Buying or Upgrading a PC

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history
- with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila."
Mitch Ratliffe

This section is written with the home or small office user in mind: people whose main usage will be word processing, spread-sheets, internet browsing, digital photography, standard games, email, drawing, clip art and the like.

The users I'm talking to aren’t likely to be worried about expensive hi-fi sound, spending $5,000 on a PC or $2,000 on graphics cards, so these areas won't be covered in any detail here.

Following this introductory page are several pages of information about the hardware components: what they're for, how they affect you, and what you need. Click on the Next links at the bottom of each page. When you've finished you'll know enough to be able to tell the shop assistants what you want, rather than what they want to con you into.

What You Need to Know

Generic PCs versus Big Name Brands

Many PCs are generic systems, also known as white-box systems. They could be a brand you have never heard of. They may be sold by your local PC repairer or by an internet store. There is nothing wrong with these machines and when you wish to upgrade them you’ll be able to do so easily and relatively inexpensively. On the other hand, some of the BIG NAME brands often do not use industry standard components and they often charge like wounded buffaloes. If you wish to add memory or replace your power supply you sometimes find that you’re locked into more expensive parts and service than would otherwise be the case.

Scott Mueller, author of the world’s biggest selling PC maintenance textbook, recommends sticking with the generic systems and avoiding the proprietary products.

It doesn’t matter who assembles the box, because the important parts - CPU, disk drives, motherboard, and memory - are invariably supplied by reputable manufacturers.

The Big Name brands often look nicer, and if price is not an issue, fire ahead. In the end it's up to you to balance price, appearance, supplier's reputation and performance.

Having said all that, don't compromise on the monitor (screen). More about that elsewhere.

Where to Buy

Cheap is good! Some big stores, particularly if they aren't computer specialists, may be charging you a lot more for a similar PC than other sources. Shop around. Ask your friends.

I build my own PCs, but often buy machines for other people. I invariably buy from internet stores, the kind you find advertising in the back pages of PC magazines. I've had no trouble and I've saved people a bundle. If you shop online clarify the warranty situation - particularly with regard to shipping costs if you need to return it .

Don't expect much in the way of help wherever you buy. Big stores don't necessarily provide good after sales service. Often the shop assistants aren't particularly knowledgeable and if you have a warranty problem they may need to send it away for repair, so buying local doesn't necessarily help with quick fixes.

Check local PC specialists and established internet retailers.

Help from the retailer after you've bought a computer is usually restricted to warranty repairs. There are retailers who'll go the extra mile, but they're rare. You can't expect a vendor with a narrow profit margin on a commodity to teach you how to use the machine.

When you buy a car, the dealer isn't going to teach you to drive it.

Notebook PCs

If you want portability, convenience, quiet operation and space saving, you can buy a notebook PC with an AMD 6000 CPU, Windows Vista, 2GB RAM and a 17″ XVGA 1920 x 1200 pixel LCD screen equivalent to my recommended desktop specification, for not much more than the desktop machine. Usually from the less well known brands such as Asus and Acer. Nothing wrong with them. My last laptop was an Asus and it was a good machine.

If you need a more powerful laptop, I recommend Dell. The downside is that you must wait a week or two for delivery. But the bonus is that during the order process you can choose your own configuration - so you only pay for what you need.

You will not, at the lower prices, get a dedicated graphics card, so some of your RAM, usually 64 or 128MB, will be slipstreamed for video purposes. If that's gobbledegook to you, don't worry, we cover RAM in some detail a couple of pages on.

I don't recommend buying a Vista notebook or any other Vista PC without a graphics card.

You need to shop around and there will be no bundled scanner, printer or extra software. In my corner of the world, the best deals in laptops/notebooks (same thing) are from Dell, electronic chain stores and internet retailers.

The main downside with notebooks is that upgrading is impossible, or uneconomic, for many components. For instance, you may not be easily able to retrofit a graphics card, although you can upgrade RAM.

Windows Vistavista logo

Vista, the latest version of Windows, is installed on almost all new machines now. If you need a new machine, go for it.

Many experts recommend waiting for the next version of Windows, due possibly late 2009. I agree with this sentiment to a degree.

If you have an adequate XP machine, you should consider waiting. But if you have a pressing need for a new computer you'll find Vista a good operating system.

Some considerations regarding Windows Vista

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