How to Buy a Computer
How to Buy a Computer
One of the most frequently asked questions is, œWhat should I look for in a new computer? The answer depends largely on what you plan to do with your computer, how tech-savvy you are, and how much money you want to spend. Of these, the purchase price is the most obvious obstacle to computer bliss.
The reality is that computers are now a commodity product, and you can buy your computer from hundreds of retailers. They can be bought over the Internet or from your local electronics store, but not every company cares enough about you as a person to help you choose an appropriate machine.
It easy to get carried away while shopping for your computer. There are plenty of upgrades, but depending on your needs, these may be unnecessary expenses. Is your computer intended for light home use, like word processing and web browsing? Or will it use graphics-intense programs like the latest video games? Or maybe you need an office machine with plenty of disk space to backup your important files?
The processor is what makes your computer tick. Today most popular PC processor manufacturers are AMD and Intel (which markets the well-known Pentium line). The processor is usually rated in terms of MHz or GHz, with a higher number indicating faster operating performance. The faster the processor, the faster your computer can perform operations like opening and running software programs.
The hard drive is where you store your files but keep in mind that bigger is not always better. Most drives are measured in Gigabytes, although larger servers may extend this to terabytes. The hard drive is typically the slowest component in your system, and most users will never use more than 20 G of disk space, so why pay for a huge, clunky disk? Speed up your system by purchasing a 7200 RPM drive with ATA133 specification. Of course, if you™re a space hog, serious gamer, engineer with CAD, graphic designer or MP3 downloader you should consider a larger drive.
There are several different kinds of memory on the market today and which one you buy will depend on what kind of motherboard and processor you have, or whether you use a desktop or notebook computer. The techie term is RAM, which stands for Random Access Memory, and it is measured in M, which stands for Megabytes (except for large servers¦ they use...