Buying a computer on a budget (General Comments on Processors)

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Product:	General Comments on Processors
Date:	22/11/00 (169 review reads)
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Disadvantages: are bad

Somebody once said to me "buying a computer is a lot like making love to a hedgehog; it can be a painful expierience if your not careful." For people who can afford to spend £800+ on a computer there are plenty of companies who have made the task simple and this is definatly not the case but when you don't want to spend all your money on a computer they don't offer much help and the task becomes more difficult. I have put together a short guide from my experiences of buying computers to hopefully help anyone finding it hard to decide what computer they need with what money they have:

When buying a computer the first things you should be ask yourself are:
WHAT DO YOU NEED IT FOR? and HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU WANT TO SPEND?

You must know what you want your computer to be able to do. There are so many different combinations of components you can have in computer. Only a year or two ago a 200Mhz computer was seen as sufficient but these days people are buying computers over 1Ghz. This doesn't mean slower computers won't be good enough because most people don't need over 600mhz and most of the other hardware in P.C's can't work over this speed anyway.

A 486 66Mhz with 24 MB ram computer with a modem is enough to get on the internet, run basic software and even play MP3's with, and because prices have dropped so much can be bought for around £50.

The most important thing about buying a budget computer is to make sure it has room for upgrade. This means checking whether the motherboard has room for more ram, better graphics card or can take a faster processor. so I have come up with two basic outlines for two different price brackets:

System 1:

PENTIUM 90-166mhz
32MB RAM
2-3GB hard drive £100 - £200
1-2MB graphics
24 speed CD-ROM
33.6 - 56k Modem
14" MONITOR
AT or ATX case and power supply

System 2:

3
00 to 500Mhz Processor,
64 MB SDRAM
6-10GB Hard drive,
4MB Graphics, £300 - £400
32 speed CD-ROM
56K Modem
15" MONITOR
ATX Case and power supply

The first system will run Windows '95 and is good enough to run simple software (word, dreamweaver etc.), play music and some video and surf the net without too much difficulty.
The second outline could be made up of various processors, the AMD K6-2, Cyrix MII 333 or an Intel celeron 300 are three of the best in my view, and will let you surf the net, play games, video, music and run windows ME or '98 with ease.

If you have the expierience or want to gain some, then building your own computer could save money but is a lot more difficult than people think. An easier root would be to buy a base unit then a second user monitor to complete it.

A good place to look are auctions, on the internet or otherwise, but if you prefer a bit more security then there are still companies who sell older components and systems and advertise regularly in the computer advert magazines.

If anyone else has tried to buy or has tips on building a cheaper "older" computer or know any good companies then please add your comments.

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