with before, so I am eager to hear your advice on this.
Another issue on service and support is the warranty conditions. When I bought my last computer, no vendor offered the video card I felt I absolutely needed to have. The solution seemed to be to purchase the card separately and install it myself. But I was concerned that this would void my warranty. I ended up holding on to the original card and re-installing it each time I sought service for an non-video related issue. What a hassle !
Prior to purchase, consider the “expertise” of your salesperson. I had been advised by co-workers to get two hard drives, but the vendor assured me that a single 160 gigabyte hard drive was far larger that I could ever fill. But when I began storing hours of MPEG video, I soon wished I had insisted on that second drive.
Comment by sean bernard — July 22, 2010 @ 7:01 pm
Good advice. Thanks!
Comment by admin — July 25, 2010 @ 9:25 pm