1. Consider a Tablet
If you only want to rely on a PC for the basics — check email, surf the Web, poke around social media, look at photos, play music — you may be a good candidate for a tablet, or a low-price Chromebook, which runs Google’s Chrome OS.
2. Assess Your Use
Desktop computers are no longer in vogue for good reason — today’s laptops and notebooks are powerful, fast, and affordable, and offer a more versatile option than a PC that crowds your living room. But for some users, especially those who live in small spaces, a desktop may make sense as a dual home theater option.
3. Go to the Store
You should definitely spend time price-hunting online, but commit to buying anything, you ought to go to a store to get a feel of the device. Is the keyboard comfortable to use? Do you like the resolution of the display? Is it too heavy, or have sharp edges? Does the case flex? Is it slow when you’re online? You won’t learn any of that until you actually try it.
4. Beware of Refurbished Deals
While refurbished computers are often perfectly fine, laptops, in particular, are a danger zone because they’re portable, and it’s impossible to know how often or badly they’ve been bumped, dropped, or crushed. Avoid them unless it comes right from the original manufacturer, and comes with a full, bulletproof warranty or is sufficiently low-priced as to be a worthy risk.
5. Don’t Be Seduced By Power
While in the past you had to judge a PC by its processor, latest models of computers are perfectly fast. You shouldn’t feel tempted to buy a model with the latest cutting-edge processor for fear of buying an obsolete model — you’ll be good for years to come. If you’ll be editing video or pro audio or are heavy into Photoshop, you might want to boost to an Intel i5 or i7. Otherwise, most any dual core processor should suffice.
6. Cram the RAM
The most important decider of your PC’s performance is the RAM, which is short-term memory. For light usage, a RAM of 4GB and more should be good enough.
7. Check the Ports
Verify which ports your PC will have, and what your needs will be. If you use external hard drives, you might want at least a few USB ports, including a super-fast USB 3.0 port. If you use your PC for entertainment, look for an HDMI port that hooks up to a TV (it is important because you can also use this with a projector for presentations).
8. Back It Up
While picking your PC, be sure to pick up a backup hard drive at the same time — the average life span is just a handful of years or so, replace them before it’s necessary. Yes, the cloud is a great resource for keeping things backed up, but you should always have a full backup of your most important files, photos, and music handy.
9. Confirm the Warranty
There’s a wide range between build quality and customer service from PC companies, some of which rank as low cable companies. Most companies offer a year’s warranty at a minimum but have a range of customer support before they charge you money for help. Depending on how often you upgrade, an extended warranty can be a good investment, especially for laptops, because even a single repair often costs as much as the policy.