How to buy a COMPUTER FOR ARCHITECTURE....

Okay everyone has this miss conception that when you buy a computer for Architecture School you need POWERFUL GRAPHICS..
This blog is brought upon by a customer that came into the store the other day preparing for architecture school.
So onto the point.... PICKING A COMPUTER FOR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL

Part One...
Custom Computer or Store bought computer (Bestbuy/Futureshop/Random Local Computer Store)
Well custom computers are always great if you can find the right person to build them, if you have the wrong person building your computer it can be a disaster in the long run. Now don't panic CUSTOM COMPUTERS are better then store bought if you get the right parts.

Store Bought computers are okay if you don't know anyone that can build a computer or in a rush to get to work right away. I usually don't suggest buying a pre-built system because usually the components are standard and you can't really modify or upgrade too much.

THE GREY AREA...
Dell and other custom build companies.
These are great for the mass market that don't know computers, but for those of us that have to spend countless hours working on a computer we want them to be dependable. These computers from dell are hard to upgrade and when they die they are a pain for anyone to fix.

PART 2....
COMPONENTS
1) CPU...
Your CPU needs to be a multi-core processor whether it be intel or amd...
Preferably intel with there turbo boost tech and all the bells and whistles do help when rendering and multi-tasking

2) RAM ...
Well for most common customers I usually say 4Gb is enough for anyone... BUT!!! when your in Design/Engineering you prob. need more RAM especially for us arch students we need to work on so many different platforms. MORE RAM THE BETTER...

3) MOTHERBOARD...
If you don't know computers ask a friend, everyone has a friend that knows computers. ON the chance you don't know what to get ask the sales person at the store typically these days a good motherboard will cost you about $119 or more. What you need on the board is PCI-Express/USB 3.0/SATA 3.0(6 GBs) these are just basic other fancy features like RAID/Duel LAN/etc.

4) HARD DRIVE...
You need a hard drive that need fast access times and dependable. This can be a tough decision Solid State Drives are expensive and Reduce access time which are good for pulling up information and using software but require additional drives to store files.
Typical Hard Drives are still probably the best choice as of now purchasing a high speed SATA 3.0 drive allows for high capacity and speed while still more dependable then SSD's
Capacity is always up to the users

5) Graphics Card.....
Well this isn't extremely important but still required most of us have to invest into a good graphics card. If you plan on doing 3D rendering with walk through's this is fairly important that you get a good graphics card to help with the rendering load.
Quadro and Fire GL Cards are not necessary for student and single users these are more geared for people working in offices with a heavy rendering load.

6) Case and Power supply
Well this is just anything that you'd like really in terms of a case just make sure everything can fit into it and there is enough ventilation for the parts to circulate air
In terms of a power supply make sure there is enough power for the graphics and potential to add more into your system. I typically suggest 750-850watts or more just in case people add another graphics card and hard drives.

7) WINDOWS
What really needs to be said about this.. you need this to use your computer in order to install all the necessary software to be used.

These are just my suggestions when buying a computer its just over the years people come to me with they're problems that i have to fix because they made the wrong decisions.. I understand that I may not know everything but there's a fair bit of thought and understand that has been put into this. I've built more computers then I can remember and for the most part if I wasn't holding back on the cost they've all been pretty good... If you need a system and live in the Toronto Area Please Contact me via this blog  : P

Things Sales People Hate.. :P

Okay this is from 4 years of sales experience in a Computer Store that will remain unmentioned ....

1) PEOPLE THAT SMELL (THIS IS DIRECTED TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE DEODORANT AKA F.O.B.'s)

2) PEOPLE WITH SMELLY BREATH

3) CUSTOMERS WHO DON'T WHAT THEY WANT

4) CUSTOMERS WHO DON'T REALIZE HOW BUSY THE STORE IS

5) CUSTOMERS WHO DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND ARE NOT PREPARED WITH THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT

6) PEOPLE WHO DON'T LISTEN

7) PEOPLE WHO ACT LIKE THEY KNOW EVERYTHING

8) CUSTOMERS WHO COME IN 2MINS BEFORE THE STORE CLOSES AND EXPECTS FULL SERVICE..

