| Product: |
How to Build the Perfect Computer |
| Date: |
14/07/01 (38 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Save money, Own specs
Disadvantages: Can be complicated
So you fancy an upgrade on your computer, well the first thing to decide and stick to is “How much am I going to spend?” For a lot of people, money is tight, or you may have saved up a bit of spare cash. If money is no object, still pick an amount and STICK to it. This way you don’t and hopefully won’t go in the Red with the bank, because upgrading can be an expediential curve on the money front (I will cover this in a later article).
The next big question is “What am I going to keep from the old system?” or rephrase that to “What am I happy with?”. Once you have got the answers in your mind your ready to go.
Get hold of a good computer magazine and price up your choice of upgrade from one company. If you’re inside your limit you may well decide on picking a slightly better package for yourself, more RAM or a better processor chip. If you’re well over (most people are!), try another company. A good tip, if you have access to the internet, is to go to www.pcindex.co.uk, where the search engine picks out the company with the cheapest items you require, you can price match and it will tell you if one company sells all you require. Don’t forget you can mix and match between companies. Most do free deliveries with over £100 spent, so a few items from different companies can save you a few quid and enable you to get more RAM etc. Some company’s give you discount if you order by Internet or free delivery. If you are still well over drop down a level of one of your items, instead of 256 Megs of Ram, get 128. At a processor speed over 750 the prices shoot up, so maybe get a lower spec chip. You can spend a good 3 hours just looking at prices of items from magazines or the internet, and checking prices from other companies. With your choice package all written down with all the prices (Don’t forget to make sure you add VAT, most people don’t r
ealise how much this adds up. I do it as I go along with each item). Try different companies and see if they can beat your price. Lots of the local smaller dealers will try there hardest to gain your custom, so barter, take in your wish list and ask him how much he will sell it to you for. If he can’t beat it, tell him how much you can get it for and he may try a bit harder for you (you may tell a little white lie about the price, but don’t go overboard or he will guess your telling porkies from his own price book that customers don’t see). Big shops like PCWORLD will laugh at you if you try and haggle, unless you intend to spend a fortune. There are a lot cheaper places out there crying out for your trade, all you have to do is find them.
It is well worth taking your time over the planning of an upgrade. You can save pounds by shopping around.
Another little tip is when your adding up your upgrade, add VAT, and if it adds up to say £78:43, write it down as £80. This way at the end, you will be inside your budget with also a few quid to spare. Its really fooling yourself but it works!!
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