How to Set Up Your New Computer

Finally, you have made the purchase of a computer you needed for a long time. However, you realize that it will take a long time for you to set it up just the way you like it. Here are a few recommendations for you:

Uninstall unwanted software
This may include program trials, freeware, Microsoft Works (the extremely scaled down version of Microsoft Office), adware, etc. If the computer comes with a 3-month subscription of security software, remove it and install your own security software.

Check for Updates
Run Windows Update to update Windows, and make sure that is set to update automatically. Install security software, check for updates, and turn automatic updates on. Check with the manufacturer of your computer for updated hardware drivers.

Get a USB Easy Transfer Cable
This is a special type of USB cable, in which it is somewhat bulged in the middle, and can transfer files quickly. This usually costs around $20. Hook that up to your old computer, then begin transferring your files. This saves a lot of time, rather than manually reinstalling all your old applications.

Continue Customizing Your New Computer and You are Done!

How to Buy a Computer

Okay, so your old computer is several years old and running really slowly. Should you buy a new one? Wait a second now. Before rushing to your local computer store to buy a computer, check out what I have to recommend.

Desktop or Laptop?
Both of these have both advantages and disadvantages. A desktop PC (personal computer) is slightly cheaper than a laptop and can easily be upgraded in the future. Although a separate tower, monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers makes it extremely difficult to carry around like a laptop, it is suitable for a typical home or an office cubicle.
A laptop, on the other hand is very light, weighing usually between two and eight pounds, and it is small, with usually a 15.4-inch or 17-inch widescreen monitor. However, it is usually slightly more expensive for the same technology and performance, and it is not very upgradeable. In fact, the only components you can upgrade for the hard drive, memory, and several other components (keyboard, screen, etc.) that come only from the manufacturer of the laptop. Nevertheless, I would recommend this to people that need to travel a lot, such as a businessman who goes on many business trips to conduct presentations.

How Much Should I Pay?
For a person who only needs a computer for business use, email, and surfing the Internet, I would recommend a lower-end system for $500-$800 which is not very fast, but still adequate for that person's needs.
For a person who does some gaming, audio/video editing, etc, buy a mid-range computer for between $800 and $1500.
For a person who does heavy gaming, intense graphics editing, etc, buy a high-end computer for at least $1500. (I have seen computers that cost up to $15,000!)

Operating System

• Windows XP: This is a solid, traditional operating system that has been out since late 2001. It is very stable, secure, and has most of the bugs out by now. Many people prefer this operating system because it is compatible with all their hardware and software. It comes in three versions: Home Edition, Media Center Edition, and Professional.
  
• Windows Vista: This is Microsoft's latest operating system released in January 2007. It still has some bugs in it and is not compatible with some of the older hardware and software. Although many people hate this operating system, I personally love it! This is because I have no incompatibilities because I purchased brand new hardware and software that works with this. Do not expect this to work on older equipment, however. This comes in five versions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise. To view Microsoft's comparison chart for these versions, click here. It also comes in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions. I personally would recommend Vista Home Premium for most home users.
  
• Mac OSX Leopard: Mac is clearly better than Windows because it has more features and it is extremely rare that this operating system would receive viruses. Unlike Vista, this comes in one version that does not confuse people. I recommend this for business users, but gamers should use Windows because there are more games for Windows than for Mac. Click here to view Mac vs. PC TV ads on Apple's website.
  

Processor
This is the brain of the PC that is the main performer for all your tasks. There are three types of processors you can get: single-core, dual-core, and quad-core. With single-core, you can have one application open and running at maximum speed, but it slows down when you have more than one application open. With dual-core, there are two cores, enabling you to have two applications open and running at maximum speed. With quad-core, there are four cores, enabling you to have four applications open and running at maximum speed. Buy at least a dual-core processor; however, when customizing a PC, choose one or two rungs down from the top in order to avoid paying more for only marginal increase in performance. There is no way to upgrade this component in a laptop.

Memory
This is temporary storage for a program's data. This storage varies between 512MB and 4GB. Buy at least 2GB for optimal performance.

Hard Drive
This stores all the data for your software. For basic use, buy a 160GB-250GB hard drive. If you edit photos, sound files, videos, etc, or if you have a lot of graphics-intense games, buy a larger hard drive.

Graphics Card
This is a card that reproduces graphics for your applications. Many lower-end systems include integrated graphics, in which a chipset is built into the motherboard that also shares the main memory. This is fine if you do not play games. However, you cannot upgrade this component in a laptop, and many lower-end systems do not have a PCI-Express slot to upgrade to dedicated graphics.
Dedicated graphics has its own hard and its own memory. The memory usually ranges from 256MB to 768MB. For intense gaming, get at least a 512MB card that supports DirectX 10. (some cards only support DirectX 9.) Also get a card that has one or two DVI ports for a digital LCD monitor. Some also include an HDMI port if you want to connect to an HDTV, as well as an S-Video port to connect to a standard definition TV. Get a card that fits your needs.

Optical Drive
Buy a DVD burner if you want to burn CDs and DVDs. This is not always upgradeable in laptops.

Sound Card
If you are a basic user, integrated sound is fine. However, if you love playing games, listening to music, or watching movies, get a dedicated sound card. You can upgrade this in a laptop by buying a sound card that plugs into the Express Card slot.

Monitor
It is especially important to get a monitor you like because this is the computer component that you will be staring at most of the time. I would recommend a 22-inch or larger widescreen monitor. However, before buying one, look at it in the store. Also, open a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Wordpad and type some text to see how clear it appears on the screen. I find that with some monitors, m's and n's are somewhat unclear.

Other Things to Remember

• If you are buying a laptop:
• Be willing to pay more for better components, as you will not be able to upgrade later.
• Try the keyboard before you buy: some smaller laptops have smaller keys that are more squashed together.
• Do not wait for prices to go down, or for technology to improve. Some people get caught in and endless wait because prices always go down, and technology always improves. Rather, if you have the money, buy it when you need it.
• Do not buy extended warrantees. Most problems you can fix yourself. (Besides, tech support usually stinks anyway.)