Post by mikkh on Mar 11, 2022 12:16:50 GMT
Don't be influenced by the speed of the CPU. Nearly every advert for PC's I've ever seen has the speed expressed in GHz proudly displayed as if it means something significant.
It means absolutely nothing in real terms and a 2.2 GHz CPU can (and often is) faster than 3 GHz one, mostly because it has more cores or is just a better CPU.
The budget build I'm currently putting together boasts a 4 GHz CPU, so that should be real fast? Nope, it's adequate and the single thread rating is not bad, but common sense should tell you a £60 CPU isn't going to be a patch on a more expensive one. It will have less cache and a number of other obstacles in the way of making 4GHz anything more than a number.
Don't even consider one that just has a mechanical Hard Drive. I've seen plenty that boast a 2TB hard drive and if you like to keep lots of music/videos/photos, that might look an attractive option, but you'd be better off with an external drive without much loss of speed if used in a USB 3 port. A small SSD boot drive, coupled with a larger mechanical drive is a fairly common option because small SSD's are cheap and a 2 TB mechanical HD is not much more than £40 nowadays. Bigger SSD's (1 TB or less) are a lot more affordable now, but still eye watering prices at 2 TB and higher. A 512 GB SSD should suffice for most people - for about £50, or go for 1 TB for about £80.
Don't be blinded by fancy cases and pretty lights, they're purely aesthetic and don't guarantee it's a good PC.
Don't handicap yourself with a rigid budget, spending say £50 more than you wanted to can often get you a much better PC. Or if you have a price point you simply can't break, look for the special offers. Machines that were out of your range can become within budget thanks to a discount.
Don't get the extra warranty offered by big stores. It looks attractive, but you get a years warranty free anyway and any long term faults will have already manifested themselves in that first year - usually!
Don't use the 'free' 6 months virus protection option or buy a years protection for a bargain special offer price. Windows 10/11 security is actually pretty good on it's own and every virus I've ever removed in over 30 years of fixing PC's has been on computers running a virus checker, that obviously hasn't done it's job!
Hmm, better sort some Do's out I guess....
Do take a technically mind friend with you if possible, although this can be a double edged sword if the salesman/women and the friend try to 'outgeek' each other with facts and figures.
Do ask the same technically minded friend if they mind setting it up for you if you're not sure how to do it. I've seen ridiculous figures quoted for installing it and it's literally a 5 minute job for someone who knows their way around computer hardware.
Do shop around and be patient before deciding. There can be several hundred pounds difference between basically the same hardware from a different outlet - don't get caught out.
It means absolutely nothing in real terms and a 2.2 GHz CPU can (and often is) faster than 3 GHz one, mostly because it has more cores or is just a better CPU.
The budget build I'm currently putting together boasts a 4 GHz CPU, so that should be real fast? Nope, it's adequate and the single thread rating is not bad, but common sense should tell you a £60 CPU isn't going to be a patch on a more expensive one. It will have less cache and a number of other obstacles in the way of making 4GHz anything more than a number.
Don't even consider one that just has a mechanical Hard Drive. I've seen plenty that boast a 2TB hard drive and if you like to keep lots of music/videos/photos, that might look an attractive option, but you'd be better off with an external drive without much loss of speed if used in a USB 3 port. A small SSD boot drive, coupled with a larger mechanical drive is a fairly common option because small SSD's are cheap and a 2 TB mechanical HD is not much more than £40 nowadays. Bigger SSD's (1 TB or less) are a lot more affordable now, but still eye watering prices at 2 TB and higher. A 512 GB SSD should suffice for most people - for about £50, or go for 1 TB for about £80.
Don't be blinded by fancy cases and pretty lights, they're purely aesthetic and don't guarantee it's a good PC.
Don't handicap yourself with a rigid budget, spending say £50 more than you wanted to can often get you a much better PC. Or if you have a price point you simply can't break, look for the special offers. Machines that were out of your range can become within budget thanks to a discount.
Don't get the extra warranty offered by big stores. It looks attractive, but you get a years warranty free anyway and any long term faults will have already manifested themselves in that first year - usually!
Don't use the 'free' 6 months virus protection option or buy a years protection for a bargain special offer price. Windows 10/11 security is actually pretty good on it's own and every virus I've ever removed in over 30 years of fixing PC's has been on computers running a virus checker, that obviously hasn't done it's job!
Hmm, better sort some Do's out I guess....
Do take a technically mind friend with you if possible, although this can be a double edged sword if the salesman/women and the friend try to 'outgeek' each other with facts and figures.
Do ask the same technically minded friend if they mind setting it up for you if you're not sure how to do it. I've seen ridiculous figures quoted for installing it and it's literally a 5 minute job for someone who knows their way around computer hardware.
Do shop around and be patient before deciding. There can be several hundred pounds difference between basically the same hardware from a different outlet - don't get caught out.
