Remember forking out over $700.00 to buy a new computer 4 years ago?  Well so do a lot of people.  You do not have to spend that now to get a computer that will be 10 times  faster than what you bought 4 years ago.

Here is what we look for in purchasing new computers:

1. A fast CPU clock speed.  Over 2.4 GHZ is preferable and at least 2 cores (processors).
2. At least 4GB of ram.
3. At least 500GB hard drive.
4. Warranty.  The longer the warranty the better.  You can add to an existing 1 year warranty for as little as $30.00, and if you are a laptop fan and travel with it a lot, you may want to consider the accidental damage insurance/warranty plan.
5.  New screens/ monitors. Since most people already have nice LCD screens on their computers this is usually an optional purchase.  The new format uses wide screen 16:9 ratio and I recommend 19+ inches measuring diagonally.

With these 5 simple things to look for you, you will have a decent computer that should handle most applications you throw at it.  If you do not know if you need a new computer, a good test is to go to YouTube   If you cannot watch a video in full screen mode without a noticeable slow down, then your computer is probably outdated.

Estimated new computer cost: $350.00-$450.00