The title of this blog post could easily be “server buying theory”, as the two subjects often yield similar results in terms of findings.
No matter what his level in a company, IT professionals are constantly asked the same question by users, “What should I buy for my home computer?” Most of us aren’t bothered by it; we simply rattle off a few lines that we’ve perfected over the years… “Oh, HPs are good I guess. Dell s’ok. Stay away from eMachines.” But do we really mean it? The question is whether quality is important to the user. In general, the answer is a resounding “no”! That’s hard for a guy like me to accept. I hate certain things about the consumer economy. I can’t stand the waste. I enjoy an old, solid wood piece of furniture. I think old guns are gorgeous. But old computers? Well, they’re just old. That’s why “new” is more important.
If I spend $3000 on fancy new rig, it’s going to be outdated only days after the bargain basement $500 model from Best Buy or the Mac Mini from Apple. Why then should someone spend $3000 on a machine? Only if they need it. If you don’t know whether or not you need it, you probably don’t. (Most gamers or pros who need these types of machines are up on the technology.) Most people will throw their machine away in two to three years anyway…. why spend big money? Technology changes at such an incredible rate that it makes almost no sense to spend two or five paychecks on such a rig.
Bargain basement PCs and Apple’s Mac Mini line are perfect for 90% of computer users out there… and they let you save your money to spend on overpriced Microsoft software you don’t need.