Buying a New Computer?

Easier said than done. Many residential and business clients ask me: which computer shall I buy? Some of you go straight to the big stores thinking you will get a good deal and for the most part, you won’t!

BUYING A NEW COMPUTER FROM THE BIG STORES

Good? Absolutely not. The big stores have at times great deals but you need to know exactly what to look for and request. If you do not know or know very little, you will get what they want you to buy. This is valid whether you buy at the store or online.

If you do not know what specs to look for, if you do not have exact and specific information about each component inside that computer you are about to purchase, do yourself a favor and do not buy it.

People think computers are alike and all they see is the price tag and the hard drive storage capacity. Most stores will show you a big sale or a special offer, the brand of the PC, the processor (i5, i7, etc.) and the HDD capacity (1 TB or 2 TB, etc.).

They want you to think that all you need is a big processor and tons of storage at a great price and you fall for it, it’s a mousetrap. For example, having a strong processor with a slow hard drive creates a bottle neck case scenario and you will not use the full potential of the computer’s engine. What’s the point then? It’s like driving a Lamborghini with the tires of a Fiat 500 :). It makes no sense.

If you only knew! Well, I am here to inform you and tell you the ins and outs of buying a new computer.

BUYING A NEW COMPUTER – INS AND OUTS

When buying a new computer, you must ensure that you select:

• at least an i5 or i7 as the processor;
• you need to know the processor model number so you can check the benchmark and research it for good reviews and reliability among the techies; with hundreds of different models, you could easily lose your mind;
• you need to know the brand of the power supply and ensure and research it is a reliable one, meaning it won’t fail in a year or two;
• Same for the memory, ensure it is a good brand and reliable;
• Same for the hard drive’s brand;
• You need to ensure the speed of the hard drive you are getting, not just the storage capacity;
• Model number of the fans installed;
• Type of cooling system;
• Motherboard type and model number and research that is a great one among techies;
• You need to select a specific type of hard drive as a primary one besides the secondary and perform the check above;
• You need to ensure what type of graphic card you are getting and if it fits your necessities; plus, you must know ahead of time that the drivers for that particular graphic card, are fully compatible with Windows and that only a few to no conflicts/bugs have been reported; if you don’t, get ready for blue screens down the road and tons of headaches!
• Last and not least, there are only two brands that truly count among desktops/workstations, all else is garbage.

Overwhelmed? Do you see all this information listed at the store when buying a new computer? I don’t think so!

This is because they will sell you an i7 with a large hard drive but all the other components are of low quality and will last you no more than a year or two if you are lucky.

STILL THINK IT’S EASY BUYING A NEW COMPUTER?

If you choose to blindfold yourself and/or if you think you know computers and can buy the right workstation, you are the one.

You can always go to a big store and buy yourself the “special offer” and think to yourself, you got a bargain. You are left with two choices:

• Buy the deal and ignore all the specs above, you might just get lucky and get a computer that will last and work efficiently;
• Buy from us or any other expert in the field and you will get the right equipment.

WILL IT COST YOU MORE TO BUY FROM US?

Absolutely. I did not work 17 years in this field to learn the nuts and bolts of it and give out certain information for free. Information is precious to us and any existing company no matter the business type.

We will sell you the right computer and it will cost you more because we spent time researching and putting together the best of the best (always relative to your budget), whether we custom build it or select it out of our inventory.

When buying a new computer, don’t be cheap otherwise inform yourself. It will pay you off from every angle.

For businesses: don’t be ignorant. I have seen business owners buying a “Computer” to run their QuickBooks program or important applications and then, they complained they lost it all, including data, clients, time, money, and energy.

Was it worth it?