Personal Computer Fundamentals
How to Buy or Sell a PC
In this lesson, you will learn:
Now that you are familiar with some of the terminology, how would someone translate all the 'geek speak' into terms that a normal person would understand?
Let's take a closer look at some typical computer advertisements and unravel some of the mystique to determine what is a good deal, what is a great deal (someone made a mistake and under-estimated it's true value, a great deal for you!), or how to sell a computer without getting taken. Examine the terms in the advertising sheet below.
These ads are from a typical Sunday newspaper and are copied exactly as the newspaper printed them. They are then broken down piece by piece in the 'Translation' section. When you get to the middle of the section, you should be able to pick out and understand most if not all of the information. For clarity of terms, see the glossary.
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gateway 433C, 10GHD, 56K, 128MG, 15" mon $200 Complete e-machines 400, $135Microsoft Internet modem, all parts included + CD. Brand new.$300. obo | ||
Translation |
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| Gateway 433C | Brand name and Speed of the CPU in MHz: Bigger number = faster | |
| 10GHD | Size of the Hard Disk Drive measured in Gigabytes: Bigger is better | |
| 56K | Modemspeed: Modems will never be faster than this | |
| 128MG | Size or Ram measured in Megabytes: Did you catch the mis-print? | |
| 15" mon | Size of the Monitor: 15 inch, 13 Inch, 17 Inch, 19 Inch etc. | |
| $200 | Price out the door. | |
| Complete e-machines 400, $135 | This ad is for two other computers also. | |
| Microsoft Internet modem, all parts included + CD. Brand new. $300. | Sells other things too | |
| obo | Or best offer. Bring less cash than asking price and it is still yours. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| 2.53ghz p4 512mb ddr memory 60gig hd 40x burner mntr kybd mouse 625.00 | ||
Translation |
||
| 2.53ghz | No brand name 2.53 speed of the CPU. Very fast for home use. | |
| p4 | Pentium 4 processor, probably not Intel but still works fine | |
| 512mb | Amount of Ram is measured in Megabytes. This is a good amount for home use | |
| ddr memory | The latest memory type. Dimm, Simm, and SoDimm are other types as well as parity and non-parity. Non parity is typical. | |
| 60gig hd | Size of the Hard Disk Drive. This is a large size for home use. | |
| 40x burner | Speed of the CD Rom Burner:8,16,24,32,40, etc. Bigger is faster. | |
| mntr kybd mouse | Includes Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse | |
| 625.00 | Price of the complete system: A good deal! | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper: | ||
| Pentium 266 w/Windows, monitor, keyboard, & modem. Ready to goonline! $95.Compaq, Windows, internet, $165, printer $30. | ||
Translation |
||
| Pentium 266 | Pentium 266 speed CPU. By today's standards it is not fast enough; runs Win 95 or 98 ONLY! Cannot be upgraded. | |
| w/Windows | Includes Windows already loaded and running: No mention of which Windows, so probably either Windows 95 (ok) or Windows 98 (better). | |
| Monitor | No mention of size, probably very old or small 13" | |
| Keyboard | Probably original 101 keyboard, larger AT style | |
| modem | Probably an older 28.8 or 36.6 modem. Would probably mention 56 k if it had one. Old computers have a hard time with new hardware. | |
| Ready to go online! | That's debatable..It is VERY Slow. HOW LONG DO YOU WANT TO WAIT? | |
| $95 | Dead give away on the quality. You get what you pay for. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| Compaq, Windows, internet, $165, printer $30. SAMSUNG 19'' 950 P, CRT monitor, $125.. |
||
Translation |
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| Compaq | Brand name of older computer | |
| Windows | Which version? | |
| Internet | Has a modem, older style ISA bus which means slow 14.4 or 28.8 | |
| $165 | Price may be worth a phone call to see what else is included. | |
| printer $30 | because the printer is NOT included. This could be negotiated! | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| SAMSUNG 19" 950 P, CRT monitor, $125 | ||
Translation |
||
| SAMSUNG 19" | Brand name and size of the monitor | |
| 950 P | Model number. Cut and paste this into Google to get the specs fromthe manufacturer and comments of other owners of this to see how good it is. The model number is presented as a courtesy to other buyers to do just that: look it up! | |
| CRT monitor | Cathode Ray Tube is the technology behind all monitors these days. | |
| $125 | Probably in very good shape. Check for warranty and compare to prices in different businesses. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| GATEWAY 700X w/Win XP, 1.9 GHz, 512 RAM, 15'' flat panel, Bostonspkrs, APC battery backup & more. $1500 | ||