9) CUSTOMERS WHO COME INTO THE STORE JUST TO TALK, AND WASTE TIME

10) PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AND EXPECT A FULL LESSON IN ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTERS... ** PLEASE PEOPLE DO A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH BEFORE YOUR COME IN

11) PEOPLE WHO THINK THEIR FRIEND THAT DOES COMPUTERS FOR A HOBBY KNOWS MORE THEN A PERSON THAT DOES IT AS A JOB (THIS ONLY APPLIES TO REAL COMPUTER STORES... BEST BUY DOESN'T COUNT)

12) JUST BECAUSE YOU WORK I.T. DOESN'T MEAN YOU KNOW EVERYTHING...

How to Buy MEMORY (RAM)

STEP 1...
FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF MEMORY YOU NEED
PC_-____ examples of this would be PC2-3200, PC3-10666
If you don't know how to find this or don't know where to find this BRING IN YOUR laptop
If its a desktop best thing you can do is remove the side panel  locate the ram and take a picture of the ram or remove it for the sales person to see.

STEP 1.5....
KNOW HOW MUCH RAM YOU NEED

STEP 2....
GO to  your local computer store and just show them your RAM  : )
If you go to the right store they'll be able to help you right away ...

DO NOT DO's...
Just go in and say ....
1) I need memory
2) I need cheap memory
3) Just give me what ever

10 things to know when you buy a laptop

1. What is made for.. (GAMING, MEDIA, BUSINESS, LEISURE) 

2. Battery Life...
- Typical Battery Life these days should range anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on the battery, and use of the batter. Remember when you have your wireless on and bluetooth and your screen brightness set to high your going to lose a lot of battery life. 

3. Weight of the Laptop WITH THE BATTERY

- The weight of the laptop is really dependent on the size and purpose of the computer and the weight can really range for most common laptops the weight can range from 4lbs to about 6lbs

4. Hard Drive Space
- Remember this is a laptop your not storing your life on here and this should not be your primary computer. If it is get an external hard drive to back everything up. Your average laptop comes with a hard drive of at least 500GB's

5. Amount of RAM

- RAM is dead cheap these days, your most likely looking for a laptop with at least 4GB
- RAM DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE YOUR COMPUTER GO FASTER. It may help in some of the process your computer processor may do.

6. Speed of Processor
- Speed is key if your looking for a computer to just do basic work and not too much multi-tasking then go for a i3- or i5 with a high clock speed you don't need the extra cores the i7 offers
- If your one of those people that works with graphics and multiple things all at once you'll need to go with a i7
- Good Clock speed should be anywhere from 2.6 Ghz -3.2 Ghz

7. Size mainly thickness
- Size is just in correlation to weight and what you would be comfortable using on a day to day basis.

8. Keyboard  (Bi-lingual or US)
- THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE KEYBOARDS
- What I tell my customers is to try to type a paragraph or something on both keyboards and see which one they are most comfortable using. Most people are used to the STANDARD US keyboard... Crazy french people..

9. Matte or Glossy screen
- Most Computers come with a glossy screen just because of the hype of watching movies and crap on your laptop gives you better colours.
-Matte screens are typically found on business computers and such better to work with when there is direct sunlight shining onto your screen

10. Is it pretty... what is it made out of ... will it get dirty easily... 

Intro-this....

Forgive me for anything I may say that may offend people.

I'm creating this blog to document my experiences working in a computer store the questions the attitude and the products. Credentials well to be honest I don't have any formal credentials in the computer industry, I've worked at this computer store for the past 3 years of my life while studying Architecture at school. 

So realistically I know electronics and Design... my past jobs have been all in the service industry from working at a hotel parking cars to working in an architecture firm. 

Amazingly working in a store for 3 years you encounter stupid questions and amazing stories. Everyone needs a computer and everyone uses a computer. BUT everyones needs in those computers are different, to many people don't realize that and just go about day to day buying what ever those mindless drones at Bestbuy, and Future Shop tell them.