Buying a New Computer During This Holiday Season?

If you are, then congrats! This is usually the best time of year to buy one. What is your reasoning for buying a new one? Did your old one die or is it very slow? Or is it just time to have a new one for all your new gadgets you are using? In today’s blog we will review what to do with your old computer, guidance for buying a new one and what to do with your new one once you get it home.

What are doing with your old computer?

If you have another computer and plan on keeping it around, Call That Girl and get it spruced up with our 22 pt checklist ($75). If it’s a family computer, then your family will appreciate it getting as cleaned up and fast as possible. Some people are using their old computers to run as a the music jukebox, even though it’s just for music, we can still give it a quick cleaning without the bells and whistles with our Xpress Cleaning (a slimmed down cleaning $45)

Did your old computer just die?

You can get it recycled usually at your local county recycle shop. Call your county hotline or google it. Some counties charge a fee, some do not.

Or you can donate it to Free Geek Twin Cities

I just got wind of a company in Minneapolis in the Powderhorn Park area called “Free Geek Twin Cities”. I will be planning a tour and visit them, but for now here is their link to check it out. Looks like a good program! You can volunteer your time to earn a computer (for those under financial distress, this may be a good option for you!). They do charge a nominal fee for the drop offs.

http://freegeektwincities.org/donate-equipment

You are now out looking for that new computer, what to buy?

To start, I always recommend having a budget (go above a bit or under a bit if you find the perfect one!) and go find your old disks for your software, then head to the store. Many folks go to the big box places, but I recommend you go out to Microcenter in St. Louis Park (next to Burlington Coat Factory on Hwy 100 and Hwy 7)  and check out their inventory. Microcenter has the staff and service center to get your new computer up to your liking. You can shop first online, then head in to the store to purchase (link below).

http://www.microcenter.com/

Dell also has great deals right now going on right before the holidays, I would not expect it to be here before the holidays season though. http://www.dell.com

Keep in mind a few things about buying a new computer

If you are buying a laptop, then remember to check the weight (if you plan on carrying it around, you don’t want a real heavy one), play with the keyboards (make sure they keys are comfortable for your hands),  make sure you have at least 3-4 gig in RAM/memory and finally check the monitor for glare (You don’t want one that has any glare from lights above).

If you are buying a new desktop computer, just make sure that you follow the same requirements as buying a laptop, but without the keyboard test.

If you want more memory, be sure to tell the sales person! Same goes if you want 2 monitors!

How can Call That Girl help now that you have bought your new computer?

We can help with setting up your new computer with our 12 pt checklist–and almost always this can be done remotely! Many folks forget to do the simple things to set up a new computer, (examples: backup, recovery disks, security, move data, set up a home network and many more!).

For the business home office users, setting up a new computer may include moving all of your data, setting up your Office programs, Outlook, network sharing, etc…we are the right company to assist you with your new computer.

If you would like to book an appt for us to do a home visit for the set up, we offer home onsite service.

$25 off for any new computer set up!

To book an appt or just ask a few questions, fill out the booking form below and we will get back to you!

Tags: call that girl, Computer Repair St. Paul MN, Computer support St. Paul Minnesota, new computer purchase, Saint Paul Computer repair

Category: General