By RICHARD SHERLAND
You might be surprised at the answer. Through the years I have been asked this
question many times. People understandably would like to know the answer before
spending their money. Many think that the only answer is in the big names that
they have heard. And it's no wonder these same companies have spent millions
promoting their names.
What would make up the best computer? In my opinion it should have a minimum
of these qualities. Be reliable, easy to upgrade, parts readily available, easy
to work on and long lasting. The only one that meets all these requirements is
the generic computer that is built by you or a computer dealer.
Computers are different than almost any other product. You probably wouldn't
want to build your own car for example. But early on manufacturers began supplying
Cases motherboards and the rest of the parts to build a computer. So an industry
sprang up and some bigger companies plus local dealers built computer to your
specifications. These had many advantages the main one being that you could find
parts anywhere at reasonable prices.
What sometimes happens for example is say a motherboard goes bad. Because of
the way the major manufacturers computer is built a generic or another manufacturers
won't fit this has nothing to do with the electronics it's a mechanical thing
it physically won't fit or screw holes won't line up. Now the generic motherboard
might run $80.00 to $100.00 while the major manufacturers could be $250.00 to
$300.00 or more. After paying that much for parts plus the labor many are thrown
in the junk rather than fixing. The same goes for power supplies. Many times
the off the shelf power supplies won't work in these computers. They will make
you pay dearly and many times the power supply will need to be special ordered
from the major manufacturer.
In other respects I think the computers are about equal. Taking into account
that almost all of the parts in the major Brands are made by the same companies
that make the generic parts. In selecting your generic computer do some research
in is quality of product. What desktop computers will last, and which ones would
not? What are the highest quality components? Does the company offering you desktop
computer deals provide good warranties? Finding a cheap computer is less exciting
when you find out that that computer is a lemon. The fact is that desktop computer
deals are not real deals if you get a machine that doesn't last out of them.
Our discussion has only covered desktops and the PC. The Apple computer is a
different story and isn't covered here. Laptops are another story also and I
will cover these in another article. If you were to ask almost any computer dealer
I think most would agree with what I have said.
Lately the majors have started to make their computers more compatible. Maybe
they have begun to see the light. In the mean time I hope you will consider buying
your computer from your local dealer or repair shop.
Richard Sherland has been recycling cartridges for 6 years.He is the owner of www.economyinkjets.com The
author has also been a Broadcast Engineer and owns a computer repair business.His
new site is www.economyezine.com
