Is you're computer getting old, and not performing like it used to? Or maybe you're just tired of running tf2 on low settings and getting 20 fps? Now may be the perfect time to purchase a new PC, or build your own. This is a guide on how to choose what's right for you.
Step 1: Create a budget. Your budget is how much money you are willing to spend on your computer. A budget can be between $300 to $2000 (can get even higher if you have that much money.) Normally, the higher your budget, the better the performance of your new computer. If you are only going to be using for the computer for work, web browsing, or email, then you may want to keep your budget under about $500. If you want a l33t gaming rig, that can be accomplished for only $700 or more.
Step 2: Custom, or prebuilt? Building your own computer can be fun, cheaper than buying a prebuilt computer, but also risky. Many people stick to buying computers prebuilt, because they're afraid that if they make a custom built computer it won't work. Pre-built computers are normally more expensive, and have less bang-for-the-buck than custom built computers. If you build your own, make sure you do plenty of research on how to actually build it.
Step 3: Choosing the parts. If you are going to be using your new computer for work, email, or web browsing, I highly recommend you don't pick any parts that would be overkill for your needs. If you are a gamer, you might want to research the video card you choose, to make sure it works well with the games you want to play.
The Case. The case is the big box that holds all the parts together. Try not to spend over $100 on the case (although you can if you really want to and you're loaded with money.) Cases usually have 3 different sizes. There are mini towers, mid towers, and full towers. I recommend going with either the mini tower or the mid tower. Full tower cases are massive, and usually used for uber l33t gaming rigs.
Some Budget Cases:
Antec Three Hundred:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042Cooler Master HAF 912:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233Rosewill Challenger:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153Some High-End Cases:
Cooler Master HAF 932:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160Antec Nine Hundred:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021Corsair Special Edition White Graphite 600T:
The Motherboard. The Motherboard is a circuit board inside your computer that most of the parts plug into. They can have special features such as USB 3.0, Sata 6.0gb/s, or more. Keep in mind, that your motherboard's socket will have to correspond with your CPU's socket type. For example, you cannot use an Intel LGA 1155 cpu with a motherboard with an AM3 socket. Make sure the motherboard you pick supports the RAM you choose. If you get DDR3 1600mhz ram, check to see if your motherboard supports up to that speed. If you are not going to be building a gaming computer, then you may want to find a motherboard with an integrated gpu. This means that the video card will be already built into the motherboard, but it will not have the performance of a real video card. Also, when picking the motherboard, try not to buy anything that looks like cheap crap. Good motherboards range between $75 and $500. Try to stick with trusted brands such as Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock, or Biostar.
The CPU. The CPU is basically the brain of your computer. It is placed directly into the motherboard. There are 2 manufacturers that you can pick from: Intel, and AMD. Many people choose Intel for l33t gaming rigs, because their CPUs can be very powerful. Others choose AMD, because it still provides excellent performance, and it's much cheaper than Intel. Whichever CPU you choose, you must make sure that it is compatible with your motherboard. For example, if you pick an AM3 cpu, make sure you get either an AM3+ or AM3 motherboard. Today, CPU's have multiple cores inside them. There are single core, dual core, triple core, quad core, six core, and eight core CPUs. The more cores you have, the more multi-tasking you can accomplish. I recommend sticking with a dual core if your computer will be used for work, web browsing, or email. If you're making a gaming computer, I recommend at least quad core. Next, you have to choose the speed of your CPU. Computers not meant for gaming should be atleast 2.0ghz, and gaming computers should be at least 2.6ghz. One more thing, make sure you do not bottleneck your cpu. This means that you choose a very expensive video card, then buy a cheap CPU, or vice versa.
The Video Card. The video card is what turns an ordinary computer, into a gaming computer. If you don't care about gaming, then I recommend purchasing a motherboard that has an integrated gpu. There are 2 major GPU manufacturers. Nvidia, and AMD. Which one you choose is completely up to you, just make sure you don't get something too overkill, or too underkill. Here is a great guide on how to pick a video card, made by Supertoaster:
http://tinyurl.com/838q4d6The Hard Drive. There are two types of hard drives you can get. HDDs, or SSDs. HDDs (Hard drive disks) are your regular mechanical hard drives, that have spinning discs inside them. Currently, these are incredibly expensive due to Thailand flooding. These have a much larger capacity than SSDs. SSDs are hard drives that are completely digital, meaning that they have no spinning disk inside. They are also faster, and quieter. Although, they are much more expensive, and do not have hold as much data as a HDD. Many people purchase a SSD and a HDD when building a computer, then use the SSD for the OS and large programs, then the HDD for files. There are 2 different speeds in HDDs these days. There's 3gb/s, and 6gb/s. Whichever speed you choose, just make sure that it is supported by your motherboard.
The RAM. The capacity of the RAM you choose is completely up to you. If you are getting a non-gaming computer, I recommend atleast 4gb. If you're getting a gaming computer, then you should try to get at least 8gb. Don't go too overkill though, I've met people irl who are obsessed with getting as much RAM as possible because they think it will make games run faster. There are also different speeds of RAM, like DDR2, and DDR3. Then, within those, are different speeds, such as 1333mhz and 1600mhz. I recommend getting at least DDR3. Also, check to make sure that the speed you pick for your RAM is compatible with your motherboard.
The Power Supply. The power supply is what powers the whole computer. How many watts it is can range between 250 and 1250. If you are getting a non-gaming computer with an integrated gpu, you will probably only need about 350. If you are getting a dedicated video card, go on google and check to see how much wattage that video card needs. There are a ton of divey power supply manufacturers out there, so stick with some trusted brands, such as Rosewill, Corsair, XFX, Cool Master, or OZC. Also make sure, if you are getting a dedicated video card, that your power supply comes with all the correct PCI cables that will be needed to power your card. When searching for a power supply, you make come across this word: Modular. A modular power supply means that it comes with most of the cables in a little bag, and you can plug them into the power supply if you need to use them to power something inside your computer. A traditional power supply comes with all the cables already attached to the power supply, and all the unused cables will block airflow inside the case.
The Optical Drive. An optical drive is like a CD/DVD burner, or a Blu-Ray player. It's what's used to play or burn certain CDs. Unless you're crazy about Blu-ray, and you wanna shell out $100 for a blu-ray player inside your PC, then I suggest sticking with the standard CD/DVD burner, which is usually only $20.
(Optional) Aftermarket CPU Cooler. If you really want to, you can purchase an aftermarket CPU cooler, which will replace the CPU cooler that is included with your CPU. Many people dislike the stock coolers because they're garbage, or because they want to overclock their CPU. If you don't really care about overclocking, then I recommend sticking with the stock cooler.
Step 4: Choose an Operating System. The 3 main operating systems of today are Windows, iOS, and Linux. Unless you're a fan of Macs or Linux, or you're making a hackintosh, I would recommend getting Windows. You can choose Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or some older OS if you really want to (don't do it.) If you see a 32-bit version and a 64-bit version of windows, get the 64-bit version, it is much faster.
If you liked my guide, or have some suggestions, please tell me below. Thanks.
