Buying a new computer can quickly turn into a money pit if you go to a computer store and run into a 20-something salesperson who is hyper-selling and bombarding you with technical terms you don’t understand (and he or she probably doesn’t either).<\/span><\/p>\n And now that Windows 7 is reaching its end-of-life (January 14, 2020), many of you using Windows 7 are debating on whether to try to upgrade the old Windows 7 PC to Windows 10 or just go out and buy a new Windows 10 computer.<\/span><\/p>\n We prepared this guide for those of you thinking about buying a new Windows 10 computer. Computer prices have never been lower than they are right now \u2013 so it\u2019s a great time to buy.\u00a0 But you have to know what you’re looking for – and what you really need.<\/span><\/p>\n This guide is for average computer users \u2013 those of you who use your computer mainly for browsing the Web, email, having fun with graphics using PaintShop Pro or similar, using Facebook and\/or Skype, chatting, etc. If you\u2019re into high-end gaming or high res 3D rendering or if you work with very large databases or CAD drawing, your needs will certainly be different.<\/span><\/p>\n Here’s our shopping guide for those of you who are on a budget and shopping for a new computer\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 1.) Consider a Laptop Instead of a Desktop or All-In-One Computer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n At one time laptops were expensive and underpowered, but not anymore. Laptops have the same features and as much or more power as desktops and all-in-ones, with one big advantage: You\u2019re not tethered to one spot in your home. \u00a0And right now laptops are relatively inexpensive. You can get a laptop for less money than an equivalent desktop or all-in-one.<\/span><\/p>\n 2.) RAM RAM RAM (AKA \u201cMemory\u201d)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In real estate, it’s location, location, location. And with computers, it’s RAM, RAM, RAM!<\/span><\/p>\n Generally, the more memory your computer has, the faster it will run. OK, we\u2019re generalizing. But generally speaking, the more RAM your computer has, the more you can do with your computer \u2013 and the more responsive your PC will be. You\u2019ll see a lot of low-end computers with 2 GB of RAM, but unless you\u2019re not planning on doing very little or no multitasking, you\u2019re probably not going to be happy with 2GB of RAM. We suggest that you don\u2019t buy a computer with less than 4 GB of RAM.\u00a0 If you can afford a few dollars more, look for 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, here\u2019s a Dell laptop<\/a> with Windows 10 Home (64-bit), a decent Intel i3 processor, a 15.6\u2033 display, 8 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB hard drive for $353. (Price and link valid as of 9\/7\/19.)<\/span><\/p>\n Just a few years ago, this laptop would have been in the $600 price range. If you have to cut corners to meet your budget, cut corners on hard drive size or processor type, not RAM. The amount of RAM your new computer has is your most important consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n 3.) Hard Drive<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n It would be hard to find a laptop or desktop with less than a 500 GB hard drive these days. 500 GB or 1 TB hard drives are standard these days. If the price is a consideration, computers with 500 GB hard drives are going to be cheaper than those with 1 TB hard drives, and 500 GB is still a substantial amount of storage. So grab a PC with a 1 TB hard drive, unless it strains your budget. Most of you will find a 500 GB HDD is adequate. A word about SSDs (Solid State Hard Drives): They\u2019re nice. They\u2019re super fast. But they cost more than a standard HDD (regular hard drive). To get the same space on an SSD as an HDD you\u2019re going to have to part with more money. If you\u2019re on a budget, you\u2019re probably going to be looking at PCs with standard hard drives (HDD). And that\u2019s OK. Most people will be happy with HDDs \u2013 \u00a0that\u2019s what most of us are using right now.<\/span><\/p>\n 4.) Processor<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Your processor is the brain and heart of your PC. But if you\u2019re an average computer user, and just using your computer to do the things we mentioned at the beginning of this article, then the kind of processor or the speed of your processor, will not be a major consideration for you. Most lower-priced computers are going to have AMD processors and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. If that new computer you\u2019re looking at doesn\u2019t say \u201cIntel inside\u201d, don\u2019t worry about it. Most of us would never know the difference between an AMD and an Intel processor unless we\u2019re benchmarking freaks- but you’re not, are you? Intel or AMD? If you\u2019re the typical PC user, it won\u2019t matter to you. Any computer you buy running Windows 10 will have a processor that is adequate to run Windows 10. Generally, you\u2019re going to want at least a dual-core processor that runs at 1.6 GHz or faster. But when it comes down to buying a PC by brand or type of processor or the amount of RAM it has \u2013 choose the one with the most RAM.<\/span><\/p>\n 5.) Screen Size<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Size matters? Yes, it does \u2013 kind of. We have laptops with 17\u2033 screens; we have laptops with 15.6\u2033 screens. Both are great for all the things we do. The laptops with smaller screens are easier to tote around, they\u2019re smaller and lighter. So, if you\u2019re going to be traveling or moving around with your laptop, you might want to opt for the smaller screen. Screen size, though, is a personal choice. Choose the screen size that you like best and that suits the way you use your computer.