By buying a desktop that is
not the top of the line (lasts years model,
for example) you can save a lot of money.
Because computer technology is changing so
fast, it is never a good move to buy anything
that is the best in its category. For example,
Athlon XP 3200+ costs around $330-350. Athlon
3000+ costs around $170-190. So by choosing to
go with only around 6% slower CPU (the
difference you will hardy notice) you can save
plenty of money. The prices might have changed
since I wrote this, but that does not matter.
The point is, never go with the top of the
line computaer. So even if you have a lot of
money on hand and want to buy the best
computer out there, remember that you are
making a bad decision. By buying parts that
are at least one step below the fastest one
you can save tons of money, and see almost no
difference in your computer performances. Just
a thing to remember!
Depending on what type of PC
you will need, there are different
requirements.
If you want detailed
recommendations on which components would best
suite your needs, please use a menu on the
left.
Quick specifications for each
type of PC would be.
BUDGET PC
|
CPU |
AMD Athlon 2500+ or Intel Celeron 2.6Ghz |
|
MEMORY |
512MB of SDRAM (DDR266 and up) |
|
HDD |
80GB / 7200 |
|
SOUND |
Integrated sound or
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 PCI
for better performances. |
|
SPEAKERS |
Logitech Z-640. |
|
MONITOR |
CRT - 17" |
|
GRAPHICS |
Nvidia FX
5200 128MB 128 bit |
GAMING PC
|
CPU |
Athlon 64 3400+ |
|
MEMORY |
1GB of SDRAM (DDR333 and up) |
|
HDD |
160 GB and up |
|
SOUND |
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS |
|
SPEAKERS |
Logitech Z-640 or good Headphones |
|
MONITOR |
At least a 19" CRT monitor |
|
GRAPHICS |
ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB |
HOME THEATER PC
|
CPU |
AMD Athlon 3000+ |
|
MEMORY |
1GB of SDRAM (DDR266 and up) |
|
HDD |
160 GB and up |
|
SOUND |
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS |
|
SPEAKERS |
Creative GigaWorks 7.1 |
|
MONITOR |
17" wide screen LCD and up. |
|
GRAPHICS |
ATI Radeon 9600 |
BUSINESS PC
|
CPU |
AMD Athlon 3000+ |
|
MEMORY |
512MB of SDRAM (DDR266 and up) |
|
HDD |
80GB / 7200 |
|
SOUND |
Integrated sound or
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 PCI
in the case of bad quality of integrated
sound. |
|
SPEAKERS |
2.1
Speaker Set |
|
MONITOR |
17" LCD |
|
GRAPHICS |
Nvidia
FX 5200 or Integrated |
MULTIMEDIA PC
|
CPU |
AMD Athlon 3000+ |
|
MEMORY |
1GB of SDRAM (DDR266 and up) |
|
HDD |
160 GB and up |
|
SOUND |
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS |
|
SPEAKERS |
Creative GigaWorks 7.1 |
|
MONITOR |
At least a 19" CRT monitor or 17" LCD |
|
GRAPHICS |
ATI Radeon 9600 or
ALL-IN-WONDER® 9800 PRO |
