What desktop computer to buy?

There are lots and lots of choices of desktop computers in the market. So I am going to breakdown into steps of choosing which computers are suitable.

• Budget
• Usage
• Branded
• DIY
• Warranty

Budget

The first and most important thing is how much you would want to spend on a computer, USD400, USD1000, or USD2000? You have to set a limit. Why? The computer technology is moving faster and faster and speed, storage, hardware is changing often. What you may buy now would be obsolete around 2 to 3 years or sooner. You should consider this as well.

Right, once you got your limit set, now it time to go look for computer. Easiest way is to browse online to buy, but you may be tempted to buy above your set limit. So before you click on “buy now” let’s look at the Step 2.

Usage

What do you want to do on a computer?

Casual user, computer usage more towards typing a letter or two, using the internet to pay bills, check e-mails, check online flight bookings, music, watching videos, chatting and keeping up on Facebook with relatives and friends.

This you can do with a price range around USD 400.00. (Desktop with keyboard, mouse and monitor).

For the Office that requires heavy usage of multitasking and documentation and workload, price range should be around USD 600.00 to USD 700.00 (Desktop with keyboard, mouse and monitor). If requirement is low then casual user computer price around USD 400.00 will do just fine.

Heavy computer gamers are a total different story. Normally, they would want something that they can upgrade and add in additional hardware’s from time to time to keep up with the changing trend of games.

Here the minimum range is around USD 1700.00 to above the USD 10,000 mark.

Branded

HP, Dell, Lenovo, Benq, Acer, Razor and others, pick your choice. There are in different colors, size, and shapes. Noticeably, most would look into 3 main things like normal desktop size which is quite bulky, next will be the slim casing type which could save you space on your table and the newest type, the All-In-One which combines your desktop computer with the monitor into one. And quite slim too, like a picture frame.

 DIY (Do It Yourself)

For those that like to customize, then this would be a lot of fun, as they get to choose what type of hardware that goes into assembling the computer. Customize computer provides a more personal touch to who they are, like all things in life. Some say building a DIY computer is cheaper, but it depends on what you put into it.

These are normally for the gamers and those that are comfortable with new technologies and know what they want out of a computer which they call “rig”.

Warranty

Most computers come with a minimum warranty of 1 year, though some can provide up to 3 years with additional charges. The only issue that concerns me is, if the computer hardware breakdown within the warranty period. How long will the waiting period be, before the computer can be back in service again?

Normally most, Branded computer center will say 3 to 5 business working days. Some do provide onsite warranty (depends on what type of warranty, purchased as stated in agreement).

DIY warranty for computer rig depends on stock availability and most do not do 1 to 1 exchange. And they need to send it back to the supplier or manufacturer which might take a longer time, anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or longer.

So please take all these into consideration before making a purchase, to make sure your get the maximum benefit and pleasure, using the personal computer.