Buy a recognised brand name or from a reputable dealer.

Buy a complete system from one manufacturer, so there are no arguments about support if things go wrong.

Get a next business day, three-year, on-site warranty.

Don’t cut corners when it comes to your comfort: spend extra on a good mouse and keyboard and a large, high-quality monitor.

Avoid cutting edge technologies and processors. You’ll pay a premium for them and they may still have kinks and bugs that need to be worked out.

Assume your needs will grow. You may think “I don’t need a high-speed Internet connection” or “The only thing I need is a word processor” now; that’s almost guaranteed to change within the life of your hardware.

Don’t buy cheaply and plan to upgrade in a year or so. It’s a much better investment and far less pitfall-ridden to buy a quality, powerful system that will give you a solid three-to-five year’s life.