October 10, 2006

Buying A Computer - It's The Same As It Was Years Ago

Although computers are FASTER than ever before the fundamentals of how to purchase them have not changed in years. The basics still apply - big hard disk, fast memory, good size monitor, and a few other minor details.

Overall get the most you can for the money. However, it's still a very good idea to cnosider your options and not blindly purchase one.

Between Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba and other brands there's a lot to think about.

Many people are increasingly considering Macs as options as well.

Small Business Computing has a good article about buying a computer and writes this about a computer's hard disk The latest buzzword in disk storage technology is SATA, or Serial ATA. SATA drives transfer data from the disk to memory faster than earlier hard drives. Actual transfer speeds vary quite a bit and generally do not come close to the advertised SATA speeds, which are theoretical maximums. Regardless, SATA drives come with most small-business desktops.

Hard drives also vary in rotation speed. Faster rotation, measured in revolutions per minute (RPM), improves the throughput and responsiveness of the drive. Most small-business desktop drives feature 7,200RPM. Stay away from low-end disks rated at 5,400RPM, although few should show up in business-oriented PCs. For high-performance applications like high-definition video editing, consider a 10,000RPM drive, the fastest single-drive solutions you'll find in business desktops.

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