HOWTO: Buy a New Computer - Comments Page 1

Much needed and extremely well written post, Bob. I've found that avoiding "technospeak" works much better with all new users, no matter what age they are. This is a keeper.

I'm a big believer in refurbished electronics. That's all I have ever bought and I've never had a problem. You save even more by buying a refurbished unit. I recommend Tiger Direct or Woot! I buy from both and have never been disappointed.

Kingsoft(free) which comes with a spreadsheet, word processor and Power Point Presentation. I believe that I found this software at Filehippo!

You covered the subject pretty well. As a 76+ senior I believe I am qualified to throw in some advice. "MONITOR" Don't skimp here, Bigger the better, I use a 27" & swear at times its to small. Learn & add as you go, Building your rig by what others think is a waste of time & money, Whats good for the goose isn't always good for the gander.What you put into your computer (software) is totally up to you. As a minimum go with 4-6 gigs of RAM, 750 gigs hard drive, Ext spkrs, 25-27inch monitor, Hardwire it rather than wireless, DSL rather than cable or satellite, 200 gigs ext backup in case of serious crash. That should remove around $1,000.00 - $1200.00 out of your pocket but you will be good to go for a long time into the future.

Good article with sound advice.

Why not use some Linux machine? It is cheaper than Win or Mac (if not free), no need for antivirus, better performance on same hardware, no performance degradation. There is only one problem – choose distribution :)

A good Linux choice for beginners/seniors is the new Linux Mint 15 Xfce. Works very much like Windows 7, has plenty of software and is free.

Bob,

For novice users there is another important factor in choosing an operating system. Who will they turn to for support? If their family members or friends mostly know one operating system, then that's the right one to choose!

Nigel

Great info Bob. Laptops are in my opinion, better. They are portable, about the weight of a pocketbook. I usually look at many stores online. I have found at each store by selecting "PRODUCTS" or the category that gets you to electronics or computers and then selecting "LAPTOPS", there is usually a sidebar where you can select 17". At that point I have found MANY of the laptops listed match the other criteria in your summary. I then click the dropdown for "SORT BY" and click "PRICE LOW TO HIGH". There are lots of laptops out there for under $400.00. Some are refurbished and some are NEW. A reputable store will have good or even great refurbished laptops. The price difference is minimal sometimes. But sometimes $50.00 is $50.00. My main peeve is that desktops are not portable, laptops are. Take it to the bedroom, living room, dinning room, patio or porch, wirelessly. Remember that laptops sit on the coffee table also. Anyway, laptops are smaller, less bulky and can be turned off and put "AWAY" from prying eyes and sticky fingers. Even a 17" laptop fits where most people wont believe it does. A great refresh of info Bob, thanks again for it. P.S., I love the nutrality.

I just wrote about 4 paragraphs about cost-benefits of a $1, 000us comptuer. Premise was a good comptuer has ALWAYS cost $1, 000us (It's what I paid in the late 1970's for an Apple II, and just a tad less than my new complete PC). At the end of 4 paragraphs of medium length (for me) I stopped and deleted because:

Everything else Doctor Bob say is petty much true.

The main criteria for any PC purchase is buy what you can easily afford. Forget these warnings about Windows 8 learning curves. My 74 year old wife copes very well with it on her laptop. Give your brain something to do and help stave off dementia. BTW second hand PCs bought from trustworthy companies are great. I have Win 8 running on a 5 year old Dell Optiplex. Should be good for another 5.

How about buying a new computer that runs Linex software? Have you ever heard of www.telikin.com
Their computers comes with Linex. I was interested in purchasing one until I was told I wouldn't be able to create webpages.

I agree with the old man, Clive: try to get at least a 27" monitor, and bigger if you can afford the dollars. I have two 24" monitors; they are too small. Don't get monitors of different sizes; the smaller one will drive you nutso.

Also, at least a 1T disk. And two or three 1T external drives for backup. Keep one well away from your computer, unless you don't care about your files.

Regards, Bob (b. 1943)

As a teacher of beginners at the local senior center, I must disagree with your opening advice. Seniors' computers do not become obsolete in 3, or even 6 years. Many of our seniors are completely happy with their XP computers, as is my wife. Many are into computing only because Grandma was told by her grandkids that she should keep in touch by email. She also needs to learn how to file away recipes in folders, and to maintain a family photo collection.

Neither grandma's computer nor my wife's XP is obsolete for those purposes - and a new computer every 3 years would be an awful hassle. As for used XPs, our 400 member computer club (with women outnumbering men) has used ones brought in by those more advanced, having bought a new computer. We sell these for $50 or $60 to beginners as a means of getting acquainted before they commit to a lifetime of having to keep up with a technology that, as yet, remains a "work-in-progress" with more change than absolutely necessary.

Bob, Another vote for refurbished/off lease Micro Center and Tiger Direct both have great deals. I work at a residential treatment center/high school and we buy a lot of refurbished not just for the students, I have turned some of the Sisters that direction as well. It's also a lot easier to find Win 7 machines.

I have an imac 3 yrs old, it suddenly got slower just in the last 2 weeks, coincidently, after downloading an Apple security update which was 347 MB. Do I need a PC cleaner ? I am at a lost.

Simply great article with the possible exception of the statement about "Look for a computer that comes with anti-virus software pre-installed". Most of these "BLOATware" A/V sw force the unknowing user to upgrade to the PAYware version when the trial period expires. In the case of the Windows7/8 OperatingSystems; the built-in MicrosftSecurityEssentials and/or Microsoft Defender along with the built-in Malware detection (aka Malicious Software Removal Tool) program (and the firewall) should more than suffice for 'light' users w/o having to fork out more $$. But then again, the other alternative would be use one of the FREEware that you outlined in the link. Just a few years ago, the above may have be a worrisome proposition but not anymore. [IMHO]

Thanks Bob. This is where I am right now. I've hung on to my Dell Inspiron XP laptop for a long time, but now it won't upgrade any more than what I've already done. You've given me some great idea. I love a laptop, but I'm also looking into the Dell all-in-one screen which would be similar to a laptop but maybe without some memory and storage issues I've recently had. Despite my blah opinion of Microsoft, I guess I'll stick with Windows. After 18+ years on that OS, I am hesitant to change, even though I enjoy my Iphone. (and want an Ipad)

Again thanks.

Apple computers have always been much more expensive. The OS may be more stable and less prone to viruses, but that is no excuse for the extra $500+ over an otherwise identical Windows desktop.
I also have to agree with the factory refurbished machines being a great deal. My next laptop will be a factory refurbished one.

Definitely a keeper. Great info for quick reference. I'm looking forward to the laptop article!
As a side note, would love to see dates on your articles : ) Not sure why this isn't done more often on internet articles in general.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dates are at the end of each article. Search for "Posted by".