Buying a Computer

In any kind of business today, you'll need a computer and, in a small business, you're likely to need a good computer because it's the computer which lets you produce output which is as good as anything the big guys can do. A good computer does not have to be an expensive computer however. You don't need a Pentium III and you don't need fancy sound or fancy video, all of which are expensive. You do need basic processor power, adequate memory, lots of hard disk space, a fast modem and excellent printers. Right now I'd go for a Pentium II, 350 Mhz, 64 MB RAM, 8 MB hard drive, 56 kb modem and a good laser printer.

For actually purchasing the system, I've always tended to stick with the local suppliers which assemble systems to spec. Recently, Dell has been claiming that they will build to spec and their prices are certainly much lower than they have been. I took a look at their small business web store to see for myself. The pricing tables are easy to use and I priced out a system similar to the above and ended up with US $1800.00 or Can $2700.00. We got a Hewlett Packard 1100 laser printer for that but also ended up with MS Office, Small Business Edition and McAfee virus protection, which we didn't really want. This is starting to be competitive with the big stores selling pre-built, brand-name units but there is still a certain lack of flexibility and, I suspected, the pricing is still higher than your average local guy.

To find out, I went to the web site of a local Montreal supplier whom I have used. Microbytes builds systems to spec and also carries weekly specials. I assembled the same system from their on-line system builder and came up with Can $2100.00 or US $1400.00. The package included an HP 1120 Deskjet which came in at about the same price as the HP 1100 laser. No software except for Windows 98 was included and many components were generic rather than brand names. The site gives you the option of asking for brand names but they come with a higher price.

It seems to me that you're still ahead dealing with a local small business as long as you can find one which has the reputation and which you can trust. If you value the big name and reputation, it seems you no longer have to pay an outrageous premium to get it. Incidentally, I have no relationship with either Microbytes or Dell beyond being a customer or potential customer.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic