Laura Crichton Associate of Applied Science
Baker College Computer Programming
Computer Enthusiast!!
Agenda Buying a computer
What are your needs? Answer to last weeks question ‘What do
I look for when buying a computer’
Buying a Computer So many options!! Desktop vs Nettop Vs Laptop vs Netbook vs
Tablet Each person is going to have their own preferences
Maybe even a couple of preference Choose the one that is right for you
Few common things all computers share Components
CPU RAM (Memory) Storage
Desktop Considerations Advantages Easily upgradable
components make it the best investment
More USB ports
Disadvantages Big Not very portable Can be noisy Can use a lot of
power
Laptops vs Netbooks Laptop = Notebook
Larger screen size More powerful hardware
Netbook Smaller screen size Smaller keyboard Slower processor Limited USB ports
Laptop & Netbooks - Considerations Advantages Portable Allow for internet
access anywhere there is a Wifi Connection
Disadvantages Only a few components
are upgradable RAM Hard drive
Expensive to fix Prone to being dropped Might not have DVD
player Might not have a
numeric keypad
Nettop = MiniPC or MicroPC Advantages Low power
consumption Very quiet Price ($200-400)
(not including monitor)
Great for email Basic interneting
Disadvantages Limited processing
power means it won’t do a lot of things at once
Tablets Generally operated by touch/finger
gestures 5”-10” size Generally Android operating system
Ipad runs Mac (iOS7) Windows tablet
Tablet Considerations Advantages Total portability—
under a pound Very small—fit in
any bag Loads of free apps
Disadvantages Nearly impossible to
upgrade hardware = disposable
Surface subject to scratches
Small amount of storage
There are a lot of poor quality, cheap tablets out there
CPU CPU – Central Processing Unit
AMD vs Intel
Number of Processors/Cores Parallel processing
Intel i5 has 4 cores 3.6GHz ($180-$220) AMD Phenom has 6 cores, 4.1GHz ($139) Intel Xeon, 6 core, 2.6GHz ($649) (specialized for servers) Intel Xeon has 12 cores (not released yet)
Measured in Hertz – speed Now measuring in GHz (Gigahertz) Many sites will show benchmarks, which measures performance. http://www.tomshardware.com/t/cpus/
RAM – Random Access Memory Largely dictates how fast programs will
load & how many programs can be running at the same time before things become very slow.
Measured in Gigabytes (GB) - Capacity Also measured in speed (MHz) 2x4GB DDR3 1600 ($85)
Operating System & other Software Windows 7/8/8.1 Mac Linux (not very likely) No operating system
Purchase system separately. Windows 7 is currently $139-$350
MS Office Full version currently $500
Finding a balance
Cost Value CPU (speed, type) RAM (speed, amount (GB)) Hard Drive (space, GB or
TB) Software & OS Battery (Laptops/netbooks) Extended Warranty? Refurbished?
Often include manufacturers warranty
Before Purchasing Research and read reviews! Research
http://www.tomshardware.com/t/cpus
Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/All-Desktop-PCs/SubCategory/ID-10
Tigerdirect.com http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=2627&cm_re=
Desktops-_-Spot%2001-_-New%20Desktops
Bestbuy.com