But what are you really getting? That is the question, not everyone needs top of the line but maybe spending a little more might mean you won't upgrade by the time next year rolls around, or if the computer is also for your kids to use you don't want to hear the endless crying of its too slow.
About CPUs
Well when you buy a computer you have two choices Intel or AMD CPUs. Well it used to be a majority market for Intel, but AMD is gaining popularity with its faster performance over the same Intel CPU speed. In the field of Intel you have three choices Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium III, and Intel Pentium IV. On AMD's side you have AMD Duron and AMD Thunderbird (T-bird). Each chip has their strengths and weaknesses alike, but since this article is for people who don't have a clue on how to build a computer, the next best thing is what to look for when getting a computer.
The first step the CPU. The CPU is the main thing when it comes to overall performance, well then you have the motherboard, but the motherboard you don't have a choice unless you can custom build your computer (this article won't go into the different motherboard specs and stuff like that). As I mentioned before you have a choice from two competitors AMD and Intel and each have different CPUs for different purposes.
Intel CPUs
Intel Celeron
- Not a gaming PC
- Good for those who write emails, surf the net, and do nothing to graphics intensive
- Low cost PC solutions
- Lowest performance out of the 5 CPUs mentioned
- A modified version of the Pentium III CPU
- Speeds of up to 1.3Ghz
Intel Pentium III/Tualtin
- Great for people who use a lot of programs at once and also who like to play games
- Higher speeds up to 1GHz (1000 MHz)
- Powerful enough that you won't have to upgrade anytime soon
- Great to do editing of images, playing DVDs, running multiple programs at once.
- A little more expensive than the Celeron but it's worth the extra cash
- Slightly underperforms the AMD Thunderbird
- New P3 Tualtins are available up to 1.3Ghz slightly modified P3 cpu with 512Kb of cache and better performance
Intel Pentium IV/Northwood
- Newest CPU out on the market
- Quite different from the Pentium III
- Good for people who do intense graphics and multimedia
- Higher speeds 1.3Ghz to 2.0 GHz
- Not really for home use
- Performance lacks behind even slower AMD Thunderbirds
- Price/Performance ratio is poor, expensive CPU and parts for a system that is underperforming
- P4 Northwood is a modified version of the orginal P4 labelled P4 A. Speeds are 2.0Ghz and 2.2Ghz and offer better performance then the original P4.
The biggest competition comes from AMD the second biggest CPU manufacturer in the world who is now picking up great market share since Intel has its problems and is underperforming compared to same speed Thunderbird CPUs.
AMD CPUs
AMD has two CPUs out there they almost identical, the lower cost AMD Duron and AMD Thunderbird its high end CPU. Don't think that the Duron is a bad CPU, it is marginally slower about 5-10% than the Thunderbird, but it still greatly outperforms an Intel Celeron
AMD Duron
- Slightly modified version of the Thunderbird
- Great performance at a lower price
- Greatly outperforms the Intel Celeron
- Could be used in high intensive areas such as games, multimedia etc..
- Marginally slower than the Thunderbird and can give the Intel Pentium III a run for its money
AMD Thunderbird
- Great Price/Performance ratio
- Faster than the Intel Pentium III
- Lower cost than the Intel Pentium III
- Great for multimedia and graphic intensive games and work
- Outperforms Intel Pentium IV in everything except high multimedia environments (also because of the lower speeds)
- CPU speeds up to 1.4Ghz
AMD XP
- Successor to the AMD Thunderbird
- Modified version of the AMD Thunderbird
- Good for people who do intense graphics, multimedia and gaming.
- Higher speeds 1500+ to 2100+ versions (approx:1.2Ghz to 1.73Ghz)
- Performance is either at par with fast P4/Northwood cpus or even surpasses them.
AMD does outperfrom the Intel Pentium III because of its architecture, it even outdoes the faster Pentium IV. I would in my opinion not opt for the Pentium IV because it is new and well not too much support for the CPU and memory for it is quite expensive.
Well you might have gotten confused from my little table of what the qualities of each CPU are, but thats not the most of it.
Other things to consider...
RAM-- You will also want to find out how much RAM the computer has. These days, it's typically 128MB. If you have the option of upgrading to 256MB, I'd spend the few extra bucks. More RAM will increase your system's overall performance.
Hard drive-- The hard drive is where your programs and files are stored. I've seen that the majority of prebuilt computers offer hard drives with storage capacities between 20 GB and 40 GB. That's sufficient space for most people; I use a 13.5 GB hard drive, and I have plenty of room.
Hardware/Software bundles-- Different vendors offer different incentives, such as including a printer or monitor, or including popular software packages. Your personal preferences will guide you in deciding which of these interest you the most.
Motherboard-integrated components-- Sometimes vendors offer motherboards that come with components integrated into them, such as a video card, sound card, network card, or modem. This cuts cost, giving you a cheaper computer. While that saves you money at the time of purchase, it could cause problems for you later. For example, what if something goes wrong with one of the integrated components? How would your warranty work? Would you be left without a computer for a while? I've heard that these problems are rare, but this is an important consideration. In addition, you won't get the same quality of sound out of an integrated sound card as you would from something like a Soundblaster Live. An integrated video card is likely to be slower than a separate video card. If you have broadband access, you don't need to worry about the integrated modem, but if you have other kinds of access, the modem is a consideration. If you're a gamer, I wouldn't advise getting anything that's integrated with the motherboard.