Dell Latitude D600 Laptop For SaleWe are frequently asked what features and specifications to look for when purchasing a new PC. The answer to that question depends on how you will be using the PC. For the purposes of answering this question, we will categorize users into three basic categories:
This user reads e-mail, surfs the web, edit’s documents and other similar tasks only. May play low graphics games like solitaire. Typically only has 1 or 2 applications going at the same time.
This user does everything the casual user does. In addition, this user does occasional editing of photos, graphics, or video. May play games that are somewhat graphics intensive but not action oriented. May have 2-4 applications going at the same time.
This user does everything the power user does. In addition, this user may play games that are graphics intensive (First Person Shooters, etc.). User may perform tasks like CAD drawing. This user may do a lot of graphics or photo editing. This user may also frequently edit video. Once you have determined which category you fall in, you can then determine what features you should look for in a PC.
Now that you have categorized yourself, here are our recommendations.
The processor, also known as the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of your computer. Casual Users don’t need too much processor power. Even so, we don’t recommend low end processors. Get any processor made by Intel except for the Celeron or pentium. Get any processor made by AMD except the Sempron or Athlon (different from Athlon II). We recommend a dual core processor at minimum. Power/Business Users need a fairly beefy processor, but you don’t need the latest and greatest. An Intel Core 2 Duo or better will be fine at minimum but we recommend a core 2 quad or a core i3 or core i5 if you can afford it. An AMD Athlon II or Phenom will also be good. Gamers/High-End Business Users will need a quad-core processor at minimum but we recommend a Core I5 or core I7 if you can afford it. An AMD Phenom II is recommended for AMD processors. Get the fastest speed and the most cores you can afford.
The bus is what ties all of the components of a computer together. The different components that go together to make a computer communicate with each other over the bus. The speed of the bus is a big factor in the overall performance of your computer. Having a fast processor and fast memory won’t help much if the line of communication between them is slow. Computer manufacturers often bury the bus speed in technical specs. It’s generally written as a number in Megahertz (MHz). For example, 800Mhz. It’s usually listed as an FSB (Front Side Bus) rating. Sometimes it’s listed in the specs for the system memory like this: 1 GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz). The bus speeds currently available are 800, 1066, 1333, and 1600. The higher the number, the faster the bus is. Casual Users will be fine with 800MHz. Power/Business Users should get 1066MHz bus or faster. Gamers/High-End Business Users will want at least an 1333Mhz bus or higher.
It’s getting harder and harder to find a pre-built PC with Windows XP on it. If you are going to buy a computer at a store, you will have to get Vista or, more likely, Windows 7. We can still get Dell computers with XP on them, but it generally costs an extra $100 to get XP. Although it had problems when it was initially released, Vista is good now. But Windows 7 is better. But there are some customers or situations where it’s best to stick with XP.
There are several different versions of Vista and Windows 7 out there. Casual Users should get Home Premium. We do not recommend Home Basic. Power Users should get Home Premium or Ultimate. Business users should get the Business version of Windows 7 or XP Professional. Gamers/High-End Business Users should get the Home Premium or Ultimate version of Windows 7.
64 bit versus 32 bit. Most people should get the 64 bit version of Windows 7. It’s faster and can address more memory than the 32 bit version. However, some software and hardware may have issues on a 64 bit system. Older printers and other hardware may not work. Some older software may not work, or may need special compatibility settings. Software and hardware manufacturers are finally starting to catch up to 64 bit. 64 bit is the future and there is a good chance the next version of Windows will only be available in 64 bit.
There are basically two types of memory in a computer. System memory (often referred to as RAM) and hard drive memory. Hard drive space is the amount of space you have to store programs and files. System memory is the computer’s internal workspace.
Imagine that the computer’s process is the person who does the work. Imagine that this person has a desk to work on and that the desk represents system memory. All work must be performed on this desk. If the desk is too small, then the person must move things he’s not working on off the desk and move things he wants to work on to the desk in order to work on them. If the person is working on several things at once, they may spend more time shifting things on and off the desk than they do actually working on things.
This is why system memory is so important to the performance of your computer. Even if you typically only run one program at a time, you still need a good amount of memory because even if you are doing nothing, there are still a lot of programs running on your system. Things like Anti-Virus, Anti-spyware, Firewall, Windows internal processes, and the like. Casual Users should have 2GB of system memory for Windows Vista or Windows 7 but we recommend 4 GB. Power/Business Users should have 4GB of system memory. Gamers/High-End Business Users should have at least 4 GB of memory, but we recommend 8 GB. Don’t get a system with more than 4GB of system memory unless you are getting a 64bit version of Vista/Windows 7. The 32 bit version of Windows cannot address more than 4 GB of memory.
