Outer Limits Consulting

A PERSPECTIVE ON BUYING BUSINESS GRADE EQUIPMENT

It's important to understand the different "classes" or "grades" of computer equipment. Unless you're trying to get the least expensive computer you can, you may not want to bother getting a consumer grade computer.

I see many people start looking a consumer level computer and add so many things to it that in the end they spend as much as if they purchased a business class machine. Think of someone who buys a Honda Civic and adds so many accessories it costs more than a Honda Accord that already comes with everything.

When you buy a laptop, get a good long warranty. The average price of a desktop computer part is about $80, the average cost of a laptop replacement part is about $300. The average cost for a desktop repair (parts/labor) is under $200. The average cost of a laptop repair is usually over $600. Warranties matter with a laptop since parts are more fragile and more model specific, hence more suscectible to damage and more costly to obtain.

Also remember that business level machines usually come with 3-yr warranty, so they are made with components that are designed to last 3 years. Consumer grade machines with a 1-yr warranty are made with inferior components, designed to last at least 1 year. Upgrading/extending the warranty on a consumer level machine doesn't change the components inside, it only protects you from the cost or repair if it fails, it won't help avoid a fialure.even though it ends up costs almost as much.

Most of my customers start off wanting to spend $400 on a desktop computer (or $600 for a notebook computer), and end up looking at $800+ for the machine they want, ($1200+ for a notebook). They are suprised when I show them a $790 business machine, or a $1290 business grade notebook computer.

All brand-name manufactures make low-end and high-end equipment, making it difficult when comparing experiences you hear from different people. You can't compare stories when one person talks about a consumer level machine and someone else is describing their experience with a business level machine. You can't fairly compare Dell Inspiron, HP Pavilion and Toshiba Satellite (consumer model notebook computers) against the Dell Latitude, HP NC-Series and the Toshiba SatellitePros ot Tecra (business class models), so be careful when solicting advice.

There's can be a big difference in reliability between consumer and business class machines. HP, Dell and Toshiba all make good products.

Remember, when buying computer equipment, you want to buy equipment that has a warranty from a company that can provide good warranty service. You could spend $100 less buying a no-name computer, but if something goes wrong, even while udner warranty, I suggest you'd be better off with a company like Hewlett Packard that has proven to give good reliable warranty support.