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How to find the right desktop PC?

By Matthew Kerridge
Nov 5, 2009
When it comes to buying a desktop PC, the size of your budget may be one of the biggest considerations you may have. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, there are plenty of desktop PCs that can easily accommodate your budget. Without a solid budget in mind, it's easy to become lost in the many different choices and options that come with desktop PCs, whether you are building a system from scratch or buying a pre-built system package.

Budget desktop PCs offer the biggest bang for your buck, especially if you don't plan on doing anything other than check emails and surf the web. Starting at $300, these machines are very affordable for those on a tight budget. These types of desktop PC normally have the lowest priced processors, smaller hard drives and only about 1 to 2GB of system memory, plus you'll have to buy a monitor separately in some cases. Despite all of this, you will have a bargain system that should serve you well for quite some time.

Mainstream desktop PCs start out at around the $500-$600 mark, and they generally have more options than budget computers, although they do not have as much content as their upper level counterparts. These computers often have larger hard drives, more memory and also come with a monitor. Mainstream computers are perfect for those who more than just surf the web and read email - tasks such as CD and DVD burning, plus other light multimedia functions can be done with ease on these machines.

At the $1000 mark, you'll have desktop PCs with improved performance over their mainstream counterparts. This includes dedicated video graphics cards that deliver superior performance for games and other graphics-heavy applications, CD/DVD burners with Blu-Ray capability and better processor choices from Intel and AMD. These machines also feature more hard drive space and other features that you might not get in mainstream desktop PCs.

Avid gaming fans looking for a system that can pack a wallop can turn to gaming desktop PCs for their powerful PC fix. These machines are tailored to gamers who love to run their latest games at the highest settings possible. Customized tower cases provide better airflow, while powerful video graphics cards such as the nVidia GTX295 and the fastest processors available deliver a solid experience that is sure to please even the most hardcore gamers. Some budget-minded gaming machines can be found for under $1500, but those looking to purchase gaming desktop PCs should expect to pay $2500 and beyond for good gaming PC.

Those who want a desktop PC that can handle heavy multimedia and graphics editing programs such as Adobe's Creative Suite and AutoCAD are likely to demand more from their desktop PCs. For $1500, these power users can find desktop PCs that can handle nearly all of their needs. These PCs share some of the components that are often found on gaming desktop PCs, but these machines are geared more towards business than they are for pleasure.

The vast majority of desktop PCs sold will come with Windows Vista preloaded onto the machine, although some machines may already have the newest Microsoft operating system, Windows 7. A few desktop PCs do come with Linux, a Unix-based operating system that is seen as an alternative to Windows. However, there are many different variants of this software available, so manufacturers that do offer Linux preinstalled may not use the same variants. Most manufacturers offer recovery CDs and other rescue tools in the event of any serious problems with the operating system.
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