There are default recommendations that no one should go without, but if you are limited by the budget then you can choose other alternatives.
Everyone should always have at least two physical hard drives inside their machines. The second should be used as a mirror of the data the user produces. Pictures, documents videos presentations and so on.
There has been this myth that you can upgrade your computer and therefore you should always get a computer that allows for a lot of expansion. After all these years I realized that it is a major pitfall. The best approach to purchasing a computer is to buy it all at once, and only invest 10% of the budget into the expansion ability. Which would probably mean a more expensive motherboard.
Usually a computer is obsolete within a year, unless is the latest and greatest and it costs like $3000 initially.
There are people that want a general use computer and those people should not spend more than $700 on a desktop. That is a sufficient price for a beginner.
The upgradable computer Myth:
If you want an upgradable computer then you need to finish buying the upgrades within a few months from the initial purchase. It seems that the speed rate at which the components change make it useless to plan for an upgradable computer.
There are a few reasons why:
- Most of last year’s components changed and they are not compatible with the current year’s components.
- Every year the computer speed and capacity doubles, hard Drives, Ram, CPUs
- Computer needs change over time with every user
You should always start with a clean computer purchase. If you want to constantly have a fast and up to date computer then you have to replace it, every couple of years. And usually you have to just get rid of the old tower and make a new one.
I went ahead and configured a computer for $1000.
There are 7 parts that come into a desktop computer to make it fire UP. Some of these parts can come blended in with others and you can save money there. For example the Video card can come on-chip with the motherboard, therefore making the computer cheaper. Also the tower can come with the power supply.
- CPU – Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750 – $195
- Mother-Board – GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel – $130
- RAM – CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M4B1333C9 – $150
- 2xHard Drive – Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive – $140
- Video – XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card – $155
- PSU – Rosewill BRONZE series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,Active PFC”Compatible with Core i7, i5″ Power Supply – $130
- Tower – COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel – $50
- DVD-RW – $30