Thoughts on a PC Purchase, Part II
In the prior installment, I delineated five areas of raw computing horsepower PC or laptop buyers should invest the bulk of their money in. They were: processor, RAM, hard disk (HDD), video card and video RAM, and bus. One area not covered in the prior installment was the power supply. This will be addressed and the generic hardware baseline will be complete.
Power Supply
Today’s desktops require considerable amounts of power, especially if they are custom-built. Cheap, low-quality, low-wattage, power supplies fail very often. If you are custom-building a machine, 500 watts should be considered the starting point with up to 1,000 watts or more depending on the final installed components. My simple Home Theater Machine has a 500-watt power supply, while my main machine is 1,000 watts.
Processor, RAM, HDD, video, bus, and power supply, thus form the generic hardware basis. What the machine is being used for – its application – determines where more or less money should be spent, and that will be the focus today.
Internet, Office Applications, Multimedia Downloads / Primary Computer
For the average person, Internet, office applications, and multimedia downloads are the most common uses. Here, RAM and HDD, and bus are the most important areas to consider. Disks fill up fast. Remember: 32-bit OS – install 2 GB RAM. Go 4 GB with a 64-bit OS. Most people will be running a 32-bit system. Even the much-vaunted Windows 7 is a 32-bit OS. For this type of application, a standard built-in video adapter is fine, and the processor need not be top-notch.
To keep matters simple, a machine for this application is best purchased, and since the machine will be housing documents, and possibly online financial data, a laptop is a worthy contender for primary machine over a desktop. Its portability means the user does not have to sync data or move data to a desktop. Laptops also burn considerably less electricity than desktops and can easily be connected to a large LCD, keyboard and mouse.
Netbooks cost around $300 and are considered secondary machines. A good primary-use laptop can be bought for around $500.
Gaming and Simulations
A gaming machine requires substantial investments in all five core hardware areas. Games and simulations require fast processors, significant RAM and HDD space, multiple fast video cards with plenty of video RAM. A gaming machine purchased can cost $2K or even more. Gamers often custom-build their machines, selecting the components they want.
Multimedia Editing and CAD
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