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A computer is perhaps the most important part of our daily
lives. We see it everywhere from our homes to the places we
work. Since it is used so much in our lives, we want to make
sure that a PC we purchase is a good computer that will be able
to do everything we want it to, and last a long time.
But purchasing a new computer is not as easy as you might think
it is. Sure you could shell out lots of money and buy a brand
PC, but sometimes you are spending money on speed and features
you don't even need. They also come with offers and built in
software that they dangle in front of you to stay ahead in the
business. You can also custom build your own computer, but is it
really going to be cheaper then if you bought a brand PC with
the same features? Since I have been using, and buying
computers, for the past 12 years I know exactly what you need to
look for when buying a fully assembled desktop computer. Use my
tips below and you will save time and money.
- You need to know what hardware you will need. If you don't
know, talk to someone who has knowledge of computers, and tell
them what you will be using the PC for. They should know what
you will need. Once you know what you should get, then look for
a computer that meets those needs.
- Make sure the store you buy your new computer from has great
service and are willing to stick by their computer.
- If you will be using the computer for video games or other
graphic related applications, you need to have a good graphics
card. Most motherboards come with a built in graphics card, but
usually that is not suitable for high end graphic demands.
Purchasing a nice ATI or NVIDIA graphics card would be a good
idea if you plan on using the PC for graphic related
applications. There is a slot available to slide your new
graphics card in if you choose to buy a separate one.
- The computer and hardware parts should have a warranty. Most
hardware comes with long and good warranties, but just to make
sure you might want to purchase a warranty from the store that
you are buying the PC from. This way if something goes wrong a
few years down the road, they still have to fix it or replace it!
- The next thing you need to consider is the computers case. A
good computer case should have USB slots available on the front
of it, for easy access, and in the back. It should also have a
powerful power supply (for additional parts) and at least 1 fan
in front of the motherboard to keep the computer cool. Flash
drives can also be found sometimes built into the front of the
PC, for instant access to your flash media. These are very handy
and should be considered especially if you have a digital camera.
- Another very important aspect of your PC is CD/DVD drives and
burners. A DVD burner is what I recommend for everyone, since
the price is basically the same as a CD burner, but it will also
play DVD's and regular CD's, plus be able to burn DVD's and
regular CD's! Two types of burners for the price of one!
- Your computer's mouse is how you interact with your PC. The
latest mouse technology available is the optical mouse, which
uses a laser light instead of a mouse "ball". Old fashioned
mouse balls got stuck and were hard to use sometimes, with an
optical mouse that problem is no more.
- Perhaps the most important aspect of a computer is the
monitor. No longer are we in the realm of old fashioned CRT
monitors. The LCD monitor is now readily available when you
purchase your new computer, and in my opinion should be
required. LCD monitors are so vivid and crystal clear that you
will never want to go back to an old CRT monitor. LCD monitor's
also consume less power and take up less space, plus they come
on much faster.
- Almost as important as the monitor, is the sound system and
speakers. Good sound on your computer can really make a
difference, especially if you play a lot of games and listen to
a lot of music and watch movies. Desktop speakers have gone down
significantly in price and in combination with a good sound card
your experience will be complete. I recommend a sound card from
"Creative" called Sound blaster Audigy.
- Your operating system is a very important factor of how well
you will love or hate your new PC. I have always used Windows,
so I recommend Windows XP, or in the future, Windows Long Horn.
There are of course other choices like Linux, and you could go
for a Mac too. Just make sure you have experience with the
operating system that you choose.
- Last but not least is your printer. If you are a photo hound,
and use a digital camera a lot, then you definitely want a high
quality printer that can print out all of your photos. Another
good idea to consider is an all in one printer that can scan,
copy, and print with just one machine.
That is all of my advice for you when buying a new desktop
computer. Follow those steps and maintain your computer
properly, and it will last longer and function better.
About the author:
For more information on customizing your computer to fit your
needs, with step by step help from an expert, go to:
http://www.computer-customizing-guide.com/
Title: Buying the Perfect Computer
Author: Jay Bauder
Article:
It's easy to make a mistake when buying a new computer. Many
people end up spending a ton of money on something expensive
that they'll never use to its full potential, while others buy
something so small that they have to do expensive upgrading in a
matter of months. There's few things more disappointing than
finding out your 6 month old computer can't do what you want it
to do, or that you don't really need that $400 graphics card to
run Microsoft Word.
