Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Buying A PC is NOT like Buying A Car Part 2



This month’s Article is part 2 on buying or replacing your pc. Part 1 can be found on the links at the bottom of this page.


Selecting Your Operating System
When it comes to selecting your operating system you will be faced with two choices. In the retail shops and online you will see relatively cheap computers all with Windows 8.1/10 installed. I do not endorse, recommend, or advise anyone to buy a windows 8.1/10 computer.
My reasons are simple : I don’t like how it operates, I don’t like the fact it has virtually no recoverability, and I consider it a very poor product. Microsoft still sells and support Windows 7 to the business community, probably because technicians like myself still demand it,  and if you take the time you can get yourself an excellent Windows 7 professional computer. I highly recommend Windows 7 and have no issues with this product.  For you, the consumer, you will have to buy online if you want a windows 7 computer and you will pay more for it.

Laptop or Desktop
Without any question a desktop computer will outlast a laptop unless it is a very cheap desktop. The way we use laptops means they are likely to be damaged over time and the fact they use a rechargeable battery means the laptop can fall victim to heat issues. In addition the cooling vents on laptop are easily clogged and again this can and does lead to overheating issues. Laptops tend to get shared around in the house and are usually operated for extended periods of time. If you treated you car the same way it would not last very long and hence laptops quite commonly suffer the same fate. The desktop on the other hand rarely has any of these issues. It’s not unusual for me to see ten year old desktop computers landing on my desk for repair. In many cases they can be repaired. Ten year old broken laptops usually end up in the recycling centre in Drogheda.

New Laptops
The new laptops are nowhere near as robust as the older laptops produced five or six years ago. You can blame this on the growth of the tablet market as laptop manufacturers had to try and compete and in my opinion cut quality to reduce the price. Assuming you are looking for a windows 7 based laptop you should end up looking at business quality machines and these tend to be of a better quality.




Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.You can contact him via email at help.desk@reidyonline.com or at the telephone numbers listed on this page. This article, and all previous articles, are available to view online at http://reidyonline.blogspot.ie/ or www.reidyonline.com/blogspot.htm

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