Buy now because prices are rock bottom
Aug 07 '01
The Bottom Line Now is the best time to buy a computer for a very low price so take advantage of all the deals offered by manufacturers!
Right now computer prices are so low many of the smaller manufacturers will soon go out of business. Bigger players in the market, such as Intel, Dell, and others, will just have to ride it out and always stay one step ahead of the competition. Prices can't go much lowers so now is the best time to buy.
When buying a system there are many things to consider. In the following I will go over all the major components individually so that they can receive as much attention as possible.
Processor :
Your processor can best be compared to your brain. ***NEWS:Just yesterday Intel announced that it was cutting the price of its PIV 1.8 GHz chip by 50%!*** Because of this I recommend that you get at least a 1.6 GHz chip if you are looking for a computer in the $1500-$2000 range. I would not recommend going below 1.3 GHz because soon that will become outdated. Just remember that you can save money by getting a chip that isn't 1.8 GHz since it is possible to upgrade later.
Memory:
Memory (ram) is essential for running multiple programs at a time and a lot of ram is also necessary for high-end gaming. Ram is also very good if you are doing photo/video editing and basically anything else involving complex graphics. I would recommend that you get atleast 128 MB of ram but its better to go with 256 MB or 384 MB. By doing this your computer will run a lot faster and smoother.
Drives:
Now it is probably best to get a DVD drive and a CD-RW drive. A DVD drive will allow you to play DVDs right on your computer and will also act as your CD-Rom drive. It is best to get a 12x or 16x DVD drive. A CD-RW drive allows you to write blank CDs. This allows you to put your photos on a CD to give to a relative or to put your MP3s on CD among other things. All the information that you can fit on one CD is comparable to hundreds of floppies! The best CD-RW drive is probably the 8x-4x-32x and the 12x-4x-32x. These will write a CD in about 7 or 8 minutes. If you want to go all out you can get a 16x-8x-32x but there is not too much difference.
Hard drive:
Your hard drive is the amount of storage you have on your computer. The bigger the hard drive the more room you have, just like the bigger your house the more room you have to put stuff in it. The stuff you would put in your hard drive would be anything you download from the internet. Your games and photos/videos. Also you store your DVDs and anything you create, such as a typed document. Basically everything that you have on your computer takes up some of your hard drive. If you are someone who doesn't have many games or MP3s I would recommend that you get a 20-30 GB hard drive. If you have a lot of DVDs (which are about a GB each) and games, etc a larger hard drive is necessary, about 30-60 GB. It is unlikely that you will need more than 60 GB unless you are doing professional movie editing or have many DVDs and hundreds or thousands MP3s stored on your computer.
Monitor:
It is probably best to get a 19-21 inch monitor because they are really large so you aren't squinting to see the type. If you have limited space where you are putting your computer it may be best to get an LCD screen which is just an inch or two thick. These can be expensive though.
Graphics card/Network card:
Most people get a 32 MB graphics card which is sufficient for nearly everyone. If you are doing professional photo editing or very complex games you may want 64 MB but that is not often necessary. Another good thing to get is a network card. This enables you to connect all your computers and if you have a cable modem or DSL then all of the computers have access to that speed.
Other:
A normal keyboard and mouse are perfectly fine and there is no reason to spend extra for a "cool" looking one. What would get good is a high quality printer so that you no longer get those terrible "dotted" prints. If you are in to photography then you should consider a digital camera. There are some good ones at just $200-$300 but the best can go up to $1000. With a digital camera your photos will go straight to the computer where you can edit them and also send to family. If you do get a digital camera a digital printer will enable you to literally print photos as if they were from a photo shop. If you stick with a normal camera a scanner is useful to put those photos on your computer and email them to relatives.
Good luck with your knew system. It's sure to be a blast!
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