Low Cost Living

Computers

The first question to ask yourself before purchasing a new computer is "What do I need it for and what am I going to do on it".

What's the difference between a £400 and a £1500 PC. The answer is 'it does the job you want it to do'.. Bit like buying a lawnmower, why buy a 36" Rotary when you've got a lawn 15' x 8'.

Expensive doesn't necessarily mean better, the performance for you is in the Specs.
If you are an avid Gamer playing up to date graphical games or do loads of work authoring DVD's, you will need a bigger graphics card, more ram and ample space on the hard drive.
If you're basically surfing the net, photo-editing and general home office work, you just need the basics.

Here's the breakdown of the 'Inside and spec bumph'....;

A General Use Spec....

Go for maybe an Intel Celeron Processor, about 2500GHz,
512MB DDR ram, 80GB hard drive, 'on-board 64/128MB Graphics,
48 DVD/CDRW Combo Drive and a 15/17" Monitor. In this day of
ever decreasing 'tech' prices, you should get away
with less than £500.

For Gaming Standards etc....
Athlon XP 3000GHz (or more), 1024MB DDR ram, 200GB hard drive,
128/256MB Graphics Card, same DVD/CD drives and Monitor

Motherboard

This is the 'heart' of your PC. A main circuit board on which just about everything is attached. The main thing is that the motherboard has the power to support all the 'other things' and gives you a bit of leaway should you want to up-grade, rather than renew the PC.

Ram

Abbreviation of Random Access Memory. This type of memory is used to store the programmes which are running at that time. The more ram, the more things you can have open and running at the same time.
For instance, I have 1024MB DDR ram because I can have my website program on, Photoshop running, the internet and files open all at the same time. If I didn't have this need, I wouldn't require so much.
512MB is now the standard level for running Windows XP.

CPU (The Processor)

'Central Processing Unit'. This sends all the instructions out to programs etc and if you like, the central power horse.
The bigger the Processor, the faster and more powerful the PC becomes.
The main manufactures are Athlon XP / Intel Pentium (the more powerful) and their younger sisters, the Sempron and Celeron

Graphics Card

This is simply what you plug the monitor into. Most lower end PC's have the graphics built into the Motherboard. This should be perfectly fine for normal work. Should you get into gaming and high spec stuff, you can up-grade to a separate graphics card (128 - 256MB) which sends a stronger and faster signal to your Monitor

Hard Drive

This is the storage of the computer. The more you do, the more of the Hard Drive space you take up.So it's a filing system really.
It's always a good idea not to go above about 75% full on the Hard Drive. The more space you have spare, the faster the PC will run.
Also, it's a good idea to de-fragment on a regular basis, so the drive isn't bunged up with bits and pieces everywhere.
The fastest drives are 7200rpm, but this has become pretty much standard issue now.
If you require more space, you could consider an External Hard Drive which simply plugs into the PC. You can then save straight to the external, or copy it for back up reasons.

So, unless you're a PC Geek and want that extra 1/1000 of a
second speed, there's no reason to spend a lot of money.
Buy the one which suits your needs and off you go !