subject: What You Should Ponder Before You Buy A Computer [print this page] For most people, the technical details of computers tend to make us feel a little out of our depth. It would be a good idea to think about the following questions before even considering buying a computer.
What will be the main thing you will use a computer for?
If you are only going to use your computer for personal things such as e-mail, letter writing and web surfing, then you don't need the best computer out there. If, however, you or your children are going to want to play computer or online games, you will want to consider a computer with better memory and hard drive capabilities and a good graphics card.
Will You be Carrying Your Computer With You?
There are many options in terms of portability today, from laptops to notebooks and netbooks. While small and easy to carry, netbooks don't have the ability to store much information, and are more useful for browsing on the go. Newer versions have improved storage, but they are not ideal if you want to save movies, computer games and documentation on them.
For a home office, you may want to consider a notebook, as you can take it with you to customers and when you travel. Because of the possibility of linking them to a full size desk screen, they can also be used at your desk.
The importance of storage capacity.
Depending on the size of your hard drive you will have more or less storage space to use, so you might want to consider how much information you will be storing. Ram specifications indicate how fast the computer will work, so you should be able to decide what you will need in base of how many running applications you will need to have opened at the same time.
Capability of running CD and DVD
Although so much is now stored on devices like iPods and even our phones, you may still want to copy some things onto CD or DVD. Not all notebooks and netbooks have CD drives, but most will come with a USB drive. Some computers allow you to plug in other memory cards too, such as those used in cameras, so look at your requirements there too before making a purchase.
Most retail stores will be able to recommend a good computer for your intended purposes. Chances are that by the time you bring your PC home, you will learn a few more fun things to do with it than you originally envisioned, so it's always a good idea to buy a system a little bigger than the one you initially envisioned.
