Back-to-School: Choosing a New Personal Computer

If there is any other right time to buy a home computer outside of the holiday season, it is during the Back-to-School rush. Manufacturers are closing out older models and offering educational discounts, while retailers are making extra room on stores shelves for deals that will ensure for a successful computing school year. The number of systems to choose from is uncountable; however, using a little know-how will go a long way in choosing the right one. Here are some suggestions to help with the Back-to-School shopping.

Buying a new PC is usually the last thing anyone wants to do. Whether it's upgrading one that still seems brand new, or buying a new one outright; the process can be confusing and discouraging. Prior to shopping, it may be easiest to categorize computers as we would automobiles (ie: compact, midsize, suv). Computers can easily and in general, be categorized as budget, mainstream, and high-end. Budget systems would be those that get the basics done at the lowest cost possible. If the goal is to browse the web, use email, listen to music, and use the most common applications, then a budget PC would likely work out fine. A mainstream system would raise some of the budget system's specifications a few notches, and would provide for an enhanced computing experience. This may include some more memory intensive graphics processing with design programs, or playing some of the latest games not requiring the most expensive hardware to enjoy. Hi-end systems take advantage of every advancement in hardware performance where possible. For example a system like this may even include a video/graphics card that alone costs as much as an entire budget PC itself.

Of course when buying a PC, there is usually some flexibility in categorization, or similarity between two models that might fit into more than one category. This is where budget comes in. Shop around, and set a budget limit. If the budget is less than $1,000, take a look at, and list the budget PCs that are available. Compare them to main stream PCs that only cost a few hundred dollars more. Sometimes an extra $100 can take a PC a long way as far as feature go.

Of equal importance are system specifications for a particular piece of software. For students in technical programs where school provided lab computers are not an option, often a higher end system is needed. This need dictates the obvious requirement to spend a little more to ensure the software will run.

Comparison shopping is a good idea, and it makes sense to at least check a few major retailers for deals and differences in available models. It is also of great benefit to know that manufacturers such as Dell and HP offer what is known as Academic pricing. This is special pricing is offered to educators and students directly at the manufacturer's website. Proof of academic status is typically a school schedule or ID, and specifics can be found by visiting their websites.

Here are some top rated desktop PC suggestions for consideration in your shopping.

Dell Inspiron for Every Day Computing

Inspiron Zino HD
DVDRW
AMD Dual Core Athlon™ X2 3250e (1MB L2, 1.5GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

Dell XPS Studio for Mainstream Computing

Studio XPS 8100
Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

HP Pavilion All-in-One MS230z series For Basic to Mainstream Computing

Space-saving All-in-One PC with integrated HD display and wireless LAN
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Athlon(TM) II 250u dual-core processor [1.6GHz, 2MB L2, up to 3600MT/s bus

Dell AlienWare Aurora for the Gaming and Technology Enthusiast

Now featuring the latest 2010 Intel® Core™ i7 processors. Up to 2010 Intel Core i7 975 Extreme Edition Quad Core

HP Pavilion All-in-One MS230z series For Basic to Mainstream Computing

Space-saving All-in-One PC with integrated HD display and wireless LAN
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Athlon(TM) II 250u dual-core processor [1.6GHz, 2MB L2, up to 3600MT/s bus]

Sources/Resources:

HP

Dell