When buying a new computer for anything more than most basic use, you should be absolutely certain it comes with:
- At least 1 GB RAM (memory). 2 GB is better, 4 GB may be nice if you do games or photography.
- At least Vista Home Premium. If you want to use it as a DVR to record and send programs to your TV (as with Windows XP Media Center), or want to edit video, get Vista Ultimate. If you’re going to use it in a business network, get Vista Business or Ultimate. Vista Home Basic is severely restricted and appropriate only for a computer with limited memory and video capability.
- For most uses, the standard hard disc (120+ GB) and video card (for Vista Premium) that comes with the computer is satisfactory.
- A 120 GB hard disc should easily hold 4,000 high quality photos or MP3 tunes. (Ads may say 10x as much, but this leaves adequate comfort for Windows to operate smoothly and to store everything else you need.) If you store more photos/tunes, high quality music, or any video; upgrade your hard drive. Disc space is cheap.
- Upgrade your video card if you will be doing a significant amount of gaming, photo editing, or video editing. You may find video cards optimized for one or more uses.
- Consider getting a video card that supports dual monitors. Once you’ve used them, you’ll never go back.
- Buy only flat screen monitors. You can find them on sale for competitive prices and they represent a significant energy savings. Richard will tell you that if you do critical photography, accurate color is not yet available on a flat screen. Get at least a 17” conventional aspect (4:3) flat screen or 19” widescreen (16:9).
- CD/DVD-RW drive should be standard in all but the most basic systems.
- If you shop the Dell, Gateway, or HP business sites; you may be able to buy a computer with Windows XP. There’s nothing wrong with getting a 2007 computer with XP.
