Like most consumers, you probably have an idea of how much you want to spend on a desktop. But how do you ensure that you get exactly what you need? The different range of configurations, and the seemingly constant arrival of new and faster technology all make for a difficult decision.In this post I’m going to go through the 6 main components that you need to worry about when choosing your dream machine and also the different things you’ll be looking for depending on your computer needs.
The 6 main components that you need to look at are:
- Processor
- Motherboard
- RAM
- Hard Drive
- Graphics Card
- Monitor
To help you find the right mix, i've outlined the 3 basic types of PC user.
The 3 main consumer groups I’ll use are:
- Casual Use: Internet, mail and word processing (0 – 30 minutes a day). Price range: less than Rs.25,000 ($550)
- Moderate Use: Casual Use + photo / video editing, light gaming (30min – 3 hours a day). Price range: between Rs.25,000 to Rs.35000 ($550 and $800)
- Heavy Use: Moderate Use + heavy gaming, lots of editing (3+ hours a day)Like me..!!!. Price range: greater than Rs.35,000($800)
Before we get started, I’m going to say that all of the prices listed are current as of the day of this post and are listed in INR and U.S dollars. You could probably find cheaper prices if you search but I’m just going off the prices that I can find. Also, the prices listed above are just an estimate of what the average user in each group would need. Some people in the Casual Use group want a machine that will beat out most of the competition so they’ll spend more. Let’s get started.
Processor
Processors are the heartbeat of your computer. If you pick one that’s too slow you’re applications will get bogged down. If you pick on that’s too fast you’ll just be wasting money. Picking one that’s right for you can be difficult.
- Casual Use: Since you’re not going to be doing any processor intensive things, spending the extra money on a fast processor (or anything above a dual core) is unnecessary. The AMD Athlon2 X240 X2 240(2.9GHz) or the Intel Core2Duo E6550 (2.3GHz) processor should be perfect for you.
- Moderate Use: You’re going to want a faster processor to run all of your applications. Video editing and gaming need faster processors that your basic everyday use. The AMD Phenom 9600 (2.3GHz quad-core) or the Intel Core2Duo Q6600 (2.4GHz quad-core) will suite your needs perfectly.
- Heavy Use: You’re going to be gaming, using CPU intensive applications and you’re going demand the best. A high end quad-core processor is a necessity. The Intel Core i7 (3.0GHz) will blow all of the other processors out of the water. This quad-core processor will run anything you throw at it for years to come.
The motherboard is the foundation upon which your PC is built. Here's how to buy one that can accommodate all the components you want.- Form factor :The form factor sets the standard for a motherboard's dimensions and layout, as well as the positioning of mounting holes, expansion slots, and ports. Your case must support the form factor of the board you choose. Most of today's motherboards are laid out in the ATX form factor. Home theater buffs looking to build a PC for the living room should consider a smaller MicroATX board. These boards use the general ATX design but include fewer I/O slots, allowing for a shorter board that can fit in a smaller case.
- RAM slots
- CPU socket
Your most important decision when buying a motherboard is the processor family you want the board to support. AMD's various Athlon 64 CPUs are compatible with Sockets 754, 939, 940, and AM2, depending on the particular Athlon 64 subfamily. The socket number, in the first three cases, simply corresponds to the number of pins found on the bottom of the processor; the AM2 socket, the latest iteration, uses 940 pins and is the first AMD socket to work with DDR2 SDRAM. Sockets 478 and LGA775 support Intel Pentium 4, Celeron and Core 2 Duo processors, the only difference being that the LGA775 design has the pins located on the motherboard CPU socket, as opposed to on the CPU itself.
- Storage
With Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives becoming increasingly popular, most new motherboards offer both IDE and SATA connectors. If you want to future-proof your system, make sure your board supports SATA drives.
- PCI slots
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Most ATX motherboards provide at least four PCI slots for expansion. While these standard PCI slots are usually present for expansion cards like sound cards and Ethernet cards, faster PCI Express (PCIe) slots also appear on most mainstream boards. PCIe slots differ among themselves, however, according to the number of links, or lanes, they support. For instance, a PCIe x16 slot provides greater bandwidth than a PCIe x1 slot. (A single lane can transmit 2.5Gbps in each direction.) As a result, PCIe graphics cards employ x16, whereas an Ethernet card might use x1. Any expansion cards you plan to use must be compatible with the specific slot types, of course.
RAM
RAM is the main component when it comes to speed. In general the more RAM you have, the faster your computer will run. This is because Application instructions are put into RAM and they can be executed faster from RAM. If you want to run Vista, you’re pretty much going to need 2GB of RAM.
- Casual Use: If you’re not runing Vista, 512MB – 1GB will be sufficient for your every day use. If you’re going to run Vista, I would recommend 2GB. Any more and you won’t really notice a performance difference.
- Moderate Use: 2GB to 3GB (DDR@ or DDR3)will everything you ever need as a Moderate user. 3GB will run all of your applications.
- Heavy Use: If you’re running a 64bit OS, max out with 8GB (DDR3)of RAM. If you’re only running a 32bit OS than the most you can put in is 4GB. Whatever OS you have, make sure you max out the amount of RAM you can have because you’ll need it.
Hard Drive
Graphics Card
- Casual Use: An Intel integrated graphics card that’s included with your motherboard should be sufficient for all of your needs. If you do want a dedicated graphics card the Nvidia 8600 is a fairly cheap card that will do well.
- Moderate Use: Since you’re going to be doing a little more gaming, you’re going to want a fairly decent graphics card to keep up with the current games. The Nvidia 9800 gt is a very good card, but it is a little more expensive. The 9800GT is a little cheaper, but not quite as good.
- Heavy Use: Gaming is your life. You’re going to want the best graphics cards possible (and more than one). The ATI radeon hd 5970 ,i will be your best bet. There are some motherboards now that can even do 3-way SLI, which will run even the most graphically intensive games.
Monitor
My recommendation is DELL or ASUS.
Conclusion
There are a number of different desktop computers out there and picking the right one for yourself can be difficult. The following links are from Best Buy and showcase computers that are in the price range of the different categories:
Casual Use
Moderate Use 1 and 2
Heavy Use 1
Casual Use
Moderate Use 1 and 2
Heavy Use 1
Hopefully you’ll find a computer thats right for you. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below.
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