Intended Usage
What do you intend to use the computer for? This is one of the key considerations when purchasing that desktop system. The main goal here is to get a system that will suit your computing needs. If you're using the computer for professional or business purposes, you'll want to factor stability and service support into your purchase decision. On the other hand, if you intend to use the system at home, you may want a more well-rounded PC that can handle multimedia applications, web surfing easily.
Budget
You'll certainly need to consider your budget buying that PC. Low-end budget systems will save you a lot of money and are suitable for most home users. High-end systems with the latest AMD Athlon™ II Processors or Intel Core i7 processor will cost more and will be more suitable for those who want to play the latest 3D games or do heavy video or graphics editing.
System Features
OK, here's where it gets complicated. A typical desktop PC has got so many components, it's hard to decide which system is good or bad. We're talking about a whole plethora of components from memory, video cards, sound cards, optical drives and so on.
Here's a stab at the most essential components in the PC and what you should look out for:
CPUs
The CPU is the brain of your system - so it's a key consideration when buying that PC. The older chips like Intel Celeron and Intel Pentium 4 chips are now starting to become obsolete. If you want your system to last for some time, go for newer processors like the Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Athlon™ II Processors.
Memory
System memory is also very important - you can never have enough of it. Typically, look for at least 2Gb of memory in the desktop you want to buy. Anything less while pose a problem for business or graphics applications.
Motherboards
If you're buying the system off the shelf from vendors like HP, Dell or eMachines, the motherboard brand will usually not be an issue. In fact, most PC manufacturers don't publish the type of motherboard used in their desktops. The motherboard brand is of greater importance if you are building your own PC.
Hard Drives
My advice to you here is - get as much hard disk space as you can afford. A typical hard disk by today's standards would be about 320 GB at least. If you do a lot of downloading off the Internet, or edit videos or have a huge collection of MP3s, you'd be better off with at least a 500 GB hard disk.
Optical Drives
A DVD-ROM drive is now a standard feature in all computers. Make sure you're getting at least a 16X DVD-ROM read speed. An additional consideration these days would be whether you want read-write capability - many computers now come with DVD-/+RW drives are also being bundled in desktops.
Monitors
I guess the key consideration here is whether you want a CRT monitor or LCD display. My opinion is to go for LCD monitor and not for CRT display because they already becoming obsolete in the market because their bulky and power hunger, and at LCD displays slimmer consume less power. At least get 17 inch wide series or the square shape LCD display. Good brand names here are: AOC, Samsung and LG.
Graphics
Computer systems come with either integrated video on the motherboard, or a physical video card. If you play a lot of games, especially 3D games like Half-Life 2 or Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, you will not want to rely on integrated video. Make sure the system has a physical video card with PCI-Express slot and at least 512MB of video memory.
Sound
Again, it is common for computers to come with integrated sound on the motherboard these days but they come with HD audio. However, if you're a computer audio buff, go for a separate third-party sound card like the Creative Audigy Sound Card.
Ports
USB ports are almost standard features in desktop computer systems today. In fact, you'll want to check that the system comes with support for the latest USB 2.0 specification. Even better if it comes with FireWire ports (which are essential for video capture and editing).
Operating System
The majority of computer systems these days ship with Windows XP Home Edition or Windows 7 Home, which is suitable for home users. Business users should look for Windows XP Professional or Windows 7 Professional to be bundled in the package.
Technical Support
After-sale support and warranty periods are a prime consideration especially you have no experience in troubleshooting computers. Most basic warranty periods last for a year or two and are sufficient for the average user. Don't go for an extended warranty period without reading the fine print. Most of the time, it's not necessary to have overly long warranty periods as the reasonable lifetime of your computer will be about 4 to 5 years at most.
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