[PCWorld]

Post your comments for How to Buy a Desktop PC here

[cfischer83]

Windows Sidebar is NOT a variation of OS X's Dashboard widgets, it (and OS X's Dashboard widgets) are a variation of Microsoft's own MSN Dashboard which came out before Tiger... although all of them are a variation of Konfabulator. I'm surprised you did all this research for computers and didn't know that...

[rkinne01]

Great article. One thing about AMD vs Intel: AMD's chips tend to be cheaper which means you'll have a little more cash for extra RAM or hard drive capacity. The 5 to 10 percent performance difference is really not significant to must users, AMDs can be overclocked (more easily than Intels anyways) erasing any advantage Intel chips have. Overclocking can void your warranty so beware and make sure that someone who knows what he is doing does the over clocking.

I would also like to point out that while cases are an important factor, unless you're having a custom built system, you'll have little choice of case design.

[Iceman7]

good update: I second the recommendation for an Intel Dual core 2 duo machine. Its worth the extra $$ over AMD. I also would suggest a front memory card reader if you own a digital camera. Forget about the dinosaur which is the floppy drive. Having at least 1 firewire is great, especially for those having an external hard drive (faster than USB2) Minimums that I will recommend when buying a new PC are: 250GB HDD (look for SATA2) If running Vista Home Premium 2GB RAM, monitor- u can get a great bundle deal at purchase- get at least a 20 WS LCD w/ DVI out. 22's are better, but obviously cost more, 24's are real big, but currently overpriced. Consider a Direct10X compatible video card & a newer dedicated sound card instead of integrated sound & video, you may also need to get a stronger power supply as well.

[brxamb11]

how can i save all my pictures filed in my computer to save more space?

[Northlite]

The answer to this question would depend on what your computer has to do this job with, does it have a Read Write Drive so you could back up all your pictures onto a CD? There are several online places you could store your pictures but I find they may come and go so having a copy of them in hand is a more practical way to store them. I don't find backing up to a USB or external hard drive as handy as just making a CD of them.

The ideal way is to have a photo program that helps you with this task and even the free ones do now and you use a DVD or CD to back your pictures up to and keep them syncronized with this program which would require you using a R/W DVD or CD not a regular R one. Most read write drives also come with a program that can also do the backup and syncronizing for you.

If you make incrimental back ups over the yr you could then file the CD with that yr on it and know that they are all the photos done say in 2007. As you go along once you verify that the pictures are on the CD you can remove them from your computer. The best way to back up is to syncronize when ever you add pictures to your collection as hard drive failure does happen, altho rare loosing even a few key pictures can be disappointing.


Hope this helps.

[kcihtred2]

heres my version of the how to buy a desktop:

forums.pcworld.com/docs/DOC-1642|d-1642

Laptop:

[http://forums.pcworl...OC-1166|d-1166]

and printers:

[http://forums.pcworl...OC-1168|d-1168]

[azbobs]

One big thing you should be asking is will you be able to communicate with the tech support when the time comes to get help. Will the tech support be offshore like Dell and HP and I am sure others use. They are not understandable and cannot speak English very well and the support is awful!
So ask yourself this as well as what chip, memory, display, video cards it will comes with. Ask yourself what kind of support will I get from a USA based company that has sold out America and uses cheap labor offshore tech support. If anyone knows that answer as to which company really uses tech support within America that speaks English clearly and is understandable. That's should be a very important thing you think of before making that big buy as well!

Cheers,

[isopter]

get a external H D, i have a 160 gig usb 2 it works great not only for pic, but for all back ups.

they are cheep, but what is cheep, i guess its what you have in your pocket that you don't have a pressing need for.



isopter

[custompcmax]

I fully recommend going to builders that specifically build the kind of PC you want. For instance, if you are looking for a gaming PC, go to a gaming PC build, not Best Buy. If you need just a basic office PC, though, the "big box" retailers will probably have what you need. There are varying quality of parts that your PC can have, just like cars. You don't want cheap parts in a rig that is going to be doing extreme stuff, like gaming.

