10 Killer Tips To Buy the Perfect Computer for College!

Buying a new computer is confusing. So many features and options, what do you need and what don't you need? Mac or PC? Desktop or laptop? AMD or Intel? The list goes on and on. We've put together a few quick tips to help you in your quest to purchase a new, shiny computer that fits your needs perfectly!

Things To Ponder

PC or Mac?
Does the campus have wireless or wired (ethernet) connections?
Laptop or Desktop?
Try before you buy, especially for laptops.
Software required by the school?Are you doing graphics work or video on it? Consider the higher end machines. If not, most budget machines will work just fine.

Operating System - The two main operating systems used today are Windows and Mac OSX. What you get may depend on what your school requires. Most require or prefer Windows because it is the most widely used OS today, especially in the business world. But, this also depends on what you are going to major in. If you are doing graphics work or movie editing, you will probably want to spend the extra money and get a Mac. If you are doing something with business or you have a reasonable budget, you may want to look at a Windows PC.
Processor (CPU) - Nowadays, most chip manufacturers are releasing 'dual-core' chips. This simply means that there are two chips in the one computer. Most likely you won't need this much power for everyday college homework. If you plan on using the machine as a multipurpose multimedia box, you might consider spending the extra money on a dual-core chip.
Video Card - Video cards are not incredibly important unless you are going to be doing a lot of gaming or video playback. Any card with 128MB of on-board RAM will work just fine. One thing you will want to take into account are what kind of monitor you will be plugging into it. Whether the connection is a VGA (the old, blue, CRT monitor connection) or DVI (the new, white, flat-panel connector).
Memory (RAM) - RAM is somewhat tricky. You need to have enough, but you don't want to waste money on too much. 1GB (gigabyte) of RAM is recommended for all modern computers. You can get away with 512MB (megabytes) but it is not recommended if the machine is going to be used for anything more than web browsing and word processing. There should be no reason you will need more than 2GB of RAM for any computer intended for college use. Also note, if you have the option of 1, 1GB stick of RAM or 2, 512MB sticks, make sure you get the 1GB stick. This will allow you greater flexibility to upgrade in the future.
Optical Drives - Although it's nice to have the ability to burn DVD's, it's definitely not necessary. If you are really trying to stay under a budget, you can get a drive that will burn CD's and have the ability to play DVD's. You could even save a little more if you got a CD burner with no DVD capability, but you may regret this if you ever want to use the machine for more than just homework purposes. If you want a little more flexibility and have the ability to spend $40-50 more, you may want to look at the multi-format DVD burners that will also burn CD's.
Hard Drive - With hard drives, bigger is not always better. There are many factors to take into account. For the average user, any hard drive will work just fine. This means you won't need to look at anything but the size of the drive. If you need something a bit more powerful and faster, you will want to take into account the size of the cache on the drive (usually 8MB or 16MB) and the RPM, or rotations per minute. The faster the RPM's the faster the drive will be able to access files on it, and the more responsive the computer will feel. All consumer hard drives have a spin rate of 7,200RPM. This is fine for any college student but if you feel the need for more power, look for the 10,000RPM or 15,000RPM drives. Also take into account, although it's nice to have a single 500GB drive, if it dies, you lose 500GB worth of data. I would recommend not getting a drive any bigger than 320GB and getting an external drive for any extra storage you need.
External Connections - With most machines today, this will not be an issue. A couple things you will want to look into is the number of USB ports and also the placement. Ports placed in the front of the machine are handy for thumb drives or plugging in digital cameras in easily. If you are doing video work, you will want to make sure there are Firewire ports. Also note that depending on your monitor and keyboard, they sometimes have USB ports located on them also.
Monitors - Depending on whether you decided to get a laptop or a desktop, this may or may not apply. If you do need a monitor I would suggest a minimum of a 17 inch flat screen, or if the budget allows, a 19 inch. You can save a little money and go with an old CRT, but I would urge you to spend a bit of extra money and go with a flat screen model. You may also see flat panel models with an 'analog' connector, this is just fine for most people. If you want a truer digital experience, go with the DVI connection.
Accessories - Depending on what the school already has and what they require, you're accessories could vary quite a bit. Talk to the school and see if you need a printer or if they have free printing services on campus. You may also want to invest in a jump drive or a flash drive. Anything 1GB or bigger should be fine (you could even get away with 512MB). If you want a larger portable storage device, look for Portable Hard Drives (not just external). These will offer 80GB - 160GB and up models for a decent price. You may also want to look into speakers if they are not already built into the monitor or the computer itself. Finally, look into some media discs, CD R or RW's and maybe even some DVD-R or RW's. Make sure you look to see what your optical drive is capable of before buying any of these though.
Software - Some schools require certain software. The most required is obviously going to be Microsoft Office which you can get quite cheap if you go with a student version. If you really don't want to spend any money on Office, check out OpenOffice.org which is an open source version that offers everything MS Office does. Any other software may be course specific, however they may be open source alternatives to some of it which can save some money, or at least tie you over until you can afford the real thing.