| Computers are sold [mostly] around only three components. Storage – aka the hard drive, or the solid state drive, the SSD, or the HDD – this is like the filing cabinet. Some folks have a lot of ‘stuff’. Some folks don’t have a lot of ‘stuff. How much ‘stuff’ do you need to put in your new computer? “Stuff” would be programs, pictures, music, documents anf files. We take a look at your old computer to determine a right fit for the new one. We calculate enough room to grow into without spending money needlessly.Apple, Dell, Lenovo, and many others all sell computers with a drive so small it can’t update itself. It’s junk right out of the box. Size matters here! RAM – RAM is Random Access Memory – Think of this as your home desktop. (furniture) How much ‘stuff’ do you want to take out of the ‘filing cabinet’ (hard drive) and view at once? These things are the operating system the anti-virus, your internet browser tabs (all 21 of them) your Pandora running in the background, your email etc. How much of a multi-tasker are you? The more you do at once, the more RAM you need. You can actually think of this as the multi-tasker test. Currently I have three browsers open with a total of 9 tabs, I have Word running, my keeper software running, quickbooks running and and an open remote support session. I use all my RAM. 😉 Processor – The processor is like the engine of the car. Do you just go to church on Sundays with the car or are you planning to take four friends on a road trip, with luggage? The bigger the ‘engine’ the faster you go and the more you can ‘carry’. The Processor is the single componet of these three that drives the cost of the computer the most. So if you see a cheap computer, it has a small engine. Every. Single. Time. The processor is the thing that most people are the weakest on understanding. But most people understand a bargain. So they end up with a low end computer that does not make the trip. We generally source machines in the mid range of the processor family and stay away from low end processors that are bound to fail when a load is placed on them or they get to be a year or two old. The remaining parts of a computer decisions include screen size, touch vs non-touch, keypad, number of monitors you may add, and the operating system. |
DIY Computer Purchasing