Computer Tips Article
“Buying a New Computer: The Do’s and
Don’ts”
The exciting Christmas season is upon us once again. This article is designed to help anyone faced
with the task of buying a new computer this season. When it comes to computers,
friends and family members usually want the same thing: a computer with the
latest technology. This article will simplify purchasing a new computer for a
loved one or yourself. Our goal is to ensure you purchase a computer that suits
your needs and budget.
Before purchasing, determine the primary purpose for the
computer (i.e., e-mail, internet-surfing, school, work, gaming, on-line
shopping etc…). Your needs are the most
important thing to keep in mind when shopping for a new computer.
After
you determine the purpose, figure out what programs your new computer will need
to run. For instance, the student in the
family will likely need Microsoft Office to write papers with; a gamer might
want to run the latest games. The programs you need to run will determine what
type of computer you need.
Now that you know what you need your computer to run,
let’s look at what type of computer you would prefer; a desktop or notebook.
Desktop computers cost less but are not portable like notebook computers. If
you need a computer that is portable, you would want to purchase a notebook
computer.
Now, let’s figure out how “fast” the computer needs to be.
This is going to be easy! Every computer program has a minimum system or
computer requirements listed somewhere on the box. You can also look-up the
minimum system requirements online. Let’s use the minimum system requirements
of the programs you need to run as your guide to how “fast” your computer needs
to be.
The system requirements are going to list four typical
parts that make up your computer. You’re going to love this because you don’t
even need to know what each part does to be a conscious computer shopper! All
you need to do is figure out how to read the system requirements and make
certain the computer you buy can meet those requirements. In the system
requirements the four things that are listed are; processor, memory, hard-drive,
and display.
To make the acronyms easier to read you only focus on the
part of the acronym that explains how much or how fast the part has or is. The
processor will be listed as needing a number followed by one of two acronyms
MHz or GHz (i.e. 500 MHz or 1 GHz). The program’s requirements will then list
the memory and the hard-drive as needing a number followed by one of two
acronyms, MB or GB (i.e. 512 MB or 1GB). You don’t need to worry about what
they mean because you only need to focus on how much you need to get your
program to run. To do this you only need to understand one letter in these
acronyms, the first one. In MB or MHz the M means Mega; in GB
or GHz the G means Giga. It takes 1000M or Mega to make up 1G or Giga.
To
put this into practice, let’s say the program you want has system requirements
of a 500 MHz processor, and 512MB of memory. The computer you want to buy has a
1.6 GHz Processor and 1GB of memory. The program will run because the 1.6 GHz
processor could also be stated as a 1600 MHz processor and the 1GB
of memory could also be stated as 1000 MB of memory. This means the
computer you want to purchase has twice as much memory and three times as fast
of a processor that the program you want to runs needs.
The last item listed in a program’s system requirements is
Display. Some programs, typically games or video editing applications, also
list the display as Video Card. If the program requirements list Display rather
than Video Card any computer should be able to run the program. If the
requirements list “Video Card” it will then name a model like “Video Card:
GeForce 6800”. To make certain your computer can run the program you need, make certain the computer has a video card
that is the same brand with an equal or higher model number than the one
listed. Laptops have their video card built in, and purchasing one after you
buy the laptop will be expensive so try to get the one you need when you
purchase the laptop. Video cards are cheaper for desktops, so you can purchase
one and have it installed.
There are just a few more tips to keep in mind while
shopping for a new computer. First, the faster the processor and more memory
you have means the more programs you can run at one time. Second, the larger
the hard-drive you have, the more files you can save to your computer, i.e. pictures,
music, or movies etc... Third, the new Duo core computers are only helpful when
you run multiple programs at one time. Fourth, if all you need a computer for
is e-mail and internet, you don’t need an expensive computer. Almost any
computer is sufficient to suit those needs. Lastly and most importantly, no
matter what decision you come to when purchasing a computer, always buy an
anti-virus and anti-spyware program to protect your investment. Otherwise it
won’t be long until you have to bring your computer in for repair.
If
you have any questions feel free to stop by the PC Knights store or call us. We
are located at 973 South
Dave Gill
PC Knights Computer Repair & Sales
Next
Month’s article: “Computer Maintenance”