| Looking to buy a new desktop personal computer | | | | available now will provide you with more than |
| system? Owing to the changing nature of the PC | | | | enough storage. Look for atleast 80 GB 7200 |
| Hardware industry and declining prices, it makes it | | | | rpm drive as the minimum. If you really want |
| all that much more difficult. Here come many of | | | | performance, look for drives with 8MB or 16MB |
| the basic items to examine when comparing | | | | of cache. Drives will either be Serial ATA or IDE |
| desktop computer systems so that you can | | | | but performance levels are roughly the same. |
| make an informed purchasing decision. Most PC | | | | Optical Drives. Most systems, including budget |
| Dealer bundle the configuration you require. | | | | systems, sold now feature multiformat DVD |
| A PC is made up of the CPU (Central Processing | | | | burners that can support both the +R/RW and -R |
| Unit or Processor, as we know) and the Mother | | | | RW formats and 16x for the recordable speed as |
| Board (MB) on which it fits into. MB supports | | | | well as Dual or Double Layer media support. If |
| many other hardware, either inbuilt or add-ons. It | | | | you don't need a DVD burner, try to at least get |
| has slots for RAM (usually called Memory) and for | | | | a CD-RW/DVD combo drive of 24x recording |
| other cards such as Modem, Video-graphics card, | | | | speed to allow for CD media storage and DVD |
| Sound Card etc. It also has lots of ports to | | | | playback. |
| support input, output and storage devices, | | | | Video Card |
| peripherals and what not. | | | | Owing to rapid change in technology it is difficult |
| For Processors there are two basic choices, brand | | | | to choose the right one. Card that supports |
| and speed. A lot of change is happening in the | | | | DirectX 9 future capability, with 128MB of |
| market. Both Intel and AMD are starting to | | | | memory is the best. DVI connectors for digital |
| produce dual core processors, but they aren't | | | | LCD panels and multi-monitor support are the |
| required for most people. Budget CPUs can be | | | | need of future. Otherwise there is wide range to |
| found around the 2.4 to 3.0 GHz (PR of 3000+ | | | | fit your requirement. New systems should use |
| and below) range, mid-range at 2.8 to 3.2 GHz (PR | | | | PCI Express graphics cards over the previous |
| of 3200+ to 3800+) and high-end processors at | | | | AGP interface. |
| or above 3.4 GHz(PR above 4000+). | | | | External Connectors |
| Budget Processors: these are on the verge of | | | | Many I/O devices, upgrades and peripherals to |
| phasing out but are good for low end purposes | | | | computers now connect through external |
| such as word-processing etc.They are AMD | | | | interfaces instead of internal cards. Look for |
| Athlon 64, AMD Sempron 64, Intel Celeron D 300 | | | | systems that have at least six USB 2.0 and one |
| Series, Intel Pentium 4 (Socket T), Intel Pentium | | | | IEEE 1394 or FireWire ports. |
| D 805 Through 820 | | | | Monitors |
| Middle Processors: This is the segment of the | | | | Choose least a 17 inch i.e 1280 by 1024 pixels |
| market that is probably the best overall value for | | | | resolution monitor. Choice is between bulky CRT |
| your computing dollar.The range is AMD Athlon 64 | | | | or Sleek LCD monitors. CRTs provide a wide |
| X2 3800+ to 4600+ (Socket AM2), Intel Pentium | | | | range of capabilities at a good price. LCDs take up |
| D 900 Series, Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 to E6700 | | | | less desk space but cost more and have limited |
| Top of the Line Processors: This is the cream of | | | | capabilities. |
| the crop when it comes to processing power. If | | | | Software |
| you absolutely must have the best thing out | | | | Goes with the PC are the set of software you |
| there for your new computer than this is what | | | | require to work on it. Try only the reliable and |
| you want to look at. AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 and | | | | widely used operating systems and software, anti |
| higher, AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and higher, Intel | | | | virus solutions and firewalls. Not only the support |
| Core 2 Extreme X6800, QX6700 and higher | | | | is readily available, the Help (F1) is also handy. |
| RAM is important because to run your system | | | | Microsoft offers most value-for-the-money |
| optimally. The minimum of 512MB PC2100 DDR or | | | | readymade yet customizable solution. But assess |
| PC2700 DDR RAM should be there even for | | | | your requirement first. Do not overload your |
| budget systems. Though1GB of RAM provides | | | | system with unnecessary stuff. I t will be |
| much better performance. DDR2 PC3200 can be | | | | pain-in-the-ass every now and then. Oracle, |
| found on newer Intel systems. When buying | | | | Adobe, Sun Micro, Symantec, IBM etc. are also |
| memory, try to buy as few DIMMs as possible to | | | | proving reliable solutions. You can go in for the |
| allow for future memory upgrades if needed. | | | | custom made software, if security and |
| Hard drives is for storage. Most hard drives | | | | confidentiality is your prime need. |