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The big question to ask yourself before you chose a PC is what sort of thing you’ll use it for. You can see on page 4 of Computers One Step at a Time some of the things you can do with a PC – have a think whether you’ll be mainly using it for browsing the web and sending emails or whether you’re going to use it for digital photos or even editing home video.
If you go to a good shop with a list of what you want to do with it, and say “I want a PC to do this” you’d end up with a better match than most people do.
It is worth knowing a bit more, though, if only so a salesperson can’t “talk it up” and make it sound like you need something more expensive that you do.
There are two main types of difference between cheaper and more expensive PCs.
The first is how powerful they are — that affects how fast they can run programs and what programs they can run. If you want to type up letters, send email and do a bit of browsing the web, a lower end PC (at around £500) will cope fine. If you want to use digital photos, you’re better off with a mid level PC (around £700-800) and if you want to edit your home digital video, you’re best off with a fairly high end PC (say around £1000). If you want to play cutting edge 3d games then a higher end PC will work best. If you might have an occasional go on a game then a low or middle level PC will be fine.
The other difference between levels of PC is the “extras” that come with them or are fitted inside them. These are things like printers and scanners (or even digital cameras) but also things like top-end graphics cards (for fancy 3d games), TV cards (so you can watch and even record TV on your PC) or DVD writers (so you can create or copy DVDs to watch on your PC or separate DVD player). One thing to note about these “extras” is that they can be added later on, so if you don’t think you want, say, a TV card, you can always change your mind later on.
The other difference is laptop (also called notebook) computers that fold up and fit in a briefcase versus desktop PCs. They work in the same way, but you pay more to have it all made smaller so it can fit into a laptop. Also desktops tend to last longer and be more reliable, as well as having bigger monitors so everything looks clearer. So if you really need to move your PC around, or if you’re very short of space I’d recommend a laptop, otherwise I’d suggest a desktop.
Picking a good shop
Here’s my tip on finding out whether a PC shop is any good:
Go in, tell them you’re not going to buy today but want to do some research, tell them what you want to do with it and see what they say. If they pressure you, or try to sell you something that does something that’s not on your list, don’t buy from them (unless you realise actually yes you did want that thing). If they give you some advice as to what model of PC might suit you, go with them.
It’s worth trying both big stores like PC world and also small local independent PC shops.
If after reading this you feel more confident, you could buy over the phone from an advert in one of the newspapers (they’re usually in the weekend papers), who tend to be a little cheaper since they don’t have shops to pay for. They should still be happy to give you the same advice if you ring them up, though it does mean you don’t get to actually see what you’re buying beforehand.
I’d also suggest having a thorough read of pages 3-5 of Computers One Step at a Time before you go to the shop and taking your copy of Computer Jargon into Plain English with you.
Second-hand?
Buying second hand can be a great way to save some money – but bear in mind you’re never going to get bang up to date equipment that way. Unless you’re buying from someone you know and trust, I’d recommend going to a shop where you get a warranty, even if it’s only for 3 months. And make sure you get the disks for Windows and any other software that’s on the PC – otherwise if anything goes wrong with it you won’t be able to re-install.
It’s worth carefully comparing what you’re getting with new PCs in sales. Sometimes the prices of new PCs is dropping so fast it can be better value than second hand.
Tim Wakeling is the Author of Computers One Step at a Time and Help! My Taskbar's Vanished. He also writes a free monthly newsletter about computers for non-experts. Find out about both at www.helpfulbooks.co.uk
© Tim Wakeling, UK 2006. You may re-publish this article online and in print as long as you leave it and this declaration unchanged.
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