Top things to look for when buying a new computer?

By Bruce Hearder

This must be the most commonly asked question on the Internet. It get asked over and over again, and if you have been involved with computer for more than 5 minutes, friends and relatives will come to you asking you the same question, so hopefully this article will help those people looking for advice.

There are two main types of computers aimed at the home market.
There are those machines set up to run Microsoft Windows and machines that run the Apple system.
Unless you have access to Apple computers elsewhere, such as at work or at school, it would be advisable (for a first time computer purchaser) to purchase a Microsoft Windows based machine. The reason for this are as follow:
1. Windows based machine are generally much cheaper than Apple based machines
2. There is significantly more software for Windows based machines that there is for Apple machines.

Once you have got to this point, then its time to decide what you are going to do with the machine.
If you are going to play games, then you will need a reasonably high powered video card, with at least 128MB of RAM (preferably more) and go for a machine with highest CPU clock rate as possible (this is usually expressed in Giga Hertz, the bigger the number the better, a rough rule of thumb is 1000MHz ~ 1G Hz). This will mean that your computer will be fast and will remain reasonably up to date for much longer.

Also if you plan on surfing the web, then it is advisable to have a machine that has an Ethernet port so that you can directly connect to a DSL modem or cable system. If you cannot get high speed broadband access in your area, then you will have to use a 56KB dial up modem to access the web.
The price of these 56K modems have dropped considerably over the past year or so as more and more people switch to broadband.

If you wish to watch real-time TV or do video processing work, then you will need LOTS of space on the hard disk drive (HDD).
It would be advisable to get a HDD with at least 80GB or more, of storage space, this should be enough to get you going, and if you need more space you can always add another internal or external HDD to your system.

If you are going to be doing a lot of moving about, then a laptop maybe the answer for you. Generally with laptops, your choices are much more restrictive and the prices of laptops are generally much more than comparable desktop machines.

When choosing a laptop the same rules as choosing a desktop generally apply:
- The faster the processor the better,
- The more memory the better, and in the case of laptops
- the better the display, the better your enjoyment in using the computer will be.

Finally, ask your friends and work colleagues what they are using. If they are happy with their machines, then seriously think about getting a comparable machine for yourself.
If you are looking for more computer related information then check out the computer section of Exceed Directory