Purchase a New Machine

We have been buying computers for over 20 years, almost exclusively from Dell with excellent results, but it's 2016 now.

These results are a product of our defining a number of standards that you should follow when purchasing your new machine to make sure you get the most from your investment:

• Processor: Intel Pentium (Core i5 or i7) -- Do not settle for AMD or Celeron. "Accept no substitute" in this area is a good philosophy.
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional -- There are two features that separate Pro from Home: backup and remote desktop. You can save some money up front, but the first time you need one of these features, you will really miss them. What about Vista? Was pretty, but never made it to being "ready for prime-time".
• Memory: 8 GigaBytes of RAM for an absolute minimum; we are now recommending 16 GB as more of a standard, and suggest considering even more -- RAM determines how much capacity your computer's "brain" can use... and how many things it can focus on at any given time. Operating systems, antivirus utilities, Office and productivity programs like Outlook or other e-mail, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Internet Browsers like Internet Explorer (Edge) Firefox or Chrome or any other browsing, and multimedia are all faster with more RAM. Don't settle for any deals you see in fliers or online for cheap machines: check to see if they only come with 1GB, 2 GB... even 4GB is barely enough for Windows 10, You can run the OS, but after opening two windows, you'll see the slowdown. You will likely be disappointed in the results. Also, we always try to leave room for upgrades. If you build a machine to order, don't just ask how much ram is in the machine, ask how many chips they will be using to deliver that ram, and how many total slots for ram there is. If you get an 8 GB machine, but open it up and find there are 4 2gb chips to give you that 8, an no empty additional slots, and someday you decide to upgrade to 16gb, you'll have to throw out all of the 2gb chips to put in 4 4gb chips. If you buy the machine with 2 4gb chips, that upgrade will cost you half was much because it will only need 2 more 4gb chips.
• Architecture: Business Class Machines -- Most computer manufacturers build two lines of machines, Consumer Grade, and Business Grade. Dell's Business class is, to start, physically stronger. Metal Cases, more robust laptop hard drives, etc. It is also engineered for the highest levels of software compatibility and has a lower failure rate.
• Warranty: On-Site, Next Business Day (At least 3 years, available up to 5 years) -- If you accept mail-in support, you can be without your machine for days, even weeks while it travels to and from the depot. They will take their time to work on it, and mail it back, a process over which you have no control and which gives no protection for you data while it is happening. Worst of all, if they somehow determine that the issue is caused by something you may have done, they may say it is outside the scope of your warranty coverage, and hold your machine until you pay for their time diagnosing or repairing it.

These upgrades may make your machine cost a little more in the short run, but they will help you get the most from your investment in the long run.

If you're now finding yourself asking, "What can I save on?" check out the rest of our recomendations.