Consumer Reports - Desktop Computers Computers Articles | January 12 Air Huarache Run Ultra , 2007 The desktop computer has become just another appliance you use every day. Replacement sales--not first-time purchases--now drive the computer market. Fully loaded desktops selling for less than $800 are common, even among established brands.
WHAT'S AVAILABLE
There are dozens of companies vying to put a new desktop in your home. Dell, eMachines, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard (which merged with Compaq in 2002), IBM Air Huarache Ultra , and Sony all make machines that use Microsoft?s dominant Windows operating system. eMachines, recently merged with Gateway, specializes in budget-priced Windows models. Apple is the sole maker of Macintosh models. Small mail-order and store brands cater to budget-minded buyers.
Price range: $400 to $3,000.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
The processor houses the ?brains? of a computer. Its clock speed, measured in gigahertz (GHz), determines how fast the chip can process information. In general Air Huarache Premium , the higher the clock speed, the faster the computer. But not always, since different chip families attain different efficiencies. Manufacturers of Windows machines generally use 1.6- to 3.8-GHz processors with one of the following names: Intel?s Pentium or Celeron, or AMD?s Athlon or Sempron. Celeron and Sempron are lower-priced processors that equal higher-priced chips in many respects. Intel now assigns ?processor numbers? to its chips, de-emphasizing clock speed. Apple?s Macintosh machines use 1.25- to 2.5-GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 processors, which are manufactured by IBM. Apple has announced that they will begin a transition to Intel processors in 2006.The system architecture of some families of chips allows them to be as fast as or faster than others with higher clock speeds Air Huarache Run , so speed comparison by the numbers can be misleading.
All name-brand computers sold today have at least 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM, or random access memory, the memory the computer uses while in operation. Video RAM, also measured in megabytes, is secondary RAM essential for smooth video imaging and game play.
The hard drive is your computer?s long-term data storage system. Given the disk-space requirements of today?s multimedia games, digital photos Air Huarache , and video files, bigger is better. You?ll find hard drives ranging in size from 40 to 300 gigabytes (GB).
A CD-ROM drive has been standard on most desktops for many years. Commonly supplied now is a CD-RW (CD-rewriteable) drive, also known as a ?burner? that lets you create backup files or make music compilations on a compact disc. A DVD-ROM drive brings full-length movies or action-packed multimedia games with full-motion video to the desktop. It complements the CD-RW drive on midline and higher-end systems, allowing you to copy CDs directly between the two drives. A DVD writer will also play CDs and CD-ROMs. Combo drives combine CD-writing and DVD-playing in a single drive, saving space. The newest in this family, rapidly becoming a common choice Cheap Nike Huarache , is the DVD-writer, which lets you transfer home-video footage to a DVD disk, or store as much data as six CDs. There are three competing, incompatible DVD formats--DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM--as well as drives that can create dual-layer DVDs that store twice as much. Some drives can write in more than one format Nike Huarache Shoes , but all can create a disk that will play on standalone DVD players.
Fast disappearing is the diskette drive, where 3.5-inch diskettes are inserted. Apple Macintoshes and a growing number of PCs don?t have a diskette drive built in, because it only allows you to read or store relatively small amounts of data. Many people use a CD-RW as a large ?diskette? drive to transport files. Many PCs now come with a digital camera memory-card reader that can also serve for file transfer. You can also get external drives or use a USB memory module that holds much more than a diskette.
The computer?s cathode ray tube (CRT) or flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor contains the screen and displays the images sent from the graphics board--internal circuitry that processes the images. Monitors come in sizes (measured diagonally) ranging from 15 to 21 inches and larger. Seventeen-inch monitors are the most common. Apple?s eMac and iMac come with built-in monitors. Its Mac Mini comes without a monitor. LCD displays are now the most popular, taking less space and using less power than CRTs. Better LCD displays can use a Digital Video Interface (DVI) connection, found on many newer PCs.
The critical components of a desktop computer are usually housed in a case called a tower. A minitower is the typical configuration. More expensive machines have a midtower, which has extra room for upgrades. A microtower is a space-saving alternative that is usually less expensive. All-in-one computers Nike Huarache Womens , such as the Apple iMac, have no tower; everything but the keyboard and mouse is built into a small case that supports the monitor. Apple?s Power Mac line of computers has a tower. Apple?s newest model, the Mac Mini, has a space-saving design that puts everything but the monitor, keyboard, and mouse in a case about the size of a hardcover book. An ?entertainment PC?--one with a TV tuner built in--comes in a case that is more like an audio or video component Nike Huarache Mens , made to fit in with other home-entertainment devices.
A mouse, a small device that fits in your hand and has a ?tail? of wire that connects to the computer, moves the cursor (the pointer on the screen) via a rolling ball or a light sensor on its underside. Alternatives include a trackball, which is rolled with the fingers or palm in the direction you want the cursor to go; a pad, which lets you move the cursor by sliding a finger; a tablet, which uses a penlike stylus for input; and a joystick Nike Huarache Run Ultra , used to play computer games.
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