You get what you pay for when it comes to computers

This is important and should be acknowledged, you get what you pay for, if the price is low, likely the hardware and internal components will be cheap and of lower quality. A good graphics card will set you back around $190, which is around £150 in UK pounds.

If a sales person talks you in to a $40 dollar card make sure you get something thrown in like a good monitor with a bigger screen size. A printer and scanner wouldn’t go a miss either. Don’t be fooled in to buying something, which can have setbacks later on.

Now lets say you have found your computer, it is the perfect one and it comes with the popular office package, Office XP. This is something worth considering, when you obtain a software licence with a new computer it often has a special manufactures serial. This means it is tied to that specific computer, so if you intend to buy another computer in a few years, that software wont install on that computer, and could cause you another purchase. Remember to look for this when shopping online and even ask about it if unsure.

Personally, I purchase software separately because I am always changing computers. This actually saves me money in the long run. Retail software is available online and in computer shops. You will always save money online. I buy everything online for computer related purchases. If I was to buy all this in PC world it would of doubled the cost.

Further on in the guide I recommend companies for both USA and UK where I have purchased from and had no problems with.

Finally stay realistic with your budget. People often say to me I want the best computer built for $200. I tell them to buy some pens and paper. Serious, you’re not going to get a high-end computer unless you pay for it. Remember computers get outdated fast. This years high end could well be next years low-end system.

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