Call That Girl’s Guide to buying a new computer
Happy Holidays everyone! I’m really excited to help all of you this season with all the little questions you have! Many folks have a big question, “How do I save money when buying a computer”
First tip: If you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse that works, just buy a new desktop computer.
Second tip: Make a budget and stick to it. A basic desktop model that is good for a family/solo is under $500. You can go to Dell’s website and get a basic “no frills” computer for under $300! Or you can even buy a refurbished one (way cheaper) at Reboot http://www.reboot-store.com
Third tip: If you go to a big box store, don’t get talked into all the “extra’s” that they sell you.
- Their “optimization” package
- The “data transfer” tools (buy an external hard drive and do it yourself and have a back up system)
- Their anti-virus programs (chose your own)
- The warranties. If you are buying a basic computer for that low of cost, you don’t need to pay $200+ for a warranty. The computer has a one-year warranty for hardware and after that, the parts are cheap enough to replace at any hardware repair store. AND…the software is never included in the warranty! That means that software that runs your computer “Windows” is not covered. So if you have an operating system crash, they won’t pay for it unless it’s due to hardware failure!
Fourth tip: Don’t worry about processor speeds or hard drive space. All new computers are keeping up with the industry and giving you plenty. If you are a music or picture fan, then yes…you may want a bigger hard drive. A basic computer should do everyone fine. I’m still running on a 60 gig hard drive! (2 year old computer too)
Fifth tip: if you are buying a laptop computer, skip the bells and whistles (like media packages), just look for a basic computer with the basic RAM needed, I recommend 3 or 4 gigs.
Email me with any questions, I hope this helped many of you in your buying decisions!
lisa@callthatgirl.biz
Lisa, thank you very much for this article! I may still check with you before I purchase.
Rob Severson
Good advice. A few additions…
A good gaming computer can be had for under $1500 most of the time – just look for 1-2 steps below the top-of-the-line.
For RAM, if you are running 32-bit Windows only get 3GB. If you are running 64-bit Windows then get 4GB. 32-bit Windows will only address 3GB (well, very slightly more).
If you are buying a laptop, decide what is more important to you – portability or power – you won’t get both in one laptop. Unless you plan to replace your desktop with a laptop, I’d highly recommend portability as it tends to be cheaper and *much* lighter to carry around.
To expand a little on Lisa’s great tips: Even for a “performance” PC you can usually buy one or two steps down in CPU and Video (unless you need an ultimate gaming PC) and save big because the manufacturers charge a premium for the fastest CPU and video chipset.
In most cases you won’t notice the difference. Don’t skimp on the memory and you can use the saved money to max the RAM to 4GB. More than 4GB isn’t usable unless you have a 64-bit OS and with 32-bit OS you only can use about 3.4 GB max, but it is nice to have max memory.
Unless you have lots and lots of data (video or music files, etc…) you don’t need a really big hard drive so a couple of steps down from the largest will save you some bucks. You can always add another hard drive later and use your smaller older one for backup. Having backup is really nice and smart.
If you have a CD/DVD writer you can also use that for backing up the OS, programs and your data. An external hard drive is great to have too.
Very useful! Can I ask a question although I’m not a girl? I have a computer that’s getting old and I’d like to back it up and then replace it with something where I can re-load XP and all the software I have. What B/U tape and software would you recommend? (I only need about 12 gb for the whole C/drive.) Thanks
Dick, it’s to your advantage to purchase an external hard drive and then continue to back up your data! Many “off the shelf” ones have software that will back up for you. You will need to configure it. Let me know if you need help:)