6.4 Guide to choose a Multimedia Computer

When buying a computer, one has to clearly know what the computer will be used for.

Is it just general web browsing and some word processing or full gaming and taking full advantage of the

multimedia experience a computer can offer?

As well as this, one has to keep in mind the budget he/she are working with.

It comes down to what the computer will be used for and what you are prepared to pay for it.

This guide will look at the main hardware components that need to be examined and taken into account to

make an informed decision when purchasing a multimedia computer.

Processor (CPU)

The processor is the brain of any computer.

When purchasing a computer, generally, one will be presented with the brand, model and speed of the

processor.

The speed of the processor depends on how many cores are in it.

Computers which are now considered outdated only had one core in its processor.

Recently, computers range from having a dual-core processor (two cores) up to an eight-core processor

(eight cores).

6.4 Guide to choose a Multimedia Computer

The more cores a processor has, the faster it will process and the faster your computer will be.

However, the more cores a processor has, the more expensive it will be.

Memory (RAM)

RAM, Random Access Memory is where the memory of the current application that is being worked on

resides.

All computers now use a type of memory called DDR3 memory, outdating the DDR2 memory which was

widely used in the past.

DDR3 is an update on DDR2 that is faster and more efficient.

Similar to the processor, the faster and bigger the RAM, the faster the computer.

Hard Drive

To summarize hard drives, they depend on the size and speed.

The bigger and faster the hard drive, the better the performance of the multimedia computer will be.

Also similar to processors, the bigger and faster the hard drive the more expensive it is.

6.4 Guide to choose a Multimedia Computer

Video Card

Computer hardware technology like CPUs, Hard Drives and RAM memory advance every year and new

technology becomes available.

Video cards are in the same bracket as well although they advance at a more rapid pace.

All standard computers come with and integrated video card already installed on the computer.

This is more than enough if one is not going to do any serious gaming or running heavy multimedia

applications on the computer.

External video/graphics card can be installed to further enhance the multimedia experience.