Tue 23 Sep 2008 21:52
How to buy a Computer
For years I have been asked for my advice about buying computers. My advice
has changed over the years, because computers have changed, but one thing
seems to be constant: a great many people seem to be very insecure about
buying computers. This leads to a great deal of angst, and sometimes to
purchases that are much more expensive than they need to be. But there are
a few common-sense principles that are generally constant:
1. Think carefully about how the computer is going to be used.
This is the key principle that overrides all others. A computer is a tool.
Tools are useful only when they can be used effectively. Do not choose a
computer that does not fit with the way you use computers. For example,
if you are a small person and like to work in many different places, a large
and heavy laptop, or worse, a desktop, will not be a good choice: it is worth
investing in something small, light and easily carried. If you are a gamer,
particularly if you plan to invest a great deal of time playing games that
require high-performance video, you'd best invest in a desktop with high
performance graphics, even if it is expensive. Playing a demanding game
on a cheaper machine with poor video performance will be frustrating.
But if you merely browse the web and run productivity applications like
spreadsheets and word processors, investing in high-performance gaming
computing is a waste of your money.
2. If a better option is available for a lot more money, choose it
only if you know you need it.
Insecurity about buying computers
prompts people to pay a great deal more money for things that they think
they might need: particularly a fast CPU (the computer's processing unit)
or a high-end computer model instead of a lower-end one. The price
difference can be significant: a high-end model can cost 3-4x the price
of a lower-end model, and a high-end CPU can more than double the cost
again. For example, the base configuration of the lowest-end home desktop
with the lowest-end CPU on Dell Canada's web site is currently $329;
the highest-end base configuration with the highest-end CPU is $3150.
That is an order of magnitude difference in price. Put another way,
the high-end configuration is the price of a formal dining-room suite.
The low-end configuration is the price of a single chair in that dining-room
suite. If you are paying the high-end price, make sure you need what you
are paying for.
3. If a better option is available for only a little more money, chose
it unless you know you don't need it.
If it only costs $20 to get a little more memory, a bit faster CPU,
or a potentially useful device like a webcam, a fax modem, or a media
card reader, why not get it, especially if it's much more money and less
convenient to get it separately later? An integrated webcam is a $20 option
on many laptops; adding later an external webcam of comparable quality
that clips onto your laptop may cost you as much as $90. Or, for example,
a fax modem may sound like obsolete technology, and it is, but it can be
very convenient to send a fax from your computer by simply printing to
the "fax" printer and typing a phone number. The one exception here is
to watch out for large price increments for tiny increases in hard drive
size: the price difference between a 250G and a 320G hard drive should
be a on the order of $10, not $60-70. While one may argue that there is
perhaps some value in paying a bit extra for the convenience of ensuring
that your computer comes with a decently large hard disk, even a small hard
disk these days is quite large. Another thing to consider: if the price
difference between a notebook and a desktop is fairly small, and there is no
compelling reason to choose a desktop over a notebook, just get a notebook.
4. Assess carefully your need for extended warranties.
Extended warranties can be expensive. However, if you are accident-prone
(coffee over the keyboard, dropping your laptop), anxious or risk-adverse,
an extended warranty may be worthwhile, particularly the sort that covers
accidental damage. Note, though, that on average one spends much less over
the lifetime of the computer to repair it (often $0) than one would pay for
an extended warranty. Such warranties are often bought out of insecurity,
and are highly profitable for computer vendors and technology stores.
If, however, you do not expect to have free funds to handle an unexpected
repair, especially if the computer is particularly expensive, an extended
warranty may be worthwhile as a form of insurance.
5. Don't panic. Most of the available options are all reasonable
choices.
Most computers are quite acceptable: there are few
bad choices. Choosing a computer is most often a matter of choosing the
best choice from among good choices. So relax: even if you miss the best
choice, you'll probably end up with a perfectly good computer.
6. Don't forget backups.
The most valuable part of your computer is your data. Make sure you have
backups of it, so that if something bad happens to your computer, you
will not lose your data. You can always replace a computer. Can you
replace your data? The easiest way to back up data is to buy an external
hard disk and copy your data to it. Buy that external hard disk when you
buy your computer. Yes, you can back up to writeable DVDs if you want, or
copy to flash memory of some sort, but it can be a lot of work to divide
up your data into DVD-sized chunks, and backups that are a lot of work
often turn into backups that are not done.