( 
) Choosing the right computer on a budget
This is a subject I feel most people need a little guidance with, especially people who just want to purchase a computer and have it work without doing hours of research on different hardware and operating systems.
There are very many different types of processors, hard drives, video cards, sound cards, and even many different types of RAM. Looking at all of these specifications and trusting the vendor that they will perform how you want them to is not a very easy thing to swallow for a lot of people. In this guide I will break down many aspects of different hardware in a simple and easy-to-understand format so you can choose the hardware which will best suit you and your needs. I will also discuss the most common Windows-based operating systems with a list of pros and cons for each one, and what hardware I feel is needed to run them efficiently.
NOW LETS GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!
The first thing I look at in a computer is the processor. This is basically the brain of the computer and respectively the faster the better, but you do not necessarily need the latest and greatest to do what you want to do with a computer. We will categorize processors into 5 categories which I feel are appropriate. For simplicity reasons I am going to use the processor speed (MHz) as the basis of comparison. Although this is not the only factor in a processor, it is a very good starting point.
THE FOUR CATEGORIES
1. The Dinosaurs
These range anywhere from 33MHz to about 266MHz
These are the oldies but not goodies. While these processors were top dog in their day they have been outdated since the mid 90's and will barely run today's high-paced applications. If you want to do very basic computing tasks such as word processing and some internet surfing, these processors will work for you, but don't expect anything more out of them. These processors will also not run any operating system other than Windows 95/98 without severe slow down problems.
2. The oldies but goodies
These range anywhere from 300MHz to about 650MHz
Although these processors are older they are good processors for people wanting a decent computer that will do moderate tasks with a somewhat newer OS. ("OS" stands for Operating System such as Windows 95/98 2000/XP or Vista). These processors will run internet applications, word processing, and media applications such as a music player of watching videos and older 3D games without being too slow. I would not recommend running an OS newer than windows 2000 on these processors, although some of them in the 600-650MHz will run XP, but run it rather slowly. Anything 400MHz and above will run windows 2000 almost flawlessly with a decent amount of RAM (at least 128MB or higher).
3. Old but not that old
These range anywhere from 700MHz to about 1,200MHz
These processors are the sweet spot for the person on a budget. They can still be had for little cost and are very efficient. These processors will run well on Windows XP or any older OS without a problem depending on the applications used. These processors are fine for word processing, intense internet applications, media such as music or video playback, CD/DVD burning, photo editing, some video editing, moderate 3D gaming, and moderately graphically intense applications with a decent amount of RAM (at least 128MB or 256MB).
4. High end budget CPU's
These range anywhere from 1,300MHz to about 2,200MHz
These processors are not that old or expensive, and are still very capable of running todays high demanding applications. Any of the processors in this category will run any version of windows with the exception of Vista (they will run it but pretty darn slowly) matched with a good amount of RAM (at least 256MB to 512MB). These processors will run word processing, severely intense internet applications, photo editing, video editing, media playback such as music or video, CD/DVD burning, some modern 3D games, highly graphically intense applications.
5. The best of the best
These range from 2,300MHz to about 3,200MHz.
Well, to put it simply, these processors are capable of running almost any application on the market today. There are many different types of processors in this range. Pentium 4, Pentium Dual Core, Pentium quad core, Celeron, Celeron Dual core, Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Athlon X2 dual core, and even Athlon X4 quad core. This is where you might have to do some research about which type and how many cores suit your needs. Basically, anything in this class will do what you want it to do. The major differences are the cores. Dual core means that the processor has 2 operating cores on it. If a dual core CPU is rated at 2.2GHz, that means each core can run at 2.2GHz. This rule is the same for quad core processors (four cores). The dual and quad core processors are of the highest performers on the market and cannot be topped in performance.
