Computersight -

There is no generic answer, no one system is right for everyone. You need to define your own use, not only at the time of purchase, but also what you expect to use it for during it’s life-cycle. These days a computer gets old fast, if you buy a high-end one, the best you can hope for is 3-4 years. Now, I will disregard some aspects of interest to some buyers in this list. If you are a geek and love tinkering with obscure hardware and compile stuff using Linux you obviously know what you need and this list is not for you.

1. What is your primary reason for getting a computer in the first place? Do you game? Do you do video editing or advanced photo editing? Is the computer just for you or for the entire family? Define your use for when you buy and what you expect to use it for in 2-3 years time.
2. Do you need a laptop or desktop computer? Don’t listen to the average salesperson, he or she is taken in by the trends pushed by all manufacturers right now, to sell more laptops and to present them as the cookie-cutter computer. The fact remains, if you never ever go anywhere, or move around in the house when you work at your computer, you might as well get a desktop. (Yes, I will tell you why).
3. What operating system do you want? The most obvious choices are Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X and one of the many Linux-distributions available free or otherwise. Chances are if you’re still reading you want one of the first two. They both cost money but then again they will both do the job without requiring you to have very extensive knowledge about computers. (Apple’s OS X currently only runs on their own hardware, at least legally.)
4. Do you need special hardware, software or peripherals? Ask the salesperson if the hardware in the computer meets the demand that your use requires. For instance, does the USB ports or fire-wire controller support the speeds needed to transfer video for editing? Does the machine have enough RAM to do advanced photo editing or 3D gaming? Check if the machine matches the requirements specified by the manufacturers of software that you plan to use.
5. Do you plan to ever upgrade the machine’s hardware during it’s lifespan? If so you might wanna stay clear of some of the “all-in-one” solutions, laptops and mini-computers. While most manufacturers of these tiny machines and laptops have made it easy to replace and increase the amount of RAM it is still often no trivial task to change the graphics adapter and hard-drives. (I told you I would tell you why).
6. Do you really need a new one? Be environmentally responsible, if all you do is read mail and occasionally surf the web, keep your computer until it no longer can do this. Even upgrading ram, hard-drives and graphics cards is better than buying a complete new one if you don’t really need to. If you still decide to get a new one, make sure it conforms to the energy efficiency standards. Turn off your new computer when you don’t use it, to save electricity.

What the salesperson often forgets to mention.

• That modern laptops often get so hot during normal use (espescially powerful ones) that you cannot have them in your lap.
• The fact that many all-in-one solutions and mini-pc’s cannot be upgraded at all or that you cannot do it yourself.
• That your computer actually can be delivered with an optional operating system.
• That even if you never change the computer after you get it or install anything the never ending patching from the makers of the operating system and other software manufacturers via the Internet, might alter your computers performance over time and claim disk-space.
• That antivirus solutions is very important and should be included with your purchase.
• That you need to make sure to back-up your important data, and that software should be included to enable you to do this.

Good luck, with your purchase, and enjoy your old, or new computer.