Snark's Guide to Computing 101
Jun 21 '01
The Bottom Line Choose your hardware and software carefully. Gauge what you need, and then get your computer to match that. Be sure to backup data, and keep the computer secure.
The U.S. army gathers all information and intelligence possible before going into battle. It is also the toughest, most powerful, and most successful army on the planet. You might ask what that has to do with buying a new computer. Quite simply: Everything. Knowledge is power when it comes to buying a computer. It is hard to make a bad, informed decision. It's very easy to make a bad, uninformed decision. So, the first thing you must consider when buying a new computer is this: What do you want to do with it? If you want something to surf the web and write email with, you need not drom $4k on the latest monster gaming system. If you want to run power applications and the latest games, a bargain basement computer will probably not be up to the task. Therefore, you must gauge what you want your computer to be able to do, and what you do not need it to do. Anyway, here is my guide to successfully purchasing a new computer, and what you should do with it once you've gotten ahold of it.
Figure out what you need done: As stated above, you need to know what you want before you get it. If you want a simple, easy to use system, look to big name manufacturers, such as Hewlett Packard and Dell. These systems come with decent hardware, and most software is already loaded for you. If you want a powerhouse gaming computer, you may want to look into a manufacturer who specializes in these kinds of computers, such as Alienware or Falcon Northwest.
Choose your hardware wisely, young Paduan: Hardware is the little green circuit boards and wires that makes up the guts of the computer itself. This must be chosen carefully, as the wrong hardware can make your computer well nigh useless for what you want to do. Here's a short list of components that go into a computer, and what you should look for with each:
Motherboard and Processor: The motherboard/processor combination is the heart and mind of a computer. The motherboard is the main circuit board for the compter, into which all other devices go. The processor is the brain of the computer, it will handle a vast majority of the actual computing tasks. Depending on what you want, you can spend a little or a lot for a processor/motherboard in your computer. A Duron or Celeron processor are the 'bargain' lines of processors from Intel and AMD, respectively. They are cheaper than the Athlon or Pentium IV processors, but are still quite capable. A respectable processor would be a Duron/Celeron running at 700mhz or so. This provides good performance, at not too much price. If you want raw power, then go with an Athlon or Pentium IV, running at 1.0ghz or more.
Hard disks and other storage: A hard disk or hard drive is a disk drive that is a permanent part of the computer. A hard drive stores all the programs you load onto the computer in non volatile memory. This means that a program on the hard disk will not disappear when you shut the power down. A respectable sized hard disk would be about 10.0 gigabytes. This will give you more than enough room for the Operating System (The program that lets you use the computer, IE Windows.) and any other programs or files you may load. Removeable storage, such as floppy disks, ZIP disks, and Rewriteable CD's are also options. Each has it's drawbacks and advantages, and you should weigh your needs against the abilities of each.
RAM: Standing for Random Access Memory, RAM is another integral part of the computer. RAM is where data that your computer may need right away is stored. Without enought RAM, your computer will have to put data it needs into a 'swap file' on your hard drive. This is bad, because it takes far, far longer to get data from the hard drive than it does from the ram. (Several orders of magnitude longer.) A good amount of RAM in a system would be 128 mb of SDRAM. SDRAM performs well, and is fairly inexpensive. If your system needs massive power, you may wish to look into DDR RAM. DDR, or Double Data Rate, can dump twice as much information into a processor as SD RAM can. DDR is far more powerful, but far more expensive. Again, it is up to you to gauge what kind of performance you need.
Graphics Card: Pretty much all games now require the use of a hardware accellerator. A hardware accellerator takes over some of the duties of processing graphics from the main CPU. While not a necessity, a decent graphics card can be had for little money, so I'd recommend buying one. For as little as $70, you can get an Nvidia Geforce 2 MX. The Geforce2 MX is a respectable card, with a good balance between performance and price. If you are looking for massive performance, then you may want to look into an ATI Radeon or a Geforce 3 card. These cards are quite expensive, and are really only needed if you want the biggest and the best for your system.
Now, those are just my suggestions on what hardware to use. There are a myriad of options, and all of them have plusses and minuses to them. Again, it is up to you to decide what kind of performance you want out of your system. Also, the place you get your system will matter. Big box stores, such as Circuit City and Best Buy offer pre-made computers that are ready to go out of the box. Other options include having a computer specialty store custom build a PC to your specifications, or ordering one online. You can also build a computer from parts, but I would not recommend this to a neophyte, as there are a lot of tricks you must learn to build a PC properly.
Now that you have a computer, a few tips on how to use it properly and care for it:
1. Always shutdown the computer properly. Never simply hit the power button, as this can damage the hard drive. Windows offers a shutdown option from the start menu, and it should always be used.
2. Get a surge protector or a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) A surge protector will protect the delicate componants inside your computer from getting fried by an unexpected power surge. A UPS will allow your computer to keep running for a few minutes, even if your power has gone out. This will allow you to shut it down properly and avoid damage to your hardware or data.
3. Get antivirus software. A program such as McAfee Antivirus or Norton Antivirus is a must have for any computer. Without it, you leave your computer wide open to be ravaged by destructive viruses. Always scan any e-mail attachments or downloaded programs for a virus, as viruses can be cunningly hidden within another program, or disguised as something else. Also, regularly check for updates to the antivirus software, as new viruses are constantly cropping up.
4. Defrag and run ScanDisk regularly. Defragmenting your hard drive will allow you to reclaim wasted space, and may point out any damaged portions of the hard drive. This helps your computer run faster, as it has more resources avalible to it. ScanDisk should also be run, to check for any damage to files or the hard disk.
5. Backup important files. Never have anything irreplaceable on your hard drive. If it is important, back it up, and keep the backup disk in a safe place. Always count on the worst, because it is best to be prepared for it.
6. Look into getting a firewall program,(Norton Firewall or BlackIce Defender are two good ones.) espescially if you are using broadband. A firewall is a filter set up to keep nasty things out of your computer. Modem users do not have as much to worry about as broadband users. This is because modem users usually have a dynamic ip address. An IP address is a series of numbers that identifies your computer. With a modem, it usually changes every time you connect to the internet. With broadband, such as a Cable Modem or DSL, you have a static IP address which means your ip address remains the same all the time. This makes your computer easier to find, and makes it an easier target for malicious attacks by crackers.
7. Memorize passwords and logins, or keep them written down in a safe and secret place. A sticky note on your monitor is not a safe place. Anyone can look at that, and have your password. Also, choose long passwords, prefferably with a combination of numbers and letters. This makes your password harder to guess or to crack.
Now, even with all that data, I've still not given you everything you will need to know. This is up to you, as I've given you the basics, and the rest is up to you to learn. Try out new things, just make sure that you will not harm your computer, and Back up your data! Even if you do something that seems harmless, you may inadvertently damage something. Nothing is worse than losing an important file, and having no way to get it back. In other words, have fun, but do be careful.
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