Getting a new computer

[Joshoowa]

Hey guys, I'm thinking of getting a new computer, but idk what to look for, I was at Best Buy and all the computer had a list under them of what is inside the computer, but it just looks like random letters and numbers to me, could someone give me a few tips on what to look for, i.e what random letters and numbers mean its good and which ones mean bad.
thanks

 

[ssc456]

Hey,

I will try and give you a hand.

First off the Processor, nowa days almost anything Intel is better than anything AMD so if you see the letters AMD i would look for an alternative.

Looking at Intel processors a little further, you have 3 ranges worth considering i3, i5 and i7. The higher the number the better the processor.

Next to the processor you may also have whats called a clock speed (should be measured in Ghz). A full example would be "Intel i5 3.2Ghz". First look for Intel then look for the highest "i" range in your price bracket then look for the highest clock speed.

Now the memory.

More is better, you don't really wan't to be buying a machine with less than 4Gb RAM nowa days. If it says DDR2 walk away, it needs to be DDR3. In further detail you may be given the clock speed 1600Mhz is an average, the higher the number the better. . . .

Someone else on here can advise you about graphics cards as that is NOT my strong point.

Other than this you want to look out for some key technologies, the words USB 3.0 will be a plus, so will an SSD hard drive, Blu Ray drive would be nice.

But essentially what makes your computer tick is the Motherboard, CPU and RAM (memory), (and graphics card for gaming). The motherboard is a complex one and essentially if you have a good CPU and good RAM we have to trust that the manafacturers would have put it on a half decent board ? wouldnt they )

Hard Drive size is only for storing your photos / videos / documents, if you are an average user 500Gb is fine (don't be sold on a computer JUST because it has a 2,000Gb hard drive, sounds impressive but honestly an average user probably doesnt need more than 500Gb).

That's pretty much all i can think of right now. . .

**note that the above are only guidlines there are cases and situations where these guidlines don't make sense but you should be safe in general.

 

[jmacavali]

What are you going to be doing with the computer?
What is your price range?
Do you want a laptop or desktop?

 

[jmacavali]

......First off the Processor, nowa days almost anything Intel is better than anything AMD so if you see the letters AMD i would look for an alternative......

I'll take excpetion to that. I have an AMD Phenom II x6 and it runs great. There's no reason to walk away just because it's AMD. It depends on the processor itself and not just the brand.

 

[ashpash21]

I'll take excpetion to that. I have an AMD Phenom II x6 and it runs great. There's no reason to walk away just because it's AMD. It depends on the processor itself and not just the brand.

I will also agree, I have an AMD processor and it works just fine.

 

[Joshoowa]

What are you going to be doing with the computer?
What is your price range?
Do you want a laptop or desktop?

ill be gaming/programming/video editing on it, and i want a desktop, as for price, ill be saving up for a while so that depends on how much i have by the time i need a new one (when my laptop breaks )XD

 

[ssc456]

I'll take excpetion to that. I have an AMD Phenom II x6 and it runs great. There's no reason to walk away just because it's AMD. It depends on the processor itself and not just the brand.

I will also agree, I have an AMD processor and it works just fine.

Guys, Guys, Guys!!
C'mon i'm trying to give someone advice on computers who maybe doesnt know as much as us and i'm essentially saying as a general rule Intel > AMD ALL DAY LONG.

Please feel free to baffle the poor man with chat around cores vs clock speed vs architecture, you will still boil down to Intel > AMD.

 

[jmacavali]

Guys, Guys, Guys!!
C'mon i'm trying to give someone advice on computers who maybe doesnt know as much as us and i'm essentially saying as a general rule Intel > AMD ALL DAY LONG.

Please feel free to baffle the poor man with chat around cores vs clock speed vs architecture, you will still boil down to Intel > AMD.

I have no intentions on baffling anyone with cores and clock speeds. I'm just saying if he finds on that has an amd within his price range it's worth telling us the specs. I agree that he will likely end up with an intel if he's shopping at best buy, but there's no need to tell him to run from an amd processor just because its amd.

ill be gaming/programming/video editing on it, and i want a desktop, as for price, ill be saving up for a while so that depends on how much i have by the time i need a new one (when my laptop breaks )XD

It will really help to know an estimate on price. A $400 computer will be much different than a $1500 computer. You won't have a lot of choices at a big box store, but what ssc said in his first post are nice guidelines.

 

[Kato]

Just to kind of clarify to the people who don't know what all of these things are:

CPU- central processing unit - basically how fast it thinks. These are the brains of the computer.

GPU- graphic processing unit - the eyes or the way it displays what the processor wants. This is essential for gamers if you want to be able to handle the graphics for the game.

Basically the processor has to be able to think fast enough for the video card to show. If one is slower, then you can get crappy picture, or video lag.

RAM - random access memory- this is files that take up memory, but not permanently. For example if you have ever played minecraft on a computer with little ram, it takes forever, because it is random and always increasing, whenever you walk. When you close these applications (if they do not have a save file) it i dispersed because it is random memory.

Now if you're buying a pc from a store, the PSU - power supply unit, will be good enough, if you are building it, then make sure it can handle everything.

That is pretty much all of the things dumbed down. The argument between AMD and Intel, I think is irrevelant. Sure to some people one is better, but underneath the names and such they are Borg processors !

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[ssc456]

The argument between AMD and Intel, I think is irrevelant. Sure to some people one is better, but underneath the names and such they are Borg processors !

Please correct me if I am wrong.

I will hold my hands up and say that if underneath it all they are "Borg processors" this isnt something i'm aware of and i'm probably not smart enough to get if this is a joke or not lol.

BUT it's wrong to say ignore the difference between AMD and Intel. I will back track a little and say that AMD processors on budget machines are usually very impressive, the price / performance ratio at the low end of the scale is impressive! However any machine costing over £400 or $700 ish i would want to see an Intel processor inside.