The video functionality of your computer is the part of the computer that processes graphics and displays information on the monitor. Some computers have the video functionality built-in to the motherboard. This usually means that video processing will take up processing time on the main processor and also will take up system memory. You can get better performance, in general, out of your computer if you have a video card that is not part of the motherboard, often called a distinct video card.
The video card provides a dedicated processor for processing graphics along with dedicated memory, thus taking a huge load off of the processor and memory on the motherboard. Note that just because it says it has a 256mb video card, doesn’t mean that the video card itself has 256mb of memory on it. Some video cards steal system memory away from the computer and use that. Make sure you get a video card with DEDICATED memory, not shared.
Casual Users should get a PC with a video card with any graphics processor and at least 256mb of dedicated memory. What kind doesn’t matter much. Power/Business Users should get a computer that has a video card with a GeForce 8000, or 9000 series, or GTX 200 series. Or get a Radeon HD series, and at least 512MB of dedicated memory. Gamers/High-End Business Users should get a video card with a GeForce 9000 series or GTX 200 series or a Radeon HD 4000 or higher, and at least 512mb of dedicated memory on the video card.
There are two basic types of hard drives that you usually find on the market. ATA and SATA. SATA is newer and faster. You don’t really see ATA drives much any more except in some laptops. A hard drive has a speed that can be 4,200, 5,400 and 7,200 RPM. 10,000 RPM drives are around too, but not as common. Generally, most desktops have 7,200 RPM drives and you only see the slower speeds in laptops. We do not recommend 4200 RPM or 5400 RPM drives for desktops or laptops. These slow hard drives will be a bottleneck in your system. Get a 7200 RPM SATA hard drive.
Sizes of hard drives vary these days from 80GB on up past 500GB and more. Casual Users should get the smallest sized available 7200 RPM SATA drive will be fine. Power/Business Users should get a 7200 RPM SATA drive with at least 500GB of storage space. Gamers/High-End Business Users should get the largest 7200 RPM (or 10,000 RPM) SATA drive you can afford. At least 500GB. If you are considering a dual drive or RAID configuration, we recommend you consult with Computer Troubleshooters before making a purchase. RAID is too complicated to go into in this article.
Solid State Drives (SSD) are now available on some laptop models. These drives are smaller and more expensive, but they are very fast. If you are looking for a fast laptop and don’t need a lot of storage space on your laptop, consider getting a laptop with an SSD if you can afford it.
Most brands are OK. If you look for the features and specifications we have outlined, you should generally end up with a decent computer. The question then becomes about the quality of the system, how long it will last, the cost of repairing it, how easy it is to find parts, and how the support is.
In terms of quality, the old adage that says, “You get what you pay for” is generally true. The cheaper brands like EMachines and Toshiba tend to have more problems. In general, most companies provide a 1 year warranty on hardware. Many of them say it is onsite service as well. Many people pay extra for onsite service warranties thinking that if there a problem, someone will show up and take care of them. But it doesn’t always work that way. For example, if the hard drive on your 2 month old PC dies and your system won’t boot, the onsite service technician will come to your home, remove the old hard drive, install a new one, install Windows, and leave. That sounds nice until you realize that all of your data is gone and you are left to reinstall a lot of programs that came preloaded on your system. That is certainly not how Computer Troubleshooters does business. In this example, we would get your data off of your old hard drive, install the new hard drive, and load all of your data and programs onto the new hard drive. Also, when you call technical support for any of these big computer companies, you are going to get someone in a foreign country that may be difficult to understand. For these reasons, we do not recommend upgrading your warranty.
Our favorite brand of computer is Dell which is why we signed up to sell them. You can order one directly from Dell on their website, but if you buy it though us, you’ll get the same price, but you’ll also get a professional computer technician to deliever it, unpack it, set it up, and give you a tour of your new computer. But buying from Dell will take 1-2 weeks before you actually get the computer. If you can’t wait, you may want to purchase one at a store. You can get a limited selection of Dell Computers at Walmart and Sams. Another good brand is HP/Compaq. Other brands are generally OK.
