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Archive for the ‘Tips For Computer Equipment’ Category

Having been an IT practitioner for close to 13 years, I have watched consumers of technology making unwise buying decisions. I have been both a consumer and a of late a supplier of technology. I thought I would share some of the “intelligent” probing questions you can ask whoever wants to sell you a computer (new or refurbished). Based on your needs you will be able to make a decision you will not regret. Greatness encompasses the issue of maximizing the use of your financial and information resources. This could well be IT Buyer’s Guide 101.

Considerations when buying a computer

Processor – Type, Brand and Speed- Ask what processor is in the machine. The most common processor manufacturer of all time is Intel who came up with the popular Pentium series. Other competitors are AMD and Cyrix to mention the top three. I will not use this as a platform to advertise any particular manufacturer. Get your supplier to explain the various processor types and merits of each one. There is not enough space to exhaust the comparison. In the Central Processing Unit,(processor), that is where processing takes place. The processor works on millions and billions of instruction cycles person commonly referred as Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz). The more the faster. On desktops it can be possible to change the processor without having to change a whole unit. See upgrades below. This is one important aspect to look at in comparing one machine to the next. You are able to check the processor speed on the computer’s properties. Ask to be shown the speed of the processor. I have seen people duped to believe the machine is 2.4GHz only to realize it was actually 1.4GHz.

Permanent Storage space – Hard disk drive capacity. All storage is in bytes. Commonly referred to as Megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB) or Terabytes (TB) meaning millions, billions and trillions of bytes. Depending on user’s needs a 40GB Hard drive may be adequate for home use but not proper for a graphic designer with advertising agency. Consider this, a 40GB Hard drive can only contain 9 DVD movies. Read the rest of this entry »