Shopping for a computer can be a headache, especially for the non-technical. You are loaded with questions for the computer sales person: “Which brand is the best?”, “Which computer is the fastest?”, “Which computer can do what I need it to do?”, “Should I get a Windows or a MAC?”, “Intel or AMD?”. All these questions and more will be answered.
First things first, you will need to know some basic technical information about computers:
MB and GB are measures of memory, pronounced MegaByte and GigaByte, respectively. To give you an idea of how much space that is, an MP3 is usually between 3 and 6 MB, and there are 1024 MB in a GB.
RAM is the physical memory of the computer; the higher, generally the faster the computer, 2GB is optimal. Increasing a computers RAM fixes most speed issues people have.
HDD is your hard “disk” drive (aka. hard drive), this is where all your saved files are held. The higher the more stuff you can put on it. 150GB should be more than enough for the basic home user.
CPU Speed is the speed of the processor (the brains of the computer if you will). Nowadays, you should get atleast a 1.5GHZ duel core processor.
The Operating System (OS) is program that allows you to functionally interact with the computer. Windows is the most well known OS. Macintosh is becoming increasingly popular as well.
These terms are important in gathering information about a computer. You will want to ensure you have a higher amount of RAM before you ensure a faster CPU. RAM is what the computer is thinking about ‘now’, and the more things it can think about at one time, the faster it will be able to run them. RAM should be the number one priority when looking at a computer, no matter what you are using it for.
CPU speeds are so fast these days that none of the hardware, including RAM can come close to it, so it is not very economical to get a computer that is 3GHZ or more, and 1.5GHZ will be enough for anyone, especially if you’re running a duel core (two processors on one CPU). There are computers that even have quad-cores. I do not recommend buying a quad-core, because most of its potential will end up being unused its entire life, why pay for something your not going to use? Duel-core is a good way to go because each processor takes half the processing, and will roughly half the time it takes to process something with a single core of the same speed (GHZ). So what processing used to take 100% of the CPU, now takes 50%. So you are better off with a duel-core processor that has a slower speed (GHZ) rating, because a 1.5GHZ duel-core will be faster than a 2GHZ single core.
Also, you need to pay attention to whether the CPU is an Intel or an AMD. The difference is in the price, really. AMD generally caries higher cache memory versus Intel usually supplies a higher speed. My personal preference is AMD because the speed of the CPU isn’t nearly as important as the amount of information the CPU is able to hold, and therefore “speed” the computer up. The cache memory costs more to make, than to make a faster processor with less memory, therefore the price difference. This is a bit confusing, especially for the non-technical so I will just say that a basic user isn’t going to notice a big difference either way, but if you are looking for a gaming system you should consider going the AMD route.
Another aspect to look at when purchasing a new computer is the HDD size. Most decent computers come stock with atleast 120GB. This is going to be more than enough for the basic user, if you plan on storing a huge amount of something such as tens of thousands of songs, or hundreds of movies, then this should be a higher priority when comparing computer values, otherwise you should make this fairly low of a priority.
The next thing you need to do is decide which OS you are going to use. There are several options available, and each has its plus and minuses; it depends on what you are going to be using your computer for. Windows Vista is the latest version of Microsoft’s OS. It has many security features while maintaining the Windows advanced functionality; however, due to its major visual upgrade it takes up a lot RAM, so if you decide to get it, then you should have a minimum of 2GB of RAM. Note, however, that if you want 4GB of RAM then you will have to use the 64-bit version of Vista which isn’t nearly as supported for by external hardware (such as printers, etc).
You can also still get the Windows XP version, but it isn’t going to be supported at all in the near future. I recommend this choice if you need a computer now, but are waiting on Windows 7 (the next version of Windows comming soon). Windows XP uses much less RAM, and still has most of the same functionality as Windows Vista, except for the advanced security features. Also, Windows XP can use 4GB of RAM without going to the 64-bit version.
Macintosh is another choice worth investigating. The “Mac” is much less sophisticated visually. It is an excellent choice for first-time computer users, such as children, and some of the elderly looking into owning a computer. The Mac is considered the most hacker and virus safe OS at the moment, but you will have a hard time finding the highend video games supporting it. The Mac is an excellent choice if all you plan on using it for is looking up stuff online, playing music and videos, and using word processing; however, you will see a big difference in the price.
There really is no “best” computer. It depends on what you are using it for. If you want to use it as a highend video game system, then pretty much every aspect of your computer needs to be high: 3-4GB RAM, 200GB+ HDD, 2GHZ duel or quad-core and a highend video card (there really isn’t a cheap way to go here).
To get the biggest bang for your buck you’ll need to set your priority list of what it is you want. If you are going to be doing a lot of video and/or picture editing, then you are going to want a better graphics card, and a higher amount of HDD space.
Usually, you will need to find a happy medium for all of these, and then compare prices of other computers with similiar aspects. That is where you will find the best deals. Most electronics stores such as Best Buy have a weekly special on a couple computers. The most important part of finding a good value PC is to take your time, look at all the aspects, decide what you want, and find the cheapest one.
