How to Buy a Desktop PC

The big picture Before you go shopping for a new desktop computer, ask yourself this question: "What am I going to do with it?" We'll guide you through the options.
The specs explained From CPUs and motherboards to LCD monitors and optical storage, we'll clear up the jargon -- and tell you which specs are most important to your purchase.
Desktop PC shopping tips Want some advice before you head to the store or visit a Web site? Our recommendations will help you build a system that fits your needs and your pocketbook.
The big picture
Most people buy a PC to browse the Web, to check and send e-mail, and to juggle the occasional Word document or spreadsheet. Today, even the least-expensive, lowest-of-the-low-end system can perform any of those jobs admirably -- and do it for well under $1,000.
If you have particular needs, many PC vendors allow you to customize and upgrade their base-model PCs with a mind-boggling selection of features. Require extra storage? Pick a larger hard drive. Want extra memory? Load up with 4GB of RAM. Ready to burn Blu-ray Discs or to watch HD DVD movies? Choose an optical drive that supports your preferred format.
We recommend that you take your time and select only what you need today, based on the following guidelines. If your budget allows, buy what you anticipate needing within the next year.
If you're into editing digital video or managing a large database, you'll need to set your sights a little higher. Look beyond the basics for systems starting in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. Feel the need for speed?
The gaming-PC market continues to grow at an exponential rate. Devoted gamers won't balk at spending more than $3,000 on a computer to ensure that they enjoy maximum performance. Such PCs usually feature overclocked CPUs and dual-graphics-card setups. Don't be fooled though: Gaming isn't just a bleeding-edge hobby anymore. Originally the domain of niche companies producing high-end machines, the gaming-PC market is now the battleground for bigger companies craving a piece of the action. That means you'll find a larger number of capable gaming computers at cheaper prices.

The specs explained
The processor
If you plan to use your PC for standard office productivity and basic Internet tasks, almost any processor will do. But if you want more power, an Intel Core 2 Duo chip is probably your best bet over an AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor. Though both are dual-core processors, which will allow for faster multitasking and speedier performance on certain kinds of graphics and video applications, Intel has wrested the edge in performance back from AMD. To save a couple hundred dollars, buy one or two levels down from the top -- you're unlikely to lose more than 5 to 10 percent per tier in performance.
For maximum performance when multitasking or when using demanding, multithreaded applications, you may wish to investigate quad-core CPUs such as the 3-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX6850, or the dual-core 2.93-GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800; both processors are popular in high-performance gaming machines and power PCs.
For anyone playing games or manipulating audio or video on a regular basis, having a four-core processor can potentially deliver benefits. We qualify that statement because, aside from a few games such as "Crysis" and "World in Conflict," the list of optimized applications is short, dominated by expensive offerings such as the latest versions of Adobe's Premiere Pro and Encore DVD, Autodesk's 3ds Max and Steinberg's Cubase 4.
Additional multithreaded software titles are on the way, however, and eventually every activity that can benefit from multiple-core processing will do so, as multiple CPUs work together to get jobs done faster. Intel's current quad-core desktop speed kings work well in any LGA775-socket-based motherboard, so you can upgrade at any time.
Unfortunately, AMD is a little behind in the high-end, high-performance quad-core CPU race. Int our tests, AMD's Phenom 9600 CPUs performed about as well as year-old chips. There's little incentive to buy into AMD's vision of its unified "Spider" platform. At least not yet.
For the time being, though quad-core sounds sexy, dual-core is the sweet spot for most users. Early adopters can elect to buy a quad-core processor now and see better performance with the few optimized applications.

Tip: Intel and AMD have detailed CPU-comparison tables on their respective Web sites.