In this economy, who can afford to spend more money than they have to on a new computer?
Here is a list of things to consider when evaluating a deal:
- Does the computer come with CD's that let you re-load the operating system and hardware drivers? In an attempt to penny pinch, many computers take up space on your hard drive with a recovery partition to restore your computer to its factory settings. If your hard drive crashes, all your software you would use to restore your computer with a replacement hard drive is gone. You are faced with re-buying an operating system and any other application software that was bundled with your computer. You may not be able to find the correct drivers for your video card or sound card. That means buying a new video card or sound card and getting it installed in your computer.
- Is the desktop computer you are considering a mini tower? Mini towers are very narrow desktops that have the advantage on taking up less space in your office than a full sized desktop. If a mini tower component fails like a network interface card (connection to the Internet), you may not be able to find a reasonably priced replacement because of the size constraint.
- If you are buying a computer off of eBay, plan on erasing the hard drive and re-loading the system from scratch. I would assume the worst in that the computer is riddled with viruses and malware. Take in account any software you will need to buy to re-load the software and the time and labor of the system re-build when you enter your bid.
- I have had mixed luck with refurbished electronic gear. Many of my Win Tel desktops are Dell Outlet refurbished computers. I cannot tell the difference. The Canon refurbished digital camera died right after the warranty was out. Refurbished, name brand computers purchased from the manufacturer are probably worth the risk if the price savings are significant.
