Electronics
Buying a computer
Introduction
Time for a new computer? Our guide will help you choose a PC that meets your needs.
We explain which specifications and features to look for, bring you an interactive guide to connections and ports, and tell you which brands and retailers our members rate most reliable.
Note: this report is a buying guide and does not contain test results.
Plus also see our laptops test and guide to buying Apple Mac computers.
Laptop or desktop?
The first thing to consider is whether a laptop or desktop will best meet your needs:
Why buy a laptop?
- Portability. Laptops are light, portable, and take up less space than a desktop PC.
- Energy use. Laptops typically use less than 20 percent of the power of a desktop. Good for the power bill.
Why buy a desktop?
- Price. Desktops offer better performance at a lower price.
- Power. If you're into gaming or media applications using complex graphics, desktops usually have more power to handle them.
- Upgrading. If you want to improve the memory, graphics card, or other components, it's far easier (and cheaper) with a desktop.
- Ergonomics. A desktop is better than a laptop if you do a lot of computing or typing. Alternative ergonomic mice and keyboards are available.
If you decide a laptop meets your needs better than a desktop, see our separate Laptop report.
Technical terms
Don't know your USB from your PCIe or your RAM from your ROM? We explain some commonly used terms:
AGP: Accelerated graphics port. A dedicated slot on the motherboard for the 3D graphics card. Somewhat dated now.
CPU: Central processing unit, also called the processor or chip. This is the engine of the computer. Generally the higher the processing speed, the better your computer will perform.
DDR RAM: Double data rate random access memory. A very fast type of RAM (see below). DDR2 and 3 are even faster.
Dedicated graphics: A separate graphics card with memory specifically allocated to graphics.
FireWire: A very fast port, often used for transferring data from a video or digital camera.
GB: Gigabyte. A measurement of data. 1GB = 1024MB
HDD: Hard disk drive. The central storage area of your computer for files and programs.
Integrated graphics: A chip on the motherboard that shares the video memory with the processor. Don't usually perform as well as dedicated graphics cards.
MB: Megabyte. A measurement of data.
Memory: Your computer has two types of memory: long term (hard-drive) and short term (RAM).
PCI: Peripheral component interconnect. A port for attaching components. Still used, mainly for internal modems and sound cards.
PCIe: Also known as PCI Express, this is the most common port on modern computers for attaching components like dedicated video cards and sound cards.
RAM: Random access memory. RAM stores information only when the computer's power is on.
USB: Universal serial bus. A very common port for attaching peripherals such as scanners, digital cameras and printers.