Free Download Internet tools: How to Buy a New Computer

Whether you need it for home, school or your business, a new computer can be a major purchase. There are a lot of factors to consider like price, reliability, warranty, memory, CD drives and pre-installed software packages. This article will help you to figure out what you want, and how to get it.

Steps

Decide what you need your new computer for. If you need one for work, a simple, but high-quality system with Microsoft Word (or OpenOffice.org) will work out. If you need a home computer, or a family computer, a simple, but decent quality system is what will work. If you're a huge media fanatic, and you work with media, a decent to high-end quality computer is right for you. And as for gamers, you'll want a gaming PC.
Check The Specifications. You should look at the specs of a computer to see if it's for you. These are Recommended Specifications for your class of PC.
- Average "Home User" - 1-2 GHZ Processor (Intel or AMD), 1 GB of (DDR2/DDR3) RAM, 40-160 GB Hard Drive, Decent Graphics Card, DVD/CD-ROM Drive (All in One - read/write dvd's and cd's), 3+ USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Average "Corporate User" (Businesses) - 2 GHZ Processor (Intel), 2 GB or DDR3 RAM, 320+ GB Hard Drive, Integrated Graphics Card, DVD/CD-ROM Drive (All in One - read/write dvd's and cd's), 3+ USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Average "Media User" (Home/Work Use - Video Editor/Photo Editor/Music/Video/HD Content) - 2.5-3 GHZ Processor (Intel), 4 GB+ of DDR3 RAM, 500+ GB Hard Drive, Decent Graphics Card, DVD/CD-ROM Drive (All in One - read/write dvd's and cd's), 3+ USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Average "Gamer" - 3+ GHZ Processor (Intel or AMD), 4 GB+ of DDR3 RAM, 500+ GB Hard Drive, High End Graphics Card DVD/CD-ROM Drive (All in One - read/write dvd's and cd's), 3+ USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
Operating Systems these days, can take a large toll on system resources, so choose the right OS for you. Linux and Windows XP are much less demanding on your processor and RAM. Windows Vista and 7 can be quite demanding from your system resources, so choose a OS that fits your budget. So if you want to save money, it might be better to get a an XP or Linux computer to get the same level of speed of a more expensive Windows 7 computer. (XP is not available anymore, but you can install it by yourself. As well, you most likely have to install Linux by yourself.)
Get any kind of monitor you want. Get one that's at least 17" or you can't see. CRT monitors range from 17-22" . LCD Widescreen monitors are now getting cheaper and larger. LCD Monitors range from 14-30". LCD monitors, usually cost around 100-300$, but are worth it, due to the screen technology and the less space it uses than a CRT monitor.
Get the right accessories. When you buy a computer, accessories can be a very important concept. Will you need a specific mouse for gaming? Does your keyboard need pre-made buttons for stopping and playing music? Do you need a printer? Speakers? External Hard Drives? Secondary Monitor? You must always plan this out as well, when your buying your computer, so you can be twice as happy, when you're actually using it.

Tips

Sometimes an extended warranty is nice, however most of the time its not needed, for a computer at your workplace, you should ask your boss before you buy a warranty.
Most of the software you need, can be found in Free/Open source variants online to download, so don't think you need to buy all the software you think you need unless you've checked it out online.

Warnings

Don't get pushed into buying useless stuff, such a card reader, if you have no cards, or a webcam.
Most of the time, computer salespeople will try to work you some deals and make you buy extra software you might seem to use, but won't use at all. So chances are, you are going to be told to buy a bunch of software such as Microsoft Office, with Open Office being free, and the Anti-Virus software they offer is terrible, with AVG and Avast being free and better.
If you plan at least to try Linux, check the the availability of the Open source (or at least any) drivers. Realizing the driver problems too late is a common unpleasant mistake.
If you plan on upgrading hardware, be sure the manufacturer allows it. For example, some Dell computers can only be upgraded using Dell parts, whereas most HP computers allow third-party parts.