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1.1.1. |
In the world of desktop computers, today's Ferrari is tomorrow's Fiesta. So always buy from today's range rather than yesterday's, and from as near the top of the range as you can afford. Don't be unduly tempted by the sudden fall in prices of extinct (or very soon to be extinct) machines if its today's tasks that you want the machines to perform.
| Buy the highest specification you can afford - it will serve you for longer. |
On the other hand, don't be unduly tempted either by the much hyped arrival of tomorrow's processor if today's processor will do the job perfectly well. New processors are costly, but their prices will start falling dramatically a year after launch. The optimum buying time is just before the arrival of the next generation of chip, when even the best current performers will get cheaper. In mid 1993, this is the 486 processor.
But in a world of such frantic change, should you buy at all when there is every prospect that the machines you buy today will be out of date by the end of next year? Not all computer suppliers offer a renting scheme, but some of the larger companies do. The Dell Corporation, for example, will rent a 486DX-33 multimedia PC to universities for about 20 pounds per week, plus support and freedom to upgrade at any time. At this rate, it would be about two years before the rental outlay began to exceed the purchase price, by which time it might have been desirable to upgrade anyway.