THE FOUR CATEGORIES
1. The Dinosaurs
These range anywhere from 33MHz to about 266MHz
These are the oldies but not goodies. While these processors were top dog in their day they have been outdated since the mid 90's and will barely run today's high-paced applications. If you want to do very basic computing tasks such as word processing and some internet surfing, these processors will work for you, but don't expect anything more out of them. These processors will also not run any operating system other than Windows 95/98 without severe slow down problems.
2. The oldies but goodies
These range anywhere from 300MHz to about 650MHz
Although these processors are older they are good processors for people wanting a decent computer that will do moderate tasks with a somewhat newer OS. ("OS" stands for Operating System such as Windows 95/98 2000/XP or Vista). These processors will run internet applications, word processing, and media applications such as a music player of watching videos and older 3D games without being too slow. I would not recommend running an OS newer than windows 2000 on these processors, although some of them in the 600-650MHz will run XP, but run it rather slowly. Anything 400MHz and above will run windows 2000 almost flawlessly with a decent amount of RAM (at least 128MB or higher).
3. Old but not that old
These range anywhere from 700MHz to about 1,200MHz
These processors are the sweet spot for the person on a budget. They can still be had for little cost and are very efficient. These processors will run well on Windows XP or any older OS without a problem depending on the applications used. These processors are fine for word processing, intense internet applications, media such as music or video playback, CD/DVD burning, photo editing, some video editing, moderate 3D gaming, and moderately graphically intense applications with a decent amount of RAM (at least 128MB or 256MB).
4. High end budget CPU's
These range anywhere from 1,300MHz to about 2,200MHz
These processors are not that old or expensive, and are still very capable of running todays high demanding applications. Any of the processors in this category will run any version of windows with the exception of Vista (they will run it but pretty darn slowly) matched with a good amount of RAM (at least 256MB to 512MB). These processors will run word processing, severely intense internet applications, photo editing, video editing, media playback such as music or video, CD/DVD burning, some modern 3D games, highly graphically intense applications.
5. The best of the best
These range from 2,300MHz to about 3,200MHz.
Well, to put it simply, these processors are capable of running almost any application on the market today. There are many different types of processors in this range. Pentium 4, Pentium Dual Core, Pentium quad core, Celeron, Celeron Dual core, Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Athlon X2 dual core, and even Athlon X4 quad core. This is where you might have to do some research about which type and how many cores suit your needs. Basically, anything in this class will do what you want it to do. The major differences are the cores. Dual core means that the processor has 2 operating cores on it. If a dual core CPU is rated at 2.2GHz, that means each core can run at 2.2GHz. This rule is the same for quad core processors (four cores). The dual and quad core processors are of the highest performers on the market and cannot be topped in performance.
ARE YOU READY TO LEARN ABOUT RAM NOW?
There is much less to worry about here, basically the more the better, and nothing can really be considered overkill. Basically, follow the RAM recommendations listed with the processor recommendations and you should be fine. I would never buy a system with less than 128MB of RAM, though. If you want to run the latest OS mentioned with each of the processor categories mentioned above, use the higher amount of RAM specified, although the lower amount of RAM will probably run just fine for you. The thing to remember about RAM is that is easy to upgrade, just buy the stick that is compatible with your processor and motherboard and fit it into the open slot next to the others.(WARNING: Do some research and make sure you have the right RAM for your motherboard and processor, and that you are prepared to open the computer and explore the internals of it).
LETS TALK ABOUT VIDEO CARDS
This is usually not that important unless you need to run 3D applications on your system. There are a few basic things to consider about video cards. Video cards come with RAM built into them (not upgradeable). This is the main thing to worry about when choosing a video card. For most people that need to run basic 3D applications a 16MB or 32MB card will be fine. For users looking at run some moderate 3D applications and some modern games look for something with 32MB to 64MB. For users looking to run hard care 3D applications and most modern 3D games look for something with 128MB or 256MB. They also make cards with 512MB and up to 720MB but this is generally not needed unless you are running the latest games at the highest quality settings. There are other things that affect video performance other than the RAM on the card such as the speed of the video processing unit on the card. Due to the fact that there are literally 100+ different types of cards available on the market today you will need to do some research on the card that best suits you and your needs. There are two main companies i recommend purchasing a card from and they are Nvidia and ATI. The Nvidia cards are usually GeForce named while the ATI cards usually carry the Radeon name. If you buy a GeForce or Radeon card with the RAM limitation stated above in mine you should not have a problem running the applications you need to.
