Back to school computers at Best Buy

I know...I know...you say you are just breaking in your new golden brown tan and now the Grinches at school say it's time to come back and "learn".

According to my insider at Best Buy (Agent X), the time for BIG savings on all things computer is NOW. Agent X claims his district manager stated that the back to school season is only rivaled by Christmas in terms of deeply discounting products. Christmas, which according to my caldendar is still 4 months away, yet I somehow am starting to see decorations now in some stores...go figure.

Since time is money...let me save you some time and therefore some money when it comes to purchasing computers and laptops at Best Buy.

First and foremost, pick up the ad and go for the PACKAGE DEALS. Even if you don't need a monitor and a printer and just want the computer, you can often get essentially a free monitor and printer for the SAME price of the computer alone. Do what I do...give the extra monitor (usually a really cool flat panel LCD) or printer as a Christmas gift and look like a big spender while really being a saavy YES I SAVED shopper.

DESKTOPS: According to Agent X (who is also a Geek Squad technician), the best bang for the buck is HP in terms of what you get for the minimal amount of headaches for desktop computers and Toshiba or HP in terms of laptops. Agent X adamantly says stay the hell away from EMachines, Gateway and Compaq (even though Compaq is owned by HP) for desktops as these machines tend to have the most service / repair requests...remember time is money and I'd bet you have better things to do than wait in a service line and 3 weeks without a computer if your machine breaks down. He also stated that Sony desktops and laptops are top quality however, you really pay up the wazoo for the priviledge of owning these machines...Again, the best bang for the buck in desktops bar none is the HP brand.

Laptops: Agent X states that the best laptops in terms of quality are HP, Toshiba, and Sony. The best bang for the buck is a toss up between HP and Toshiba depending on which week it is since Best Buy tends to rotate their deep discount sales on either brand from week to week. Again, you will be paying a premium for a Sony Laptop and they are not necessarily better than HP or Toshiba in terms of specs. Agent X says stay the hell away from Gateway, Compaq, Everex, and Averatec laptops as they tend to be in the shop with problems the most.

What to buy: According to Agent X, if you have to buy one single upgrade (apart from the extended warranty) then it would be RAM (computer memory) hands down by a long shot. Most desktops and laptops come only with a paltry 512MB of RAM...upgrade to at least twice that, 1 gigabyte (GB) or if you can go for the max of 2GB. This will by far improve system performance and give a little breathing room for your memory hungry applications to work with.

For laptops, get it with AT LEAST an 80GB hard drive since you'll need space for your stuff. 80GB is the sweet spot right now for laptop storage...going above that usually raises the price to ridiculous levels. However, if there is a deal with a 100GB or higher hard drive then grab it. The 1GB-2GB RAM upgrade is also suggested.

Dual core: 2 brains are definately better than one. A "dual core" computer has 2 cores or "brains" and since many programs are now moving to optimizing for dual core, you'd be better off spending a little more for a dual core desktop or laptop and reap the performance power rewards. Dual core for example, in theory, would let you burn a CD and surf the internet without the performance slow down of a computer with only a single processor. Trust me, save your time, you want dual core.

How much to spend: For a dual core desktop package with printer, monitor, and 1GB RAM upgrade you should spend between $800-$1300 depending on processor, media center capabilities, and hard drive space. For a dual core laptop, the price with a 1GB RAM upgrade and at least 80GB hard drive space should be between $800-$1600. Whether desktop or laptop, if you are spending more than the upper randge ($1300 for desktop or $1600 for laptop) then you are spending too much. Never evuh evuh evuh buy the top of the line machine because you are paying a premium way above and beyond the price to performance ratio. Stick with the middle range and you'll get the most bang for the buck...stay the hell away from the cheapest models because you get what you pay for and by the time you spend the money upgrading the cheapest model you'll find yourself in the midway price point anyways.

Remember, Best Buy is now deeply discounting computers to catch the back to school crowd...save now, buy now and laugh last all the way to the bank.

Money's tight...save your dough...say YES I SAVED !!!