Beginner’s Guide to Buying a PC
//Beginner's Guide // Buyer's Guides // Computer Hardware // Digital Photography
Before you let someone talk you into a computer because of all the snazzy things it does or how it looks, remember that the key question you should ask is: What will I be using it for? This more than anything affects what you should look for.
Today, one of the most important tasks for which people buy a PC is to surf the Web and to get e-mail. In addition, most want a word processor that they can use to create simple documents such as letters or school assignments. The good news it that even the cheapest, lowest-end systems on the market can handle these tasks. No need to blow your budget if this is all you need!
But there are other considerations. Will you be one who downloads and stores a lot of music files? Then you’ll want to get a larger hard drive. Shoot for at least 100 gigabytes in this case. Other people are huge movie fans, and today’s technology lets you watch moves on your PC. However, you’ll need to buy one with a DVD drive. Or even better, as more movies go to Blu-Ray disc, get one with a Blu-Ray drive. And if you’d like to burn your own DVDs, you’ll need it to be a rewritable DVD or Blu-Ray drive.
A DVD writer is useful if you are planning on creating home movies, or want to backup large amounts of files in one go.
For a processor, look for a machine with an Intel Core 2 Duo Chip. You also need to think about memory (or RAM). The more you have, the better, because more memory will allow you to keep more applications open at the same time. You’ll need a minimum of 1 GB RAM and 2 is better. The starting price for a PC can now be less than £200.
Finally, you need at least 2 USB ports to ensure maximum expandability, suitable for plugging in your digital camera, printer and so on.