Computer Buying Tips For The 2009 Holiday SeasonPosted on: December 9th, 2009 This is December, and we are in the height of the holiday season. It seems like the with Windows 7 coming out and having good review more people have thought about replacing their old and ailing computers. I’ve been asked many times over the year: How long a computer is supposed to last? Well, it’s, of course, brand specific but the average time I see is about 5-6 years.
There is an article that features a little software that is able to monitor the health of the hard drive and alert you before the hard drive would crash. Click here to check it out. If you notice anything less than perfect operation from the hard drive in the first few weeks and month (and even after that) then you’d better take action. Then there’s the question whether to get a laptop or desktop. My opinion is that unless you need mobility get a desktop. A desktop computer is less expensive for the same performance and much easier to service if anything breaks. I’d like to make a little list of the currently available computer formats and the pros and contras of them. Laptops:
Pros: Light; portable; good for internet browsing, typing; inexpensive, good battery life Cons: No CD or DVD drive, small screen and keyboard.
Pros: portable; good performance; can be used for pretty much any computer task other than gaming, graphic design or video editing. Cons: Keyboard is usually smaller than normal; not very long battery life.
Pros: Good performance;large screen (usually wide screen format); usually full size keyboard Desktops:
Pros: Uses small space, compact design Cons: Hard to service, parts for it hard to find. Components tends to run hotter than normal inside leading to early hardware failures.
Pros: inexpensive; easy to service; easy to find parts for. Cons: takes up more space
Pros: taking up minimal space while providing maximal screen size, eliminates most of the cords Cons: Expensive, hard to service and repair hardware issues.
Pros: Excellent performance, has room for upgrades Cons: Expensive, takes up more space, larger power consumption Besides these tips I’d recommend reading two another articles on this website: Did you find this information useful?
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The failure rates of computers show a curve that goes steeply up in the beginning and then drops to a low level and after a couple of years starts to climb again. So when you get a new computer, if there’s anything wrong with it then it most likely will come up within the first year. That’s why it’s a good thing to have a warranty. Most computers have a year manufacturer’s warranty. Now, this does not mean that you can bring it back to the store you bought in after let’s say 10 months. Store replacements are usually only for a very limited time (30 or 15 days). Doing a return to manufacturer is quite a hassle so it’s better to find out fast if there’s anything not quite right with the new computer. What you can do is put the computer under intense use for several weeks. If it’s freezing up, fails to start up even once or show any sign of poor health then you better get it replaced before you’d put considerable amount of information on the computer and risk losing it. The most important thing, by far, to make sure is that the hard drive is in perfect health.
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