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Purchasing your next computer – What you need to know

Buying a new computer can be extremely daunting, especially with all the optional extras.  Quite often the sales staff will offer the most expensive as the best option for you.  This isn’t always the case; something half the price could suit you fine.  So what should you look for?  How can you avoid spending too much?  Read on to find out!
What do you need it to do?
Before you even start to look at computers, ask yourself one question – “What do I need the computer for?”  The answer will likely be one of three, either browsing the internet, running the latest games or for use in a home office.  If you are looking for a computer to use within a business, you should consult your IT support company first.  You may have some unusual requirements for bespoke software or hardware.  Whichever option you choose will be important in the computer you go for.  I’ll explain this later.
 

How long does it need to last?
Computers are constantly upgrading.  If you buy the best machine today, its likely tomorrow there will be something better.  Keeping up with the newest hardware can be an expensive business especially if you don’t need it.  The only time you will need the best hardware is if you want to play the newest games.  Gaming PCs tend to be the highest specification and often hold the highest price tag.  If you want the computer specifically for gaming, it may be a better option for you to look at a console such as PS3 or Xbox 360 as these do not need upgrading and are designed to play games.
Another thing to think about is the quality of the components used inside the computer.  Well-known brands such as HP, Compaq, Dell and Fujitsu tend to be higher quality products and therefore should last longer.  Buying a cheaper brand from supermarkets or cheap outlets tend to mean cheaper parts and in my experience don’t last as long.  It’s worth spending a bit more and getting a name you know and trust.  HP tends to offer quality parts at a reasonable price and would be my personal brand of choice.
 

Making sense of all the options

This blog post will become out of date pretty quick but the information should help with making an educated decision.  Let’s take a look at the different hardware options first.

Processor
This is the part of the computer that does all the thinking.  It’s kind of like the brain and it deals with all the requests the computer makes.  The quicker the speed, the more tasks it can deal with at once.  To make it even more confusing, you might have more than one processor depending on the option you choose.
There are two main manufacturers of processor, Intel and AMD.  Intel tends to be a better quality processor but it certainly reflects in the price.  AMD are still a very good brand of processor and do a perfect job in cheaper end PCs.  It is also a common choice when choosing a gaming PC too as it offers the extra power needed without costing the earth.
Both manufacturers have a processor to stay clear of, Intel has Celeron and AMD have Sempron.  These are the cheapest processor available but they are also by far the worst.  If you take one thing from this blog, please make sure it is this.  Do not waste your money on either of these processors.  Spend a little more and you will notice no end of difference in speed and power.  If you currently have a Celeron or Sempron powered computer, this is probably the reason it is running slowly.
Below is a list of each manufacturer’s processor series, a brief description of what they offer and who they would best suit.  This is only a guide and you may decide differently but I would suggest finding the bracket that suits you best.

Intel Processors

AMD Processors

Memory

This one is pretty straightforward.  Memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) allows your computer to run multiple programs at once.  It’s vital to a computer system and the more you have the more tasks your computer can do at once.
Microsoft recommends a minimum of 1GB for windows 7 32bit and 2GB for 64bit.  This is the minimum requirement and might cause slowness if you’re using lots of programs.  For what it costs, I would recommend looking at 1GB more than the minimum requirements just to be on the safe side.  This can always be increased in the future for a relatively low cost if you feel it is required.

Hard Drive
The hard drive on a computer is like the garden shed.  It doesn’t improve the performance of the computer; it just gives you somewhere to store everything.  When choosing what size is best, think about how much data you will want to store.  1TB is 1000GB which is a massive amount of data.  It relates to around 1000 films, 250,000 MP3 tracks or a massive load of word documents and photos. 
Lower spec computers will come with around 320GB, a middle spec will have 500GB and a top spec will have 1TB.  320GB is more than adequate for general home use.  This is likely to change in the future, the first computer I owned contained a 40MB hard drive which at the time was pretty state of the art!

Operating System
Over the years, Microsoft has released several different operating systems.  Some of them have been a great success such as XP but others have not been quite so good, Vista is a great example of this!  Luckily for you, Windows 7 is the current OS and is actually very good.  For home use, you will have the option of 3 versions, all of which are slightly different.

Windows 7 Starter Edition
This version of Windows tends to come on the cheapest of cheap laptops and desktops.  It can normally be found on netbooks and is really only useful for browsing the internet and very basic programs.  Most customisation options are disabled (such as changing the background image) and this version cannot be added onto a server environment so we would not recommend it for business use.  It is also limited to a maximum of 2GB of memory on both 32 and 64bit versions.

Windows 7 Home Premium
This is the most common operating system found on new home computers.  It offers all the features a normal home computer will need including customisation, aero functions such as snap, find and slide, can be joined to a home network (still not suitable for a server environment) and has a limit of 4GB for 32bit version and 16GB for 64bit.  This version will be perfect for general home use.

Windows 7 Ultimate
As the name suggests, this version of Windows 7 is packed full of features.  There are far too many for me to list here but here is a link to Microsoft’s official page.  They can explain it in more detail http://bit.ly/9ODhTe.  It has a limit of 4GB memory 32bit and 192GB memory 64bit.  Worth the extra money if your planning on using the extra features.

Conclusion
To put this into perspective, if you need a computer for browsing the internet, you’re likely going to need something along the lines of an Intel Dual core processor, 1GB memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 starter 32 bit.  For the home office, something a little more powerful such as an Intel i3 Processor, 4GB memory, 500GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and for top of the range gaming machine, you should look for an Intel core i7, at least 8GB memory, 1TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
I hope that has helped make choosing your next computer a little less difficult, but if you need more assistance then please get in contact with us.  We’re more than happy to help.

Pyranet UK: Article