Buying a new computer

After discussing tech purchases in this column two weeks ago, a few readers have asked what they should be looking for in a new computer.

The answer, like everything in IT, is “it depends”.

While computers are a tool, they are unique in their flexibility, and every user has different needs.

So these suggestions are based on pretty generic use ­- if you have a specific application, or you’re a high-end user, then you really need to make sure your system meets your requirements.

CPU

Some people obsess about chip speeds and processor specs. The ugly truth is it barely matters for most users. Don’t sweat all the CPU mumbo-jumbo and leave the “front side bus” penis envy to others who don’t have work to do.

Hard drive

If you are connecting to a network, hard drive space isn’t critical. For a desktop computer, 320Gb drives are the standard entry point, and 160Gb for laptops. If you are running a home office or you handle lots of media files, then 750Gb or a terabyte (1000Gb) may be the way to go.

If you are considering netbooks then you will find hard drive space is far smaller, with as little as 9Gb; this is OK if you intend to store files on network servers or out on the internet cloud.

Memory

This is the easy bit – the more memory the better. All good value systems come with 2Gb and an upgrade to 4Gb is money well spent.

Graphics card

Video capacity is where cheap systems fall down. Many entry level systems use “shared memory” where the video system shares the work with the CPU. These systems perform dreadfully on Windows Vista and struggle to support higher resolutions.

Spend the extra and go for a video card with at least 256Mb of RAM. Many units have the option of going up to 512 and 764Mb, although I’d prefer to spend the money on system memory before video cards. Your view might be different to mine though.

Monitor

On desktops, the bigger the better. Go for a 20″, 22″ or 24″ monitor. Get two monitors and you’ll see office productivity soar.

Portables are a different kettle of fish. Personally I love the compact 7″ netbooks for their weight and size, but many people prefer 15″ screens. When choosing a laptop, you need to make a compromise between price, screen size and weight that meets your needs and budget.

Optical drives

DVD-R/W is still the way to go. You don’t save much by leaving the writing function out, and being able to burn disks from your system is handy. Ignore BluRay as it remains expensive with little take up in the market.

Networking

Some real cheap and nasty machines may still have 100Mbit ethernet. Avoid these like the plague. If it doesn’t have a gigabit ethernet don’t buy it.

Similarly, all laptops have wireless capabilities and the 801.11g standard (54Mbit) is the norm. Most laptops now have some version of the newer 801.11n standard, but keep in mind the final 801.11n standard won’t be released until the end of this year.

Warranties

Three years is the only way to go; don’t consider otherwise. If the computer is mission critical, a same day warranty makes sense, but most businesses go for next business day service to balance cost against reliability.

Mac or Windows

Whenever a SmartCompany blogger wades into the Mac versus Windows argument, Amanda Gome is delighted with the increased site traffic until the server melts down and the death threats start arriving.

Suffice to say, you should use whatever works best for you. It’s your equipment and your business, and no-one else has the right to tell you whether Microsoft, Linux or Apple are better.

Price

Overall, a good business computer to these specs will come in around $1500 for the desktop and $1800 for a portable. Add another 25% for Apple equipment, although the lifetime cost of ownership is around the same for Apple and Windows-based PCs.

That’s a rough idea what to look for when specifying computer systems for your office. Have a good look at your needs and budget and you should be able to find some good bargains to help your business work better.

Webinar: Join Paul Wallbank, Brendan Lewis and James Thomson next Monday to discuss how you can work smarter, save time and be more productive in the new financial year.  

Paul Wallbank is a speaker, writer and broadcaster on technology and business. He grew PC Rescue into a national IT company and set up the IT Queries website. Paul has a regular ABC spot on technology matters.

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