Buying Benefits

Technology is changing fast. I work on an Asus Laptop. An 14.1" X83V to be exact. [geek-on] It has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2Ghz, 4gigs of RAM, a Lightscribe DVDwriter, and a 250 Gig hard drive. It connects wirelessly through B, G, or N and has an awesome web cam that can be used for facial recognition log-in! To top it all off, it has a GeForce 9300m GS that can run games like Left 4 Dead, Halo and Half-Life 2. I bought this powerhouse of a laptop back in February from Best Buy for $629, a steal of a deal with Vista Home Premium 64-Bit, HDMI and 5 USB plugs.

Today I see in the Tiger Direct flyer that they have a Gateway with the same Ram and processor, plus a 320Gig hard drive. It only has 3 USB plugs and a lower end Intel graphics card, but the laptop is also $499. If I had to chance to pick up my same laptop today or the Gateway, I would still go with the Asus.

Asus has always been a highly reputable company. My desktop has an Asus board and an Asus video card. I know the company builds great products. That's not to say Gateway doesn't, but ever since the merger of Acer/Gateway/Emachines, I've noticed that some aren't what they should be. Even ignoring that, the Asus has more features that will grow with me. I use a lot of peripherals when I am working at home or out in the field. I have a wireless mouse, a cooling pad, and a variety of thumb drives that will devour my USB plugs. I also prefer the higher end graphics card that shows up colors better and allows better growth with the games that I play (my laptop isn't all business!).

The point is, I would spend the extra money because the Asus has more of what I need, and more of what I can do. It's a better match and won't lead me to buying a new laptop anytime soon. I believe it's that way with anything you buy. When I bought my laptop, I bought a powerful machine that was going to be able to handle what I was throwing at it. Gateway had an amazing gaming laptop that was huge and powerful. It would have easily been a desktop replacement. However, everything I needed was right here in this machine.

I'm not the type of person to just rush out and buy the most expensive thing for what I need. I'm also not going to go with the cheapest price either simply because it's cheap. I weigh the features and the cost, and make a decision based on what I need. My home office has a Brother Laser printer. The next step up duplexes and is network-able. I didn't need those features since I don't duplex and it was going to be far from the router. I buy what I need. I recommend the same for everyone. Don't buy something just because it's cheap. Buy it because it actually is what you need. Whether it's a TV, a website, or a toaster. Look at the benefits to you and how they weigh against the others. The answer becomes obvious when you do that.

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About Dave

I am the founder of Asheboro Creative. I'm a PHP and MySQL developer that thinks CSS is the greatest thing since the knife that sliced bread. I am a stickler for validating our websites and love to check out design galleries.

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