I’ve found myself restating my business countless times as I explain it to potential salespeople. Interviewing is never easy for the contender nor the person hiring; as the process inherently makes people nervous. Furthermore, because of the investment in time I’ve had many nights when I easily stay past my 8:30PM curfew making the next day drag.
One potential applicant made a statement I’d never processed before. Her remark was, “not one computer fits the bill of everyone.” It never occurred to me that not all computers are identical and a machine that meets my requirements may not be enough for another.
Components in computers are pretty much standard across the board. All computers have a motherboard, memory, processor, and hard drive. These parts are the basic building blocks of any machine. It’s how the parts are chosen and assembled that makes a difference. Moreover, mismatching pieces and parts will dictate whether the machine will handle the desired function or work at all.
I designed my computer (the one I’m currently typing) to handle a massive number of functions. I designed a computer with decent graphics, very good sound reproduction, and a huge amount of storage. Basically one device that can handle CAD design, photo editing software, and music production and wouldn’t take up a ton of landscape.
Most of the time people don’t have the luxury or budget to create a one-size fits all computer. Certainly if I weren’t in the business and didn’t have a shmorgishborg of hobbies I would have one specialized computer. Most likely that one computer would be much more expensive and would be focused on one task.
One of the most specialized computers we build at the shop is for SolidWorks, an engineering CAD software. SolidWorks has a list of requirements that blows the budgets of most customers. The SolidWorks company specifically designs its software to run on a limited number of graphics cards and processors. I’ve seen machines for engineering offices top $5,000.00.
Graphic artists usually want the best resolution money can buy. Although system requirements are similar to those of SolidWorks, graphics computers can get away with less strict demands than CAD. Rather than require a specific model of video card, software companies like Adobe suggest a family of cards that will handle their software.
Audio recording studios have minimal video requirements but make up the bulk of their budget reducing latency. Latency, as producers use the term, refers to the amount of time it takes the computer to process the sound. Heavy duty processors and very fast memory can shave milliseconds off delay, making studio work much more efficient.
Years ago World of Warcraft was the benchmark we would build gaming computers around. Today’s games are so varied and each has different requirements it’s impossible to create a single machine to handle all. Most current gaming rigs we build have a hefty processor, a reasonable amount of memory and a video card that will allow reasonable shading. Shading is the graphics detail in the background.
Everyday computer users can get away with minimal system requirements. All specialized computers will surf the web and open Facebook, but not every computer can handle specialized tasks. Years ago I would tell people any computer will do any job; however, that was before I started the custom portion of my business focusing on specific industries. Sometimes an innocent question is all it takes to break the monotony of the daily grind and make me rethink my business strategy.
(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.)