Let me start out by saying I have built and taken apart, bough and sold, broken and fixed over 100 PC's. I have seen almost everything there is to see with regards to both software and hardware. That being said here is my guide.

Step 1: Research Current Technology

First thing to do is to find a computer with Internet access (Library, friend, Internet Cafe, etc) and check out current technology for consumer PC products. For example, why spend your hard earned money on a PC with a CPU (Pentium, Celeron, AMD, etc) that is about to be outdated in a week or month. That would be like buying a PC with a Pentium II while it is the top of the line but in a week Intel will release the Pentium III. Usually there is no price drop, until the next stage of technology is released or close to it. Another example would be buying a brand new car the year before A/C was scheduled to be introduced in consumer grade automobiles.

Some sites to check out: Intel, AMD, Cnet, Wired

FYI: Intel will be having a huge price drop on their CPU January 1st, 2006 because the new line of multi-core processors will be introduced.

Step 2: Decide On Needs / Wants

Just because you want a top of the line PC does not mean you need or will benefit from it. Figure out what type of software you will be using and from that you can decide what hardware you need to support it. If you only want to check email, browse the internet, Instant Message, and listen to music then buying a high end new PC is a waste of money. There is nothing a PC that retails for $700 cannot do equally well that a PC retails for $3000 can do in the above fields. The more expensive PC will perform better, but you will not notice the difference, definitely not a $2300 difference or anything remotely close. However, if you want to play a high end video game or do any kind of photo or video editing then you need more CPU/RAM and definitely a better Video Card. Or if you plan to edit, mix, or play tons of music then a better Audio Card is suitable. Each person will be a little bit different, and needs to decide for themselves what they really need.

In addition if you want to burn CDs make sure there is a CD-RW drive or for DVDs DVD-RW drive, better yet a Dual Layer DVD drive or Blue-Ray drive.

If you need tons of storage space and expect to have loads of information get a large hard drive. Basically 60GB should cover any average PC user, but in my opinion I would get 100GB and never worry about space every again. No average PC user will ever fill a 100GB hard drive.

If you need internet access there should be an NIC card or Ethernet card. Make sure it is a 100 MBps or at least 10 MBps. MBps stands for Mega Bytes per second, simply amount over time of information transferred (bandwidth).

Step 3: Kelley Blue Book

Before getting it appraise it, and make sure you do not overpay. If you can spend $500 on a used PC with good stats, add $150 and buy a new one with warrantee and guarantee. Don't screw yourself over; spend that extra 30% for less stress in the long run. Never buy custom built PCs unless you are 100% sure they are in working condition (boot Operating System). The risk is huge!

Step 4: Buy the PC

When actually buying the PC, whether it is through eBay or anywhere else, realize that you get what you pay for. The saying is true that, "there is no free lunch in America."

The bottom line is that most people don't need advanced technology because they don't utilize it. There is so much overkill it is insane. My PC that I am currently using runs Windows 2000 Pro SP4, has 2 hard drives (20GB + 40GB), a floppy disk drive, DVD+DL burner, CD-R drive, 512 MB RAM, and only 1.0 GHz PIII Processor. It sits in the garage for use when I feel like surfing the net and want to get some fresh air. HOWEVER, it performs better than most of my friends and family’s $1000 computers sitting at their houses. Although that is because I am experienced in keeping my PC at top notch performance, that still says a lot about what can be done.

Wait!!! It isn't over; the most important step is below.

Step 5: PC Care & Maintenance

Basically really easy. We all teach our children to not talk to strangers, right? So how come when we go on the Internet and are inexperienced (basically what a child is) we talk to strangers so often. Anything that is downloaded to your PC from any site that you don't 100% know is safe is a risk. Especially if it offers something for free, that free gift is spyware and viruses.

So you will need protection, children have their parents to teach them and you shall have me. Once you purchase your PC spend the extra bucks to buy Anti-Virus software like Norton or McAfee and download Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta. It is better to spend $50 now instead of losing hundreds or even worse priceless data later. You don't run into battle with no armor and gun, so why start now?

Unfortunately, being connected to the Internet is all it takes to be vulnerable, so there is no way to avoid it, just ways to take it longer to happen.

Thanks for reading.

-Alex

P.S. If I got off topic anywhere in the above, I apologize I am not known for my writing skills, sorry.