It's tricky but the thing that makes a computer “good” or “bad” is not the pretty stuff on the outside but rather the components in it. Even trickier, “specs” don’t give you any indication of the quality of the components in your laptop…or desktop PC or any other type of computer.
The two key things that you need to be aware of are…components and setup.
Computer Components:
The components used in a computer can vary wildly in quality. It’s difficult to tell which is better by mere appearances, but you can check other things. For example, what is the computer manufacturer's return rate – i.e. of 1000 laptops how many are returned to the manufacturer for repair within the first month.
Another thing you can look for is how they describe the unit. If they use words like “business class laptop” or “productivity desktop” or something similar, then there is a good chance it’s higher quality.
You’re unlikely to find this but if the laptop or desktop computer have any screws loose or it feels wobbly then avoid it like the plague.
Another sign to look for is what type of Operating System it has. If it’s a “Home” edition you should expect it to go with a ‘home’ computer, but if “Professional” then perhaps this computer is better suited for those who want quality.
Finally, there’s price. The old adage – you get what you pay for – is true in many cases. If the price is very low, it’s probably for a reason. Of course, higher prices may reflect either quality or higher specs (which you may or may not need) or both.
Computer Setup:
A laptop or desktop computer needs more attention to it’s initial setup than a tablet, iPad or phone. There are quite a few things at a foundational level that need to be right. Here are a few things you might be able to check for, depending on your computing technical expertise, so your computer setup is right…
All new computers should be 64bit. If it’s less, you won’t be as quick and won’t be able to use all the available RAM. Avoid unnecessary security. Often, stores will sell you all sorts of computer antivirus products, most of which you don’t need. For most users, Microsoft’s antivirus called Defender is sufficient and there is no charge for this. Specific products to avoid - Norton Security (Norton anything!), McAfee, Trend Micro, AVG, Kaspersky. IDE emulation rather than native SATA: This one is a lot more technical. There’s a setting in your computer’s most basic settings which controls how it runs. If it’s set to the old IDE mode, it could run up to twice as slow. Drive alignment: when a disk is formatted, there are some things that need to be right, if not done correctly it can reduce performance.
Well, we’ve covered quite a bit of stuff here regarding buying a new computer, but it was just a quick guide to a few things that we've been seeing lately. Some of this has been pretty techy, but hopefully it’s of help to you. If you need a technician to check this for you – just give us a call.
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