…any computer you purchase new is good enough and fast enough for general-use computing (email, internets, Word). You just need to decide on screen size, hard drive size, etc. Both AMD (Athlon, Turion, Durion) and Intel (Pentium, Core 2 Duo, Celeron) processors are fine. AMDs are less expensive, the way to go for a basic computer. Don’t worry too much about RAM because you can upgrade that easily if needed. 1 gig of RAM is enough for most people.
If you are purchasing from a store, don’t let places like Best Buy, Circuit City, or Staples talk you into unnecessarily spending hundreds of extra dollars in software. For example, in Best Buy recently, I saw a middle-aged woman shopping for an inexpensive desktop computer (a $299 Gateway). She didn’t need a high-end gaming machine, she just wanted to send email, type letters, and surf the internets. I overheard an associate tell her that since she had broadband cable internet, she needed to spend $500 over the price of the computer in software and labor that she could easily get and do for free. Here’s my advice on what to do after you buy a new computer and say no to the Best Buy sharks.
- Decide to keep Microsoft Vista or downgrade to Windows XP. If you choose to keep Vista, or whatever your new computer came with, continue to the next step. If you want to downgrade from Vista to XP, click here. So many people are wanting to go back to XP that Dell has started offering XP instead of Vista on their site.
- Uninstall any Norton or McAfee software and download and install Avast! anti-virus and Windows Defender anti-spyware. Norton and McAfee are OK, but they seriously slow down your computer.
- Download and install PC Decrapifier. This program automatically removes the bloat-ware, program trial versions, and spyware that is pre-installed on your new computer and also seriously slows it down. Amazingly, Best Buy’s Geek Squad charges at least $49 to remove their own spyware. PC Decrapifier is free.
- Get your Windows Updates (shortcuts located in the Start menu or in tools in Internet Explorer) and restart your computer. Repeat this step until you get all of the updates.
- Purchase and install more RAM yourself if your rig still isn’t as fast as you want it to be.
- For desktop computers, consider a wireless mouse/keyboard and a surge protector. For laptops, consider these items.
- Download and install any other software you need or want.