No. 6 - December 2023

I can't believe it's December already! It seems like every year goes by just a little faster than the one before. I am very fortunate to be here at Roland-Story. I feel blessed to be in this role serving this school, it's students, and our community.

Every year around this time (and again at graduation) I get asked by friends and family for recommendations on purchasing a computer. I'll admit, it's a difficult question to answer because there are so many options out there! So, I thought I would attempt to write out what I look for when purchasing a computer. Hopefully this helps!

Please note that this is to serve as a general buying guide. Some people reading this will be more versed in tech than others and will (I'm sure) pick apart what I'm saying here. 

Budget

Really, this is the most important factor when looking to purchase technology. What can you spend? Or, more to the point, what are you willing to spend? You really can find a computer for any budget. Did you know that the most expensive computer available to buy on Amazon right now is $23,199.99? The cheapest is $64.77! 

So, step one is determine what you can afford. Do a search in that price range. Then, we can find the right computer for you. 

Style / Intended Use

I put these two categories together because the intended use can dictate the style of computer you get. For example, if you want to be able to browse social media while sipping coffee on your deck, you probably don't want a desktop computer with a separate monitor, mouse, and keyboard. 

If you need portability, let's stick to a laptop. But, if you want better specs and the ability to customize and adapt your computer, a desktop might be the way to go.

Specifications 

Congrats! Now that you have answered the two previous questions, you have narrowed down your choices by about half. Next, we need to take a look at different specifications to make sure that you get the best computer possible. Let's start by examining the specs of a computer for sale right now on Amazon:

System: AMD A10 Pro 3.5GHz up to 3.8GHz | 16GB DDR4 Memory | 256GB Solid State Drive + 3TB Hard Drive | Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

-Operating System (OS)

Your budget might preclude you right away from getting a Mac. Generally speaking a new Mac will start around $1000 and can go as high as $3000 or more. So, a Windows PC might be your only option here.

At the time of writing this entry, Windows 11 is the most up-to-date OS Microsoft offers. Within that selection is Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Home. The differences are negligible as shown on this site. 

-Processor

The processor choice can be broken down into 3 factors: Number of Cores, Amount of Memory, and Frequency. 

The more cores the better. If your budget allows for quad core, great. Dual core will work for most people. That really expensive computer from earlier? 64 cores!!

How much memory or RAM can your processor support is another big factor. While most processors can handle more RAM than most people need, it still needs to be a consideration. 

The Frequency of a processor is the speed at which it operates. You'll find this measured in hertz. The higher the number, the faster your computer will be. 

-Random Access Memory (RAM)

This one is easy. Get the most RAM your budget will allow. RAM is temporary storage that a computer allots for processes that are being ran. So, the more RAM you have, the more processes you can run at one time. 

-Hard Drive

You'll notice that our example computer has 2 built-in Hard Drives. This is common now since the innovation of the Solid State Drive (SSD). The SSD is much faster than it's predecessor which is why it's used for booting the computer. You'll get a much faster boot time if the OS is installed on a SSD. However, SSD's are still more expensive. So, you'll oftentimes see the primary storage drive be the more traditional hard drives. In this computer, you'll get a 256 GB boot drive and a 3 TB storage drive. 

When choosing a hard drive, keep in mind that the more an SSD is used, the more it drives the price of the system up. But, the trade off of speed is worth it! If you are just using this computer for social media and communication, the hard drive is one place you can save some money. 

I really hope this buying guide helps. If anyone reading this needs assistance finding the right computer, I'm willing to lend a hand. Just know, in my head I'm going through this exact process :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

Eric Padget

Technology Coordinator 

Roland-Story CSD