What to Look For – Desktop PC’s

So what should you look for when buying a Desktop computer?

First, you must decide on your budget, and make sure that this will be enough for what you want the machine to do. Hopefully the guide below will be of some help, but don’t hesitate to contact me if you want some more specific help.

Let’s have a look at the heart, or rather the brain, of the computer, the CPU.

There are two manufacturers of CPUs, Intel and AMD, and they both produce a bewildering range of CPU’s… at the time of writing, June 2008, Intel have the edge with their Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Processors.

Budget PCs – under about €700.

CPU: You’re not going to get the fastest processors at this price, but there are some excellent processors around at a reasonable price..

Intel’s new Core 2 Duo E2180 is one to look out for, superb performance at an excellent price.

The Athlon 64 X2 6000+ is also a reasonable choice.

Avoid buying an older Intel Pentium D, though. They have dual-core facilities, but their performance is a long way behind today’s Core 2 Duo range.

Memory: 2GB has almost become standard, although you can get away with 1GB, it’s not recommended if you are going to run Vista.

Check you’re getting the full benefit of the memory – some onboard graphics controllers use system memory, which will ultimately slow your system down.

Storage: Look for aa 250GB hard drive. This will be enough for most people..if you are into collecting video, DVDs and heaps of music and photo’s you can always add a second drive later.

Screen: In the budget price range, this is where compromises are often made; most of us want a flat-screen these days, but don’t be tempted by anything larger than 19″ in this price range – if you have the space and can find one, an old-fashioned CRT will give the best picture.

Graphics cards: Given that the best graphics cards can retail for €300 or more, you aren’t going to get the best gaming cards in this price range, but you can still get some very good ones.

You should still be looking for cards that can produce 50 frames per second (fps) if you’re going to be playing games – 70fps or 80fps is better still.

Look out for the Radeon HD 3850. This card is faster than anything else that you’re likely to get in this price range.

The GeForce 8600s are a good alternative and can support DirectX 10.0 and they have plenty of power to play today’s games.

Sound card and speakers: You’re unlikely to get a standalone sound card at this price – it’s an area where vendors try to cut costs. Most motherboards have decent built-in audio chips that can handle six channel sound, but to get the best out of them you’ll need a 5.1 speaker system. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance you won’t get anything better than stereo speakers in this price bracket, and you may not get any at all.

Midrange PCs – around €700 – €1200.

Processor: In this price bracket you could opt for a Quad Core Q6600, but the Dual Core chips still offer fantastic performance and value for money, so an E6850 is ideal and faster until multi-threaded applications are available.

Memory: At this price, nothing less than 2GB will do and really you should look at 4GB.

Storage: Look for 500GB, 320GB is the minimum that you can expect.

Remember, that unless you want to lose your precious data when your hard disk dies, you will need to back your data up…

…to this end you should make sure you have a DL (dual-layer) multi-format DVD writer – in English this means a DVD writer that will write on dual-layer disks which hold twice as much data (8.5GB) as normal ones..

…however as far as backups are concerned I strongly recommend an external hard-disk drive.. much easier than fiddling around with lots of DVDs.

Flat-panel: Most of us want flat panel screens but be careful – there are some poor models out there, go for a 20″ screen at this price and check that the response time is no greater than 8ms, or fast moving images will look blurred.

Graphics card: At this price point, you should be able to get something rather impressive. The 8800 GTS 512 has just jumped on to the scene and is already making waves. Its support for DirectX 10.0 means Vista users can look forwards to some impressive games in the future. However, the 8800 GT isn’t far behind. The latter is a cheaper card, and you may be able to find a PC housing not one but two of them. In scaleable link interface mode, this should produce good results.

Sound card and speakers: You are unlikely to get a seperate audio card at this price, it’s an area where manufacturers may try and cut costs, but you should get a decent onboard audio chip and at least 2.1 stereo speakers. (that’s stereo apeakers with a sub-woofer).

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Processor: at this level the E6850 is making way for the (more expensive) more powerful E8500. Look out for bargains with the E6850 as manufacturers look to sell off their remaining stocks.

You could go for a Core 2 Quad chip, which would mean sacrificing a little speed in the short term, but the performance will get better as and when multi-threaded games and applications become available.

Storage: Look for 1TB… 1000GB in 2 x 500GB Sata2 drives.

Display: A good high-quality 22″ – avoid 24″ unless you are sure of the quality.

Graphics: At this price you should get stunning graphics..go for either the brilliant GeForce 8800 Ultra, or a pair of 8800GTs for superb gaming performance.

Sound card and speakers: Look for a Creative Audigy sound card or preferably one of their excellent X-Fi range and 5.1 speakers, 7.1 if you can find them.

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What to Look For – Laptops

First, let me re-iterate, ONLY buy a laptop if you need to travel with it, or you are seriously short of space at home or in the office.

Desktops are MUCH better value.

Having decided on a laptop, similar criteria apply as with Desktops. For browsing the internet, accessing your email, and running your office applications, virtually any low-cost laptop will do, look for 80GB hard disk minimum and 1GB RAM.

Check that the casing around the screen is sturdy and doesn’t flex, screens are prone to breaking in flimsy models and are expensive to replace and usually excluded from guarantees.

A 15.4″ widescreen is probably the best compromise of usability and portability – a 17″ model is fine as a desktop replacement but I find them a bit of a pain to lug around – check the weight – and also check the battery life, it can vary enormously from as little as about 1.5 hours to well over 4.

If you are a frequent traveller a 14.1″ model might suit you better, and there are ultra-portable lightweight models available (usually much more expensive).

If you want to do more demanding tasks, look for at least 120GB of hard-disk space, 2GB of RAM, and dedicated graphics – cheaper models often use some of the main RAM for processing graphics, slowing the performance.

For the best in performance with power-saving technology go for Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors. AMD also make good dual-core processors, so don’t shy away if you see a good deal, but Intel have the edge in power/price/performance at the moment.

Most laptops now come with in-built wireless connectivity, DVD writers, and many with Bluetooth; built in card-readers for your digital photos, camera and microphone for Skype are common as well.

Whilst you can get a basic model for as little as €500, for €900-€1000 you can get a great machine quite able to cope with anything you want to do – apart from top-end games – if you want a laptop to play the latest games on , you’re looking at a lot more money.

Above all, with laptops make sure you can get it repaired reasonably easily – if you’re on Paros it will have to be sent at least to Athens and maybe further afield, so check with your supplier.

And if you want any specific advice, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.