Planning to buy a new computer or laptop? In my place (trivandrum, india), if you don’t know the basics, vendors will take you for a ride. In this post, I will look at the essentials for a new pc.

Every day I see advertisements for laptops in newspapers. The price ranges between $600 to $1200. What is surprising is the amount of RAM offered in these models. The best ones have got 512MB RAM!!  Now in order to run the mammoth (Windows Vista) , you need a minimum of 1GB RAM, ideal being 2GB. None of the laptops/pcs in the market offer this.

So here is the first tip. Ensure that you have a minimum of 1GB RAM whatever model of computer you buy.

Most of the branded PCs in indian market doesn’t have the latest components that are available. This means that what you buy as a branded PC is probably made using components available 6 months back.

So here is the second tip. If you want a good PC which is affordable, you will have to assemble one.

Now if you just visit a local shop to get something assembled, chances of you being cheated is 99.999%, unless you are an expert on computer components.  Once I had asked the computer shop guy to fix a Sony DVD writer and forgot to check it during assembly. After a month I realized that he had actually used a cheaper LG DVD writer!

So the third tip is that if you are planning to assemble a PC, ensure that you have a reliable/knowledgeable guy who will choose the components for you. Also never change a component once you have decided on one. Vendors typically try to push something else down your throat.

Good luck!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 11th, 2007 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Opinion. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.