Everyone wants to know, “When should I buy a new computer?” Well, the answer is rather simple, when it stops doing what you need it to do.
If all you do is browse the internet, then almost any computer will do. Some will be slower than others. Some may not use the very latest of browsers. However, if you can still see what you need to see, and do what you need to do, then your machine is probably fine for you. If you are getting frustrated waiting for your system to boot up, or your getting errors viewing the webpages you want to see, or your game will not run on your compute, then that’s a different story, and it might be in your best interest to start shopping.
Another indication that you might need a new computer, open the side and check the capacitors. If the capacitors are starting to leak, then again, it would be in your best interest to start shopping.
 This is what a good capacitor looks like |
 This is what leaking capacitors look like |
As far as brands are concerned, you can buy almost any brand you want. Oh, I know various reports will list various systems above other systems, but when you strip the case off, they are pretty much the same. The difference is support. However, with all the outsourcing being done, that is also pretty much irrelevant. For all I know regardless of which company you call, you may still be talking to the same call center. They don’t like to give out that information. The bigger question is, “What are the specs?” Right now, the i7 is, in my opinion, the big boy on the block. It is showing a reliable processor with adequate speed for most configurations. The i5 is a close second, and I would not touch an i3. The i3 is, again in my opinion, a glorified Pentium D. As far as AMD processors go, well I’ve had my share of them, but I just haven’t found the performance up to snuff.
If you have questions on whether you should get an all-in-one or not, well that question I am leaving for another post.