02/11/2011 03:39
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Buying Guide: Features to Consider, Before You Buy a Business Computer Buying Guide: Features to Consider, Before You Buy a Business Computer Buying a laptop or desktop PC for professional use involves some of the same considerations as buying a computer for home use. Mark Kyrnin, About.com’s Guide to PC Hardware / Reviews, has excellent advice on determining what you need before you buy a laptop or desktop computer. In addition to his recommendations on processors, memory, video, etc., below are some additional guidelines for buying a business computer.
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Desktop or Laptop Deciding on whether to buy a desktop PC or a laptop depends, of course, on how mobile you intend to be. Telecommuters working full-time from a home office can choose between desktop PCs, which generally cost less than laptops and have more upgradeable parts, and “desktop replacement” laptops, which tend to be the most powerful — but larger and heavier — of the laptop types. Road warriors, however, on the other end of the spectrum, need mobility and therefore will want to have a laptop; which one to select will depend on finding the right balance between portability and computing power.
Processors (CPU) Although many business tasks, such as word processing, are not processor-intensive, multi-core processors are recommended for professionals because they allow you to run multiple applications at the same time (e.g., Microsoft Word and Firefox and virus scanning software). A dual-core processor will ensure a smoother computing experience; quadcore processors are recommended for graphicsintensive work, heavy database tasks, and other professionals who will be taxing their PCs.
Memory (RAM) In general, the more memory the better, especially if you are running resource-hogging operating systems or programs (such as Windows Vista). I second Mark’s recommendation of a minimum of 2 GB of memory. Because memory is relatively inexpensive, though, I think professionals should definitely get the maximum amount of RAM you can buy, as it will give you the most performance bang for your buck.
Hard Drives Business users may need less disk space than consumers who save photos, music, and videos to disk; the exception, of course, is if you’re a professional working with multimedia or accessing large files like database files. You can still get an external hard drive for extra space, so a drive around 250GB should do for most business purposes. Get a drive that has a 7200rpm spin rate for faster performance. Laptop business users should look into getting a solid state drive for better performance and reliability.
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blog.bestlaptopbattery.co.uk
02/11/2011 03:39
Buying Guide: Features to Consider, Before You Buy a Business Computer
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CD or DVD Drives Optical drives are becoming less common in laptops, especially the smallest and lightest ones. While consumers may not need a DVD drive any longer because most applications and files can be downloaded or shared online, a DVD writer is more important for professionals, who may still need to send files on disk to clients or install proprietary software from CD.
Video and Displays Graphics professionals and those in the gaming industry will want to have a discrete (i.e., dedicated) video card, essential for video and graphics performance. For regular business tasks, however, an integrated video processor (integrated into the motherboard) should be just fine.
broadband card or add that feature to your laptop later for the ultimate in Internet access on the run.
Warranty and Support Plans While most general consumers can do with a standard 1 year manufacturer’s warranty, professionals should look for a warranty of 3 or more years, since you should expect to use your computer for business for about that long. Also, consumer support plans generally require you take the computer to a depot or mail in a laptop for repair; if you don’t have a fall-back or second computer that you can use for work, as a professional you should get onsite support — either same or next day, depending on whether you can tolerate any downtime if your computer breaks.
Before you buy your business computers …
If you use a laptop as your main working computer, I highly recommend hooking up an external monitor to your laptop, especially if your laptop has a screen size under 17. The extra desktop real estate can make an enormous difference in productivity.
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Networking Because connectivity is key to remote work, professionals should make sure they have as many network connection options as feasible: fast Ethernet and wireless network cards (get at least an 802.11g wifi card; 802.11n is preferred and becoming more common). If you have bluetooth headsets or other peripherals such as a PDA that you wish to connect to your system, make sure you get bluetooth installed as well. You can also opt for a built-in mobile
Realize that the computer market is vast with hundreds if not thousands of different variations in makes, types, abilities and features to choose from, not to mention price. Before you even consider buying you therefore need to have some basic computer understanding and the terminology to help you decide. Hopefully I can give you some basic information on computers that will help you make the right choice.
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blog.bestlaptopbattery.co.uk
02/11/2011 03:39
Buying Guide: Features to Consider, Before You Buy a Business Computer
Computers in business can sometmes become an ego thing, but remember, you are buying a computer to meet the needs of your business, right? Work on satisfying those needs and you will virtually have your decision made for you.
I have always preferred the latter choice and have no regrets.
Decide this and you will know what type, style or computing power you need to meet these processing requirements. Let’s have a look at some of those needs for computers in business … • Document processing – Word Processor for letters, etc. • Spreadsheet – for statistical analysis • Accounting and finance – Annual Accounts and Cashflow management • Presentations – Sales and training • Contact Management – customer records and contacts • Access to the Internet and your own business website. • Date Backup, offsite storage and restore functions. Further on we will go into more detail on the software that will satisfy those needs, but here you only need to decide on what computing power your business needs. Remember that the use of computers in business is to make life easier and your business more productive.
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On the other hand, if your business has a large staff and many complex transactions, it will need a more expensive, powerful, faster computer with a larger variety of software. Now that you have some idea of your needs, you have to decide where to buy. As always you will have to decide between less expensive and so-so service, or the best service but more expensive equipment.
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