As for parts, at the moment, Intel CPUs are the way to go. AMD is great, they just aren't AS good as Intels. GPUs, both Nvidia and ATI have great stuff at the moment.

[zap0000rowsdower]

[removed]

I have never needed tech support. I fix everything myself and I never took any course on it. So many people lack common sense anymore. What a joke!
I've had my desktop, which I bought on ebay, for 5 years now. It still is better than anything they are putting out new.
If you use a firewall and know how to to keep spyware and adware off your pc, you will never have to buy tech support.
I use all free programs for that--- ZoneAlarm Firewall (which makes me completely 'stealth' to the online world and hackers), and CrapCleaner, Cyberscrub and Spybot adware & spyware removers.
There is no reason to ever purchase any of these essential items.
Message was edited by: AuroraDizon. Please refrain from personal attacks.

[good2go7]

brxamb11,


I have found the best way to save space that is occupied by a large amount
of photographs is to burn these files to a CD-ROM or a DVD. If the total of
those files exceed the capacity of a CD-ROM then you may need to use a DVD. In
some cases, you can use a Flash
Drive to save files to as well. Once these files
have been burned to a CD-ROM, DVD or Flash
Drive they can all be deleted from your system by
highlighting the first file, hold down the SHIFT key and select the last file
in the folder. Once you have all the files selected, (before you right click
the highlighted area or hit the delete key) continue to hold the SHIFT key
down. Holding the SHIFT key while deleting will ensure the files are
PERMANENTLY DELETED from your system and not just deleted to the Recycle
Bin. If the files are just deleted to the Recycle Bin, they are not remove from
the system and do not actually free up any space. I hope this helps you...


good2go7

[ERICKCHAZZY]

i am a business man how can i be sure that as soon as i give you details of my visa you will not disapear and ill receive the things i want?

[michael786]

Nice post
I have read an article on
How to Buy a Right Computer?
visit: www.googlewindfall.com/computer/how[uto[/u]buytheright_computer.html]

[quackadilly]

Here's how I buy a desktop computer.

[pcgig]

I think it is really simple, you just have to figure out what configuration you need base on the perpuse you want to by the pc for and then find a computer retailer store that you can purchase that desktop pc affordable. Check out www.techtobuy.com

[penpower]

Just go to store and ask clerk. They will help you to find out, you can let him know what's your budget, purpose(interent, gaming, or design). This bad economy inspires sales more patience to serve customer. I suggest you can go to Fry's

[M1KEC]

Apparently, the writer makes great effort to give novices a deeper insight of the techniques to buy a desktop PC. But it's my regret to say that all the components recommended are outdated. What if some novices really think these components are still the the premier ones today?

Also, I disagree with the recommendation to buy a business desktop just because a user only check and send e-mail, juggle the occasional Word document or spreadsheet. A home/light PC user wouldn't need all those business software, OS which would result in unnecessary cost for a consumer.

[rasmasyean]

The average desktop these days is so powerful that you really HAVE to get dual monitors to get the best use out of it. It can multitask so well and exceed most people's ability to catch up with their activites. So if you don't display double the amount of stuff you used to, you've just wasted most of your money on idling the computer. You can prolly use 4 monitors, hey, but that will require more video cards and a lot of desk space. But if you have it or are willing to wall mount / brakect mount your screens...go crazy. For "most" users, the computer is so powerful that "upgrading" the computer means adding more displays. That's the only real way to maximize the usefulness of your purchase because seldom are you going to use up that Quad Core CPU and 8GB of RAM...unless you're playing Cysis 3 or something.

And with 64-bit and the crazy amount of RAM these ship with...you never have to "log off" your account and just resume with all your windows intact on wake in like...what is it nowadays? 2 seconds? If you have the ancient Vista, it's like 5 seconds. LOL

This post has been edited by rasmasyean: 18 April 2010 - 05:20 AM

[mohdmukhtarjb3r]

Surprised you did all this research with this Great article. About AMD vs Intel etc . .