For laptops, we again recommend Dell and HP/Compaq. We sell Dell. Sony is good, but in general, we don’t recommend the more recent models because several of their newer models are hard to work on and therefore, more expensive to repair. Like desktops, avoid the cheapest brands like e-machines and toshiba. We recommend going with a big name brand because it’s difficult and expensive to find parts for the smaller brands. For example, an Alienware laptop is a good, high performance, expensive laptop. But if it breaks, trying to find parts for it is difficult and expensive.
What store you buy your computer at doesn’t really matter as long as you are buying one of the major brands of computers. Just look for the lowest price with the specs you want. In the Austin, Texas area, a good places to look is Fry’s Electronics. We do not recommend purcasing extended warranties or store warranties on computers.
Notebook or laptop computers are a special case. Laptops lag desktops in technology because of size and heat requirements. If you don’t need portability, don’t get a laptop. They are more expensive to purchase, not as upgradable, more expensive to upgrade, and more expensive to repair. If you do need a laptop, then things to consider in addition to what we have covered are battery life, screen size and shape, size, and weight. In this instance, we are not breaking this down based on user category. Here are our recommendations:
Battery Life
If you are going to be using it on the go, get a laptop with a long battery life. There is nothing more frustrating that paying a lot of money for a laptop you can use on the go, and then not being able to use it because the battery is dead. Get the best battery available for that laptop. You may also want to consider getting an extra batteries. Some laptops will also let you put 2 batteries into a computer at the same time. Of course, that’s going to make the laptop heavier!
Screen Size and Shape
Get the biggest screen you can afford as long as the size of the laptop that goes with it is not too big or too heavy for you to carry around. Remember that the bigger the screen size, the bigger and heavier the laptop will be. When you are not travelling, you can connect an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse to your laptop and then when travelling use the smaller screen on the laptop itself. Hooking up an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse is easier with a desk dock, but not required.
Size and Weight
Size matters in this case. If you carry it around a lot or for long distances, the smaller and lighter it is, the better. A 9 pound laptop doesn’t sound like it would be that heavy to lug around, but when you add in the AC adaptor and other accessories, it can get pretty heavy. Even if you just carry the laptop without the AC adaptor or other accessories, 9 pounds get’s pretty heavy after a while. Get the smallest and lightest laptop you can afford with the screen size you want. In general, the smaller and lighter the laptop, the more expensive they are.
Carry Cases
Be careful on the prices of carry cases. Some laptop manufacturers include it, while others make it an option and really stick it to you on the price. Make sure you get a carrry case that your laptop will fit in. Most laptops with 15″ or smaller screen will fit in most any laptop case. However, laptops with 17″ or bigger screens won’t. It’s a good idea to get a carry case that doesn’t look like a laptop carry case, for security reasons. One of our favorites are the back-pack type carry cases. These look less professional in a business environment, but the great thing is they don’t look like laptop bags and are, therefore, less likely to get stolen at the airport or hotel.
PRINTERS
This isn’t part of the computer, but we are asked about printers a lot and people often buy a printer when they buy a new computer, so we thought we would include it here. These days, printers are not made to last a long time. It is generally more expensive to have one repaired than it is to get a new one. Our favorite brand of printer is HP. We do not recommend Dell printers because of the poor availability of printer cartridges. You have to purchase them from Dell. Lexmark make’s Dell’s printers for them, so if you are comfortable doing so, you can often find a Lexmark print cartridge that will fit your Dell printer.
There are two basic ways that printers print. Ink Jet and Laser. Ink Jet is always color. Laser may be black and white only, or Color. For most home users, Ink Jet is fine. If you are producing brochures or something, or are doing a large volume of printing, you will want a laser printer. After that, there are printers that just print, and then there are multi-function or all-in-one printers. If you just need to print and only print, a plain printer is fine. If you ever have the need to make a few copies, scan something, or send or receive a fax, then a multi-function printer is a great idea. It does all of those things and doesn’t take up too much space.
Check any software you have that you want to use on your new system to make sure it will work on a 64 bit system. Most software will work, but software like Games, Security Software, and the like may not work unless you can get a 64 bit version of it.
You may wish to consult Computer Troubleshooters for advice before purchasing a new system.
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Additional services and products are also available for additional fees. For example, we can transfer your data (e-mail, contacts, pictures, music, documents, etc) from your old computer to your new one. We can also set you up with the best security software and any other software you might need.
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