Comparing Prices Via Local Sales Flyers Will Keep You From Overpaying for a New Computer
By Tech Know Logic, June 15, 2011, Gadgets & Technology, Shopping Tips
I just purchased a new cell phone. It has many features but only three that matter to me: it keeps accurate time, it enables me to make phone calls, and it has speakers that are sufficient for my impaired hearing. Everything else is just in the way. My home and business computers are based upon the same simplicity of application. I am not a draftsman, a heavy gamer, or a photographer so a high performance graphic card serves no value to my computing needs. I do not run a musical soundboard so an enhanced audio package would merely disperse my purchasing dollar.
This article is about how to purchase an inexpensive new computer that effectively handles the digital processing needs of the average and even the advanced computer user. I am not talking cheap. I am talking value for the dollar.
Start With the Basics
Every personal computer, laptop, and even netbooks consist of seven basic hardware components:
- A motherboard and the associated processing units
- Memory chips, including RAM and ROM
- A display device
- Audio and video co-processor
- User interface devices
- Storage devices, including hard drives and DVD recorders
- Communication devices such as LAN cards, wireless cards, and modems.
Everything else is optional. This includes the likes of built-in cameras, enhanced graphic cards, multiple-channel audio capture cards, and a whole collection of new and advanced upgrades, so called. In this day and age, even the off-the-shelf computers sold by Acer, Apple, Dell, Toshiba, and many other providers, contain sufficient hardware to address all but the most specifically focused computer tasks.
Put The Money Where It Matters
For over twenty-five years I have been programming, installing, and custom building computers. I have designed and assembled custom audio systems for sound mastering. I have designed and assembled unique computer-managed, mobile video surveillance units for local detective groups. I have used the biggest name brand computers on the market, and I have custom crafted units from a multitude of component manufacturers. I know when to purchase a Dell server, and when to purchase a low-level Toshiba laptop.
Right now, I am writing this article on an Acer E725 eMachine. It is a basic computer unit, a nice machine, quick and efficient. It is nine months old, and only cost me $300.00 on sale in the Concord Walmart. It is not a “dream” system, but it is a dependable, inexpensive author’s tool that has no problems displaying a streaming Netflix movie or driving my USB MIDI keyboard. Learn more about the eMachine in this article.
Currently I have four computers up and running in the house. They were all purchased based upon my desire to have inexpensive but dependable computer equipment. The upstairs server is a Dell GX260 that I picked up used at a school surplus sale. A four-year-old Toshiba Satellite A85 drives the Netflix on the TV in the upstairs den. I bought it new at Office Max for $700 before claiming a $250 Toshiba rebate.
Finding The Deals
I could point you to dozens of online computer shopper sites, but that is not how you purchase a new computer. Here is the correct approach:
- Determine whether you want a desktop, a laptop, or perhaps a netbook.
- Wait for the day that your newspaper includes the local sales inserts.
- Pull the flyers for Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Walmart, and others. Parade magazine typically pictures a low cost Dell unit on the back page.
- Without getting bound up in processors, installed memory, and hard drives, pick out a unit in the $400 to $600 price range that includes a suitable monitor size.
- Ignore promises of bundled software.
- Pay attention to rebates: Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Samsung, Dell, and HP will all be in the running.
- Use the flyers for a price guide, and then cross check by performing an online price check.
Remember the seven basic hardware components. Every new computer has what it takes to handle the general computing needs of home and office.
Follow @BounceEnergy
