Tips for Buying a New PC

• Make sure it comes with a recovery CD.  Many manufacturers lately haven't been giving you one.
• Avoid Celerons.
• Try to get one with an Athlon 64 X2 or Intel Core 2 CPU, if you can afford it.
• Make sure it has at least 512MB of RAM if it comes with Windows XP, or 1GB if it comes with Vista.
• Buy an extended warranty (preferably from the manufacturer) for a laptop.  You don't usually need one for desktops.
• Get one with Windows XP if you can.  Windows Vista is not polished enough yet for general usage.
• Make sure you get a surge protector, printer, printer cable, speakers, and a monitor, if necessary.
• If you need a floppy drive, make sure it comes with one, or get a USB floppy drive.
• Make sure it comes with Microsoft Office (which is usually $300 extra), or try OpenOffice.org (which is free).  Most computers do not come with Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.)
• Make sure when you decide where to put the new PC that it is near a power outlet, as well as an Ethernet cable, or a phone line (if you have DSL), or a cable TV wire (if you have a cable modem.