Computer specifications - get the right parts

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Computer Specifications:

The hardest part of selecting your computer or computer parts can be knowing what you will need. This guide from Cheap Computer Guy should help.

Work out and write down the spec you need for the following:

Do you need a portable computer?

Are you limited for space?

Then maybe you need a laptop computer. If not, then a desktop computer may suit your needs.

Hard drive (storage) - A large hard drive may be required only if you wish to use your computer for storing large files - if you have a hobby such as digital photography or you wish to store music (mp3 or wma) on your hard drive, or you wish to edit home videos.

Minimum recommended size: 2GB (depending on operating system, see below). Minimum recommended size for music/photography/video apps: 30GB.

The following common operating systems and programs take up room on your hard drive:
Windows 95 - up to 55MB
Windows 98 - 400MB+
Windows 2000 - 650MB+
Windows XP Professional - 1.5GB
Office 97 - up to 200MB
Office 2000 - 200MB+

Dont forget - you will want some room for documents etc. too!

Processor (CPU) - Todays processors from Intel etc. can perform computations much faster than those of a few years ago. This does not mean, however, that the processers of the last few years are not powerful enough to suit your needs. A faster processor will not, for example, make internet web pages load any quicker (this is limited by the speed of your connection - telephone line or broadband).

Minimum processor specification for:
Win95 - 386DX (486 recommended)
Win98 - 486DX2 66Mhz (Pentium recommended)
Win2K - Pentium 133Mhz
WinXP - Pentium 233Mhz (300Mhz recommended)
Office 97 - 486
Office 2K - Pentium 75Mhz
Office XP - Pentium 133Mhz (Pentium III recommended)

Memory (RAM) - Unless you are a keen gamer, or you edit videos and photos, then maybe you wont need oodles of memory (although it is quite cheap these days). Remember, memory for older computer systems can be hard to find, and laptop memory can be expensive, so if you are buying a second user desktop or notebook try to ensure it has enough memory.

Minimum memory specification for:
Win95 - 4MB (8MB recommended)
Win98 - 16MB (32MB recommended)
Win2K - 64MB
WinXP - 64MB (128MB recommended)
Office 97 - 8MB (12MB for Microsoft Access)
Office 2K - 16MB (32MB recommended)
Office XP - Depends on operating system; 128MB for Windows XP

Graphics card - Many older computers and some cheap new computers share some of the system memory (RAM) for graphics and display. This is fine for word processing and internet browsing but may be restrictive for display-intensive applications such as games and video/photo applications.

Connectivity - What devices do you wish to connect to your computer? Do you wish to connect to the internet? then you will need a modem (for phone line or dial-up access), or a network port or USB port (for broadband) depending on your router.

Many of todays peipherals such as printers and scanners connect via USB ports. There is a new standard of USB (cleverly named USB2) that allows faster data transfer to additional hard drives and CD or DVD drives. Other connection methods include firewire and good old parallel and serial ports.

Optical drives - Do you want to watch DVDs on your computer? Do you want to install new software from CD? Do you want to make your own CDs and DVDs or make backup copies?

The different types of optical drives are as follows:

CD-ROM - Reads CDs but not DVDs. Does not write to CDs or DVDs. The cheapest optical drive, most people will want a CD-ROM as this is one of the most practical ways to install new software.

CD-RW - Reads and writes CDs but not DVDs. Performs all the functions of a CD-ROM, and allows you to write information to black CD media. Very useful for backups of information and storing or archiving music, photographs and videos.

DVD-ROM - Reads CDs and DVDs. You will want one of these if you intend to watch DVD movies on your computer.

DVD-RW - Reads and writes CDs and DVDs. Performs all of the functions of the above drives. Be careful when selecting DVD writers as there are different standards, ensure that the standard is compatable with any other DVD players etc. you have around the home.

A last note on optical drives - they come in different speeds! Really old computers may have slower drives which can easily be upgraded by replacing them with a newer drive. Any new drive will be fast enough for all applications - and is a cheap way to speed up installing software.

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