A Guide To Choosing
The Best Desktop
Computer System

Some desktop PCs available in the market

Intended Usage

What do you intend to use the computer for? This is one of the key considerations when purchasing that desktop system. The main goal here is to get a system that will suit your computing needs. If you're using the computer for professional or business purposes, you'll want to factor stability and service support into your purchase decision. On the other hand, if you intend to use the system at home, you may want a more well-rounded PC that can handle multimedia applications, web surfing easily.


Budget

You'll certainly need to consider your budget buying that PC. Low-end budget systems will save you a lot of money and are suitable for most home users. High-end systems with the latest AMD Phenom II or Intel Core i7 processors will cost more and will be more suitable for those who want to play the latest 3D games or do heavy video or graphics editing.


System Features

OK, here's where it gets complicated. A typical desktop PC has got so many components, it's hard to decide which system is good or bad. We're talking about a whole plethora of components from memory, video cards, sound cards, optical drives and so on.

Here's a stab at the most essential components in the PC and what you should look out for:

CPUs
The CPU is the brain of your system - so it's a key consideration when buying that PC. The older chips like Intel Celeron and Intel Pentium 3 chips are now starting to become obsolete. If you want your system to last for some time, go for newer processors like the Intel Core i7 and AMD Phenom II.

Memory
System memory is also very important - you can never have enough of it. Typically, look for at least 4 GB of memory in the desktop you want to buy. Anything less while pose a problem for business or graphics applications.

Motherboards
If you're buying the system off the shelf from vendors like HP, Dell or IBM, the motherboard brand will usually not be an issue. In fact, most PC manufacturers don't publish the type of motherboard used in their desktops. The motherboard brand is of greater importance if you are building your own PC.

Hard Drives
My advice to you here is - get as much hard disk space as you can afford. A typical hard disk by today's standards would be about 80 GB at least. If you do a lot of downloading off the Internet, or edit videos or have a huge collection of photos and videos, you'd be better off with at least a 1 TB hard disk.

Optical Drives
A DVD writer is now a standard feature in all computers. Make sure you're getting at least a 24X DVD read speed. Even better, some desktops come with Blu-ray writers which will enable you to burn Blu-ray discs.

Monitors
My opinion is to go for at least a 22-inch LCD monitor that can display HD video (i.e. supports 1080p). Good brand names here are: NEC, Samsung and ViewSonic.

Graphics
Computer systems come with either integrated video on the motherboard, or a dedicated video card. If you play a lot of games, especially 3D games like Half-Life 2, you will not want to rely on integrated video - make sure your gaming PC has a dedicated video card with at least 1 GB of video memory.

Sound
Again, it is common for computers to come with integrated sound on the motherboard these days. However, if you're a computer audio buff, go for a separate third-party sound card like those from Creative Technologies.

Ports
USB ports are standard features in desktop computer systems today. In fact, you'll want to check that the system comes with support for the latest USB 3.0 specification. Even better if it comes with FireWire ports (which are essential for video capture and editing).

Operating System
The majority of computer systems these days ship with Windows 7 Home Premium, which is suitable for home users. Business users should look for Windows 7 Professional to be bundled in the package.
 

Technical Support

After-sale support and warranty periods are a prime consideration especially you have no experience in troubleshooting computers. Most basic warranty periods last for a year or two and are sufficient for the average user. Don't go for an extended warranty period without reading the fine print. Most of the time, it's not necessary to have overly long warranty periods as the reasonable lifetime of your computer will be about 4 to 5 years at most.
 

Conclusion

In summary, buying a good desktop PC is a matter of doing your research and homework by considering each of the factors above. If possible, go to the manufacturer's website to source for more in-depth material (read the fine print too). Good luck!

By the way, click here to find out how to build your own PC instead of buying one.
 

If you're worried that your computer will get filled with virus or malware, the best thing to do is to create a mirror image of your computer after its initial use or directly after a reinstallation. That way, you'll always have a clean copy of Windows with your frequently used programs, set up just the way you want. Among the best mirroring packages is the Acronis True Image, which is simple to use and can be customized to fit your requirements.