3 Features to Look for When Buying a New Computer
Posted by Tony Fernandez on Tue, Nov 24, 2009
The holidays are around the corner and sale events will be o
ffering great deals, but what should you really look for when buying a new computer? As Lightning McQueen says "Speed..., I am Speed", and when it comes to shopping for a new desktop or laptop, speed is exactly what you should be looking for.
There are three things that drive the computer's performance:
- Processing power also known as CPU
- Memory (RAM)
- Hard drive space
Feature options such as the number of USB ports, webcams, DVD players and/or burners are not related to how your workstation will perform, but are simply up to individual user's preference. Remember, what you will buy today, will be outdated in about 6 months. Don't base your purchase on trying to play catch up with new technology. Try to build up the specifications of your new computer based on what you think you'll need in the next 5 years not on the latest fads.
- Processing power or CPU is the first thing you need look out for. The CPU on most pre-build machines will be very hard or sometimes impossible (in the case of laptops) to change or upgrade at a later time. With that being said, don't think you need the fastest, most expensive one. Most of the applications you will be running will not even take advantage of it. CPU is measured by gigahertz, and I recommend getting an Intel Pentium Dual Core or Inter Core 2 Duo (different processor) and at least 2.7 GHz or higher depending on the price difference and promotional offers.
- Memory is directly related to the amount of applications that you might be running at the same time - also known as multi-tasking. This includes the operating system (Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7) and user applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe, Outlook, etc. Although each program will have a minimum memory requirement, only getting the bare minimum may cause your new computer to run slowly. Double it if possible. Memory is measured in gigabytes (GB) and generally you can upgrade it if you think you need more at a later time. I recommend getting at least 2GB, but if your budget will allow 4GB are preferable.
- Finally hard drive space, this item is measured in gigabytes as well. Think about hard drive space as the square footage of a room in your house. The bigger the room, the more stuff you can keep around. If you like to take and store a lot of pictures, download music or videos off the internet, getting a hard drive with enough space to store it all is a must. I mentioned these types of files because videos, music and some image file formats are usually very large in size. The benefit to having a large internal hard drive is that you may access to all of this information without compromising the performance of your computer, additional external devices nor, in the case of laptops, extra baggage. I recommend a minimum of size of 160G for the internal hard disk.
Word of advice...
If you are not in the technology business field and feel you don't have the knowledge to oversee your investment, I highly advocate getting an extended warranty from the store to address issues ranging from any hardware failure to software related questions. In some instances, it will cover labor on future upgrades so you will just need to buy the parts.
Best of luck searching for your new computer . . . and steering your way through the holiday shopping crowd.
Photo: foshie