Will you be using the computer mainly to check email and browse the web? Are you planning on doing a significant amount of office work on your computer? {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/a/a9/Pages-Icon. png/460px-Pages-Icon. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/a/a9/Pages-Icon. png/560px-Pages-Icon. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:560,“bigHeight”:560,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://en.
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org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a> (screenshot)
\n</p></div>"} Do you enjoy games and plan on spending most of your computer time playing the latest and greatest releases? {“smallUrl”:“https://www.
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org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>
<br />\n</p></div>"} Are you an artist or musician? Do you anticipate using the computer to create images, music, or videos? {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/1a/FCPXsplash. png/460px-FCPXsplash. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/1a/FCPXsplash. png/728px-FCPXsplash. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:257,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:406,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://en.
wikipedia.
org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a> (screenshot)
\n</p></div>"} Is your computer going to be used by everyone in the family? Is your computer going to be an entertainment hub for the living room? {“smallUrl”:“https://www.
wikihow.
com/images/thumb/e/e5/Choose-a-Computer-Step-1Bullet5.
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License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>
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<br />\n</p></div>"}
Ask yourself how tied down you want to be to a desk. Laptops will allow you to work from virtually anywhere that you can charge or get a Wi-Fi internet connection. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/7/70/Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet1. jpg/v4-460px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet1. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/7/70/Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet1. jpg/aid145907-v4-728px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet1. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.
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\n</p>
<br />\n</p></div>"} If choosing a laptop, pay attention to the advertised battery life, as your battery will dictate how mobile your laptop can be. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/6/6d/Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet2. jpg/v4-460px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet2. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/6/6d/Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet2. jpg/aid145907-v4-550px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-2Bullet2. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:324,“bigWidth”:550,“bigHeight”:387,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>
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<br />\n</p></div>"}
Apple computers are preferred for musicians and artists, as they typically run content creation programs much more efficiently than a Windows PC. Linux is an alternate Operating System that is free from costs, copyrights, and viruses. If you are buying a computer with Linux, look out for a System76. Ubuntu is a good distribution to start with.
Hard disk – This is the storage for your computer. Storage is measured in gigabytes (GB). All of your documents, programs, photos, videos, and music will use this space. In general, the more storage, the better, though average users can easily get by with 500 GB. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/e/eb/Screen-Shot-2014-05-13-at-12. 59. 18-PM. png/460px-Screen-Shot-2014-05-13-at-12. 59. 18-PM. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/e/eb/Screen-Shot-2014-05-13-at-12. 59. 18-PM. png/700px-Screen-Shot-2014-05-13-at-12. 59. 18-PM. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:343,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:522,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://en.
wikipedia.
org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a> (screenshot)
\n</p></div>"} RAM/Memory – This is specialized storage that programs use to keep temporary information.
If you don’t have enough RAM, you’ll find programs running sluggishly or even crashing.
8 GB is a good baseline number for RAM, though gamers and graphics designers will want at least double that.
{“smallUrl”:“https://www.
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org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a> (screenshot)
\n</p></div>"} CPU – This is the computer’s processor, and what makes your computer run.
There are two major manufacturers – Intel and AMD.
AMD is typically a little cheaper than Intel for comparable performance, at the cost of some quality and support.
Be sure to research which CPU you are planning to purchase, as the market changes frequently.
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\n</p></div>"} Video card – If you aren’t running games or doing 3D development, you most likely won’t need to worry about your graphics card.
If you’re a gaming enthusiast, however, then the video card is a crucial component of the computer.
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\n</p></div>"}
Popular desktop manufacturers include: HP, iBuyPower, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Gateway, and more. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/f/fb/Choose-a-Computer-Step-7Bullet1. jpg/v4-460px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-7Bullet1. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/fb/Choose-a-Computer-Step-7Bullet1. jpg/aid145907-v4-728px-Choose-a-Computer-Step-7Bullet1. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.
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\n</p>
<br />\n</p></div>"} Apple desktops run Mac OS X instead of Windows, and are often much less customizable or upgradable. The upside is their unified hardware means programs designed for much typically run much more efficiently, and OS X has to worry less about viruses. Linux computers such as the System76 are cheap and do not get viruses. Although, a Linux computer may not have many applications. But, there are equivalents that work just as well.
