Time To Trade In That Old Klunker?

Last week, after months of thinking about it, I finally broke down and traded in my trusty 6 year old Subaru for a new gleaming-white Subaru WRX. The new 'Ru has lots of cool features, but in the end, it fulfills the same purpose – it gets me where I want to go. Computers are a lot like cars in this respect. Your old one gets the job done, but a new one gets it done faster and more reliably. So when do you decide to make the jump to a new system and where do you go to get it?

My recommendation is that business owners replace their systems at that point when the old system is a detriment to productivity. If you lose valuable time waiting for the PC to finish a task, it's probably time for a change. For some companies that run resource-intensive applications such as Photoshop or Autocad, that may mean buying new systems every year or two. For others that use their PCs for more mundane tasks such as email, word processing, and accounting, a system may last 5 years or longer.

Once you have made the decision to buy a new PC, the next big decision is where to get it. With everyone from Wal-Mart to IBM selling computers these days, that can be a tough decision. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of some of the major sources of PCs:

Mail Order – There are dozens of brands available by mail order, but for many folks, mail order now means Dell. With over 17% of the market, Dell has recently become the largest seller of PCs. Many of my customers use Dells and are generally satisfied with them. The advantages of buying Dell include being able to custom-order the exact configuration that you want and an excellent tech-support web site. However the disadvantages include having to wait a week or more for your PC, paying shipping costs, and sometimes a very long wait on the phone for tech support. I have made a fair amount of money over the years working on in-warranty Dell systems because the customer didn't want to have to deal with calling tech support themselves.

Mega-mart PCs. - Sams, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. These mega-marts all sell generally the same systems. The predominant brands you will find there are H-P and Compaq, which are now the same company. The advantage of these stores are that they stock a large number of systems, so that if you need a PC today, you can walk in, plop down some plastic, and walk out with the latest screamer. Unfortunately, most of these machines are intended for the home market, so you pay for a software bundle that you don't want. Since the advent of Windows XP, the biggest disadvantage of these systems is that they come with the Home edition of XP, which is not intended for use in business networks. Another thing to think about with these is service. Ask at the store who provides service, and whether it is provided on-site. Also be careful about accessory prices. While their prices on PCs may be very good, they make it up by selling accessories at huge markups. In researching this column, I found a USB cable at computergate.com for 95 cents. A similar cable at Bestbuy.com was $29.99. Of course the Best Buy cable comes with fancier packaging!

Locally-Built Systems - Another popular alternative is the locally-owned computer store. At these stores you can get a custom system built to your specifications at a reasonable price. The system won't have a name you recognize on the front, but many of the internal components are the same as the name-brands. These systems generally come with excellent support after the sale, since you can talk to the guy who built it. The potential disadvantage of a locally built system is that these stores tend to come and go, so it is possible that the guy who built your PC last week may be out of business next week. Find someone you are comfortable with before spending your money.

These are just a few of the options available for buying new PCs. Whatever you decide, enjoy that new computer!