PC purchase without the tears

When buying a PC, by far the most important factor to consider is what you actually want to use the system for. Will you use it mostly for work and office applications?

Maybe you want it specifically for playing games, or like the idea of a computer set up for editing home movies. Then again, you might actually need a jack of all trades for general use.

Whatever the reason behind your desire for a computer, it is essential to understand what you need and why you need it. This month vnunet.com's sister publication What PC? aims to make the whole process easier by identifying different types of PC users, and what they need from their machines.

To keep things as simple as possible we decided to concentrate on the essentials for the following five main types of use: office work, gaming and entertainment, internet use, video editing and general all-round functionality.

As well as what you need and why you need it, in each category we've also provided examples of the best-looking deals around. These are only pointers, though, and it is often best to get a manufacturer to build a PC to your specific requirements to make sure you get exactly what you want.

With our help you'll understand exactly what to look for, depending on your intended usage, and you might also learn a bit of useful information about the sum of the parts that go to make up the whole of your PC.

OFFICE WORK

The PC is now an essential part of most offices. But what kind of set-up do you need to make the PC a successful working machine?

Processor

For most office applications, you don't require a monstrously powerful processor. Chips such as the 2GHz Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP 2000+ are more than a match for today's applications, and it's extremely difficult to justify paying over the odds for power that isn't needed.

Our advice is to save some money if you want a machine mostly for office tasks and opt for a system based on a Pentium III, a Duron or a Celeron.

However, a more powerful machine will retain its value longer. If portability is an issue, you could also opt for a notebook PC.

Memory and storage

Random Access Memory (Ram) is where your computer holds information it needs to access quickly and frequently. The more Ram you have, the faster Windows and your programs can run and the less frequently the computer has to access instructions and data from the hard disk.

As a rule, go for a minimum of 128Mb of Ram and, if possible, aim for 256Mb. Look out for machines with DDR Ram memory, as this is quicker than SD Ram. Also check whether there are free RIMM or DIMM slots for adding extra memory.

The amount of hard disk space you need depends on the kind of data volumes you deal with. If you will be storing lots of images and large files on your hard drive we'd advise getting at least 20Gb.

For keen work communicators (or skivers!) who like to download and keep images and MP3s, a 40Gb drive will be ample for all but the greediest.

Drives

It's worth considering a PC with a CD rewriter so you can back up data to disc. A Zip drive, which uses 100Mb removable disks, will also allow you to back up information. Floppy drives are rarely used nowadays, but are handy for booting your system if something goes wrong.

Monitor

For most work applications you don't need to go above 17in. Unless you're in a commercial art or publishing environment, you can also take advantage of the space saving offered by the tiny footprint of a Thin Film Transistor flat-panel display, but this will add to the cost.

Graphics and sound

Office users don't usually need great sound or graphics cards. If you do get them it will make your system more versatile but, for the most part, a system with sound and graphics chips integrated into the motherboard will do fine.

Software

Chances are you're going to need Microsoft Office, and a standard version of the latest edition, Office XP, costs £423 (inc VAT). However, it will cost you less than this if you buy it as part of your system. Office XP doesn't require Windows XP to work; it will happily run on Windows 98, Millennium, NT or 2000.

The standard Office comprises four main applications. Word is the word processor, used to create documents and reports. Excel is used for spreadsheets, to crunch numbers and display your business data in tabular and visual formats. PowerPoint creates multimedia presentations, and FrontPage is an easy-to-use web page authoring program.

If you don't need Office XP's fancy features, you can save money by opting for Microsoft Works Suite 2002. This features Money for managing your finances, Picture It for storing and editing photos, Works for database and address book functions, the Encarta encyclopaedia, AutoRoute for maps and route planning and Word for word processing.

Another option is Ability Office 2002 for £49.95, inc VAT. When you order your PC, you can often ask for specific software to be included.

Nearly all systems on the market now come with Windows XP Home Edition. Windows XP Professional provides extra facilities aimed specifically at businesses.

Other issues

The ability to access the internet and send and receive emails is crucial for any office today. Unless you're connected to the web via a network or broadband, a 56Kbps modem is essential.

If you're buying more than one PC, you should consider networking. This will allow two or more computers to share the same printer, internet connection, other peripherals, and documents.

Finally, go for a system with at least two free Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, for attaching peripherals.

Consider ...

