Computer Buying Guide: Drives and Accessories

Optical Drive

Ok now that you’ve got speed, power and space. Everything you need for your new computer to be. But you need a few things to finalize the package.  You need a CD or DVD drive to be used to install programs onto your computer, and reading some content from CD’s or DVD’s. There are a couple of different types of CD/DVD drives out there. This is one of the times you’ll need to pay attention to names as well as numbers. If you’re a novice, this could get a little confusing so read carefully.

A CD drive can do a lot of things. They can record information and music (CD-R). They can also re-record on the same disk over and over, like erasing a cassette tape and recording on it again (CD-RW). They can even be used to play movies and use really powerful programs (CD-DVD).

You can get a computer with a drive that does any one of these things or you can buy one that does all of them. It may cost you a few extra Euros, but getting one that does everything will save a lot of headache and heartache in the future. Remember how I mentioned speed earlier? CD drives are measured in X speed. For example 24X is nice, but 64X is much better.

Unless you’re purchasing a barebones system, any new computer will come with a sound card and video card. Today, even the most basic cards available will be powerful enough to tackle most applications. If you want to buy a system with upgraded sound or video cards, I recommend talking to the salesperson at the store and explaining what you want. Keep in mind that the better the component, the more expensive it can be. Some of the better cards sound cards can cost as much as $300, while top-end video cards can set you back a cool $500.

If you want to connect to the Internet, you’ll need a modem. A modem is a piece of equipment that allows one computer to talk to talk to another, surf the Internet and even receive faxes. The good news here is that pretty much any computer on the market had a 56k modem, which is the fastest modem that uses a phone line. Better still, most computers came with inbuilt network card, so they are ready to plug Ethernet cable and get even faster access to the web. If it is a laptop, today almost all laptops comes with a wireless card already built in the machine, this makes it very convenience for connection on the run.

The last thing you want to look at is the monitor. The bigger monitor you get the better. The quality of a monitor is measured by its dot pitch. Dot pitch measures the distance between the teeny color cells on the screen that create the picture. The lower the dot pitch, the closer the pixels and the better picture you get. The average dot pitch is .28, anything above that will be a waste of money. Also, unless you’re purchasing a laptop computer, you’ll need to choose what sort of monitor you want. The big, bulky monitors of 7 or 8 years ago are practically gone. Instead look for a nice flat-screen monitor at least 15″, although 17″ is pretty much the standard nowadays.

Until now you are almost set for your brand new machine that will last with you for some time.

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About the author:  I am Phesto Enock, Tanzanian male living in Finland, professionally a software engineer, a blogger and online business researcher. I love technology and its wicked twists. I am a main author of NiftyEyeBlog So let us share our experiences. Read more from this author