Computer Shopping (According to RPP)
By: C. Simon H. Griffin
Staff Writer
When considering if you want to buy or build a new computer or laptop there are three key factors that you have to keep in mind that I look at: Reliability, Price-to-performance ratio, and Practicality (RPP), and how to choose components based off of these principals. Before I get deeper into the article, I will give you what I see as each of these principals definition.
Reliability is how reliable your computer is. As long as it is purchased from a well-known company with a good reputation such as Acer, Dell, Asus, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo, etc. they will most likely be relatively reliable. However, if you are buying from a less well-known company or building your own computer, you will have to do a little research.
Price to performance ratio is how much performance you are getting for your money. For low end, Microsoft Windows based computers buying a pre-built computer often makes sense. However, if you are going for a little bit higher system, or do not plan on buying a Microsoft Windows license, building your own often has an advantage. The exception is deals such as Cyber Monday, where the pre-built manufacture will often have very large discounts.
Practicality is how useful the item will be to you. While it may seem nice to have a crazy high end machine, if you are only going to be web browsing it is not very practical to spend the kind of money needed for a fancy system.
The rest of this article will mostly focus on people who want to build their own computers, but this information may help you make a decision on buying a pre-built as well. Now, without any further ado, here is a list of the different main parts of a computer, and how pick to out which ones are best for you based on RPP.
Centeral Processing Unit
The central processing unit, also known as a CPU or processor, performs calculations that make your computer do anything at all. When shopping for a processor, always make sure that you are getting a new product, or you will have to upgrade sooner than you would have liked. As of now, the newest architectures for desktop processors are the Haswell processor family on the Intel side of things; for AMD the Kabini architecture for low power and very low cost desktop solutions, Kaveri “A Series” processors for normal desktop use, and Vishera “FX” processors for “enthusiast” desktop use such as gaming and rendering builds. For home usage use pretty much any current processor from either brand, Intel or AMD, but I recommend a processor with at least four cores with a clock speed of at least 3.0 ghz (gigahertz) from one of the current architectures I talked about earlier. More cores is always better, but for home use, go with the cheapest processor that meets the recommendations I mentioned in the last sentence.
For gaming, editing, or sever use, however, I recommend either an AMD FX processor with at least 6 cores clocked at least at 3.5 ghz, or an Intel quad-core processor clocked at minimum at 3.0 ghz. Some processors also have integrated graphics, but I'll talk about that later. The reason I recommend a 6 core AMD, but only a 4 core Intel is because Intel CPUs of the current architecture have better single-core performance due to AMD and Intel defining “core” differently. An 8 core AMD is more similar to a hyper-threaded Intel quad core than an Intel 8 core because of their different architectures. This single-core advantage helps compensate for the lackluster amount of cores on the Intel side. Please keep in mind older games will run on Intel chips better because the game is poorly optimized for using multiple cores, so that single core advantage is all that matters.
Random Access Memory
Random access memory, more commonly known as RAM, provides the short-term storage needed by the processor to do what it needs to do. For home use and gaming, 8gb (gigabytes) of ddr3-1600mhz with a CL (CAS latency) of 9 is the standard, but more may be needed for home servers, rendering machines, or very heavy multi-tasking machines. While it may be tempting to just buy an insane amount of RAM and then not have to worry about it ever again, it never works out that way. Technology moves too fast to be able to be predicted in that way. Just buy what you need right now, and upgrade later if needed
Motherboard
The motherboard is the component of a computer that all other components connect to, making it critical to choose a good one. While most pre-builts come standard with relatively good motherboards, if you are building your own computer make sure to choose a good one. Some good, well known brands are Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock, EVGA, and MSI. While you will still have to do some research, motherboards from these brands will often be of good quality, as these brands have a reputation to uphold and are all well-established. Not all motherboards work with all CPUs, so do your research to see if it will work before buying. I recommend getting a motherboard that can support more ram than you currently use for future upgradability's sake.
Power Supply
The power supply is easily the most important component of any computer, and “cheaping out” when buying it can have truly catastrophic consequences. Your power supply must meet the power demands of your system, so if your system requires 500watts of power, a 430watt power supply would be a very bad idea. Make sure to get a power supply with a efficiency rating that is at least 80+ certified; though it is better to get one that is 80+ bronze, silver, gold, or even platinum, but those can be expensive. Also make sure that your power supply comes from a good brand such as Corsair, Cooler Master, EVGA, Antec, or SeaSonic. If you fail to buy a good power supply from a good brand, it can literally catch on fire and burn your house down from an electrical short-circuit or similar event, so choose wisely.
Graphics Card
The graphics card (GPU) is a component that runs your display, allowing you to see what is happening. Anything from showing a basic command line to running 3d games is run by the graphics card. For basic home tasks, the integrated graphics that come on all AMD “A Series” CPUs, Intel Celerons, Pentiums, and most “core i” series processors will suffice. However, for gaming and/ or rendering you will need something a bit more powerful. That is where dedicated GPUs come in. On the Nvidia side of things, it is relatively easy to break down the performance of a graphics card just from its name. For example, the GTX 980 is the top of the line GPU right now. The GTX in the name shows that it is an “enthusiast” card, the 9 shows that it is from the 9xx series of Nvidia GPUs, and the 80 shows that it is an 80 class GPU, which is normally the highest end card from a particular series. AMD cards are very similar, the designation (R5, R7, R9) being the series, then the first number being the generation, then the last numbers being a good indication on how it perform. (For example, you can tell the R9 280x performs better than the R7 260x just by looking at the name). To choose if you want an AMD or Nvidia card, keep this chart in mind.
One last thing: despite what kind of part choices you may see in pre-built “gaming” computer, for gaming, you should spend more on your GPU than on your CPU. Another thing is that a better series card (i.e. a GTX 780 vs a GTX 760) will always outperform the lower series card, even if the lower series card has more RAM.
Storage
There are two types of storage. SSDs (solid state drives) and HDDs (Hard disk drives). HDDs have much more storage per dollar, and SSDs are much faster and run cooler, but have much less storage. I recommend at least 1tb (terabyte) of storage for desktop use, but other than that, the choice is yours. Instead of spending a small fortune on a 1tb SSD, I recommend on buying a 1tb HDD and having a 120gb or 250gb SSD as a boot/main program drive.
Case
Get a case with good airflow that will fit all your components inside, and leave some space on your desk for your monitor, keyboard, etc. Other than that, it's entirely up to which ones look good to you.
CPU Cooler
Just as all components do, CPUs generate heat. Most processors come with a decent cooler by default, but if you are overclocking or something else that generates an inordinate amount of CPU heat, you may want to invest in a better air cooler, or a liquid cooler from a good brand like Corsair or Cooler Master. Please keep in mind that if you do not buy your liquid cooler from a good brand, it may leak, and damage other components.
I hope that I have managed to educate you a little bit more about what to look for when buying or building your next computer. If you need any help, please do contact me in the comments below.