Tips to Help You Decide What to Spend on a Computer

Deciding what to spend on a computer is a big deal. In fact, it’s a big deal for everyone; not just those on a budget. For some people, it makes a lot of sense to spend more on a computer than it does others. For example, my husband is an IT administrator for a bank and when he buys a new work computer, he usually decides to spend a lot. He uses that for things all over the bank, to work remotely and to fix a number of issues. I work from home, and I use my computer about 10 hours a day off and on depending on our kids, their schedules and so on and so forth. When it’s time for me to decide what to spend on a computer, I go either way.

I need a good laptop that can travel with me, handle the use and abuse I give it typing as much as I do every day and one that is fast. But, when I’m deciding what to spend on a computer, I usually want to spend as little as possible. Why? Because I have this amazing talent that allows me to break every single new computer I have inside of six weeks; it does not matter what I spend. Many of my friends and family members like to tell me to spend more when I’m deciding what to spend on a computer. I say no; I break cheap ones and I break expensive ones. I’m that good. For example, I’m currently typing on my previous computer that is about 8 months old instead of my brand new on that I’ve had less than two months.

Why? Because I broke it; and I have to have my tech genius husband look at it when he’s home this evening. Last week, all the keys on the left side of my computer stopped working. He was able to fix it. Today, my charger will not charge my computer and it is dead. I’ve tried everything from using every outlet in the house to turning it off and on and checking the plug and the box and everything in between a half dozen times. I am just a genius when it comes to breaking computers, and this one was particularly expensive (and boy am I missing that touch screen feature right now).

When it comes to deciding what to spend on a computer, I cannot tell you what you should spend. What I can do, however, it give you a few things to consider and think about as you make that decision on your own; it might help. Here’s what most people use to determine the price they are willing to pay when trying to decide what to spend on a new computer.

Features

Obviously, you have to have the right features or your new computer is essentially useless. Let’s look at it from this point of view; you are a writer and you need a computer so that you can bang out 15,000 words per day. How much will you go when deciding what to spend on a computer with this in mind? You could spend a lot, a little or somewhere in between; but none of that matters if you do not have a program that allows you to actually type and save your work. And yes, I know that’s a terrible example, but it seemed easy and like one that most people would understand right away.

If you are driven by the need to have the most features, you might not care so much about price. When I decide what to spend on a computer, I always pay more for certain features. For one, I would rather than a laptop with a side number panel rather than just the one above. Additionally, I need one with a touch screen (this is new for me, but I love it so) and I will always pay more for that. When deciding what to spend on a computer, I will pay more so long as I have both of those features. You may also upgrade your current computer with the help of a pcb solutions company.

Price

Obviously, price is a big factor in determining what people will pay for a new computer. You won’t spend $10,000 on a new computer if you cannot afford it, right? Right; so when deciding what to spend on a computer, you will look at the price to determine whether or not you will actually pay that price. It all depends on what you want. If you can afford to pay no more than $200 for a computer and you decide to go the route of getting one at Walmart’s Black Friday sale, so be it. But you have to know what you will expect with a cheap computer; and that’s not a problem for people who only want one at home for their kids to do their homework, to surf the web and for very general use. In this case, many people decide what to spend on a computer based literally on what the cheapest price is when they go to the store to shop.

The Long Term

When deciding what to spend on a computer, you might ask yourself a few things. For one, you might ask yourself if you plan on using it for a long period of time. If so, you might want to spend more on it. Or you might ask yourself if you are someone who prefers to keep as up-to-date with the changing trends as possible, and therefore you might not want to spend too much if you’re just going to trade it in for a new one before too long.

At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what you really want from a new computer before you can decide what to spend on a new computer. What might seem cheap to me might not to you, and vice versa. What do you need, what do you need it for and how long do you plan on using it? Let that be your motivating factor when deciding what to spend on a computer.

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