Digital Home

Also known as the Central Processing Unit (CPU), the processor is the part of the computer that works with data and runs programs. The processor is sometimes referred to as a computer's "brain." So-called "dual-core" processors have come into vogue in the last year and it's definitely worth investing in a computer that has this technology since it's like getting two processors on a single chip. The two major manufacturers of CPUs are Intel and AMD and both are pretty reliable. Processor speed – measured in gigahertz (GHZ) – is something you will see thrown around a lot by CPU manufacturers and it is often compared, not entirely accurately, to "horsepower" on a car. For basic computing tasks, you'll want a computer with a processor clocked at least 2GHZ. The good news is that most desktop computers with dual-core processors offer at least that much clock speed. Memory
Making sure you have a good supply of RAM (Random Access Memory) in your computer is one of the keys to a good computing experience. Because RAM is used by your computer to juggle multiple programs, the more RAM you have, the "faster" your computer will run when it's multi-tasking between, for example, word processing, watching videos on YouTube, and editing images in Photoshop. Of course, the more RAM you have, the better your computer will run, but how much do you really need? We recommend at least 1GB of RAM for your computer, which is now a pretty standard amount for most desktops. However, if you plan to do any serious photo or video editing and might be playing around with large RAW image files or High Definition video, you should definitely consider adding more RAM. At least 3GB should be enough to prevent your computer from getting bogged down in the memory mud.

Think of a computer's operating system (OS) as the store manager – it handles the behind the scenes operation of the hardware and software on your system and is the face you see every time you turn on your computer. If you're getting a PC, it'll likely come with the latest version of Windows, which, at the time of this writing, is now in the version known as Vista. While Windows Vista has hundreds of new features including an easy-to-use graphical user interface called Windows Aero, some users still prefer the previous OS called Windows XP. If you're purchasing a Mac from Apple, the operating system will be Apple's excellent OSX. The current version of OSX – as of this writing – is known as Tiger, but Apple is expected to introduce an upgraded new version, called Leopard, in October 2007.

Think of a computer's operating system (OS) as the store manager – it handles the behind the scenes operation of the hardware and software on your system and is the face you see every time you turn on your computer. If you're getting a PC, it'll likely come with the latest version of Windows, which, at the time of this writing, is now in the version known as Vista. While Windows Vista has hundreds of new features including an easy-to-use graphical user interface called Windows Aero, some users still prefer the previous OS called Windows XP. If you're purchasing a Mac from Apple, the operating system will be Apple's excellent OSX. The current version of OSX – as of this writing – is known as Tiger, but Apple is expected to introduce an upgraded new version, called Leopard, in October 2007.

One of the biggest advantages of a desktop computer is screen size. With a laptop computer you're restricted to the size of the attached screen while with most desktops, the sky's virtually the limit when it comes to display size. (Apple's iMac series of desktop computers have integrated LCDs but they come in three fairly large sizes.) We recommend getting a desktop computer with a widescreen flat panel LCD monitor of at least 17 inches or 19 inches in size with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. As of this writing, big, bulky CRT monitors were not quite a dead category but rapidly approaching extinction, Along with being very slim and lightweight, LCD monitors are brighter than CRTs, render text more clearly, and don't "flicker" like CRTs. Because they're flat and not convex like a CRT, there's less geometric distortion with an LCD monitor.

If a computer's operating system (OS) is like a store manager, the video card (also known as a graphics card) is like the store's in-house artist or graphic designer. The job of the video card is to translate all that data from the computer's CPU into a viewable image. Or another words, a video/graphics card is what lets you see video, images, and graphics on your computer's display. Although a video card is not often touted when you're buying a computer – unless you're buying a machine optimized for gaming – it can be critically important for viewing photos and movies and playing video games. The general user will want a desktop computer with a graphics card with at least 128MB of memory that supports DirectX 9. The two biggest manufacturers of graphics cards are AVI and Nvidia and both are respected.