Things to look for when buying a computer

Tag : Computer System Components
A computer with more memory is generally faster and more reliablethan a machine with less, particularly when you try to play musicwhile you browse the Web, check your e-mail and edit photos, all atthe same time.

Memory is measured in gigabytes, or billions of bytes. To runWindows Vista Home Premium or Apple's Leopard operating system, getat least 2 gigs.

Hard drive storage: Often confused with memory, the hard disk is where your computerstores programs and data permanently when it's turned off. Your PCalso reads from and writes to the drive constantly when it'srunning.

Hard drive capacity is measured in hundreds of gigabytes. Foraverage applications, 160 to 200 GB is plenty. But if you want touse your PC as a video recorder, get 250 GB or more.

Video adapter: The computer's video circuitry determines what you see on yourscreen. If you're not gaming or watching movies, the standard,built-in video adapters from Intel that populate most lower-endmachines will be fine.

Monitor: Flat-panel screens have become incredibly cheap — about $200for a 19-inch model — so give your eyes a treat with a bigone. Traditional monitors with a 4:3 aspect ratio are better forwork applications, but a wide-screen monitor will double as anentertainment center for playing DVD movies.

If you buying a laptop, beware of the shiny, mirror-like screensthat look great when you're watching a movie from exactly the rightangle — but drive you crazy with glare when it's time to getto work.