Affordable computer supply

Supply of affordable computers is a key strategy that every vendor is working at. Affordability is a prime issue in the present market as computers have reached the buying capacity of the individual and is needed in every home.

With the explosion of unbranded computers or assembled computers, affordable computer supply conditions have changed vastly. The present market has a huge number of providers, each claiming to supply the best at the most reasonable price. In the present market scenario, it is very important for the buyer to understand his/her requirements and purchase accordingly.

In the past two years, a couple of factors have arisen that have changed the nature of what's available or the ‘supply’. Firstly, Pentium-based PCs have emerged as the predominant player in the marketplace compared to earlier systems built with the ‘486 processor’. Secondly, the dramatic price reductions have placed systems, which were unaffordable, or which were at the helm of the performance and price curves a year ago, to a commonplace platform. Among other things, it means that software requirements haven't had an opportunity to outpace what the "older" hardware can deliver. Hence, buying the right computer is important.

Two computers, which appear to have the same descriptions of components, may in fact have widely differing quality because of the brand and/or model of individual components in the mix. This is what the game is about in buying the right computers. Hence for buying any affordable computer, keep some very basic aspects in mind.

1. Processors or CPUs
When it comes to processors, the market is changing rapidly and you have two basic choices to make: brand and speed. Budget processors can be found around the 2.4 GHz range, mid-range at 2.8 to 3.0 GHz and high-end processors at or above 3.2 GHz.

2. Memory (RAM)
RAM is an important component of any computer as it affects the system’s performance at high end computing. The minimum amount of RAM for today's systems should be 256MB. 512MB of RAM provides better performance.

3. Hard Drives
Hard drives basically are about capacity and speed. Most hard drives available now will provide you with more than enough storage. Look for 60 to 80 GB drive as the minimum.

4. Optical Drives
Most systems these days contain CD-Rewritable (RW) or some version of DVD drive. If you don't plan on watching DVDs on your computer, skip DVD for a CD-RW. There are 3 speeds listed for each CD-RW drive: recordable speed, rewritable speed, and read speed.

5. Video Card
Video cards change very often, so selecting the right one is tough. If you want to have future capability, go for a card that supports DirectX 9 and has at least 128MB of memory.

6. Monitors
Choose between CRT monitors that provide a wide range of capabilities at a good price but are bulky or LCDs monitors that take up less desk space but cost more and have limited capabilities. Regardless of type of monitor what is generally considered good is having a 17” monitor capable of displaying a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels.