When it comes to buying a new computer, the technical jargon can seem to go into
overdrive and become really confusing. How do you know which processor you should
have, or how much memory the computer needs, not to mention all the other things
that go with it? Buying a new computer is a considered purchase, not to mention quite
an expense, so take a little time and do your homework before heading to the computer
shops. If you know exactly what it is you want, you are much less likely to be sold
a ‘duffer’. It’s not like buying a new mobile phone, which will last you for about
a year until you get bored of it and want a new one. The right computer should easily
last you for five years, as long as you buy the right one for you. Well, hopefully
after reading this, everything will be a little clearer and you will have a much
better idea of exactly what you need.
Some Spanish and UK online retailers will ship UK specification computers, with English
keyboard and operating system, here to Spain. If you need any help with this, please
don’t hesitate to contact me.
Firstly, I am only advising about buying a new computer, not a second-hand one. This
is because anything that is second-hand will be ‘old’ technology, and I am only trying
to explain here the latest technology available. Secondly, most people should be
looking to buy a brand-name computer, not something that has been custom built in
the back of someone’s shop. This way you should have no problems with ‘illegal’ software
because everything should be licensed by the manufacturer. And finally, whether you
choose an Intel or an AMD processor is really up to you. They really are both fantastic
processor manufacturers, so it’s down to your personal preference. It’s a bit like
choosing between a Ford or a Fiat car. They both make great cars, it just depends
which one you prefer.
NETBOOKS
Netbooks were the ‘in’ thing, until the iPad / tablet computers arrived. They are
compact, lightweight, highly portable and have a great battery life. They also come
with wifi and usually bluetooth, so they can connect to most things wirelessly. There
is usually a memory card reader and a built-in webcam too. There are a few drawbacks
though. Firstly they are really quite small! The keyboard and the screen size is
not for everyone. Now admittedly you can plug an external monitor in, which will
allow you to have a larger screen size. You can also plug in a normal size USB keyboard,
to help with the typing too. However, if you are thinking about using one of these
machines for extended periods of time, you may find it a strain on your eyes. The
graphics on these machines isn’t exceptional either. They are really designed for
emailing, a bit of word processing and internet on the go, not 3D computer aided
design or the latest games. Netbooks also do not come with a CD/DVD drive, so you
will need to buy an external one if you are planning on using CDs’ or DVD’s. They
also normally come with basic cut-down or Starter versions of the operating system
(usually Windows 7 now) to improve the performance. This is because they come with
little eco-friendly, low-power consumption processors, which are not hugely powerful.
So to get reasonable performance and speed they cut out some of the bits of the operating
system. OK, so lets talk about the processor chip in the majority of these little
netbook computers.
Most often they are powered by an Intel Atom processor. The latest Atom processor
for netbooks is the N525. If you are looking at buying a netbook and it has a different
Atom processor, then it is probably older technology. Intel will be releasing the
third generation of Atom processors in the second half of 2011, code named Cedar
Trail. The processor numbers will be D2500 and D2700, so quite different to the current
processor numbers. They are of course faster than the current processors, and more
energy efficient. They also use the latest super-fast DDR3 memory. You will almost
certainly see them in the new Windows 7 / Android tablet computers which will be
challenging the ipad, and new netbooks soon.
Many older netbooks come with Windows-XP or even Linux. The latest netbooks are now
normally supplied with Windows 7 starter. Do go for Windows 7 because Windows-XP
is over 10 years old now! Forget any horrid and nasty Windows Vista experiences you
may have had in the past, Windows 7 really is great.
Memory is incredibly important for a computer, even a netbook. Most netbooks use
DDR2 memory, and it is very cheap at the moment. My advise is to get an absolute
minimum of 1GB of memory, and spend an extra €30-€40 to upgrade that to 2GB. It is
money well spent and will ensure that the netbook runs smoothly.
Hard disk space? Well, they typically come with between 100GB-200GB disk drives as
standard. This really should be adequate for most people. You can always attach an
external USB disk drive if you need more space.
LAPTOPS
Today laptops are the computer of choice, easily outselling desktop computers. They
combine portability with the power and performance of traditional desktop computers.
The range of models is ever-increasing, and when using the latest processors, the
battery life is getting longer and longer. So lets talk a bit about what you should
look for when you are thinking of buying a new laptop.
The processor is perhaps one of the most important considerations when looking at
laptops. The processor controls everything, and a good processor will allow you to
have maximum computing power when you need it, yet is able to conserve battery life
when you don’t.
There are two choice really, Intel or AMD. The table shows you, at a glance, the
different types of processors available for laptops today, and the typical type of
performance each processor is designed for. Intel has simplified it’s processor range,
and with the exception of the Atom, all current processors are Core i-series. Naturally
there are a choice of different processor models in each of the ranges, but it will
give you a rough idea of what you are looking for. If you are looking at laptops
with Intel processors like core2duo, centrino or anything else, they are not the
latest technology. AMD launched the Fusion processor this year, where the processor
is ‘fused’ with the graphics processor on the same chip. The models are A4, A6 and
A8 (A4 least powerful, A8 most powerful). New models are planned for 2012. Very roughly
compared with Intel, they are equivalent to Atom (A4) and Core i3 (A8). A laptop
with an Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon or Fusion processor will be more than enough
for probably 90% of people. You only need a more powerful processor if you are doing
something like graphics-intensive gaming or running a small mainframe from home.
Intel have now released the second generation of Core i processors, with the code
name Sandy Bridge. When you are looking at the cpu specification number, you should
look for the number 2 after the core. For example Core i3-2xx0M or Core i5-2xxxS.
The number 2 tells you it is second generation.
Now on to the operating system. Windows 7 was released in October 2009, so if you
are looking at buying a laptop with Windows Vista, for a start it’s old! Today you
should be looking for a laptop running Windows 7 (Home Premium), and it should be
in the correct language for you. Don’t try buying a Spanish one and getting someone
load a dodgy English copy of Windows 7 onto it, you will eventually run into problems.
Another thing to note is whether the laptop comes with 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.
Without going into technicalities (heaven forbid) 32-bit is the most commonplace.
This is fine BUT the maximum amount of memory it will be able to use is 3GB, regardless
of how much memory you install. 64-bit will allow you to access just about as much
memory as you can physically install in the laptop, and use it. However, you may
have a problem getting 64-bit device drivers to run very old printers, scanners and
things like that. Please just ask me for advice if you need any.
Memory is a really important consideration. If you buy an Intel Core-i processor
laptop, you will automatically have the very latest and fastest memory available
- DDR3 memory. Other processors may well come with the older DDR2 memory, which is
slower. My advice is to look for a minimum of 2GB of memory, and go for 4GB if you
can. Extra memory is a relatively small investment, but will pay you back handsomely
in the future.
Now onto the laptop screen. Regardless of what people might tell you, size does matter!
The average screen size for a laptop today is around 15”-16” and should be fine for
most people. You really do need to look at the screen though, and make sure it is
ok for your eyesight. You can get smaller screens if you prefer, or larger ones up
to around 20”. You should bear in mind that the screen does use quite a lot of power,
so the larger the screen the shorter the battery life will be. Also (and probably
rather obviously) the larger the screen size, the bigger and heavier the laptop is
to carry around with you.
A quick word on wi-fi. Virtually all laptops today come with built-in wi-fi as standard.
The very latest wi-fi available today is called Wireless-N. It is much faster and
has a better signal range that wireless-b or wireless-g. Even if you don’t have any
other wireless-n equipment at the moment, and therefore cannot take advantage of
the extra speed of wireless-n today, get a laptop with built-in wireless-n. It will
work very happily with everything you have already got, but will give you all the
extras as and when you get other wireless-n equipment in the future.
Finally onto perhaps the less important things to consider when buying a laptop.
They should all come with a CD/DVD drive. Do you actually need a blueray drive? Unless
you are planning to watch blueray movies on your laptop, then you probably don’t.
Webcams are quite popular these days. Do you need one? If you do, make sure the laptop
you buy has a built-in one. The in-built ones are great quality and save you having
to plug one in when you want to use it. Do you need or use bluetooth? If you do use
bluetooth, then buy a laptop with it built-in. If you haven’t got a clue what bluetooth
is, then you probably don’t need it.
DESKTOPS
Desktop computers have been changing over the last few years. You no longer need
to have a big old computer sat under your monitor, as the latest models are considerably
smaller in size. They are designed to be compact and virtually silent during normal
operations. Some are so small that they are designed to be attached behind a large
monitor of high definition television screen. Most have HDMI connectors, to allow
them to be attached directly to modern high-definition LCD or plasma televisions.
When you are using Microsoft Media Centre (Windows Vista/7 Home Premium and above)
you can watch movies, dvds’, blueray disks, live television and sevices like iPlayer
directly on your TV in high def. You can even control everything with the Media Centre
remote control.
The processors (and associated performance) are the same as detailed for laptops
above. Most people will be satisfied with an Intel Core-i5 or AMD Athlon processor,
although look for Core-i7 or Phenom if you need absolute power.
System memory requirements are similar to laptops. An absolute minimum of 2GB, although
I would recommend going for 4GB for the extra few euros.
Desktop computers do have very good graphics cards these days. They are normally
quite sufficient to watch blueray movies in high definition. Even the built-in onboard
graphics are usually good enough. However, if you want to play the latest graphics-intensive
games, you will most likely need to buy a powerful graphics card for that.
Hard disk drives for desktop computers are typically very large these days. Most
new computers will come with anything from 500GB to 1TB of disk space as standard.
That really should be more than enough for most people.
Information updated November 2011
