InfoBusiness 2.0

Special Report:

5 Things You Should Know

Before Buying a New Computer

   When you are ready to buy a new computer, one of the first questions you may ask yourself is, “Where can I get the best deal?” Obviously you don’t want to pay more than you have to, but there are other considerations besides price that you should consider before making your decision.

   If you shop the local electronics superstores for weekly specials, you can easily get a standard machine at a good price. This option would work best for you if you’re not too picky or if you don’t have any special requirements for gaming, graphics, or special software requirements.

   If you buy over the Internet from a major manufacturer such as Dell or Gateway, you’ll get more choice and customization on the components, chip speed, RAM, hard drive size, and video components, but you’ll pay a slightly higher price.

   The biggest downside to buying online is that you’ll have a hard time getting technical support if something goes wrong. Not a week goes by where I don’t get a customer who wants to pay me to fix a warranty-covered machine simply because the manufacturer is making it next to impossible to get the problem taken care of. In many cases, these companies have help desk people located in countries outside of the US, which means you might have a hard time communicating with them, or getting to a supervisor.

   Sometimes only a component (like the hard drive) will go bad. When this happens, you’ll have to ship the entire machine back to the manufacturer and wait a couple of weeks for them to repair it and ship it back. You also run the risk of losing all your data and configurations unless you have a reliable backup.

   If you have special requirements, need help in selecting a machine, or if service before, during, and AFTER the sale is important, then you’ll want to buy from a local shop.

   The bottom line is this: if you are shopping solely on price and aren’t too picky, then watch the weekend papers for sales at your local electronic superstore. They can offer a great price on a standard machine. Usually you can save anywhere from $100—$200 buying this way.

   For semi-customization at a decent price, check the Internet. There are hundreds of online resellers offering PCs at competitive prices.

   For the best customization, service, and support after the sale, buy your computers from a local computer shop. You’ll pay a little bit more but we’ll make sure you get exactly what you need without any hassle or problems.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 13:18 and is filed under business, it. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.