So you're looking to buy a new computer...

We’re asked on nearly a daily basis “what computer should I buy?” Hopefully this will help some of you through the confusing journey of purchasing a new PC.

If you’re spending your hard earned money on a computer, we want to be sure that you’re going to get the most life out of it as possible. Computers are much like anything else; “you get what you pay for.” If a computer is cheap, there is surely a reason why. Spend a little more now so that your new computer will be relevant for a longer period of time.

Minimum Specs...

Intel i7 or i9 processor
32 GB RAM
Min 500GB SSD

Our favorite brands...

Laptops

Lenovo Thinkpad – This brand (Lenovo) and product line (Thinkpad) has been the long time go-to for long lasting laptops. If you buy a Thinkpad, it’ll hold up over time and be a reliable tool for years. The typing experience is second to none, and the construction is top notch. They have simple design elements that just make sense, like gutters built into the keyboard so if you have a small spill, you’re not replacing the entire machine. We recommend the X1 Carbon series, T series and P series… yes, they’re on the upper end of the spend spectrum, but like we said earlier, you get what you pay for.

LG Gram – This brand is a bit of a new comer to the playing field, but they’ve been awesome. I’m actually typing this out on one right now. The thing that is most impressive is the extremely light weight of their fairly sturdy laptops; right around 2.5 lbs.

Desktops

Dell Optiplex – a long standing corporate favorite for dependability and supportability. These machines are workhorses and stand the test of time. We’ll commonly see them in production, powered up 24/7, for over 10 years. Talk about spending wisely on a long term investment…

Lenovo Legion – If you’re looking for a quality gaming pc, or if you’re a creative that needs lots of power for your image rendering projects, you can’t go wrong here. The T7 line are nice and powerful, and if you shop around and are patient, you can get an unbelievable deal.

NZXT – If you’re looking for a gaming PC and you’re specific about what components you’re looking for, NZXT.com is a great place to purchase your rig. They offer a tiered approach to their builds and you shop via specs or by price. You can start out with a starter machine and upgrade easily, since they use all standard parts.

Where to buy...

Amazon is always a good place to purchase. Their return policy is usually pretty good, just make sure to read the seller’s policies before pressing the “buy” button. Amazon Renewed is a great option for getting a good deal on higher end gaming machines. We’ve purchased a few this way and they were basically brand new for thousands of dollars less.

Costco – if you’re a Costco member, this is a fantastic place to buy. They usually give you a 2nd year warrantee over the manufacturer’s and they’re always running deals. If you’re not in a rush, keep an eye on their prices as the deals seem to coordinate with the release of their mailers.

Direct – Lenovo will often have deals that you can’t find anywhere else directly through their website, so make sure you check there while you’re shopping.

We generally don’t recommend any of the Big Box stores; the employees are paid on commission with bonuses for upselling. The staff may or may not be knowledgable and may or may not listen to what your actual needs are will sell you what they have available to them.

What about extended warrantees?

We rarely recommend that you purchase an extended warrantee, but there are a couple of exceptions…

Apple – if you’re purchasing an Apple laptop, be sure to purchase AppleCare for as long as they will permit. Repairs of the devices are very costly and all of the laptops made after 2015 have been fairly delicate. We’ve seen a lot of cracked screens, and believe us, you don’t want to pay for a replacement.

Kids/college – if a laptop is purchased for a child or someone going to college (or if it’s for you and you know that you’re not careful with your stuff), buy the warrantee. Kids break stuff. Soup can football gets played in dorm rooms. Spills of “non-alcoholic beer” happen. Hedge your bets… pay the warrantee ransom.

What? No Apple recommendations?

This one is complicated, and then not-so complicated. Their products are beautiful. Their operating system is fantastic. BUT…

when you purchase an Apple laptop, you can’t upgrade anything. Everything is soldered on-board, so you can’t upgrade the RAM later, you can’t upgrade the hard drive later, you have to buy a new laptop if you want to upgrade anything. That just puts the consumer in a bad spot financially.
the newer laptops are just too delicate. We hate giving bad news, and whenever there’s a hardware problem, it’s going to be expensive to fix.
you can get the same power for half the price elsewhere. We like to keep your cash in your pocket. Simple.

Where do you come up with this stuff?

We’ve been doing this for a loooooooong time. We’ve seen every brand of equipment in our shop, and in corporate environments for decades before our shop existed. We make our recommendations based on actual experience with all of these brands and what the total cost of ownership is throughout the life of the devices. We receive no kickbacks from any of these companies and generally don’t resell computer systems to residential customers. We only make money from labor, and we’d prefer to help MORE folks LESS frequently than to help LESS folks MORE frequently.