Are you looking to buy a computer? The options on the market are so diverse that it can often feel daunting trying to figure out what to buy. This is why, before you make any decisions, it is worth asking yourself a number of questions to help narrow down what kind of computer you need for yourself. This is something that IT support company like TechQuarters do for their customers when provisioning them with hardware – first, you explore what your needs are, and based on that, you can decide what will best suit those needs. But if you’re just an individual, you can do this for yourself.
Why do I need it?
This is the first and foremost question that you should ask yourself, because it will help you figure out not only what kind of computer you want, but also what your budget is, what specs you need your computer to have, etc.
Is your computer going to be for work? Is it for school? Is it just for personal use? Let us say the answer is that the computer will be for work purposes. What kind of work do you do? Are you a graphic designer, or a video editor? If this is the type of work you do, you will definitely need a powerful computer – for instance, a managed IT services provider like TechQuarters would recommend a workstation. However, if you work in an office, and will mostly be performing tasks like writing documents and presentations, sending emails, etc. Then you will not require an immensely powerful computer, and might consider a more budget PC.
If you work in marketing, this might involve mainly word processing, communications, and internet usage, but with a little bit of design work using a program like Photoshop – in that case, a mid-range computer would suit you well. This same process can be applied if you need the computer for school – for instance, if you are studying business or history, you are not going to need a powerful PC; but if you’re studying graphic design or game design, you certainly will.
As for personal use, most budget PCs can handle things like internet browsing, social media, and music or video streaming. For light gaming, a mid-range PC will suffice, but for serious gaming, a high-end PC is required.
Is Portability Important to Me?
This is another important question to answer. For instance, let us say that you have already established that you want a computer for personal use, and you will be using it mainly for social media, web browsing, and a bit of streaming. If you then decide that portability is important to you, you might then want to start looking at either lightweight laptops, or even a tablet.
On the other hand, if portability is not important to you, and you need the computer for high-demand work, then you should definitely look at desktop PCs, which offer the best value for money in terms of capacity and processing power.
How many people will be using the computer?
Do you have a family? A partner? A young child? Perhaps you’re setting up a business with a colleague, and need a computer to share. If any of these scenarios apply to you, then you will need a computer that is capable of creating multiple accounts. These days, virtually all desktop and laptop PCs can have multiple accounts created on them, but not all tablet devices support multiple accounts, so be careful when choosing a tablet if that is your choice. If you’re looking for a computer for a business context, you might want to recruit the help of an IT support provider to help you find the best computer for multiple users.
If your computer is for personal use, and you have a young child, a tablet may be better suited than a laptop, which may be harder for a young child to use, but are also cheaper than laptop and desktop PCs, and therefore easier to replace if broken. Whereas those with older children may opt for a desktop PC, as they are less likely to be broken, and offer more functionality.