Buying your first computer
Take your Time!
There are many decisions to be made BEFORE you consider buying a new computer. Computers are very customizable and can be customized to do almost anything you want them to. However, I believe most people tend to buy far more than they really need (or less than might be required!). When you are preparing to buy anything you might consider 'new technology', that is, something you admit to having very little knowledge about, a little 'homework' will enhance your results. I have experienced too many people that depended on a salesman for good advice. My comment here would be: most salesmen are there to SELL! It is very rare indeed if you can find a salesperson that is truly interested in your welfare.
So...the first question to ask yourself would be: What do I want a computer for? There are so many things a computer CAN be used for, you must be brutally honest with yourself: what do you REALLY intend to use a computer for?
The answer can tell you much about the physical form best for you: a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or notebook, an all-in-one desktop or a tower.
Here are several examples:
1) If instant communication with other people is your primary answer, a smartphone may be your best choice. Is your vision becoming a problem? A small screen smartphone may NOT be a smart choice. There are a few phones intended for folks whose vision is not what it used to be. Have someone help you with an internet search for that type of phone.
2) If doing email, browsing for information on the internet and playing solitaire are all you plan on doing, a tablet may be your best choice. If the lack of a physical keyboard on a tablet or smartphone bothers you, be aware that wireless keyboards are available for most phones and tablets. If you MUST have a built-in keyboard, see the next example.
Note: most tablets are available with built-in WiFi, so can be used on the internet for free where ever free WiFi is available, BUT (notice the big but!), if you select one with a built in cellular data radio...you must also buy a cell-phone data plan!
3) If you are researching something that requires travel, such as genealogy, and using a separate wireless keyboard does not appeal to you, there are a number of very light weight (and more expensive!) laptops that don't make you feel like you are lugging a boat anchor around. There is also a class of convertible laptops/tablets that allow you to disconnect the keyboard for extra portability.
4) If the super portability of example 3 isn't necessary for you, but you would like to easily move the computer from room to room, or take it with you when you are on the go, the standard laptop may be a good choice.
Many laptops are now being sold with a touchscreen. In my opinion; if the laptop is one that will completely fold into a tablet, or if you intend to use it with a mouse (most of the time), go for it. Otherwise, you will get frustrated with it, probably to the point of not wanting to use it anymore. If you use such a device and position it like you would a laptop (horizontal keyboard, vertical screen), any time you poke the screen it will bounce away from your finger and back, causing a double click (or even triple click) action. The computer will respond in ways you didn't intend. Also, your finger is too large to accurately touch smaller items such as icons on the task bar.
5) If your vision is such that you want a large screen and you don't need the portability of a laptop, the more recent introduction of an all-in-one computer might be a good choice. This type of computer has everything built into the monitor (screen). They are not as heavy as a desktop or tower so can be moved more easily.
6) The traditional desktop or tower is intended primarily for the person who intends changing computer parts. The computers are built so the chassis can be easily opened to remove, replace or add specific components like memory, power supplies, graphics modules or sound modules.
Please be aware:
In almost all cases (smartphones being one exception), you can add external keyboards and external monitors to all of the above computers! They simply plug into a USB port on the computer. It's a case of you can have your cake and eat it too! It makes it easy to have a portable or super portable computer when away from home, and yet be able to use a full sized keyboard and screen when you are home.
Buzz words to know before shopping:
Screen size
Computer screen size is measured the same way TV screens are measured – the diagonal size of the screen; 11”, 15.6”, 17”, etc.
Aspect ratio
This is the ratio of the screen height and width. Old movies, both home and theater were 3 by 4, or 3x high by 4x wide. The current wide-screen or High Definition (HD) screens are 9x by 16x. See the description of resolution for relative sharpness of the screen.
Resolution
Display (monitor) screens and digital camera sensors have a native (as built) resolution rated by the number of picture elements (pixels) there are in the picture. Think graph paper. The screen or sensor is a sheet of graph paper divided into rows and columns. Each of the smallest divisions of the graph paper is a pixel. The more pixels there are in a screen, the sharper the image can be. Physical screen size is not considered in resolution!
From the aspect ratio description; using the aspect ratio of 9x16 means if the screen is 900 pixels high, it will be 1600 pixels wide, a very nice screen resolution. A screen referred to as Full HD will be 1080 pixels high and 1920 pixels wide, the same as Full HD TV.
Digital cameras are rated in the total number of pixels rather than height and width (which can be found in the specifications of the camera). For example; a 16 Mega pixel camera.
RAM
Random access memory. This is the computer's temporary memory. There is absolutely nothing in RAM when the power is off. Operating system applications get loaded into RAM during the boot process. RAM is one of the determining factors in how fast a computer can boot and run. Without going into technical details, I will recommend an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of RAM for a 64-bit operating system like Windows 10 be 4 GB (Giga bytes), with a comfortable minimum being 8 GB.
Hard Drive (HD) or
Solid State Drive (SSD)
This is the computer's permanent memory. When the power is off, this is where all the computer's information (both applications and data) is stored. Today's computers usually have a drive of 500 GB to 1000 GB (1000 GB = 1 TB, or 1 Tera byte). Unless you are a digital photo fan, this is likely way more than you will ever need.
Anti-virus software
A very popular (and lucrative) thing for computer manufacturers to do is to put free and free-to-try software (applications) on the hard drive, in addition to Microsoft's operating system. This software is NOT required to run Windows, including anti-virus software. The computer will run perfectly well without it. Microsoft Windows Defender, included with the operating system, was designed to be both anti-virus and malware protection for your computer. Unless you have money to burn (in which case, ultimate protection might be worth it), don't let anyone talk you into paying for more protection.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
The CPU is the heart or brain of the computer. Virtually ALL of the offered CPU's in today's computers are capable of performing well for the people that this article targets. If you feel you want better than just average performance, go ahead and get a computer with an Intel i5 processor, or an AMD equivalent. Let the computers with premium processors ($$), such as the Intel i7, go to the people with very computation intensive applications such as computer animation, graphic design or high level, multi monitor video games.
Preparing you personal shopping list
Screen Size: Best to view real ones to see what fits you best. (average size: 15.6” for laptops, 21-24” for All-in-one's)
Minimum RAM (temporary memory): 8Gb
Minimum HD or SSD (current average = 500-1000 GB)
Battery life: This is for tablets and laptops, and should be greater than the amount of time you would plan on being away from the battery charger. (And YES! The unit supplied with tablets and laptops is a BATTERY CHARGER, not a 'power supply').
When you Shop, you do NOT have to buy the first (or fourth) time out! Find something you think you like, then go home and research it. Better yet, find a few you like, then go home and research them. Not all stores carry the same manufacturers and/or models. When you shop stores like Best Buy, Office Max, Staples, Target and Walmart that have weekly sales, find what you like and then watch for a sale!