BUYING A NEW COMPUTER

SELECTING A COMPUTER:
Buying a computer should be based on what you plan to use the computer to do. The type of usage will determine the quality of computer you need. The space you have for the computer is also an important factor. The question you must ask yourself when choosing a computer are:
1: Do you plan to travel with the computer?
2: Do I have space to leave a computer permanently?
3: Is playing action games important?
4: How good is your eyesight?
5: How much will I use the computer?
6: Is this your first computer?
7: Is more then one person going to use the computer?
8: What kind of computer do your friends have?
9: How important is the work you are planning to do?
Answer these questions before you go to a computer store or call a computer company. Remember most sales people are young and on commission. High speed 3D action games require a much high priced computer then general usage. Video editing and photo editing require more memory and larger storage drives. Personnel records and stock trading information would require back-up equipment. All of these requirements must be balanced with what is available and what you are willing to spend.

Remember there are two types of computers, Out of Date and Prototype. There is nothing wrong with a less then newest computer for most computing and surfing needs. Most of the newer trends in computing are in the media and gaming area. An entire new type of computer is the media station designed to play, edit and compile movies and music. The idea is to use your computer as a media center, instead of a TV, VCR,DVD and stereo. Adding these functions doesn't improve surfing, compiling spreadsheets, or writing letters. It may help a little for still photo editing, but unless you plan to replace your current TV etc they may not be for you.
The other high end computer changes are in the gaming area, where 3D high speed graphics are essential. Again you will see no improvement in normal computing from these changes.
The good news is that for normal computing the prises have fallen. Here are the basic requirements for a good general purpose computer.

Processor (CPU)- For desk top 2.0 mghz. Whether it is Intel (Pentium 4, Celeron) or AMD (Athlon 64, Athlon or Semprom. ) is not very important as they both are fully compatible with all software. The Celerom and Semprom are not as fast for graphics and cheaper. The Athlon 64 is a dual processor very fast for graphics.

Memory (RAM)- Widows will run on 256 meg, but 512 is recommended for most applications. The good news is that memory is cheap and a 256 stick is about $50 and can be snapped easily.
Graphics Card - An built in or on board graphics card with 64 meg will suit most computing needs. If you plan to edit still photo a 128 meg card will be useful an speed editing. Unlike RAM you can't add memory to an on board graphics processor, so if this is important choose the 128 card graphics.

Hard Drive:- An 80 gig hard drive will suit most needs, but if the system comes with a larger drive it is a bonus.

CD/DVD Drives- This drive is used to install new software and to play movies and music. The prices of CD and DVD drives are about the same so if you can get a DVD take it. The DVD can play CD disk and DVD disks, where as the CD and only play CD disks.

DVD/CD Recorder- This is the drive that allows you to save your work to a disk. Normally a CD-R drive is sufficient for most tasks, however a DVD+/-R drive gives increases size of the storage disk from 700meg to 4.7 gig. This is 7 times the storage on one dusk. If you plan to edit movies it is essential to have a DVD recorder. A two hour movie takes up an entire 4.7 gig disk.
A DVD recorder can record on CD disks and DVD disks.

USB/FIRE Ports- Most devices, printers, scanners and etc are connected through USB or Fire Wire ports. I recommend that you have at least 2 and 4 is better. Most Digital Video Cameras use Fire Wire Ports to connect to computers, although you can at times they can be connected through USB ports. If you plan to do movies you should have Fire Wire.

Monitors - Desk space is a major consideration in choosing a Monitor. CRTs are big and cheap, Lcds are small and expensive. The other consideration is the Lcd monitors have limited resolution. They have a native resolution which gives the best picture. If you have a problems with small print they may not be for you, since if you lower at resolution it may be fuzzy on an Lcd. You should get at least a 17 inch monitor in either Lcd or CRT, bigger if you have the space.