Are you prepared to buy a Desktop...this is for you

When I decided to purchase a new Desktop, I was stuck with a question - should I go for branded or assembled. Personally I would recommend for branded but when money is a constraint, assembled is the only option left. Never opt for used computer.

I found that there is atleast 6K difference between branded and assembled desktops - when matched the same configuration. Lets go through pros and cons of both...

Branded desktops: Pros:

1. As the name indicates - you get everything from outer peripherals to inner parts from the same brand - company manufactured.

2. Genuine versions of softwares installed - risk free.

3. Comes with warranty - this is something which needs to be taken into account seriously.

4. After sales service directly from company.

Cons:

1. No customization - most brand comes as a pre-loaded package and we don't get what we exactly require.

2. High price

3. You have to use the peripherals whats comes with the package like monitor/mouse/keyboard. No choices.

Assembled Desktops: Pros:

1. You are the maker/decider here. Whether its mouse or motherboard, you can decide your choice. LG monitor with Intel mother board with Create speakers with Logitech mouse is possible only here.

2. Low price

Cons:

1. All left to your risk

2. No warranty or service - its your luck to work for years or crash very next day

Go for assembled only if you are in a tight money constraint. I was in the same situation - I had a mere budget of 15K. With this budget I approached several computer vendors. Finally Modern Computers (Chennai's chain multi-brand retailer) accepted to give me a deal. This is what they forked out for 15K from their warehouse...

1. 15-inch LCD monitor (never mentioned about the brand)
2. 250GB Hard disk (never mentioned about the brand)
3. 1GB RAM (never mentioned about the brand)
4. 2.xxGHz processor and a mother board (some utopian brand)
5. Some keyboard and a mouse
6. LG DVD Reader

Monitor and CPU Tower cover and a mouse pad.

They calculated around 15K for the above stuff.

I was pleased to know that one can get an assembled system with a LCD monitor for 15K but the above stuff didn't convince me.

So I demanded the following...

1. 17inch LCD Monitor atleast
2. Hard disk should be Seagate
3. Mother board should be Intel

Rest is OK. Modern Computers confessed that they don't stock 17inch monitor. Only 18.5inch is available. I accepted it and the final total with above changes came around 18K. Deal was closed and I got the computer shipped very next day promptly. Just then I learned that the monitor was Acer...glad. It came with pre-loaded windows xp professional OS copy. Those guys really know what they are doing.

Later I bought Logitech 2.1 speakers for 500 bucks. My desktop is now ready to go.

Getting PC at home - Starting a new era?

Even though I have been in IT field for the past 5 years, I always hesitate to get a PC. Why?

Here are my Utopian reasons to back my thoughts...

1. I have little or no need to have a PC at home - that's true actually. I am not much interested in browsing/gaming/chatting, etc.

2. I work at graveyard shift, more than 10hrs looking at the computer. So I hate seeing the same at home too.

3. I don't own a credit card - so no possibility for online shopping or paying bills.

4. Five years back its very hard to get an Internet connection when Airtel still providing only mobile services, Reliance still busy extracting crude oil from earth and Tata busy manufacturing cars. BSNL was the main source but they had a clumsy procedure and it would take ages to see Google on the home page. Further the tariff were sky-high.

5. Its not wise to invest considerable amount on something I seldom use.

Citing the above reasons, I skipped buying a PC whenever I got a chance.

Years rolled on and Internet has changed its face and become something inevitable. Recently I had a mandatory situation to get a PC and of course Internet connection. The only question I had is whether it should be desktop or laptop. After doing some research I found that one can get a decent desktop at ~20K whereas one has to invest ~30K for a low-end laptop. I am not going to take my stuff out of my house and I don't need the sophistication of lying down in bed while working at system. After evaluating all the pros and cons, I have decided that desktop would be fine for me.

Go for laptop only if...

a. You will be working round the clock - executive/sales kind of role

b. You will working with the content transferred from the office

c. You will be using your stuff outside your home like presentation, marketing, etc

d. Of course you have lot of money and itch to spend lavish.

Otherwise my recommendation would be desktop.

I have posted my experience of purchasing a PC and Internet connection in different posts.