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Many times I have been asked as to whether one should buy, build, or upgrade an existing system. With Computer
bundled prices being extremely competitive, one could always buy a system cheaper than one could be built plus
you got the manufacturer’s warranty and support and any add-on warranties obtained from the store from which you
bought the system.
If the question was one of upgrading an existing system, usually, the answer would depend on if it was cost-effective
to upgrade given existing components such as video, and sound cards, memory, CD-Rom were current and would be useable
with the new system board and/or operating system. I do not recommend upgrading systems over a couple years old
anymore and particularly systems where the video, modem, and/or sound cards are built into the system board or
proprietary such as found in HP Pavilions, Compaqs and IBM computers. Also, due to advances in technology, memory,
video cards, and other hardware devices may not be compatible with the new system architectures such that one ends
up paying more for parts & pieces. Finally, someone has to build it for you and make it all work including
migrating your data and programs to the “new system.” Many of these upgrades can literally turn into “upgrades
from hell” in just making things work!
One of the things starting a new debate on buy versus build is the little “disclaimer” clause now being seen on
all new computers advertisements – “Some software is preloaded. Software manuals/media not included.” What does
this mean to end-user/purchaser besides no manuals for the software? The answer is total reliance on the hardware
vendor to be there in the event of a hard drive failure! Some computer manufacturers, including IBM, are putting
a “system restoration” partition on the hard drive that by pressing a certain key on startup will cause the computer
to boot in to this “restoration” partition and make everything new again. The two major downsides to this “restoration”
is 1) loss of all your data and programs that you have installed and 2) if the hard drive fails, you have no system
recovery partition to restore from and you would have to ship your system off to the manufacturer to have the hard
drive replaced and preloaded with the software. In defense of the manufacturers, they are not the main culprit
in this situation. Microsoft started it when they decreed last year, as part of their anti-piracy initiative, that
the Windows installation media would not be shipped with new computers. This was made part of their software licensing
contract with Original Equipment Manufactures (“OEM”) such as IBM, Compaq, HP, Toshiba and almost all others. For
the last year, the only way you could get the installation media for the Windows operating system was to either
buy it off the shelf or buy it with a new hard drive from a PC systems vendor. But wait, the problem doesn’t stop
there!
Any software that comes on that new computer, desktop or laptop, has to be supported by the manufacturer of that
computer as it is an “OEM” product. Microsoft will not provide free support for any Microsoft product obtained
from an “OEM” as part of the computer or accessory. An example: I had bought an HP Jordan Pocket PC which included
an “OEM” version of Outlook 2000. I had a problem that I knew from the outset that only someone deep in the bowls
of Microsoft support would be able to solve, which proved to be true. I tried to call Microsoft “free support”
but they wouldn’t talk to me since it was an “OEM” product; I knew this but it was worth a try. After calling Microsoft
“free support,” I had two choices, call HP for “free” or pay for an Incident at Microsoft. I figured it was a waste
of time calling HP but I went through the motions anyway.
With most OEM telephone support, you generally get a tech support representative who can basically do some checklist
flow-charted questions with you on their own system hardware to determine if the problem is hardware or software
related with the usual recommendations of a) run the recovery system, b) we’ll send you a part, or c) send your
system to us. Microsoft would have us believe that this same tech support person is going to be trained sufficiently
to provided support for every application shipped on that computer as an “OEM” product including one as complex
as Outlook and Microsoft Office! Called HP, spent an hour, no resolution.
I bit the bullet, called Microsoft and gave them my credit card to pay for the incident; got to talk to a “competent”
product person and got the problem resolved. Bottom line to all this is that in order to get “free” support from
Microsoft, you must buy the “retail” product off the shelf and install it yourself which includes the Windows Operating
System and all Microsoft applications.
One other note: Remember I mentioned buying a new hard drive (or system board) with an operating system from a
PC system vendor as a means of obtaining the installation media? Even they are usually considered an “OEM.” Unless
you specify that the retail product be installed on your hard drive or new computer, they will install the OEM
product on your new system and you will have to go back to that vendor for support. Microsoft free support is not
an option. Another example: RJM is a PC computer vendor in Boise, Idaho, who builds and sells pre-configured and
custom-configured PC systems using OEM version software. As part of the system sale, RJM does currently furnish
the purchaser with both the Windows installation media as well as any system support software drivers media for
re-installing or “repairing” your software installation without your loosing everything in process, which is something
you won’t get with the “bundled” system from the big box store. But you will have to go back to RJM for support
on any OEM software installed by them.
Getting back to the original question of “Buying a New PC?” What are your options? If you want to take advantage
of the extremely low system prices on bundled systems out there, the answer is basically one of “buyer beware,”
be it a desktop or laptop that you are buying. Consider the issues I have raised here with support and worst case
system recovery options if it should become necessary, as even new hard drives do fail. You’ll probably want to
consider that “extended warranty” very seriously. To some degree, it is a question of pay now or pay later. The
other option is to buy a “built” desktop PC system from a local PC vendor, which has a number of advantages: 1)
Generally, you are going to get a system built from industry “standard” components and no proprietary hardware
such as is found in the “OEM” computers. If a part fails, a replacement part should be readily available “off-the-shelf.”
2) You have a lot of say as to the actual configuration of the system. 3) You can negotiate for “retail software”
and support provisions. 4) The local builder is most likely going to be much more flexible in what they will do
for you in migrating your existing software and data to the new system than the big box store. 5) Unless the local
system builder is a “one man band” type of operation with minimal resources, you should get a higher level of after-the-sale
support as the local vendor wants your business and the relationship is “personal.” The downside of buying “built”
is that you will probably pay a couple hundred dollars more for a similar system to the “store” system but you
will probably have a better system along with the supporting media and you will know where your support is coming
from.
One consideration that should not be overlooked in the upgrade/buy decision is if you are a Windows95 or Windows98
user. I recently spent about 3 hours “fixing/updating” a Windows95 B configuration. I am not sure that was time
or money well spent. The computer works well and meets the owner’s needs but it is an Pentium 200 that is pretty
slow by today’s standards. Also a number of current software titles, with more to come, will not even install or
run on it. Examples: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Norton AV 2002, and SystemWorks 2002. While USB was “supported”
in Windows95, most USB devices such as digital cameras, scanners, mice, and printers require Windows98 or later
in order to be used. If you are upgrading, you have to take into consideration how much of you current software
will run on the new system as there are number of incompatibilities with WindowsMe and WindowsXP with even current
software titles. WindowsXP does provide Windows95/98/Me/NT 4.0 compatibility modes for running older and current
software, which does help a bit.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. One camp says, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it which is to say if what you have,
works for you, why do anything? Another camp always wants the latest and greatest. Change is a constant and there
will always be change; 1 month, 1 year from now, there maybe that hot new electronic toy or piece of software that
you can’t live without which may force you to make the decision, again...
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