HOW TO DECIDE WHICH COMPUTER TO BUY?

 

By AK. Udofeh

Many people wonder what the right computer for them to buy is. They often find it difficult to decide whether to go for either laptop, tower desktop or one of those funky touch screen tablets. This problem pops up with almost everyone. But this article will help make computer purchasing a bit easier.

In the case of a laptop, before buying a new one, one need to decide on what he/she really need and then get a laptop that comes closest to his requirements. Generally laptop varies in terms of processor speed, memory capacity, screen size, battery life, and total weight. In line with these, choosing the right computer can seem confusing. You don’t want to purchase a computer which will soon be obsolete, so how do you choose the right one?

Now let's analyze a couple of issues that is worth considering.

WHO AM I?

 

This may sound like a silly question to ask yourself, but it will get you on the road to a better purchase. Are you just an office application user or video or graphics editor? This will help you decide what computer to get. For example, if you're a video editor, you would want a computer that supports heavy video-editing software. There are uncountable numbers of brands and models out there. Eliminating some of them will help you remember what you're going to use the computer for.

DO YOU TRAVEL A LOT? 

This is pretty much a decider between a laptop and a desktop. If you're somebody who gets called on business trips a lot, then you might consider getting a laptop. On the other side, however, if you're a person like a friend of mine who has computers all around him at home and at the workplace, then a laptop will be a waste of money considering the fact that a laptop usually costs more than a desktop. You can also look at a different idea of a laptop: a tablet. These are for people who don't feel like spending a ton on a laptop, and at the same time want something portable and powerful that fits in their purse or bag.

This is pretty much a decider between a laptop and a desktop. If you're somebody who gets called on business trips a lot, then you might consider getting a laptop. On the other side, however, if you're a person like a friend of mine who has computers all around him at home and at the workplace, then a laptop will be a waste of money considering the fact that a laptop usually costs more than a desktop. You can also look at a different idea of a laptop: a tablet. These are for people who don't feel like spending a ton on a laptop, and at the same time want something portable and powerful that fits in their purse or bag.

NOW YOU’VE DECIDED WHAT KIND OF LAPTOP YOU NEED, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BRANDS. 

These days’ computers are becoming a commodity item – most major manufacturers use the same parts and just offer them in different packaging at different price points. Choosing the right brand is like choosing the right midsize car, there are many choices and a lot of them are very similar. Dell and HP/Compaq are the two biggest computer manufacturers in the world; however, a large majority of the market share comes from business market. For the home user, your needs are different from corporate buyers. Other popular manufacturers include Sony, IBM, and of course, Apple. I personally like Apple systems but when it’s comes to price range, most users are scared away from it. Other things to consider are warranty length and type, reviews, word of mouth, using the models hands-on and many others.

Now once you have the brand in mind, start looking at models. This is a place where you can save some money. All brands have a wide variety of models. And once a new one comes out, all the other ones get cheaper. You can check out screen size, processor speed, memory, and lots of other factors. The possibilities are endless. According to experts, when choosing features, you should remember that there is no benefit to going to extremes for features that you will not use or that bring problems with them. Also you need to keep in mind that whatever you buy today will immediately be outdated

WHAT IS THE RIGHT PROCESSOR SPEED FOR ME?

The first question my clients often ask when I am giving out the specification of a laptop is: “Is that the highest speed of processor in the market now?” But the fact is that unless you plan on using your computer for video editing, 3D modeling, or computing large mathematical models, the slowest speed models today are fast enough for a home user or an office user. To get an extra 0.25 Gigahertz out of a machine for an extra N10, 000 is probably not worth the investment. That extra money can be saved or use to increase the RAM, as this will go a long way in speeding up the computer in the long run more than a slightly faster processor. As an IT professional, I tend to stay away from the AMD line of processors. They are not too reliable when it comes to working with graphics or heavy processor intensive tasks. Still they might be very useful to the home user who doesn’t carry out much processor intensive task.

WHAT MEMORY (RAM) CAPACITY WILL BE IDEAL FOR ME?

For my purposes, I don’t look for a computer with less than 2 GB of RAM (memory) in the computer. This is because the RAM is where applications run when I am working on the computer. The more memory my computer has, the more space for my applications to run in and the faster my tasks are carried out. For most home users, 512MB or 1GB of RAM is sufficient.

HOW LARGE SHOULD THE HARD DISK SIZE BE?

A hard disk drive (HDD or hard drive) is a device for storing and retrieving digital information, primarily computer data. It consists of one or more rigid (hence "hard") rapidly rotating discs (platters) coated with magnetic material, and with magnetic heads arranged to read/write data to/from the surface. So simply put hard drive storage is where you store all of your applications and data files. Common computers today have a minimum of 160 GB of space – which is plenty for most users. But if you plan on doing digital video editing or other tasks which take up a large amount of disk space, I bet you should rather go for the 320 GB or 500 GB upgrade. The best option for video editing is a second hard drive which you will use separately from the main drive. I would recommend a 320 GB main drive and a 1 TB (Terabyte) second (external) drive if you want to do a lot of video editing.

WARRANTY AND PRICE TAG

Most people have come to realize this common fact that the more established manufacturers offer more choices in warranties than the small shops do. So ask yourself: How long do I plan on keeping my computer? Another issue to keep in mind is: If you opt for a warranty beyond your typical one year warranty, check to see if it has on-site service or mail in support. If you have an on-site warranty, however, a technician will come to your house or business to repair your machine.

Conclusively, if you end up deciding to buy HP, Sony Vaio, Dell or even Apple, then visit both their small outlets and their major outlets when pricing the machine. If you price the machine in both outlets, you may notice a price difference in one outlet over the other. Go for the machine in the cheaper outlet. Remember, the price level does not necessarily determine the quality or durability, rather your system spec goes a long way in enabling you save cost.