PC Buying Guide
Hard Drive - where all your programs and data are stored. As usual, more is better. At least 100GB or more will be needed to store lots of music, games or movie files. Hard disk space is relatively cheap, and there are also external drives available that you can plug in to add more memory.
Graphics Card - handles video and display calculations. A more powerful card means better quality video graphics and smooth-running games. The most popular cards are the NVidia GeForce and ATI Radeon series. Another thing to note is that the graphics card also has its own RAM memory, and again the more the better.
Sound Card - most PCs should include decent enough sound for playing music or video, but you can opt for better quality sound cards such as the Creative Audigy series which will improve sound quality and performance in movies and demanding games.
Speakers - 2 normal desktop speakers should be fine for most users, but games players may want to invest in larger setups such as 5.1 (5 small Satellite speakers and 1 large Sub-Woofer to handle the bass sounds).
CD/DVD-ROM Drive - plays CDs/DVDs including data discs, music CDs and film DVDs. The higher the speed, the faster files will be loaded from disc though it will depend on the maximum speed permitted by the disc itself. '16x', for example, means it can transfer data from the disc at 16 times the normal playing speed.
CD/DVD R/RW Writer/Burner Drive - as with CD/DVD-ROM Drives but also able to write or 'burn' discs as well as read them. This way you can create your own data, music or video discs, especially useful for backing up large amounts of data. There are two main categories of writeable discs : Recordable discs such as CD-R or DVD-R or DVD+R are discs that can only be written once and Re-Writeable discs such as CD-RW or DVD-RW or DVD+RW can be written over many times.
Windows - Microsoft's operating system Windows is included with most PCs. Since 2001, Windows XP has been the version for home users but 2007 has seen the launch of its successor Windows Vista. Windows 7 is now Microsoft's latest version.
Software - some packages will include office suites, security programs, DVD creation, games and entertainment software.
Internet Access - many packages come with free Internet trials, but you can choose a different provider if you find a better deal. To access the Internet from home you will need to connect your PC to your phone line. There should be instructions with your PC how to do this. There are many different Internet packages available, and with some you will need to buy additional equipment. To learn more, contact an ISP(Internet Service Provider) or visit their web site.
Wireless Internet - modern PCs usually do not come with built-in wireless support, to allow you to connect to any wireless Internet networks within range. However, wireless adapters can be bought separately.
You can usually replace and upgrade your PC components in the future if you decide you need more memory or a faster graphics card, for example.
And you can always upgrade or buy new software if you find the included programs too limited for your needs.