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The PC market is a very dynamic one, often changing so rapidly that the top-of-the-line system you purchased a year ago is barely adequate for playing today's games. So! With that in mind, let us look at what you can get for your money, at a reasonable price/performance ratio:

The operating system (OS)
Which one you opt for is, naturally, dependent on what you want to accomplish with your PC. For general office work and Internet surfing, a PC with Windows XP is sufficient: it is very well-supported, and has a vast library of compatible software. But be warned: it is likely that Microsoft's support for XP is going to be phased out in favour of Vista. Which brings me onto my next point. Vista is more suitable for multimedia applications, for a number of reasons - games based upon directx 10 are likely to take superior advantage of suitable graphics cards, as well as future support issues.

Processor
Processors with two or more cores are the future, and they are here. For exemplary performance at a premium price, choose Intel Core2 Duo, or Quad Duo. These are excellent for gaming and intensive tasks like video editing. AMD Athlon 64's are a good compromise between price and power.

Graphics card
Again, depends what you want to do. Basic tasks should be fine with integrated cards, like Intel's GMA900 or 950. Mid-level gaming and multimedia users will be satisfied with the performance of, for example, NVIDIA's Geforce 7 series (7400 and up). Power users, on the other hand, will be more than happy with the power offered by the Geforce 8 series (the later models of which, incidentally, are DirectX 10 compatible)

Memory (RAM)
I saw the other article in this section, and my jaw dropped. 128MB as a minimum?! Perhaps...in 2001. Nowadays, 512MB is the absolute minimum, but should really be avoided in favour of 1GB, especially if Windows Vista is involved. That should suffice for light gaming and basic tasks. 2GB or more is recommended for intensive gaming.

Hard Drive
There is little to say about which hard drive you should choose in your computer, as price per megabyte (MB) is lower now than at any other point in computing history. It depends how much music, how many photos or movies you want to store, but a good minimum is at least 80GB. 250GB or more would be great for ample storage of large games.

Monitor
Old-style CRT monitors are most definitely out. Flat-screen TFTs are in. In general, you should be OK with anything that is 15" or larger. Screens are getting cheaper and cheaper, and so it is all dependent on your personal preference.

Printer
I have little to say about printers except this: do not purchase your printer as part of a package with your PC! It is likely to be of inferior quality to something you could buy for undoubtedly less, but of a superior brand. For home use, I recommend an inkjet printer (also capable of printing photos), or for office use a laser printer (high printing rates)

I hope this guide has helped you in choosing your perfect PC. Whilst the choices might seem daunting, remember this: don't be afraid to say "no" to the salesman, and shop around more for something that will serve your needs!

Learn more about this author, Keth Kinsey.
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