Many years ago when I opened my first location in Gardner, I scrapped together an old computer and a bunch of equipment and rolled the dice. I didn’t have much in my pocket but a few hundred dollars so I couldn’t afford top-of-the-line equipment. I hit a pair of sixes.
Years later I opened a second store in Leominster that came and went like dust in the wind. With some green in my pocket I was able to purchase basic, but new, equipment. Each computer had barely enough oomph to get the job done.
Stores three and four (now two and three) had the benefit of years of refinement as well as a true budget for new equipment. I outfitted each with super computers capable of sending rockets to the moon. All four computers are grossly oversized for their intended purpose.
Brattleboro, Vermont will soon see one of my new stores. Oddly, store number four won’t have the latest and greatest but will have ample. Years of mistakes have taught me that if I under buy I will be upgrading later, and if I overbuy I’m wasting money.
When I was going over plans for the new location with my crew, I was asked why Brattleboro isn’t getting the royal treatment. I didn’t have to think too hard before coming up with my answer: “Do you want to help pay for the computers in Brattleboro?”
With all the choices on the market it’s hard to decide what’s necessary to get the job done. Quad core, Intel, AMD, gigabytes, USB 3.0, and the list goes on. As consumers, we’re bombarded with choices that make purchasing a new computer extremely difficult. It turns out most of us use our technology for the same primary functions: storing data and surfing the internet.
90% of customers who walk through my door don’t actually use their computers to create stuff. Sure, they may write a term paper or crop a picture, but most people only use their computer to visit websites. It’s a shame, but most computers are very underutilized.
Most people buy new because they feel compelled to do so. The majority of us don’t need the latest and greatest to surf or store data. Truth be told, most computers built in the past decade will surf the web astonishingly well with an up-to-date browser.
Customers looking to purchase new repeatedly ask for my recommendation. I believe any computer with at least a dual core processor, eight gigabytes of memory, and a terabyte hard drive is adequate. One of the biggest mistakes customers make is not having enough storage.
I do not recommend a tablet as a primary computing device. Lackluster robustness of tablets combined with limitations of a portable operating system make tablets a poor choice. However, as a secondary tool for casual surfing, a tablet is a good choice.
Making a decision between a desktop computer and laptop is completely individual. Personally, I can’t stand typing on a laptop keyboard so I choose to use a tower. In addition, upgrading a tower is fairly easy versus a laptop which is next to impossible.
The new Brattleboro location is getting a pair of computers with dual core processors, eight gigabytes of RAM, and two terabyte hard drives. Our computers are primarily used to hold others’ data and they perform very little processing. As a consumer you need to make an educated decision based on your new computer’s primary function. Asking my opinion will be difficult for the next few weeks unless you want to track me down in Vermont.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)