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re going for an all-in-one or desktop PC, the same applies. Get the screen size that works best for you. \u00a0Generally, the smaller the screen size the less expensive the computer. Touchscreens: Touchscreens are nice. I have a 4-year-old 17″ ASUS touchscreen, But right I\u2019m using a 15.6\u2033 7-year-old Dell laptop right now – no touchscreen.\u00a0 Computers with touchscreens are generally more expensive than computers without touchscreens, although the price difference is getting smaller and smaller. Someday, we imagine, all PCs will have touchscreens. I<\/span><\/p>\n 6.) Brand of Computer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The brand name of the computer you buy is not one of the most important considerations. Most brands you recognize should be fine. Some people hate certain brands because they have had trouble with that particular brand in the past. However, all brands have good and bad reviews. \u00a0HP, Dell, Acer, ASUS, Toshiba, Sony and Lenovo all have their fans and detractors. We\u2019re not going to recommend one brand over another. All brands can are good and all brands are bad. It depends on who you ask. If you have used a brand in the past that you\u2019ve been happy with, then buy that brand again \u2013 but only if the price fits your budget. Try to be \u201cbrand-blind\u201d. \u00a0Don\u2019t be afraid to try any of the other major brands.<\/span><\/p>\n 7. ) Windows 10 Home or Professional?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Very few home users are going to need the additional features of Windows 10 Professional. Besides the fact that computers that come with Windows 10 Professional cost about $100 more. Do you want a computer that runs fast or do you want a computer that has BitLocker and GPE (Group Policy Editor) and other features you’ve probably never used and never needed \u2013 unless, of course, you\u2019re a computer geek.<\/span><\/p>\n 8. ) 32-bit or 64 bit?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We recommend Windows 10 Home 64-bit rather than 32-bit. There is no difference in cost. Windows 10 32-bit computers can use only 4 GB of RAM, whereas Windows 10 64-bit computers can use virtually unlimited amounts of RAM. The amount of RAM a 64-bit computer can use is limited only by the computer\u2019s motherboard limitations.<\/span><\/p>\n 9.) You Have Many Choices<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re on a budget, you\u2019ll have to make choices.\u00a0 That\u2019s OK \u2013 there are a lot of computers to choose from.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to have to choose between screen sizes and touchscreens or now. You’re going to have to chose between SSD (Solid State Drives) or HDD (regular hard drives). You’re going to have to choose between the faster SSD drives with (generally) less space or HDD, which are slower but have (usually) more space. You’ll have choices to make: Intel or AMD processors, processor, speeds, computer brands, and\u00a0 memory or RAM. In our opinion, RAM is the most important. If you buy a computer with inadequate RAM, your computer will be slow and multi-tasking difficult, and none of the other things will matter much.<\/span><\/p>\n Get a computer with as much RAM as you can afford.\u00a0 Get a 64-bit computer (Windows 10 64-bit) so you can take advantage of more than 4GB of RAM.<\/span><\/p>\n Most of us who have been using Windows for years remember the days of 540 MB (MB not GB!) hard drives and RAM that was measured in MB, not GB. A typical PC in the year that the much exalted Windows XP was released had 2 GB hard drives and 1 GB or less of RAM. Cheap, low-end PCs in those days cost $700\u00a0 or more. And laptops cost over a $1000.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve come a long way since then. Shop around. You\u2019ll find great deals if you spend some time and look around. We found that aforementioned Dell computer for $353<\/a><\/span>. It comes with Windows 10 Home 64-bit and has a decent Intel processor, a 1 TB hard drive, 15.6\u2033 display and 8 GB of RAM. Most of you would find it to be quite adequate for your needs. If you take your time and shop carefully, \u00a0you will find a PC that does everything you need it to do at a price that fits your budget.<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking of upgrading your current Windows 7 Computer? We can help!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you’re considering upgrading your current Windows 7 computer, we can help you upgrade. And if you\u2019ve been using Windows 7 for years and you\u2019re concerned about the learning curve involved in learning Windows 10, we can help you with that too. We can help you upgrade and make your Windows 10 computer look and work a lot more like Windows 7. See this page for more information.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Guide to Buying a New Computer On a Budget One of the most frequent questions we are asked is: \u201cWhat should I look for in a new computer?\u201d And we know all too well that if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, computer shopping can be a daunting task. Buying a new\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1683,1678,1],"tags":[3439,2812,3438],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17501"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18054,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17501\/revisions\/18054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dell](\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Dellimage.png\")
One of the most frequent questions we are asked is: \u201cWhat should I look for in a new computer?\u201d And we know all too well that if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, computer shopping can be a daunting task.<\/span><\/p>\n