e-skills UK Guide

Buying a computer

Buying a PC for your business

A PC is probably one of the most important assets for a small business. It enables you to manage customers, suppliers and staff and will save you a lot of time and effort if setup and operated correctly.
 
There are many different types of PC available, and this guide will assist in guiding you through the maze of choices you will be faced with and hopefully give you some idea of the PC that would suit your work.

How much will a PC cost me?

The basic choice you will need to make when considering your budget is do you want a desktop PC that remains in your office or a laptop PC that you can carry around. Desktop PCs are generally less expensive than the equivalent laptop PC.

Desktop PCs can be obtained relatively cheaply:

• A budget PC - this will be useable in most business situations but there will be some compromise made on one or more of:
  • Quality - some of the supplied equipment might need replacing early on in the life of the product.
  • Performance - most noticeable when: starting the PC up; when starting programs; and when running multiple programs simultaneously.
  • Expansibility - although very few PCs actually get upgrad.ed during their lifetime.

We suggest a target price of £400-£500.

• A mid-sized PC - this will have a longer useful life and will be less frustrating for people that have to use it for most of the day. We suggest a target price of £500-£800.
• Top of the range PCs are desirable if you are working with advanced graphics, video or engineering software. Expect to pay between £1500 - £3000 for a highly configured desktop PC.

Most desktop PCs also come with a keyboard, screen and mouse. Screens are nearly always flat LCD screens like you see in laptops.

Laptop PCs are generally more expensive than desktop PCs:

• A budget laptop - this will be useable in most business situations but there will inevitably be some compromise made on one or more of:
  • Quality - it might not take rough handling as well as a more expensive laptop.
  • Performance - most noticeable when: starting the laptop up; starting programs; and  running multiple programs simultaneously.
  • Screen quality - the better the screen, the higher the price.
  • Battery life - important if you want to be able to use the laptop on battery for more than an hour or so between charges.
  • Weight - technology is trying to provide improvements in all the above while trying to keep weight down; inevitably, the best technology is used in the more expensive PCs.

We suggest a target price of £600-£800.

• A mid-sized laptop - this is likely have a longer useful life and will be more appropriate for people that have to use it for most of the day and on the move. We suggest a target price of £900-£1,200.

NB. Laptops are not easy to upgrade. That means:

• You need to think through your needs before making a purchase. If you buy a laptop that does not meet your needs in, say, a year's time you might be forced into replacing it early.
• You should consider buying a laptop that is a higher specification than you need right now so you have more capability available if you need it.

Lack of expansion capability plus exposure to damage while traveling means that laptops have a shorter useful life than desktop PCs. Consider writing off your investment over, say, two years.

What features to look for?

This Guide is designed to help you make cost-effective decisions when buying equipment.

Processor

A processor is the “brain” of the PC. The better the processor then the faster your PC will work for you.

At the time of writing this task, Intel dual core processors are starting to be used in new PCs. It is likely that budget PCs will use older technology for the time being.

However for business use, processor performance has relatively little influence on overall performance. Expect your PC to have a processor running at over 2 Ghz (1.7Ghz for laptops). In practice though, slower speeds will be more than adequate for most purposes.

Note that laptop manufacturers have to trade off processor speed against battery life. If battery life is particularly important to you, you might not want a higher speed processor.

Main memory

Memory is the thinking space for the PC. The more memory, the more room to think and the faster the PC will perform.

This is one of the major factors affecting overall performance of a PC in business use. It is also one of the obvious places to cut costs in order to produce a budget PC. Go for as much main memory as you can afford. 512 MB should be your minimum. Expect 1 GB in a mid-sized PC and laptop.

You can usually upgrade laptop main memory by simply plugging in a new module in a hatch in the laptop casing. Normally there are two slots and memory has to be installed in equal sizes. So, if you have 512MB installed in one slot, you are probably restricted to adding just 512MB more without replacing the existing memory. Some 512MB budget PCs come with no slots free. You should expect a 1GB mid-sized laptop to have at least one memory slot free.

Disk

These are used to store your files, images and data. The bigger the disk drive, the more you can store on your PC.  Most PCs come with very large disks that have for more capacity that you would need in normal business use. Look for about 80Gb in a desktop PC and 60Gb in a laptop.

Removable media

Your base requirement should be for a CD/DVD ROM drive – i.e. a drive that can read CD ROMS and DVDs. This drive will allow you to install software onto the PC. If you have a centralised server to back up your data, it is essential that the drive will also be able to write CDs and DVDs. If you cannot write to CD it is important you have some other solution to back up your data.

