On The Net - Computing News

with Chris Goh

When I write about buying a second hand computer, I'm always surprised by the feedback from readers. The majority who write don't really want to spend any more than $500. With the base price of a new computer around $1000, who could blame them. Price is a key factor in purchasing a second-hand computer, but people still want value for money. Luckily, the market is saturated with PCs, so you can get a decent machine at a decent price.

What to look for: it shouldn't be a surprise that the key is the hard drive. But this little unseen critter is the most underestimated component of a system.

When I purchase a machine, I ask the dealer for the hard drive specifications and they often fob me off. So I go to dealers who understand hard drives, because they know computers.

Why? Aside from the fan, it's the only other device that has moving parts, so is prone to wear. It's also charged with the responsibility of holding the most irreplaceable part of your computer system – your data. Even with new removable and portable storage and the ability to easily backup, it hasn't diminished the importance of your hard drive. The other thing not widely known is that the hard drive often makes up 80 per cent of your computer's memory. It uses virtual memory – ie. the hard drive pretending to be RAM – when the conventional RAM has been used. The hard drive is generally about 10 times slower, but a good speedy hard drive can dramatically increase speed. If you buy a second hand computer, this is the first thing you should check. It's not an easy task, because something like a 'ScanDisk' (especially with current hard disk sizes) can take ages and the seller may not want to make the effort to check the drive for bad sectors, so you should ask the question and verify when you get home.

For a PC using Windows, you simply right click on the drive letter, choose properties and use the ScanDisk utility.

If you're buying a conventional monitor, switch it on and check for faded colour on the sides, plus screen or pixel burns. Screen burns will mean ghosted images have been burnt into the screen. A pixel burn often results in a white dot not going away.

The next thing to do is make sure that the contrast and brightness is in the middle. To ensure the customer sees the best image, sellers will turn up the contrast and brightness to get rid of any obvious fading or blurring. Once it's centred, turn them up to give you an idea of how much control you still have.

Whether you're happy will depend on your own visual acuity and the price.

Now for things more technical: you've probably been given advice on the Processor, RAM and video card by friends. If you want to run the majority of today's software you'll need a Pentium III 500Mhz or more, or any of the AMD Athlon series. It will allow you run things like Windows XP and all versions of Linux with no problems. Ensure you get a minimum of 128MB RAM – though 256MB is more comfortable. If you want a good graphics card, a Geforce or ATI card with 32MB Ram will even allow your kids to play some of the latest games.

My biggest gripe about video cards is that I don't want them embedded (ie. welded to the main system board, aka motherboard), because it doesn't allow for adequate expansion later on.

So what will this cost you?

Generally, a PIII 500 with 128MB of RAM and video card (with no monitor) costs around $350-600, depending on bundles. Around Lismore it's usually about $200 more expensive than Brisbane or Sydney.

So where else can you get them?

For general systems, you can't really beat the Trading Post. (The online version is a lot harder to navigate because it has a strong emphasis on trader ads). There are also auctions, and many now offer warranties, as long as you return them within a certain period.

I found www.graysonline.com.au offers an exceptional service and they honour faulty goods returns, though sometimes the price can be higher than something like The Trading Post.

If you do go to an auction, avoid weekends, when the prices are always higher because there are more people bidding and pushing up the price. Auctions are very good for picking up conventional monitors – you can score a good 17-inch screen for less than $100.

And make sure you note the surcharge on the fall of the hammer, which can range from 5 to 17 percent.

Can things go wrong? Yes and it's usually the hard drive or screen. Or the hard drive might be fine, but the software could be corrupted due to a virus. At worst, a decent new hard drive will set you back about $250.

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