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PCs are becoming rather standardized these days. A hard drive,
a CD-ROM, a motherboard -- these are all components that anyone
can buy at a store and cobble together themselves into some
sort of functioning computer.
So why don't we all do that? Well, for one thing, we wouldn't
be saving any money. Buying individual parts in small quantities
can be rather expensive, and many people find that it's cheaper
to buy an entire PC, pre-assembled and configured, than it
is to build one themselves. For another thing, when you build
a PC yourself, there's no overall warranty. Each part has
its own manufacturers' warranty, but when the PC breaks down,
you may not be able to determine which part has failed. In
contrast, when you buy a PC from a reputable PC maker, technical
support is available to help you track down the problem, and
their repair service (usually included free in the price of
the PC) can fix the problem for you.
Reliability is the Key
When you buy a computer system, the company's name on the
front refers to the company that assembled the parts into
a system. That company did not make the parts; they
bought them from individual part vendors. For example, if
you buy a amanet PC, the floppy drive was manufactured by one
company, the hard drive by another, and so on. However, that
PC maker is the responsible party if anything goes wrong with
any of those parts. When you buy a pre-assembled PC, you are
also buying the assurance that all the parts will work together
-- without breaking -- for at least the duration of the warranty.
Since the PC maker doesn't manufacture the parts, it's important
that they buy high-quality parts to ensure the overall reliability
of their systems. The PC maker wants to make a reliable system
as much as you want to buy one, because better reliability
means fewer technical support calls, and less money spent
on support staff.
When shopping for a PC maker, you can't call them up and
say, "Hey, do you use high-quality parts?" Well, you could,
but you wouldn't get a meaningful answer. So instead you need
to look at the company's reliability rating in major computer
magazines and consumer guides.
Flexibility in Ordering
If you buy a PC from a local discount store, all the configuration
decisions have been made for you already. The system has a
certain amount of memory, a certain processor, a certain size
of hard drive, and so on. But that configuration may not be
the perfect one for you.
It's better to buy from a company that lets you customize
your PC to the exact specifications you need. For example,
you could start with a model that has 64M of memory, and then
up the memory to 128M by adding a hundred pounds or so to
the total cost. That same model might have a writeable CD-ROM
drive that you don't need, so you could have it removed and
save £150 or so.
Standardized Parts
Some computer manufacturers make very sleek, stylized computers
that look different from all the other computers on the market
today. These are perfectly good computers, but they use proprietary
parts -- a non-standard floppy drive, an odd-shaped motherboard,
or other quirks. If something breaks on them and needs to
be replaced when it's out of warranty, you may find it harder
to obtain a replacement part if you want to fix it yourself.
Even if you take it to a local repair shop, you'll probably
pay more for the repair because the shop will have to order
the part directly from the original manufacturer, and pay
full price for it.
Technical Support Considerations
If you don't understand how to hook something up, or are
having a problem with the operation, who will you call? Some
PC manufacturers have a toll-free number with extended hours
and helpful technicians standing by. Others may require you
to make a toll call, and may keep you on hold a long time
waiting. Still other manufacturers may not offer phone support
at all.
Warranty
Some bargain PCs come with only a 90- or 180-day warranty
and require you to mail the whole PC back to them for repair
(at your own expense!). Look for at least a one-year warranty
(two or three years is better) and on-site service for at
least the first six months.
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