Computer purchase advise

I have had several inquiries this season about what computer to buy. I wrote up a little guide for a friend of mine, and thought I would post it here as it might help if you too are in the market for a computer.

 

The two best laptops out there are Toshiba, and Asus, at least at a price under $1k. Asus was for years the premier motherboard maker, and pretty much still is . I built a bunch of computers using Asus parts. Now, their laptops of late,, may not be as good as they once were, but then all manufactures now use a lot of generic parts for their laptops.

 

I was surprised that one can now buy a laptop for about the same or even less than a desktop. Just seems to me that a desktop for around the house, ties you down to one location setting behind a desk.

 

But having said all that, I have a HP Probook I special ordered for my work laptop. It has been a good machine, but I tweak it all the time. I was never partial to HP as seems like when I worked at the computer store, years ago, that was the brand we always were working on. But that was 14 years ago.

 

I am poking around now on the web, I see a Toshiba Satellite for $309, Toshiba $309but it has a Celeron  processor. Celeron are slower, but if you don’t do heavy computer stuff, then it might be ok for you. I set one of these up a few weeks ago for a friend, and it seemed like a good machine. It also Windows 8 which I am not too crazy about, but lots of people like it. I still like Windows 7, which is the best operating system Microsoft has ever created in my opinion. But Windows 7 is now very hard to find on a new machine.

 

This one was very light weight, but seems real plasticey, if that is a word.

Here is a Toshiba at a good price $319, but it has an AMD chip, which is ok, except AMD used to run hot so as long as you don’t sit it on a pillow or something that blocks the vents it should be ok. AMD chips are actually faster than Intel, Toshiba $319

 

 

If you are looking for an even smaller screen, This Asus is 11.6 inches, for $399, Asus $399 smaller is not always cheaper.

 

If a desktop is what you want, then the HP brand probably does have the best prices, this HP 110-090 is a pretty good deal $379, Hp $379  and it has a 6 in1 multimedia card reader built in, this one did retail for over $600. Has Intel graphics card, and Intel core i3 chip, 1 TB drive, 4GB ram, and has 6 USB ports.

 

I would try to buy from a place you can return it without problems if you get a lemon. Amazon has the best return process of all. If buying at a local store, quiz them REAL good about what happens if it breaks, can you return the whole thing to them or are they going to tell you to Call HP or whoever the manufacture was, can be a grotesque hassle. Even if you buy the store warranty, better read the fine print! And if getting a desktop, be sure to get a good monitor, ViewSonic is about the best and they are priced right, I have two 24 inch on mine at work, try to get an LED.. LED is faster to come back from sleep and don’t get as hot, have a great looking display. The ViewSonic VA2246M-LED is a 22 inch at Amazon ViewSonic $109  at just $109 a really good price.

 

John Hames