Choosing your Desktop Computer

What is the kind of performance that you need?

And as you may well know, the performance is driven by the processor. Intel and AMD are the two largest processor manufacturers. Intel (the more popular) now produces core processors and you can choose from i3 to i5 to i7.

An Intel i7-5960X is the best processor you can find on the market right now, but the AMD FX-9590 is also excellent, and scored better than lots of other versions of the i7. If you’re not a gamer nor an adept of heavy software, you can go with a good version of the i5 without a problem.

Basic Desktop VS Gaming Desktop

Your usage should also decide the kind of desktop that you want. There are those basic desktops that allow you to work on office and multimedia files. However, if you are an avid gamer, it is best to opt for one of the high-end desktops that are especially built for games. These desktops have more powerful processors and amazing graphics cards. Their keyboards and mouse are also built for the purpose of gaming. These are more expensive machines, and also often noisy as they board cooling systems.

Look at the OS and make your choice

Windows OS is certainly the most popular in terms of numbers. It’s compatibility is perfect.

iOS desktops have higher billing on the UI and experience front.

Linux and Chrome desktops sell less, but they also come with their unique features that you may enjoy: a total scalability for Linux, and an Internet oriented experience for Chrome.

It is also better to choose an OS that is compatible with your other devices like tablet and smartphone, especially in the case of iOS: Apple made its best to create a whole environment iPhones and iMac share.

All-in-one desktops are hugely popular now

All-in-one desktops are the fastest growing desktops in this segment. Such a desktop has a large monitor and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) components are built into the back of the monitor. A desktop like this is far easier to move, install and takes a lot less room than a traditional desktop with a separate CPU. If you plan on adding some extra components to your desktop (like adding a gaming graphics card), look for something else though. There is no room for such experiment in an iMac- like all in one computer!

What about the screen?

The screen size is something that makes a desktop any day better than a laptop because you can buy really large screens that give you the experience of watching movies in your LED TV. Today you also have the option of buying touchscreen desktops that can become very good multimedia centres in your living room or office. They’re usually based on a Windows 8 OS.

SSD and RAM

A Solid State Drive (SSD) allows your computer to store data on a flash memory. They are way better than HDD (Hard State Drives) in terms of sturdiness, noise and heat. They also, and it’s the most important, give you access to the data in no time at all compared to HDD.

It means your computer is way faster with an SSD memory. It’s more expensive, but clearly better.

The RAM (Random Access Memory) is where the computer stores the data it’s currently treating. The more your RAM is big, the fastest your computer is. Choose 4GB RAM minimum.  

The Top Desktop Computers

If you’re looking for an All-in-One Desktop, consider products like HP Slate 21 Pro F7U54A8 or Acer All-in-One, 1.9GHz Intel Pentium 2127U, 8GB, 1TB HDD Desktop or ASUS All-in-One ET2031IUK-01 Celeron 2955U Desktop (photo 1).

If you want to buy a Gamer Desktop, then there are some fantastic products to choose from. At the top of the list you have ASUS ROG i3-4150 G20AJ-US006S, iBUYPOWER TD741 Gaming PC and Dell Alienware Alpha (photo 2).

If iOS is your preferred OS, then choose one of the Apple desktops like Apple Mac Mini 2.3GHz (so small you would think it’s an external hard drive) or the Apple iMac i5 3.4Ghz ME089BZ/A (photo 3).

If Linux is what you are looking at, then consider desktops like Acer Veriton N2620G Nettop Computer or Lenovo FR DESKTOP TC M32 I (photo 4).

If Windows OS is your preferred OS, opt for one of the latest desktops with Windows 8.1 OS. All the top desktop manufacturers have their desktops with this OS and the top names include Lenovo, HP, Dell, ASUS, Acer, Toshiba and Samsung.

In the basic desktops, Dell machines are the best. You can opt for one of the Optiplex or Inspiron desktops and you will have a great time using them.