The following are a few questions to ask the salesperson when looking to by a new PC.  If your salesperson doesn't know the answer, tries to change the subject, or the answers aren't in accordance to the answers below, you may want to start shopping somewhere else.

Question: Are they an Authorized dealer by the manufacture?
Answer: If they are not authorized you may be buying gray market (see note below) which may hinder warranty and service to your part.

Question: Is the video, sound or modem integrated?
Answer: Buying a computer with integrated components is a BIG mistake. You will end up replacing your entire computer just to repair or upgrade the integrated part. If the answer you get is a "yes" look for the closest exit. (Sound can be an exception)

Question: All computers are made of several components. A brand name on the computer doesn't tell you who made the parts inside. Who makes the components, for instance the motherboard, sound card, or video card?
Answer: Stick to top grade parts such as ABIT, ASUS, Creative Labs, and ATI.

Question: Is the case proprietary or does it use standard form factor?
Answer: If it's a proprietary case you it may not be able to use standard parts for upgrades or repairs which means a higher cost to replace items.

Question: What is the wattage of the power supply?
Answer: At least 250 watts should be used, preferably 300 watts to 400 watts.

Question: What is the access speed of the RAM?
Answer: The lower the Nanoseconds the better.  The CPU talks to the RAM millions of times per second.  If the RAM is even a tiny bit slower the difference may seem small. But multiply that by millions and you'll see a difference.

Question: Who makes the hard drive?
Answer: IBM has the best Track record with Western Digital next.  Watch out for Samsung and Fujitsu.

Question: Who makes the video card?
Answer: ATI, ELSA, Cardex, Leadtek, ASUS-are some of the best in the industry. Generic off-brand  cards won't perform as well and can cause many software problems and conflicts. REMEMBER, just because it says Geforce doesn't mean the card is good. A good video card is crucial to a good computer.

Question: Is the video card integrated or an actual card?
Answer: See question #1. Do not buy a system with integrated video. The video is the fastest changing area of the computer. If you get integrated parts you lose quality and the ability to update when the time comes. Video is the most important to NOT buy integrated.

Question: Who makes the modem?
Answer: 3com, US Robotics or Creative Labs are your tops here. Stay away from "PC Tel" or an AMR modem. AMR is a style of modem only half a notch above an integrated modem.

Question: Who makes the monitor?
Answer: Again stick with good name brand like Sony, Hitachi or Viewsonic. Avoid KDS and other cheap brands. "You get what you pay for"

Question: What is the dot pitch and refresh rate?
Answer: Dot Pitch is a measurement of the space between pixels (dots) on the monitor, it improves as it's measurement gets lower. Example a .25 is much better than a .27. Refresh rate is the measurement of the frequency (basically the speed) that your monitor "re-draws" the screen. If your refresh rate gets much lower than 72-75mhz you will see flickers. You'll want higher for large resolutions like 1024x768 and above.

NOTE: Please remember to ask if the company is an Authorized Dealer for the Products they sell. Watch out for GREY MARKET.

GREY MARKET: The grey market describes the purchase by intermediaries of a product which is not supplied to them by the "authorized" distribution channel of the supplier. Thus, a warehouse club in Canada that sells a stereo bought in the U.S. or elsewhere from other than the manufacturer is supplying grey market goods. While grey market products are frequently the same as would be available from conventional channels in Canada, the grey market assumes responsibility for service or repair where the manufacturer declines this support.