Are you Paying too much for your new computer??
Mar 14 '01
The Bottom Line The most important thing is to remember to buy what you need, not what they want to sell you. Those of you in California, try Fry's Electronics.
I know this seems a bit silly…most people like to spend as little as possible for what they want, right? Well, what happens when someone pays what the want for something that is not what they really want?
O.K., o.k., You’re saying to yourself what the heck is this goofball talking about??? The point I am getting at is that most people do not know what they are really looking for when they buy their first computer. Your first inclination is to run down to your local computer superstore and buy something that will not be obsolete in the next few months (Or even weeks).
What then happens is that you end up buying the latest and greatest with all of the bells and whistles. Perhaps something along the line of a 1.3 Ghz system 80Mb HDD, 256 Mb RAM, 16x10x40x CD/RW, 12x DVD, 19” Monitor, Web Cam, etc. You then walk out happy as can be, ready to go home and surf the web at light speed. And I might add with $2500 less in your bank account.
Now ask yourself what is wrong with the above scenario? I’ll give you a hint…did you think about what your needs are. If your main purpose was cruising the web and perhaps some light word processing than you did some big time overspending. How so you ask?? For starters if you are primarily going to be surfing the web you are restricted by the type of connection you have to the Internet, Either 56k for dial up or up to 1.5Mb for DSL, either way the difference between the 333 Mhz machine I have and the $$$ machine you have will be very insignificant. Especially when you consider my PC was free (Thanks FreePC.com).
As for all of the bells and whistles, If you were planning on burning music CD’s the quality is much better at lower speeds so a top of the line burner may be a bit of overkill. As for the DVD drive, are you REALLY gonna watch movies on your computer of do you already have a DVD player for you TV? While a 19” monitor is great most people do well with a 17” monitor and get to keep $150-$200 in their pocket. The web cam, its nice but not really necessary.
The bottom line is I hate when I hear friends say “I don’t want something that will be obsolete in the next (ENTER TIME FRAME HERE)”. I have a secret for you…WHAT EVER YOU BUY TODAY WILL BE OBSOLETE IN 6 MONTHS!
What to do you ask??? Here is what I propose. Buy a nice system, perhaps in the 500-700 Mhz range. Get a CD/RW drive (8x4x32x should be fine). At least a 40 Mb HD and 128 mb RAM. Make sure you get something in a tower configuration (Better for expansion). A 17” monitor, 32mb apg board for games and your set. Total price, around $1200…tops. If you plan on using the Internet think about either DSL of Cable for connecting, I have Pac Bell DSL and love it.
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Epinions.com ID:
doninsocal
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Location: Costa Mesa, CA
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