Every time I buy a PC I suffer from buyer’s remorse. Not because I buy the wrong thing, but because a new smaller, faster, meaner, cooler, and cheaper model hits the shelves a week after I make the purchase.
Now I am a techie and I know what I am buying. But if you are not a techie, deciding which PC to buy for your business and when to buy it can be an excruciatingly difficult process. So I’ll give you a few pointers on what to look for in a new business desktop.
CPU
The CPU is also called the microprocessor or processor. Two companies, Intel and AMD, make microprocessors. Intel’s microprocessors are generally comparatively more expensive than AMD’s. So, naturally, computers with Intel processors tend to be more expensive than those with AMD processors. Each company has its own cheerleaders, but for most people, either company’s microprocessor works equally well. Therefore computers with AMD processors often make more financial sense. Please don’t send me hate mail if you are in the Intel camp — I am not saying AMD’s processors are better; all I am saying is that they tend to be cheaper.
Both companies make premium processors and economy processors. Premium processors are usually the manufacturer’s flagship product. Economy processors are lower-end versions. Intel’s premium processor is the Core 2 Duo and its economy processor is the Pentium D. AMD’s premium processor is the Athlon 64 X2 and its economy processor is the Sempron.
Premium processors are faster and have more processing power. They are also more expensive. If you use your PC for high-end graphics or video editing work, or for computer-aided design (CAD) you will absolutely need the fastest, meanest processor you can find. If, on the other hand, you mainly use your PC for surfing the Web, Word processing, and other run-of-the-mill applications an economy processor may be just what the doctor prescribed.
If you have a small family, a small car may suffice for you. You can certainly buy a bus, but the excess capacity is wasted. The same is true of a processor’s processing power. If you can’t use it, there is little sense in paying for it.
The most prominently advertised feature of a processor is its speed. It is measured in GHz or Gigahertz and indicates how many basic instructions it can process in one second. A 3.0 GHz processor can perform 3 billion instructions per second. The latest processors are usually the fastest and usually carry a disproportionate premium. It often makes sense to buy processors a few rungs down the ladder. If the latest processor in the market is a 3.0 GHz processor, buying a 2.8 GHz or 2.4 GHz processor usually offers a better financial value without sacrificing too much on the performance front.
Finally there are 32-bit processors and 64-bit processors. 64-bit processors can process twice the amount of data in a given time as compared to 32-bit processors. But to take advantage of the extra capacity, you need software which is built for 64-bit processors. If you are buying the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you will need 64-bit processors. But remember that there are very few 64-bit applications in the market, so functionality will be sacrificed under 64-bit.
Memory
Memory is often called RAM or Random Access Memory. Memory used to cost a fortune just a few years ago. Today memory is quire cheap. Assuming that you will run Windows Vista on your new computer (sooner or later), you will need at least 512 MB. But if you want to run other applications as well, 1 GB is highly desirable. If you run high-end applications to warrant a premium CPU, you may want to go as high as 4GB.
Memory is cheap at the moment and it is easy to install. So you don’t have to plan for your needs in the distant future. You can install additional memory later. But if you plan to do so, you need to consider the maximum amount of memory that the PC’s motherboard supports and the number of memory slots on it.
Let’s say you are looking at a PC with a maximum memory of 4 GB and 4 memory slots. If you want to install just 1 GB of memory, you are better off getting a single 1GB RAM chip rather than four 256 MB RAM chips. A 1 GB RAM chip will be slightly more expensive, but the expense is worth it because when you decide to upgrade, you can simply add additional 1 GB RAM chips. If, on the other hand, you buy four 256 MB RAM chips, you will have to throw them away when you decide to upgrade.
Hard Drives
Like memory, hard drives have become quite cheap in recent years. It is not uncommon to find 80GB or 120GB hard drives on even the cheapest PCs. But as with processors, bigger is not always better. If you store video or music on your PC, by all means buy as large a hard drive as you can. But if you use your PC strictly for business — estimates, proposals, invoices and other such mundane activities — an 80 GB drive may last you for ever. However, note that smaller drives do not always cost less. You can sometimes get a better deal going with a drive with a greater capacity.
Again like memory, it is easy to buy and install an additional hard drive later if you need it — an internal one if you can manage to install it, an external one otherwise.
Video System
A PC’s video system is responsible for sending video signals to the monitor. There are two common types of video systems — onboard video and video cards. The Video System needs memory. For most business applications 128 MB or 256 MB of memory is more than sufficient for the video system. For 2D multimedia applications (such as video editing), you may need more.
Onboard video is the cheaper option. It uses the PC’s RAM, but then leaves less RAM available for applications. You can compensate for it adding more RAM to your PC. For typical business applications, onboard video is good enough, and it saves you money.
But for graphics-intensive applications, a video card is the preferred option. Video cards have their own RAM chips. They don’t encroach on the PC’s RAM. Moreover, if your needs change, you can simply replace the video card with a more (or less) powerful one.
DVD Drive
CDs are on their way out. Look for DVD drives in a new computer. Preferably, they should be RW drives. That means they should be able to both read and write DVDs. DVD-RW drives are more expensive than CD-RW drives, but the additional expense is worth it, especially if you plan to own the computer for a few years.
The most important thing to keep in mind while buying a business PC is that business computing needs are often modest as compared to modern home-computing needs, which include resource-intensive applications for processing music and video. You don’t usually need the latest PC on the market business use.
For the last few years I have been buying new computers for my children and using their old computers for my business without any ill-effects. The biggest and the fastest is not necessarily the best fit for the job, after all.
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Ypou may want to also talk about L2 cache memory, and FSB speed. The L2 memory is a common spec and is confusing to me (a CPA with 25+ years working with PC’s. Especially with Windows 7 coming how much does one really make use of – is it better to have 3mb or is a normal 1 or 2mb great for the OS and most common things stored in the L2 memory – does the OS have the “brains” to use this memory to do certain things only, or is it just First In First Out type of approach. Re FSB speed – does this really matter for 1) the MS Office user versus 2) downloading/playing grandkids videos versus 3) serious gaming. For the 1) user above should I really go for something over FSB 800 with Windows 7 coming, or is a Dual Core at 2.4 GHz, 800 FSB, 2M L2 cache and 2GB of Ram more than suffient for 1) and 2) above. Also, is this type of settup sufficient for the foreseable future – what upgrades would you recommend? I.E., give us (non-gamers) some sample setups so that we can calm down about what to look for to do normal business, Web surfing, video/pix downloads and playing. Finally how about talking about “refurb” machines which may be better quality (stoutness) than new, while providing all the horsepower most “mortals” can use. Thanks for your newletter.
I’ve never felt the need to write a comment pointing out mistakes in an article, I know my knowledge is not perfect – but please, this from a PC tech site? Even bearing in mind the article is about business computing, not necessarily the fastest kit on the shelves at any given time.
Core 2 Duo and Pentium D? AMD Sempron? 80 and 120GB hard-drives? Vista in 512MB? 18 months ago perhaps, and the latter only on the very first Vista laptops that hit the shops three years ago , before people realised it needed 2GB to get the best out it.
A 3Ghz processor cannot perform 3 billion instructions per second, that’s the clock speed – processor instructions take a varying number of clock cycles to complete, very few only require a single clock cycle.
From your About page “We work to bring the world of technology to the “normal” people. Not geeks and nerds and people who understand all the technical stuff.” – fine, but just make sure when you do state something “technical”, it’s correct.
Disappointingly ill-informed/outdated article for a so-called tech site and one that wants people to pay for more access at that…..