Comparing PC's.

Pretty short, huh?  Comparing PC's.  But it's not a small task at all if you really think about it.  If you really want to get the best buy, you've got to get a machine with quality components that have stood up the against the rigors of its user, loaded with properly licensed up-to-date OS software and hopefully a software bundle that is of use to you.  It doesn't end there.  Computers have little things go wrong with them all the time, and big things not so often, but nevertheless needs to be taken care of then and there.  It is often here, that computer makers run for cover.  Lets be honest ---Dell Computers offers up a run-of -the-mill product on their commercials.  Of course the price is less expensive than most so thats' why the sell so many, right?  WRONG!

SERVICE AFTER THE SALE!

Though many of you reading this probably know computers inside out but the truth the vast millions including the majority of buyers on eBAY do NOT know the inside outs of a computer and wouldn't know a LAN from a CAN given by DAN , (the one with the TAN.) So they have to rely on the usually paltry pamphlet for installation instructions and hope they can make hey until they get the OS loaded.  Dell sells so many computers because their buyers feel they can rely on their service.  Now whether Dell is a great service company one could debate, but clearly they know the only way to get repeat customers in the computer business is to take good care of the machines  they sell, or at the very least be there when it breaks down for good, so they can get the jump on "upgrading" them to a newer computer more suited to their needs. (Something the store salesman should have done, but that's for another guide.)

YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW...

Dell, and most of the PC Giants have very limited warranties on their "low-end" PCs.  These are the machines you see advertised on TV.  Usually, no onsite service is even offered, though any customer requesting a service plan will be quickly given a pen to sign a service contract usually for 12 months, sometimes 24, explaining amongst other things that to come to your site is extra, to mail in the machine for service is extra, and that if anything does in fact need fixing, they will do so by replacing your recently NEW machine with used parts to get it back up and running, until they see you again. 

DON'T DOWSE DELL...

I mentioned them primarily because of their prevalence in the marketplace, and they do in fact get awards for their service, if for nothing else because they are making on honest attempt to take care of their customers.  

SO Whats all this comparing APPLES to APPLES about, and I am not talking about APPLE Computers either...

Just like a new car, your computer will only be as good as the parts, after sale service, proper maintenace, as well as proper use.  Many buy a cheap computer just so they can play video games.  For those in the know, that's the quickest way to destroy a cheap PC.  Video is demanding as are applications that depend, so if you're a gamer you would want to measure your machine by the amount of Video Memory & Card , CPU , cooling issues and whether those parts are even covered under the limited warranty or even the pruchased service plan offered by your computer maker, or store.  Not much of a plan if your onboard Video chip goes out now is there!  Time for a new motherboard. 

This has been a short ' food for thought' quick guide to the idea of going over a warranty offered with your PC before actually buying it.  The computer is usually the fourth or fifth most expensive item purchased by a family after home, auto, furniture and jewelry, so doesn't it deserve some consideration? It's your money.

I will write in the next week or two a guide to the warranties I have been able to get my fingers on and some pertinent information on lowering the amount you have to pay on existing service plans.  Until then, have a  wonderful day!

Yours Truly,

William G. Frye, Jr., CSA

Vice President, Privacy Concepts, Inc. and the Cheap to Steep Online Mall (now offering our OEM line of PCs as C2S Computers-all models with 3-yr total unlimited warrantees, with 1st year on-site)