-->

Buying A Desktop Computer

Buying a desktop computer is not a very easy task. The most important thing to know is that there are a lot of appropriate computers for the programs and games you intend to run on them, but at very different prices. The most popular brands like Dell or Apple sell high end computers with a 100% profit margin, meaning that you’ll pay twice the price of every component or just one half more if you buy a low-end computer. My advice is to avoid famous brand all together.
The most important part of any computer is the monitor. You should always choose the best one you can afford, because most likely it will serve you for the next 5-10 years and it’s important for programs, games and also for your heath to have a very clear image on the screen. Nowadays 16:10 and 16:9 aspect ratios are the norm, starting from resolution of 1366 x 786 up to 2560 x 1600. It’s recommended to choose one with FullHD (1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200) resolution, LED backlighting and digital input(s). I don’t recommend built-in speakers because in most cases small speakers are a guaranteed letdown. The best speakers are the ones called “speaker bar” that are mounted under the monitor. These offer a higher quality of sound because they have larger spaces inside for bigger speakers and better acoustics.

This is a 21.5” FullHD LED-backlit monitor that sells for about $200.
When choosing the computer system the most important choice to make is about the processor and the graphics card. When choosing a processor price is a very accurate indicator of performance, it doesn’t matter which brand you buy, just go for the specs and price. Today the best dual core processor is made by Intel under the name of Pentium Dual Core (both the LGA775 and LGA1156 generations have a decent performance). The cheapest Quad Core comes from AMD, named Athlon II X4, but for best performance/price you should choose Core i5 750 from Intel.
Graphics cards are somewhat easier to choose, there are two rival manufacturers that offer the best cards: ATI (bought by AMD) and nVidia. Both manufacturers reveal the most details by the card’s number. NVidia Geforce GT(S) 100, 110, 120, 210, 220, 240, 310, 340, 350, 470, 480…etc, where the first digit indicates the card’s generation 1,2,3 or 4, and the other two digits refer mostly to speed 00 being the slowest and 295 the fastest. ATI Radeon 2400, 3450, 3650, 3850, 4350, 4650, 4870, 5670, 5770, 5870, 5970 …etc. cards follow the same logic, the first digit refers to generation 2,3,4 and 5, and the other three refer to speed. The best price/performance ratio is found at cards GTS 240 and GTX 295 from nVidia, and Radeon 4650, 4850, 5870 and 5970 from ATI.

The question of memory and hard disc is very simple, buy as much as you can (or as much as the system can support). The most important is to have enough memory, at least 4GB and the hard disc is less important, the best price/capacity ratio is achieved at 1TB at the moment. When choosing the motherboard, you can’t go wrong with ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and other well-known brands. Some manufacturers like ASROCK offer great value even at the lowest prices. The appropriate power source will be recommended by the technician, based on the components in the system, it’s important to choose the one with the biggest fan for silence and efficient cooling. All the other components and peripherals are irrelevant, buy whatever you like.