How to Choose a Computer System
Vital Choosing Tips!

• First, you must decide what you, or whomever is receiving it, is going to use the computer for. Then, you need to consider the various possible configurations as well as your budget. I will help you if you aren't sure... call... I don't want you to make an expensive error.

• Secondly, do NOT buy a "name-brand" or "major-brand" if possible. I can point you towards superior alternatives. With the 'name brand' systems, repairs and upgrading will often be more expensive than they should. Name brands are designed specifically to hook you on buying only their highly priced components to maximize their 40-60% profit margin.
  But if you insist on buying a name brand system then let me help you this way, study the following:

  Get info from the three sources:
  Editor's reviews, user opinions and manufacturers information — each has a different perspective.  Editors are going to have approached the product methodically and without bias if they are from an independent source like, my favorite - CNET.com. Users will have lived with the product for the longest time and in the most diverse ways, which can reveal flaws or benefits that don't become apparent in short-term lab reviews. 

  Manufacturers will have a unique concept of how they intended the product to be used and what makes it stand out.  Armed with these three perspectives you can feel pretty well-armed to figure out if the computer — or any consumer electronics product — is the right one for you.

• A custom built computer is often your best bet... they are called 'clones'.
  Most "clone" computer system builders are operating only with a 5-25% margin. Besides, most major PC makers are not really "manufacturers." They are just "box-makers", putting components together, like every body else.
  
  Clone or house-brands are often based on 'open structures' otherwise called 'open architecture'.. same thing - different words. Be certain to ask the builder. This means easier and cheaper upgrading, using "universal" components. You pretty much can go anywhere to have the computer serviced, upgraded, or repaired.
  
  I hope the following suggestions will help you make your selections. There is much more, but it gets confusing if this is all new to you. I encourage you to call me.. I'll help where I can.

• Computers are getting really inexpensive these days. Buying the most powerful computer your budget allows is NOT always a good idea, buying the highest quality computer IS a good idea, just like a car, better quality serves you better.

• Important Note - Computer prices do go down with time. However, that doesn't mean you should wait forever to buy one, use it, to learn from it, and, most of all, enjoy it. A computer is the best investment money can buy today! It is among the best I have made!
  
  Why do I say that, knowing that the value of a computer goes down significantly with time? What a computer can help you with is limitless. I was able to retire within two years, of buying my computer back in 1995... because I learned how to use the Internet as a communication tool. What if I had waited a few years for computer prices to go down?
  
  The prices will NEVER bottom out, that's the point! I would have LOST several million dollars so that I could save a couple thousand dollars waiting around trying to be "a smart buyer"?... would that have made much sense?? In many cases it DOES make sense.. but when it comes to computers, the action that makes sense is to buy THE RIGHT COMPUTER... whatever the cost! I am willing to help you... just call me.

• The most powerful computers these days are for gamers, servers, and rocket scientists. The priority is probably true in that order.

• You should consider choosing the components and putting a computer together yourself. But only if you have some computer knowledge and some spare time. It is not that easy the first time. However, it does get easier once you have started.
  
  The satisfaction you get from putting a computer together is difficult to describe with words. Besides, you could sell a few of them and try to become the next Michael Dell. Who knows…

• Important Example: It is often a better deal to buy a new system instead of upgrading an old one if the old one is more than 3-5 years old. It also depends on what you are using it for.
  
  For instance, I am composing and publishing this website along with creating all the graphics on an old 1997/1998 business IBM 266mhz laptop with 512mb of ram, a 15" screen and a 40gb hdd! It runs Office 2003, Photoshop, Streets and Trips, FrontPage 2003, XP SP3, it opens 10 IE browsers, Outlook, FP, Adobe Acrobat Pro and PhotoDraw ALL AT THE SAME TIME without a hiccup! This little critter just NEVER quits and NEVER lets me down! That's what QUALITY will do for you! Bury it with me and I'll bet it works flawlessly in the heat of H_LL too!
  
  When my IBM laptop was new in 1998 it cost over $3500+ to for whatever company to buy.. I picked it up it on eBay in 2000 when it was dumped on the market 'off-lease' along with THOUSANDS of others... how much? $600! Cheap at that time!
  
  I doubt if it was ever used and I have been using it when I am traveling ever since! I had to replace the battery for $46 dollars... so what...  It is perfect for WHAT I DO! See?
  
  I've bought super-duper computers new and cheap, dozens of them... and do you know where they are now?..... NO?... that's okay... I don't either! They failed almost to the day after their warrantees expired! Plus I had to fight like the dickens to get several motherboards replaced by the manufacturers while they were STILL IN WARRANTEE!... it wasn't worth the aggravation! They are just expensive rain collectors out there somewhere now.... geeezzzz.

