• CPU – better known as the processor. All you graphic artists, video editors, web designers and power users need a good CPU. There are 2 brands, Intel and AMD. AMD is best suited for gamers and that’s it. Intel however offers 2 types of processors, the Pentium and the Celeron. If you are that power user I mentioned above, go with the Pentium class. If you are the document writer / email checker, that Celeron will suit you fine and you will save big bucks with the Celeron. What’s the difference between a Pentium 4 3.0 GHz and a Pentium 4 3.4 GHz? Unless you yourself are a computer, the only difference is money. No need to spend such drastic amounts of cash for a few hundred MHz. I promise you will not notice the difference, except in your checkbook.
  
  
• RAM – better known as memory. This is the all important most performance changing option you can control. All the latest programs require more and more memory to run better. And the new software that, just like computers, is upgraded every year will require more memory to run efficiently. The fact is this; the more you have the better your computer will run. Up to a point that is… we’ll talk about bottlenecks a further bit down. My personal bare minimum amount of RAM is 256 MB. Anything less than this is substandard and you will suffer performance degradation. Spend the money on memory. Does that mean you need 2 GB of super high speed DDR RAM? That again goes back to your usage. If you’re that power user or gamer I mentioned before, you can never have too much. If not, 256 – 512 MB is more than enough.
  
  
• Hard Drives – The hard drive is often confused with memory. The hard drive is used to store programs and files. Memory is used to LOAD programs and files for the processor to use. With that said, what’s so important about your hard drive? Well, we all know that hard drives are getting bigger and bigger. I remember my 40 MB hard drive way back when. And now hard drives are in the 200+ GB. However, there are still 3 main classes of hard drives when dealing with computers. SCSI and IDE (5400 rpm and 7200 rpm). SCSI hard drives are very fast and definitely more expensive. But their speeds far exceed those of regular IDE hard drives. When buying a computer, a lot of people don’t notice that the “$400 computer” hard drive they are buying is actually a 5400 rpm hard drive. What’s the difference between 5400 and 7200? Everything. Those numbers represent the number of revolutions the disk will make in a minute. Just like a car, the higher the rpm, the faster you go. Same exact concept. I personally recommend a 7200 rpm drive to any computer user regardless of their usage. If you really want Hard Drive speed to be a non issue and have the best “engine”, SCSI drives are for you.

• Video Card – Once again, if you are that power user you definitely want a good video card. Document writers / email checkers – you don’t need a great video card. Even today’s standard video card is more than enough. The biggest mistake people make about their video card falls back to their usage and bottlenecks. We’ll discuss bottlenecks in a moment. Some video cards are made specifically to be great cards for games, others for video editing and graphics or a combination. Which video card do you need? The one that offers the best compatibility to what you are using it for. A lot of computer games have glitches with different video cards. If you want compatibility and performance, Nvidia and ATI are the way to go.
  
  
• Everything Else – There are still many different components in a computer. The above mentioned are the most important. And unless you are building your computer from scratch (not recommended unless you know what your doing and getting into) these components are pretty much standard.
  
  
• Bottlenecks – Simply said. What good is a super fast Processor if you have a Pinto for an engine (5400 rpm hard drive)? What good is all that super high speed memory if your processor is chugging along to keep up? There are always bottlenecks in a computer. The key is to balance everything out to what you’re going to use it for. Below I have 3 system specs laid out for you as I recommend them.
  

• Where to Buy - Great question. Buy from a reputable dealer. Direct from the manufacturer if you can. Be careful of giant computer stores who are always trying to get rid of their old merchandise. I won’t name any names, but many of these stores and individuals sell computers that are outdated already. Not only that, but they are also usually very limited in the configurations you can buy the computer in. Not to mention that they are being pushed into selling what’s good for them and not good for you. These people are not your friends, they are salesmen. And salesmen will always try to get rid of what they have too much of to make room for the new merchandise that you should be getting. Be informed and don’t let anyone push you into making a purchase. Remember, the longer you wait, the more you get for your money. Avoid building a computer or having someone build one for you if you can. The reason is that all the parts inside have their warranties with multiple companies. What does that mean to you? When you have a problem who are you going to talk to? You’re not even sure what the problem is. And, just like all things, each company will blame the other and eventually you’ll have to call Miami Computer Repair at 305-350-1953 and we’ll solve your problems and cut through the tech support red tape.

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