I was watching this great news report on buying a new computer. The reporter went undercover to 4 or 5 retail computer stores to purchase a new computer system. After consulting a professional, they decided that the system they were looking for should cost no more than $1000, all the bells and whistles included. The reporter explained his requirements and the salesman's responses were all varied and disturbing! With answers ranging from "You can purchase the lower priced computer system but it will be outdated in 4 months and need heavy matinance" all the way to "... this system will boost your internet speed and you can download all your files faster". It was like a computer geek comedy as I watched these salesmen use technical terms like Front Side Bus, Hyper-threading (HT) technology, and Hard Drive RPM's. To the average computer consumer, most of those terms dont even make sense and I doubt you would even know how it all relates to making your computer the best deal available. So what this article all boils down to is common misconceptions about buying a new computer and preparing you to take on these salesman with an adequate amount of knowledge of computer jargon!

A computer that speeds up your internet connection? News to me. Frankly, the only thing that can change how fast your download things off the internet is..... well, your internet service provider (ISP). Granted, there are software hacks out there that can boost up your internet connection, but there's nothing that a salesman can give you to guarantee faster internet speeds. Having a big hard drive (like 80 Gigs or 160 Gigs) doesnt mean anything in terms of your internet connection. It just means you can store more data on your computer. Neither does having a Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, or a 52x CD -RW. If the mention of the internet comes up during a sale, it should only be applied to the software thats comes with the computer. They should tell you, for example, that the system comes with Windows XP which makes it easier to configure your computer to connect to the internet. Or they can tell you that it comes with a 10/100 Mbps Network card which makes networking computer simpler. The only physical component in your computer that involves the internet is your network card, so remember that any mention of additional parts to the computer probably wont make browsing the net any quicker!

Not at all! Just because something is cheap and fits your budget, doesnt mean that its defective. Computer systems available now probably wont get too much faster, and frankly, if they do, you shouldnt care. Systems now are fast, fast enough to tackle most types of users, from users that just surf the net and download songs, to hardcore gamers who live to play the latest computer games all day and night! Computers parts now are interchangeable and if anything ever becomes too slow for you, odds are you'll just have to pluck it out of your system and put in a faster version. I say computer parts "now", not "then", because computers built in the 80's and early 90's have various shapes and connections, most of which are not compatible with current computer system configurations. In any case, all computers go obsolete about 3 months after you buy it because there's always a newer, faster version of everything just waiting to hit the market. Does that means yours isnt as good anymore? Nope. Just means that your computer runs one click less than the newer one. Dont be afraid to invest in something thats cheap and fits your budget. Personally, I built my computer nearly 4 years ago and have constantly upgraded parts as I've deemed necessary. And guess what, in 4 years I have only had to upgrade my RAM, a couple of fans and my networking card. Of course, along the way I found wicked deals and bought a new Graphics Card, Hard Drive, Power Supply and Case, however my old stuff is still sitting in a closet waiting to be used in a computer that I'm building down the line. Everything I bought 4 years ago still functions perfectly and is only sitting in a closet because I wanted something faster, I didnt need it, but what is a computer nerd to do!

In a lot of cases, salesman will use fancy terms that make you believe they know what they're talking about. The salesmen I saw on tv wouldnt last 10 seconds if I called them out on half the stuff they were raving about. Just to brief you very quickly on some stuff they'll throw at you, we'll start with Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology. A lot of systems come with it now. What is it? You probably wont even notice or care, I know I dont! Without going technical, when you run applications on your computer, they run on a single thread and interact with the processor all in a single line. Picture it as a one-lane highway and you can imagine that the more cars (applications) that use the one-lane highway, the more clogged up it gets and more pressure it puts on the processor to keep the order. Hyper-threading splits that one-lane highway and gives each application its own thread, no more congestion on the highway. Each process has its own lane and it eases the burden on the processor to prevent road rage. So is it better? Worse? Well its better, but to the average user, you probably wont notice the difference. If you have to pay more for it, dont. And to close the mumbo jumbo theme, lets quickly run through sizes.

Salesmen will hit you with Gigahertz this and Megabytes that. First of all, lets break down which measurement fits what component. CPU speeds are now measured in Gigahertz. Old systems like a 286 and 386 were Megahertz. Megahertz (or Meg) are a smaller unit than Gigahertz (Gig). Mega measures in the hundreds while Giga measures in the thousands. 1 Gig is equivalent to 1000 Megs. Simple huh? So having a 3.4 Gigahertz (GHz) system means you have a fast computer! Now then, RAM is measured in Megabytes (MB). RAM is measured in power 2 increments. So you can purchase it in values of 2, 4, 8, 16, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB. The more RAM you have, the better. Next, a 10/100 Mbps network card. The Mbps stands for Megabytes per second. Without getting into it, this allows a networked computer to transfer files to another computer on the network at 10 MB per second. 10 MB is roughly the size of 2 or 3 mp3 music files. Dont worry about what the 100 means! Hard drives are measured in RPM's, revolutions per minute. Sizes range from 5600 RPM to 7200 RPM. Again, not too technical, your hard drive is composed of a disk that spins continuously to store/retrieve data, the RPM measurement is just the amount revolutions that the disk can do per minute, the higher the count, the better. Graphic cards are also measured in MB's and we've discussed what that means! Finally CD Readers/Writers will have a 48x or 52x in its description. Like the hard drive disk we discussed, this is simply a measurement of the revolutions a CD makes inside the CD-R/W. Not so hard was it?

So to wrap things up, we've discussed what not to look for, now we'll discuss what to look for. If you're looking for a basic computer, there are minimum sizes and speeds you should look for. Firstly, a good CPU now a days should be at least 2.4 GHz. Its fast enough to last you at least 7-10 years. Remember, I'm still using my 1.2 GHz CPU that I bought 4 years ago! Still fast, still very efficient. 256 MB RAM will get the job done in most computers. If you run a lot of games and applications on your computer, RAM is your best friend. For average use, 256 MB is more than enough, but if you plan on working the heck out of your computer consider getting 512 MB or better. Hard drives all come at 7200 RPM now. Make sure to read the small print and not get a 5600 RPM hard drive. Its not a devastating loss if you do have a 5600 RPM hard drive, and you probably wont notice any differences, but stick with 7200 RPM. A 52x CD R/W will be suitable for your burning endeavors. I use a 52x CD R/W and it burns an 80 min CD in roughly 3 mins. A lot fast than my old 24x one that took 30 mins. A good video card will be 128 MB capability. I upgraded from 64 MB to 128 MB and the difference (to me at least) is night and day! Network cards come standard at 10/100 Mbps, so no worries there. A good sound card will come at 32-bit. There is a drastic difference in quality from a 16-bit to 32-bit card, trust me! I've heard it. And last but not least, the hard drive size. I started with, and still use, a 10 Gig hard drive which was insanely large for back when I got it. I now have, in addition to the 10 Gig hard drive, a 40 Gig, 80 Gig, and 160 Gig drive attached. Yes, thats nearly 300 Gigs but dont fret, thats NOT the standard! Thats just because I'm a downloading lunatic. An 80 Gig drive would suit most users, it is a lot of room for you to download everything your heart desires. If you dont even download that much stuff, 40 Gigs would do great. Gauge how much you plan on saving onto your computer and go from there, but I'd stick with an 80 Gig.

And there you have it, the nuts and bolts of buying a computer! You should be equipped with enough smarts to purchase a computer that suits YOUR needs and not the salesman's commission cheque. I recommend searching the internet to get more information on whats available in the market, arm yourself with enough knowledge to know what you're getting into. Dont be fooled with false promises and misleading information.

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