Thinking of buying a personal computer but cannot decide which one? There are so many options in the market that you might be confused. So let us help you out
So computers in the market can basically be divided as laptops and desktops. Laptops, although portable and energy efficient are costlier and difficult to maintain. Desktops on the other hand are cheaper, easier to maintain and you can use them for several years without any problems.
Your personal PC will contain four main parts- The monitor, keyboard, mouse and the CPU.
The Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse:
The keyboard and mouse are peripherals which you can choose of any kind depending on your budget. When you choose a monitor you will need to basically decide the size which starts from 15″ to as big as 30″. If you are a first time computer user and need to use it for normal daily accounting work, office documents work, school homework and projects, online training, watching movies, playing simple games, listening to music, a 15-17″ monitor and simple keyboard and mouse will just do fine.
Speakers, Webcam, Microphone:
These are peripherals that will come in handy if you want to listen to music, watch music or record your voice. If you want to do video calling or attend online video meetings you will need a webcam or camera. You will need a microphone which contains a mike you can speak into, to record your voice or if you want to do web/video calling.
CPU
The CPU contains the main components of the computer. The processor, RAM, Hard disk, network card, sound card, gaming card (optional), SSD (optional) are all attcahed to a motherboard inside the CPU. Here you need to decide how much memory(RAM), storage(Hard disk & SSD), what kind of processor you want and whether you want a graphics card or not
– RAM: RAM determines how fast your computer works. RAMs will come in ranges like 2GB, 4GB, 8GB,16 GB, 32GB and above. For most general purposes a 4GB RAM will do fine. If you want to get into softawre development and want to use some very complicated software development software or you want to play some very high end games on your PC you will need atleast 8 GB RAM. You can still run many heavy and complicated software on a 4GB RAM computer also but it will make your computer a little slow
– Processors: Just like the RAM, the processor also is reponsible for how fast your computer will work and the size and complexity of software your computer will support. The major brands of processors are celeron or intel and they again come in several versions and generations. Celeron processors are cheaper than Intel, but intel processors are faster. You can choose any intel processor from i3 -i9 processor. For most general daily home, school or office work an Intel i3 or i5 processor will work just fine
– Storage: These day a new kind of storage have come known as SSD but this is a total optional part for you. For straters you can choose 256 GB Hardisk or 1 TB hard disk. With 1 TB Hard disk storage you will not run out of memory for several years and you can save as many files, pictures videos or movies as you want.
– Network, Sound & Graphics Card: All motherboards come with built-in network, sound and graphics card which you need not purchase separately, but if you need to play high-end games with very superior graphics and visuals you will need to get a PC with additional graphics card.
Printer:
Printers today generally do all 3 tasks for you – print something, scan a document or picture, and photocopy. Depending on your budget you can buy a colour printer or black and white printer which again come in 2 categories laser printer or Inkjet printers. If you need a printer for simple home or office, use a black and white laser printer or colour inkjet printer will do just fine
So next time you decide to purchase a PC don’t get intimidated by the options. Just decide what you need and go ahead. The advantage with desktops is that you can upgrade it anytime time you want also!
Happy shopping.
