I have purchased dozens of home computer systems in the Vancouver area over the past several year and have learned a few lessons in the process which I've summarized below.
Laptop purchase: go with a name brand system such as HP or Acer that you have had an opportunity to test out before hand. Key board feel, screen display quality, noise and other things that might bother you long term are very hard to predict without an extended hands on test. Laptop models are constantly being replaced which means reviews and available stock at your local shops are hard to match. So, a vendor such as Future Shop, is an excellent place to get your laptop. Future Shop gives you a 30 day price guarantee and a 30 day (or 15 day in some cases) return policy (for a laugh go to your near by Sony shop and ask for a 30 day price guarantee, a 15 day return if your not satisfied, or a warrantee that is good anywhere in the world, and have a good laugh). And, get the 2 or 3 year extended warrantee when you buy your laptop (go with a name brand like Acer if you might need a world wide support option), especially if you expect that someone will be doing CPU intensive things with the lap top such as play computer games. Laptops are very small and generate huge amounts of heat (although the news chip sets are much better a reducing heat), the chances are quite high that you will experience a laptop failure within 3 years. Every laptop I've ever used has failed in 3 years at least once.
Of course, if you do know exactly what you need in your laptop and you are sure you won't need to return it (i.e. change your mind because you hate something about it), then check our your generic computer store which will likely carry Acer, HP and other name brands. Their choice might be limited but they will have picked a few high value models from the manu factors almost limitless choices. But remember, once you boot it you pretty much own if it came a generic shop or from most chains, which is why I do only recommend Future Shop for laptops.
Full system purchase: go for a generic computer system from a small computer shop you trust. These shops typically get their parts from Ingram Micro a world wide technology component distributor. Because many small smart shops are always looking for the best parts options, Ingram Micro who supplies a huge network of users across Canada and around the world, is going to tend to have the best choices available today. Aside: networks always win in the long run and this is very apparent in the world in generic computers. Networks win because most of the smartest people in the industry work in companies that use the Ingram Micro network as opposed to working for a large technology giant such as HP or Acer. And even HP and Acer make some use of Ingram Micro.
After a few misses, I now exclusively buy my full system computers from Generic Computers on Broadway. I also buy lap tops from Generic Computers since I don't need the Future Shop flexibility.
The generic shop you select builds your computer from the best available components at the time of your purchase and they will have many pre configured packages that feature the best price tradeoffs or best performance options. You get the benefits of picking from best available components today and you can spend money where you'll get the most benefit for your specific system needs. For example, do you need excellent graphics or huge fast file storage, or both? Buy what you need now and upgrade later if you need something more in future -- upgrades to add more disks, more memory, or better graphics cards etc. are generally easy to do on a generic computer, but discuss this trade-off when you are ordering your generic. Don't worry about an extended warrantee on your generic computer -- you probably won't need it and if your generic system does fail your shop can repair a generic computer quickly and at low cost. Typically, if a system is going to fail because of a parts problem, it will happen when shop builds and burns in your system or shortly there after.
I do emphasis that you need to go to a reliable generic shop. If you end up at a less than reliable shop, they might build your system using "spare" parts they have left over from failed attempts, make bad setup judgments or even worse, much worse. I am sure that there are many excellent generic computer shops in Vancouver (and certainly across Canada) but once I found Generic Computers on Broadway, I've never looked any further -- extremely honest, price competitive, helpful picking component trade-offs, can do, fast turn around times, and generally easy to deal with. I've bought 15+ systems there without problems.
If you need to select another generic shop because of location or the like, then I would recommend that you ask for all the original boxes from the components that go into your system and that you get very specific on the parts lists when ordering your system (e.g. if you are getting 2G of memory then make sure it is clear how many SIMMs are used as future upgrades may be blocked). If you aren't comfortable making component choices then go with a pre-packaged configuration that matches your needs. Be sure that the shop understands how and where you intend to use your computer -- e.g. many systems are much too noise to use in a bed room environment. Or if you need to leave your system on 24 hrs a day then you do want to ensure it has the best quality case and power supply you can get (actually, I always ask for the top case and power supply available and especially in Vancouver, always use a surge protector).
If in doubt about the generic shops you are considering then ask around and listen to what you hear when you are in the shop you are considering.
Timing: Don't buy your system until you need it. Generic computer shops typically have a 1 to 3 day turn around time so you don't need to worry about delivery. And if you wait 3 or 6 months the chances are very good that better price/performance tradeoffs will work in your favor. This is especially true for laptops.
For laptops, look for clearance specials as well. Since the models change frequently, and since you should be getting the extended warrantee, a clearance special on a discontinued model is a good way to save a few dollars -- remember the clearance model today was probably a hot new release a few months ago.
If you are not sure you need a specific feature in your console system (e.g. 250G of disk space or 500G), then get what you need now and plan on an upgrade later if you need more. Adding another drive or more memory to a generic system is typically very cheap and easy to do. And by waiting 6 months or a year the component might cost x% less or delivery x% more capacity/performance for the same price. But do discuss these options with your generic shop before hand so some low price systems have limit future upgrade paths to reduce initial price.