• If all you need to do is word processing, spreadsheet, home finance, some basic windows games, e-mails, and browsing the Internet, you are an average user. Nothing really "high end" is needed, trust me on this! Consider a mid-grade computer that includes 1ghz to 2.8ghz cpu, 500mb - 2gb of memory, 32mb video, 200gb hard drive, a decent plug and play sound card. A 17” or larger monitor is recommended. Talk with me to find out what you need.. if you are considering day-trading or anything a little 'out there', the systems components need to be adjusted accordingly. You may want multiple monitors or a giant plasma screen!

• Servers are a lot more complex than most other computer systems. Since servers rarely deal with a complex graphics, an 8 to 16mb video card would easily do the job, unless it is a Terminal Server. Use a large case with tons of cooling. Well, the price tag could go up quickly.
  
  I have bought and used commercial servers that sold for $40,000 and MORE when they were purchased brand new by big companies back in 2000. They had 4 to 16 CPU's each and gigabytes of ram, redundant EVERYTHING including dual hot swap power supplies and 9 hot swap hard drives for infallible backup! I bought them for around $1000 per system and they weighed in at 150lbs+ each! I used them as a simple work system for myself... but I put awesome video and sound cards in them you better believe!!
  
  Oh, btw, do you know where they are now?? I do... because they will be working flawlessly until time ends!

• Designing a gaming computer is more fun than anything. They often use water cooled CPUs and video cards, ultra-fast hard drives and many  games run well only on intense gaming engines such as these. Go with top of the line processor, get all the fastest ram you can afford. You will also need the best video card your budge allows! For game machines, do not even think about systems with video and audio built into the motherboard! You will hate it when the next version of your favorite game is released.

• If you are choosing a computer for normal office work, only the mid-range computer is necessary. You really do not need that much cache for word processing, spreadsheet, and e-mail. Consider a1ghz, 1gb ram, 200gb hard disk drive and a 32mb video card so you can use Google Earth and other great online study/mapping tools! You can get them used on Craigslist used for about $100 with the monitor and everything!

Now matter if you buy, build or upgrade:

Make more RAM (random access memory) your main priority with any PC
CPU speed and hard drive space are usually OK, memory is what's often skimped on a new machine and is what contributes most to its speed.   All too often what is perceived by users as their computer being too slow is actually not the CPU speed but the amount of ram.  When a computer has too little memory, it doesn't tell you, it just starts using part of the its hard drive space as a poor form of additional memory known as swap space or virtual memory.  It's a clunky, slow way for a computer to run but it at least keeps things going.  Much better is to give a computer the RAM it needs, 2GB at least if you want to run any of the latest operating systems with all their features.

Consider 3GB if you can afford it because there's almost no such thing as too much RAM and the sweet spot for RAM for most users is somewhere between 2GB and 4GB if they are running Windows Vista with all the bells & whistles enabled.

Shop for a laptop online and in store.
You need to test drive the keyboard, mouse and monitor since they are integrated.   You can always change the monitor, keyboard and mouse on a desktop PC but not on a laptop unless you have it tethered to a desk. Check the keyboard for good key action — the amount of travel from top to bottom of a key press; more usually feels better.  Laptops use many different kinds of mouse pointing devices so make sure you like the one your new laptop uses.  Or at least find out if you hate it and should buy a travel mouse right away.

And of course check the brightness of the monitor.  Laptops are often used in brightly lit areas where ambient lighting it not idea, so make sure you have a bright display and one that seems large enough to your eyes.

Take advantage of weekly store specials.
Computers are largely commodities, so chase a low price point aggressively.   There are new models of computers coming on the market every few weeks and frankly they often differ very little in any meaningful way.  So take advantage of the fact that the retailer wants to move the "old stock" by cutting prices of the remaining units in inventory.  They also have other incentives for offering special price cuts, like special promotions from the PC manufacturer.  The bottom line:  There is usually nothing "wrong" with a machine that is being blown out cheaply since computers are very mature and not subject to dramatic technology improvements month to month.  Shop for price somewhere in the range of $500 - $750 and you could almost go to the store blindfolded and still make a good choice.

Don't get hung up on parts.
Computers are largely made from the same components.  Rather, shop for a brand that will have good customer support.   Computers are often considered commodity products since they all use pretty much the same guts, with just a different case and brand name on the outside.   Businesses have known this for years and buy whatever brand gives them the best price when they deploy thousands of machines across an enterprise. 

So buy like the pros and don't get hung up on some concept that a certain brand of PC is necessarily faster or better built than another.  Instead you might want to ask friends and other users online what kind of product support experience they have had with a given brand of computer.  That's where PC brands can differ rather substantially.  Check the warranty, support section of web site, and even call their toll free support number with a test question to see what the people are like on the other end.