October 9, 2008

In my last discussion, we talked about being careful when purchasing a new computer because many of the new systems come loaded with Vista 64- bit instead of 32-bit.  In this discussion, I'd like to elaborate a little more on the newer systems.

Unless you so some heavy duty video editing, the base systems today will do the job of running office and database applications as well as the high end systems, at a fraction of the cost.  In fact, the basic configurations most of the computer manufacturers are offering today have sufficient memory (2gig is quite adequate), DVD burners, large hard drives, etc., so you don't need to spend any extra money on upgrades.

I personally have always preferred Gateway and Dell computers for several reasons.  First, their systems have been designed to work as a unit.  Computer built in somebody's basement have generic BIOS, and many times some of the hardware doesn't get along with other hardware in the computer.  Second, they offer extended warrantees, and for the most part, are good about honoring replacement parts and service.  Third, they have been around for a long time and will probably be around for a while longer.  In the long run, you will usually spend less for support for these systems because they are more reliable and it takes less time to configure and repair them.

I am getting leery of recommending a specific computer today because the complexion of the computer business is changing.  Gateway has been bought out by Acer.  People here in Maui don't seem to have Acer computers, so I haven't had any first hand experience with them.  Gateway has always been my personal favorite.  They still market computer, although, you can't order online directly from them, they are only marketed at retail stores.  Dell has always been the big guy on the block.  Their tech support is India based and very frustrating to use, and the quality of their products has deteriorated.  The last two customers who asked me for purchasing advice, bought Dell laptops and ended up being dissatisfied.

No matter who you purchase a computer from, tech support is very frustrating.  My advice is to use a drive imaging program, image the computer BEFORE you do anything, save that image to DVD, then setup the computer and do your imaging as I discussed in the link above.  Since most of the phone support techs have never worked on a computer before, they always want to blame issues on your installed software, or configuration, and many times, won't talk to you until you restore the computer to the way it was out of the box.  If you image the computer, it is a simple matter of restoring the original image, doing the troubleshooting, then restoring the image you just created.

Anyway, computer are like cars, one will work great, and the next one off the line is a lemon.  This makes it hard to recommend a system, so I usually give people a choice.