Hi-Grade Ultinote M6400-1800-2
A complete desktop replacement notebook with tremendous performance and features. A What PC? Best Buy.
£1,573.33 (inc VAT)
Hi-Grade: 020 8532 6100
www.higrade.com

Mesh Elite 1.8GHz SW (SmartWorker)
Well suited to working in the office. Comes with a superb selection of software.
£1,036.58 (inc VAT and delivery)
Mesh: 020 8208 4707
www.meshplc.com

Dell Dimension 4400*
A business favourite, this is a typical office machine, with all the basic software. (* 1.8GHz CPU, 256Mb Ram, 40Gb hard disk, 17in monitor.)
£1,114 (inc VAT)
Dell: 0870 907 5667
www.dell.com/uk

GAMES AND ENTERTAINMENT

The standard of 'multimedia entertainment' available from PCs has increased in leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. Whether you're watching DVDs, listening to CDs or playing games, you'll want a PC that will get the best out of them. Here's exactly what you'll need to consider for the full multimedia experience.

Processor

The performance of games relies heavily on the processor. The faster the processor, the quicker each frame of the game can load and the smoother the graphics will appear.

There is nothing worse than buying a game and finding that the screen slows down or flickers when the action gets intense. For smooth performance now, and in the foreseeable future, we'd recommend a Pentium 4 or Athlon XP processor running at 1.5GHz or more.

Memory and storage

No doubt you'll be storing your games and MP3 music files on the hard drive, and these can take up an incredible amount of space. This is why we'd recommend at least 40Gb of hard disk space. The more the better.

You'll also need at least 256Mb of Ram, but 512Mb is preferable. Again, the higher the better.

Drives

If you want to explore the increasingly popular world of digital movies you'll need a PC equipped with a DVDRom drive, which will play CDs as well. You might also want the added luxury of a CD rewriter to complete the set.

You can either go for two different drives, or get a combination unit that does both. The latter will leave you more room to upgrade but having two separate drives allows you to copy from disc to disc.

Monitor

Most gamers agree that a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor is still best for entertainment. Bigger is better here and you want the biggest screen you can afford, so you can run games at higher resolutions. We'd recommend 19in but you can get away with 17in if your budget or space is tight. Same goes for watching DVDs.

Graphics card

By far the most important part of any entertainment PC, the graphics card delivers the visuals and helps take some strain off the main processor.

The first rule here is that you need a card that uses the accelerated graphics port (AGP) slot inside the PC. Intel designed this specifically for channelling graphics data, and machines with on-board graphics chips will not cut the mustard.

Next, the quality of the graphics chip affects lighting, textures, animation and the overall smoothness and realism in games. The two leaders in the graphics field at present are ATI and nVidia. The latest high-end chip from nVidia is the GeForce4 Ti 4600, which has performed exceptionally well in our Labs tests.

Its main rival is ATI's Radeon 8500. Earlier chips from both manufacturers will play many games fairly smoothly but it may not be long before they start to show their age.

Dedicated video Ram is also essential, and you'll want a card that has at least 32Mb and preferably 64Mb.

If you want to play games or DVDs on your TV, you'll need an S-Video or TV-out output on the card. If you want to watch television on your PC, you'll need a card with a TV tuner.

Sound card and speakers

When playing games and DVDs there is nothing like surround sound to really enliven proceedings. A sound card that supports 5.1 surround - five speakers and a sub-woofer - can take entertainment to a whole new level. While Guillemot and VideoLogic are names to watch out for, Creative is king of the hill and its Sound Blaster Audigy range shows how things should be done.

If you want to play music on your PC, or get true Dolby surround sound on DVDs, then digital optical in and out ports are also a good idea.

On the speaker side, many manufacturers bundle Cambridge SoundWorks units from Creative, with most favouring the excellent DTT2200 package. VideoLogic also produces a great range of speakers to suit entertainment enthusiasts.

Online action

If you want to play games with other players across the internet you'll need a 56Kbps modem. Better still is a high-speed broadband connection such as ADSL. All this requires is a spare USB connector for a special modem but the line set-up costs and subscription can be expensive.

If you want to link up and play with other computers in the same building, a network card is essential.

Consider ...

Mesh Matrix XP 2000+ NV25
A great machine for gaming and entertainment, featuring the new GeForce4.
£1,526.33 (inc VAT)
Mesh: 020 8208 4707
www.meshplc.com

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