Don't just buy blindly. Hopefully this article will help you ask
the right questions and get the right hardware for your needs in
return.
Power Supply:
Often overlooked as a component, your power supply is an
important part of your computer as it powers all the internal
components. The power supply you need will largely be determined
by the components in your PC - in particular CPU type, graphics
card and number of internal devices. For Pentium 4 and all AMD
CPUs, a minimum 300W power supply is recommended. If you want to
run one of the new ATI X8xx or GeForce 6xxx series 3D graphics
cards, don't even try anything weaker than a 400W power supply.
Never overlook the significance of a power supply - an
underpowered system will be prone not only to unreliable
operation, but also to component damage.
CPU:
On the entry level side of things you have a choice between
AMD's Sempron CPUs and Intel's Celeron D. These CPUs are not for
the hardcore gamer - they're for the average user who only want
to run office applications and use the Internet. For the
hardcore user/gamer there's the Pentium 4 and the AMD Athlon 64
CPUs. There's little to choose between the two big guns in the
CPU business. The slowest Pentium 4 CPU readily available at
present is the 3Ghz version, while AMD's equivalent, the Athlon
64 3000+ will likewise satisfy most users' demand for processing
power. Go faster than that and the increase in cost becomes
quite significant, and you'll have to weigh that up against your
budget and your demands.
Motherboard:
The most important thing to keep in mind when picking a
motherboard is to get one that's fairly future proof. For
Pentium 4 that means a motherboard that supports socket 775
CPUs, and for AMD a motherboard that supports socket 939 CPUs.
Also, make sure your motherboard has enough expansion slots
(most commonly PCI slots) to support all additional cards you
may want to use in future - including sound cards, TV cards,
wireless network cards, etc. If you're a gamer, also make sure
that your motherboard supports either an AGP 8x (obsolete soon),
but preferably a PCI-Express 16x slot for a 3D graphics card.
3D Graphics Card:
While most motherboards these days feature an onboard graphics
card that is suitable for the casual user, these aren't adequate
for gamers. With the old AGP 8x architecture almost obsolete,
the way to go is a PCI-Express graphics card if you have a
motherboard that supports it. For casual gamers who want to play
a bit of Sims and Harry Potter, nVidia's GeForce 6600 and ATI's
X700 series of cards will do the trick. For the hardcore gamer
who wants to play cutting edge games like Doom 3 and Battlefield
2 at rocking frame rates, don't get anything smaller than a
GeForce 6600GT or ATI X800 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory on the
card. 128MB is also acceptable if you don't want to play at
resolutions higher than 1152x864. Before buying a graphics card,
make sure that a) your motherboard has the appropriate slot for
it and b) that your power supply is strong enough to support it.
RAM:
RAM is fast memory used by your computer to execute tasks. When
your computer runs out of RAM, it starts swapping data to the
much slower hard drive, which slows down your entire system.
With RAM being so cheap these days I'd recommend you get at
least 512MB. If you're going to run Windows XP, don't get less
than 256MB or you'll slow even the fastest CPU powered computer
to a crawl. For hardcore gamers, less than 1GB simply isn't an
option anymore.
Hard drive:
The smallest hard drive you can buy at the time of writing is
80GB. That's more than the average home/office user will ever
fill, while it's not nearly enough for music/video collectors or
avid gamers. At the moment the first big price jump in hard
drives comes between 200GB and 250GB, so 200GB would be a great
option if you need some serious space. Be sure to make
comparisons if you need more space - for example, two 200GB
drives are much cheaper than one 400GB, even though you get the
same amount of space. On the other hand again, two 80GB drives
are more expensive than one 160GB drive. It's also worth getting
a SATA hard drive if your motherboard supports it. It's much
faster than IDE drives, which are still abundantly available.
Optical Drives:
Fortunately CD-ROM drives have quietly vanished off the market,
so you can now get more versatile DVD-ROM and CD-ReWriter drives
very cheaply. If you want to be able to write DVDs, naturally go
for a DVD-RW drive, and make sure the drive you get supports
double-layer writing so you can use the new 8.5GB double layer
DVD discs in it, which is a whole lot of backup storage.
So, that's just a quick rundown of the things to keep in mind
when buying a new computer. Fortunately it's almost impossible
to buy a slow computer these days - only
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