How to buy a PC(personal computer) which would be useful for at least 10 years is the question.
Many who buy a PC have the least idea of what they are doing. It is good thing that PC has become a common place now the house wives are using it mostly in Metro cities.
I want to write a little about the PC itself and then on some guidelines to buy the most suitable rather than a best one in the market.
Personal computers as you see them on tables have become very powerful ones now and the difference between a middle range big computers and a PC is fast disappearing.
A PC is basically a system and can not be compared with an automobile engine or a sewing machine or any other machine. It is because you can replace any part of it with any other belonging to different company and of different size or even shape. And off course you can add a few new ones.
A computer(PC) is a dead machine when switched on would’blip’ and go and nothing else. Imagine a PC as an empty swimming pool. You need an operating system which is a big, complex one programmed to run it. Just like your swimming pool needs water in it to be useful.
The operating system cans also be totally different ones like windows or DOS or Linux or Sun Solaris or something else.
This operating system makes the system that is PC to work. Windows OS is much useful for ordinary users and for all normal work.
When you are buying a PC there are many, many options but the one sure thing you should know is your own needs!
You can go for an assembled PC because there is nobody who can make duplicate parts for a PC. That is not possible. It involves high technology.
An assembled PC would cost far less than a branded PC because of tax structure etc., Indian government is very lenient on computer spare parts importing which is one reason why you get a PC cheaper in India compared to US or in gulf.
What makes a PC work?
There is something called a processor which can be called as the’brain’ because it is ALU(arithmetic logical unit) the one which calculates, computes and manages the computer. It totally depends on a system bus(it is called bus because it can be parallel and it carries messages) which is connected to computer’s memory called RAM(random access memory). It also connects to other devices in addition to system memory.
But the whole work these two things do should be stored somewhere because RAM can not’hold’ on to information for very long. RAM consists of bee hive like transistors and capacitors which can hold information for a very short time and it should be in constant touch or interaction with the brain, the CPU. The CPU is very, very fast compared to RAM so to make the CPU work better it contains a cache( a temporary memory area, try to make a simile out of cachement area in a reservoir).
The computers big and small like our PC actually store the information permanently in hard disk. It looks like a small, heavy box. Actually inside this there would be gramophone record like plates one over the other which rotates very fast. Suppose if a hair falls on this rotating plate it would look like a big three story building when data is accessed. So it is completely sealed. If a computer is pulled or pushed probably you would damage the disk forever. Which means data will be lost. You have to throw it away and buy a new disk.
All these things and also cards like graphic card etc are all fitted on an electronic mother board. It is because all these hold on to this board to communicate with each other we call this as mother board.
When you buy a PC gives attention to CPU.
If only for internet access and for writing a novel for example Pentium I will be more than enough. If for example you want to play computer games, you shall better go for the latest ones which will give you high speed.
Some care is required here. A Pentium 4 processor with a speed of 2.6 GHz(giga hertz) can be made to work faster than Pentium 3.1 with a higher(FSB) bus speed. At the same time 3.1 will cost you between 4 to 5 thousand rupees more than 2.6.
In a PC you do not need to spend more just for small difference. At the present situation you can go for 2.6 GHz Pentium 4, that would be more than enough even if you were to install an RDBMS like personal oracle( free software) and run it.
If you go for 3.1 GHz then the hard disk also have to be changed to SATA instead of normal IDE. This will incur cost again.
You know that your PC is a system and it means one part will depend on the other.
Ask Vendor these things
1) What is cache memory and processor speed?
2) What is the bus speed?
3) What is the mother board version?
4) What is the type of memory?
5) What is the storage in a hard disk?
To conclude I would say that Hard disk capacity should be somewhere near 80 GIGA because you may store your video clips(files).
You need DDR version of RAM because its speed is very high(I think ten times more) than SD version. Both essentially the same but DDR offers the double data rate.
Take the latest graphic card with high memory.
You should have 2.0 version of USB, so that latest types of memory sticks with high speed you can use. You can have up to six(6) USB slots. USB port is used to connect your web camera or memory stick or a mouse.
Your FSB(front side system bus) speed is measured in Mb. If you can buy 533 MHz it offers you the best speed for Pentium 4.
Your mother board shall support any up gradation of your CPU in future. But remember more than two upgrades is asking for too much.
CPU now days are simply clipped to mother board just like a clip in woman’s hair. You can take off that clip and CPU and can fix a higher version of CPU. At the same time mother board should support a higher speed CPU.
There are so many mother boards and some of them are Soyo, Abit IT 7 etc., ask the vendor if it supports a little higher version of CPU.
Remember to ask for on-board LAN card, on-board Audio and at least four USB ports supporting version 2.o
Always opt for an optical mouse.
Remember these things before you buy:
By increasing RAM alone your computer will NOT become faster.
Your FSB and its version makes a lot of difference to your processor speed.
Your processor speed is also important and NOT just the version. For little more processor speed do not spend more. Compare the gain.
Good luck to you.
The PC technology is so huge that whole book is required just to know how various parts work.