WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A COMPUTER

Native Technology, Inc.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A PERSONAL COMPUTER

1. DEFINE WHAT YOU WANT TO USE THE COMPUTER FOR

IF YOUR MAIN USE IS PLAYING GAMES OR DESIGNING GRAPHICS PRESENTATIONS THEN YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMPUTER YOU ARE LOOKING AT HAS AT LEAST A 64 MEG VIDEO CARD AND 256 MEGS OF RAM MINIMUM. IF YOUR MAIN USE IS WORD PROCESSING THEN AN 32 MEG VIDEO CARD AND 128 MEGS OF RAM SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT.

WINDOWS XP /OFFICE XP LOVES TO CHEW UP ANY AND ALL AVAILABLE MEMORY. THAT'S NOT A CRITICISM OF XP. JUST THAT IT IS DESIGNED TO USE ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND TRUST US IT DOES!

IF THE COMPUTER IS FOR A HOME BASED BUSINESS, HOME OFFICE OR SMALL BUSINESS, YOU WILL WANT TO LOOK FOR FEATURES SUCH AS A NETWORK CARD AND WIRELESS CAPABILITIES. IF THE SYSTEM WILL HAVE SENSITIVE FINANCIAL DATA OR OTHER INFORMATION CRITICAL TO YOUR BUSINESS CONSIDER MIRRORED HARD DRIVES OR 'RAID' DRIVES. DON'T FORGET TO ADD IN THE COST OF A GOOD FIREWALL, ANTI VIRUS AND BACK UP SYSTEMS.

2. MAKE SURE THAT THE COMPUTER YOU ARE BUYING IS FULLY UPGRADEABLE USING OFF THE SHELF COMPONENTS

VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE MAJOR "BRAND NAME" COMPUTERS ON THE MARKET TODAY USE WHAT IS CALLED PROPRIETARY COMPONENTS. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT IF YOU EVER WANT TO CHANGE ANYTHING INSIDE OF YOUR COMPUTER YOU MUST GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER AND USE ONLY THEIR PARTS. SINCE YOU HAVE NO OPTION ON PARTS SUPPLIERS YOU MUST PAY WHATEVER PRICE THEY WANT TO CHARGE. A COMPUTER THAT USES OFF THE SHELF PARTS CAN BE UPGRADED BY ANYONE THAT HAS A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTERS USING PARTS PURCHASED AT THE BEST PRICE.

3. HARD DRIVE SPACE

GET AS LARGE A HARD DRIVE AS YOU CAN AFFORD. WITH THE SIZE OF GAMES AND PROGRAMS COMING OUT TODAY YOU WILL NEED THE SPACE! THE SMALLEST HARD DRIVE GENERALLY AVAILABLE IS AROUND 40 GIGS BUT 60, 80 AND 100 GIG DRIVES ARE BECOMING MORE THE NORM.

4. COMPUTER PROCESSOR

GET THE FASTEST PROCESSOR THAT YOU CAN AFFORD BUT MANY TIMES IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO GET A SLIGHTLY SLOWER PROCESSOR AND SPEND THE DIFFERENCE ON EXTRA MEMORY. YOU MAY NOT EVEN NOTICE THE SLIGHT SPEED INCREASE OF THE FASTER PROCESSOR BUT YOU WILL APPRECIATE THE EXTRA MEMORY WHEN YOU HAVE SEVERAL APPLICATIONS RUNNING SIMULTANEOUSLY.

4. GET THE LARGEST MONITOR THAT YOU CAN AFFORD

DO NOT GET ANY MONITOR SMALLER THAN 15 INCHES. IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT A 17 OR 19 INCH MONITOR IS MUCH BETTER. FLAT SCREEN MONITORS ARE NICE BUT STILL A BIT PRICEY SO IF SPACE ALLOWS A REGULAR MONITOR WILL SAVE YOU SOME CASH THAT CAN BE PUT TOWARD UPGRADING THE PROCESSOR OR MEMORY.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON BUYING A COMPUTER BASED ON YOUR PARTICULAR COMPUTING OR NETWORKING NEEDS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE US A CALL OR EMAIL.

Contact: Dan@nativetechnologyinc.com or Phone 214-215-1764

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NATIVE TECHNOLOGY, INC. IS FOCUSED ON SERVING THE TECHNOLOGY NEEDS OF SMALL AND HOME BASED BUSINESSES. WE OFFER FULL SERVICE WEB DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING WEB SITE DESIGN & PROMOTION, NETWORKING, COMPUTER SYSTEM DESIGN, MAINTENANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION. Our Computer Maintenance Service Area: covers the Texas cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Addison, Allen, Argyle, Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bartonville, Bedford, Carrollton, Coppell, Corinth, Denton, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Grapevine, Highland Shores, Highland Village, Irving, Justin, Lake Dallas, Lake Worth, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, North Lake, North Richland Hills, Plano, Ponder, Richardson, Roanoke, Shady Shores, Southlake, The Colony, Trophy Club and Wylie.