Note that some laptops:

• Provide bays that let you remove CD/DVD drives and replace them with an extra battery. This will be useful if the laptop needs to be used on extended train or plane journeys.
• Eliminate removable media from the laptop altogether and provide them via a docking station, a device that enhances the capability of a lap top by providing additional facilities and connections. This can significantly reduce the weight of the laptop if you don’t need these devices while travelling.

Monitors and screens

This is another area where costs can be cut in order to provide a budget price PC. It is arguably the most important component – especially if it is to be used for extended periods. Unfortunately, written specifications cannot convey the overall quality of a monitor for daily use, which can be very subjective.

If you can, see the monitor you are considering in action. If you intend it to be used for long periods during the day, don’t be tempted to cut corners. You might have to replace the monitor if it proves to be impractical.

You should expect the monitor size to be at least 17 inches (the diagonal size of the viewable area of the monitor). It should display at a resolution of at least 1280 x 1024 pixels. Higher resolutions will allow people to have more programs running at the same time and be visible on screen.

Many suppliers feature high power graphics cards. In business these are useful only for programs that have complex display needs (such as design or video editing programs).

In laptops there is a compromise to be made between screen size and battery consumption. It is also one of the main distinguishing features between budget laptops and mid-sized ones.

Note that you can compromise on screen display by using an attached monitor while working at home or in the office. However, bear in mind that the display resolution is determined by the electronics of the laptop. Attaching a higher resolution monitor may not give you any benefit if your laptop does not support it.

Other features

Look for:

• A sound card – usually built into the PC. Sound is becoming an important part of many business programs and you will need a speaker and microphone if you intend to make calls over the Internet.
• A modem. You might need this to connect to the Internet if Broadband is unavailable in your area or if you cannot afford it. It is also a useful fall back if your broadband connection goes down for any reason.
• You might need a network card for:
  • Connecting to an office network.
  • Connecting to broadband.
  • Ad hoc connection to other PCs.

Laptops and wireless networks

Most laptops come with WiFi connectivity as standard. This allows you to connect into a wireless network. Unless you are sure you do not need this feature, we suggest you avoid laptops that do not provide it.

Laptops and battery considerations

Battery capacity is important. However, you should place little reliance on manufacturer estimates of battery life because they are achieved in practice only under ideal conditions.

Also, bear in mind that batteries are heavy. Long battery life might be achieved only by adding weight to the laptop. Some manufacturers offer alternative batteries that allow you to choose which weight/power will suit you for a given journey.

Laptop and weight considerations

When you first pick up a laptop, you might think it’s quite light. However, if you have to carry it for any distance, you might change your mind.

Low weight, high performance, good screen quality and long battery life are the goals of all laptop designers. However, they all have to achieve a balance between the four objectives. A light laptop is not necessarily a good laptop; a heavy one is not necessarily bad. It just depends which factors are most important to you.

Laptops weighing more than 4Kg are pushing the definition of ‘portable’. Expect some compromises in laptops weighing significantly less than 3Kg.

Operating software

Many new PCs now come with Microsoft Vista installed as standard. At the time of writing (November 2008) it is possible to ask some hardware vendors for Windows XP to be installed instead. Some will also provide a copy of Microsoft Vista on DVD for you to upgrade to when you are ready.

If you are looking at buying a slightly older PC then you may wish to ensure that it is  “Vista Ready” in case you wish to update your software. Unfortunately, you do not usually get a discount if you want to install a different operating system (such as Linux).

Other software

The functionality provided by Vista or Windows XP means that most utilities provided with new PCs are of little value, and for many are an irritation.

However, some PCs come with Microsoft Works. This is a simple, low cost alternative to Microsoft Office and might be all you need. Your system may also come with Microsoft Word which would be useful to you for the creation of letters and other documents. If you intend to use Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works still has value because you can use it to buy a lower cost upgrade version of Office rather than a full-cost version.

Support

In general, PC equipment is extremely reliable. If it is going to fail over, say, a five-year period it is most likely to fail when you first switch it on. Thereafter the risk of failure drops off dramatically over the first few weeks. A supplier’s warranty will therefore cover most failures.

PC suppliers

The Finding Hardware Products and Suppliers Guide can help you when it comes to selecting a supplier.

Further information

For further information on this topic, why not take a look at this video:

Getting the most from your suppliers

Commercial suppliers

We do not recommend specific products or suppliers; instead we provide you with a representative sample which covers the range of suppliers/products available. You may choose to look at these suppliers or products but this is entirely at your discretion.