OH NO IS MY HARD DRIVE BIG ENOUGH?
This simple answer to this question usually is yes your hard drive is big enough. Hard drives are measured in GB which can sometimes be confusing. 1GB is equal to about 1000MB. For the average user who does not need to store many music or video files on the computer a 10GB-20GB drive will be fine. For the user who needs to store the ipod library and/or some video files on their computer usually a 30GB-40GB drive is fine. For the user who needs to store a bunch of music and a decent amount of video a 60GB-80GB drive will be perfectly fine. For the user that needs to store a lot of music and video an 80GB-160GB drive is perfectly fine.The average user will never fill up a 160GB drive although it depends
on what you are into. Please do a little bit of research to see how
much space you need. They make drives up to 1TB which is 1000GB in size. Does anybody need 1TB of space, sure lots of people such as the guys at pixar who created toy story haha! Personally i have 2 hard drives in my system a 250GB drive which stores all of my video/audio files and a 160GB drive which runs my operating system and files that are being transferred to and form the internet, i have them almost filled and will be upgrading soon but then again i am not the average user.
Basic file size chart.
Average size of a text document such as word or notepad.
It depends on how much text you use. i have never had a word file bigger than 1MB myself.
Average size of audio files
Most audio files that are standard songs are about 3-4MB in size.
Average size of video files
This depends on the type and lenghth/quality of the video stored. Most full length movies can be compressed to about 700MB.(if you like movies and want to store than on your hard drive get a BIG one)
I WANT MY SOUND TO BE CLEAR!
It depends on how much text you use. i have never had a word file bigger than 1MB myself.
Average size of audio files
Most audio files that are standard songs are about 3-4MB in size.
Average size of video files
This depends on the type and lenghth/quality of the video stored. Most full length movies can be compressed to about 700MB.(if you like movies and want to store than on your hard drive get a BIG one)
I WANT MY SOUND TO BE CLEAR!
Most computers have sound cards built into the motherboard and this performs just fine. If you need to install surround sound you may want to purchase an after market sound card which can cost anywhere form 20$ to 250$. I watch movies on the PC constantly and listen to all sorts of music, i actually have 2 6x9 car speakers hooked up to the on board sound that my motherboard has and it is very loud and clear sounding not worth the upgrade money to get an after market card unless i want to go with surround sound eventually.
CD AND DVD BURNERS!
These are wonderful things. You can purchase a CD/DVD burner combo drive that will do everything. If you only need to burn CD's i recommend purchasing the CD-RW type of drive because they are much cheaper than the drives that will burn DVD's also. Also make sure if you want to watch DVD's on your computer you get a drive that has DVD-ROM capabilities, the general rule of thumb is that all DVD burners also have DVD-ROM and CD burning capabilities in them as long as they are labeled combo drives. Again you need to look at the particular drive you are purchasing to make sure it will suit your needs.
Well thats about it for this guide. If anyone reads this please message me and let me know what you thought of it. I would love feedback. If there is anything you are confused about or would like to have included in this guide please also let me know.
thanks and good luck with the purchase of your computer
the pcrejuvenator
Well thats about it for this guide. If anyone reads this please message me and let me know what you thought of it. I would love feedback. If there is anything you are confused about or would like to have included in this guide please also let me know.
thanks and good luck with the purchase of your computer
the pcrejuvenator
Guide created: 12/11/07 (updated 04/19/09)
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