Translation |
||
| GATEWAY 700X | Gateway Brand. Is model number equal to speed? Gateway = NO! | |
| w/Win XP | Windows XP has minimum hardware requirements that have to be met before the operating system will load. Starting with Windows NT, you cannot put Windows onto a computer that does not have the proper sizes of RAM and Hard disk space. | |
| 1.9 GHz | But, as you see, this is probably the speed of the CPU, not reflected in the model number, very tricky. | |
| 512 RAM | again measured in Megabytes, a good amount for programs these days. | |
| 15'' flat panel | Why is the price so high? Here' the answer, an expensive monitor. | |
| Boston spkrs | with expensive overkill speaker systems designed for surround sound, not games. | |
| APC battery backup | When the power goes out, the machine keeps running | |
| & more. | Which means "you have to call me to get a great deal" | |
| $1500. | This is pretty high for used, so he probably built it himself for a home theatre and found out there are better ways of viewing movies. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| Gateway comp - CD/DVD, flat screen mon. Comes w/ Epson printer,Epson scanner, Bush brand comp desk & lthr chair. $2500 | ||
Translation |
||
| Gateway comp | Brand name | |
| CD/DVD | Usually standard equipment these days, no mention of speed, but NOT a CD or DVD/CD burner. | |
| flat screen mon | Expensive monitor, no size given. This is a flat SCREEN, which is a regular monitor with a flat front NOT a flat PANEL, which is the newer LCD type monitor. | |
| Comes w/ | Considers these extras, so were probably bought separately and added. | |
| Epson printer | No model number for lookup. There are hundreds of them | |
| Epson scanner | Does it do Optical Character Recognition? is it a flat bed? Have to call. | |
| Bush brand comp desk & lthr chair. $2500 | Sweetens the deal, probably needs moving money, clearing out all the office stuff. Wouldn't normally get rid of the desk! | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| IMAC 2.2, G3, 400mhz, DVD, 20gb, OSX + 9.2, Off 98, Imation sd$675 obo | ||
Translation |
||
| IMAC 2.2, G3 | Apple Macintosh. NOT CPU Speed! Model number. IMAC is a very small computer, about the size of a small book! | |
| 400mhz | CPU Speed is different with Apple, so this is probably fine for most work. | |
| DVD | DVD Player | |
| 20gb | Hard disk size. This is ok for small home use. | |
| OSX + 9.2 | OS Version. This is important in Apple computers. Some programs won't work if you try to install them on some versions. All programs have to say 'MAC'. | |
| Off 98 | MAC version of Office 98 is already loaded. Can only use it on other MACs of the same OS version and EARLIER!! | |
| Imation sd | On-board sound card, means that the sound card is part of the main computer. No big deal, except on VERY SMALL machines! | |
| $675 obo | Bring less cash and talk. He wants to upgrade and needs the money. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| 200 MHZ .5 Gig HD, mon, mod CD Rom, Win 98 $150. | ||
Translation |
||
| Your turn! | See how you do with what you know now | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| Del 400MHz, 6.4 HD, 56K, $165. | ||
Translation |
||
| Your turn! See how you do. | It should be getting easier. | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| Sony G520P, 21 inch monitor, silver and grey color, perfectcondition, only 3 months old! Paid $770, will sell for $400 OBO. Call | ||
Translation |
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| Reduced by half. | I need the money? | |
| Typical Ad pulled from the Sunday Paper | ||
| Dell Pentium 4 @ 2.8 GHZ, 512 MB DDR SDRAM @ 400 MHZ, 18"flat panel, 64MB graphics card, CD burner, speakers w/sub woofer, brand new,nvr used, $950 obo | ||
Translation |
||
| Dell Pentium 4 @ 2.8 GHZ | 2.8Ghz is a good speed. | |
| 512 MB DDR SDRAM @ 400 MHZ | This all refers to Bus& RAM, Very good. | |
| 18" flat panel 64MB graphics card CD burner speakers w/sub woofer brand new nvr used | Never Used? There is a story here. Call First. With ads that are very cheap it could be stolen goods, so buyer beware! | |
| $950 obo | Negotiateby phone and bring cash | |
You should be able to understand most, if not all of the terms and abbreviations now! Some of the term will be explained as the course progresses, and some you can get from the person who is selling. When you are selling a computer, try to make your ad similar to the ones that you can understand. Keeping the ad simple will ensure that anyone can understand what it is you have to sell.
You should also congratulate yourself, as you are learning new terms and techniques that will give you a big head start in any career that you choose. You have already accomplished a great deal, as you will soon see.
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