Can you help me design the specs. for my new computer?

Question

I am buying a new computer from a shop that builds from scratch for you, I'm TRYING to educate myself but there is an awful lot to know and I think I could screw it up. I want the biggest and best I can get but I really don't know what that means! I want to run music, movies etc. Photos all the fun crap at the best power I can.... HELP??????? I need to decide on the processor, the memory and the RAM and also do I need to consider things like external drives, graphics cards etc.
PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!

Answer 1

If you are not going to play serious games you do not need a high end computer.

If you are going to put a lot of movies, music and photos then you need a bigger hard drive. 320 GB or a 500 GB should keep you going for a while. PLEASE plan on buying an external drive that is the same size and backup your hard drive once a week. If your system hard drive fails then you have lost all that music, movies and photos.

Do you plan to edit home movies? If yes then you probably want a better processor and more RAM. If not the cheaper Intels or AMDs will do everything you described.

1 GB RAM is a good starting point. 2 GB is better if you tend to open up a lot of windows and have multiple programs running at once.

XP-Pro SP2. Vista is still not ready for prime time.


If you really want the best power then contact IBM about a BlueGene system (LOL) the price tag might be a bit steep!

What you need to do is balance what you get for the price you are willing to pay. So you need to trade off the CPU , memeory, hard file etc. for what you are actaully goingto use the system for.

Answer 2

Hi. You sound like someone who really enjoys having a lot of pictures, and is not going to play that many high end games.

I would suggest a fast processor - perhaps dual core AMD (something around 3200 or more).

For a Hard Drive (HDD) - I'd suggest asking for something with at least 200 Gigabites (since you like pictures and they take a lot of space) You could probably even ask for two harddrives. (Any type of harddrive would do actually - just make sure theyre 7200 rpm or more)

Memory(Ram)- Is very important in any computer. Seeing as you won't play many games- i would suggest just having 1Gb of ram. Ask for anything that's 512mb x 2sticks. (go for the middle priced one)

Graphic Card: Since you're not going to play games I would suggest one that's cheap. Get something like an old ATI Radeon 9700(quick so your pictures can show up too)

External Drives?: I'm not sure you really need any, just get a usb drive thats 2Gigabites incase you want to move pictures from your desktop to another computer.


Motherboards, etc. They will probably decide for you. I'd suggest asking for a DVD Burner, so you can burn pictures and music. If you're going to have a 5.1 sound system on your computer I'd ask the retailer for a soundcard that supports surround sound. The power supply (PSU) doesnt need to be great just don't skimp out on it.

Congrats on getting a new computer :]

Answer 3

Wow...

Right - to start with storage : since you want photo`s movies etc - think many megabytes.
A double 500GB drive would be a good start.
If that is not enough - you can add externals.

RAM - Minimal i`d advise 1024 MB , but i think 2048 MB would be better. As to type, depends on mainboard you want.

Graphics card - do you want to play the latest games?
No - then you can do with a simpler one. At least, get one with its own memory - not shared memory.

Processor - depends on mainboard - but one of the newest Intel or AMD would do. For games, Intel is a tad better, but overall AMD has my personal preference.

Consider a good soundcard (i`m not up to speed on those) and a good set of speakers.

A nice screen (20" widescreen TFT) will help with movie expirience.

Otherwise - go talk with the shop people, some hardware doesn`t work well together.

Answer 4

Try my favorite:
http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200706.ars/3