The Basics: Desktop Computers for Home Users

Desktop computers for home users look and feel different from those used for business or gaming. Still, the features and functions that home users want from the desktop computers can vary widely. We'll examine the variety of options available in each category, look at different uses for home computers and see what's new in the world of desktop computers for home users.

While the Windows Vista operating system received alot of the buzz, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 made quite a splash on desktop computers for home users. This operating system transforms your desktop computer into a personal video recorder (PVR) with the appropriate hardware, letting you watch and record television shows on your computer's hard drive. You'll need a TV tuner card for inputting a TV signal and S-video output if you want to watch on your television. A remote control is a handy accessory sometimes included with this bundle.

Dual core processors became quite prevalent this past year. Both AMD and Intel offer these CPUs that feature two chips on the same processor, providing extra power when multitasking. Even if you're going with a single-core CPU on your home desktop computer, you should consider a 64-bit processor -- it'll run today's 32-bit applications just fine, and it will also be ready for the upcoming 64-bit operating systems and applications.

Warranty lengths range from 90 days to three years on desktop computers for home users. This may or may not include toll-free tech support or onsite service. With most vendors, you can opt to pay more to extend the length -- or sometimes the breadth -- of your coverage.

How to Shop

While you'll obviously be using a home desktop computer in a home setting, you'll find variety among home systems depending on what you'll be using it for. We already mentioned letting your home PC serve as a PVR -- you can even place it at the centerpiece of your home theater systems. These Media Center home desktop computers are usually more aesthetically pleasing, with a chassis that won't clash with your living room or den setup. You can also forego a monitor with a Media Center system if you connect it to your television, and you'll want to get an extra large hard drive so you have room for lots of video storage.

But most desktop computers are still used by homeowners in a more traditional manner. If that's the case, you still have some decisions to make about what to look for on the inside of the system. If budget is your main concern, both Intel and AMD offer budget processors (the Celeron and the Sempron, respectively) that provide good performance and shave off some dollar signs from their top tier processors. But if power is your preference, go for a 64-bit Pentium 4 or Athlon CPU.

How much memory to pair with that processor is your next big decision. With Windows XP Home operating system, the minimum you should opt for is 512MB of RAM. You're better off with 1GB if it's not too much of a price jump -- it will give you better performance all around and especially with intensive applications. And the faster the hertz of the memory, the better performance you'll get.

Hard drive size is a major consideration, and not just for PVR users. If you'll be installing games or storing multimedia files, you'll want at least 60GB of space or more in your desktop computer for home. Look for the rotations-per-minute or RPM of the hard drive: If you go with a 7,200rpm drive over a 5,400rpm drive, you'll see performance boosts with almost any application. Most PCs have a spare internal drive bay, so you can always add a second hard drive later if you need more storage space in your home desktop computer.

Home desktop computer optical drives range from basic CD-ROM drives that don't do anything but read CDs to DVD writers that can burn to 8.5GB Double Layer media and inscribe professional labels on the upper surface of your disks. Most users will want at least a CD-RW drive to burn your own audio and data CDs. But it's not much more for a DVD writer, which burns DVDs that can be played back in other DVD players.

If you think you'd want to burn your own DVD disks in your home desktop computer, go ahead and spring for the upgrade. Higher capacity 8.5GB Double Layer media is becoming more ubiquitous and less costly, so a DVD writer with DL capability is another choice. And you can get both CD-RW drives and DVD writers with HP's LightScribe technology. You need special media that does cost a bit more, but these drives are able to burn professional-looking monochromatic labels onto your disks.

The type of graphics you want inside your system depends on whether you'll be gaming a lot on your home desktop computer. For users that won't be doing more than light gaming, integrated graphics will work fine. These graphics are built right into the motherboard of your system and share memory with your main RAM.

But if you want to play the latest games on your home desktop computer, you want to make sure you've got a dedicated graphics board. Most new systems ship with faster PCI Express boards that usually include at least 128MB of dedicated video memory. These boards can also boost performance when editing video or other graphically intensive tasks.

Choosing the right monitor to pair with your home desktop computer is another important decision. Your main choices still come down to CRTs or LCDs. LCDs, or flat panel displays, take up much less space on your desktop, but are more expensive. A 17-inch CRT can be had for as little as $50, making them a cost-effective option for users who don't need a monster monitor or a svelte flat panel.

New desktop computers for home users offer a modem, a network interface, or both. If you'll be connecting to the Internet via a dial-up service provider, then you'll want your new system to have modem. On the other hand, if you're going with a broadband connection such as cable or DSL, then you only need the network interface and you can often save some money by foregoing the modem.

If you're buying your home desktop computer at your local computer store, inspect the chassis closely. Many manufacturers include easy-to-reach ports up front that let you connect high-speed peripherals (like an iPod or digital camera) to USB 2.0 or Firewire ports on the front of a system tower. You'll also find headphone and microphone jacks that make it easy to connect audio accessories without having to reach behind your system.

Look around back to see how many additional ports you'll have for connecting devices. And check the inside to see how many drive bays, PCI slots and memory slots are available for future upgrades. While most new systems ship with tower chassis, some vendors offer desktop chassis that sit flat or combination tower/desktop models that can sit either vertically or horizontally.

Floppy drives are swiftly becoming obsolete, so if you still rely on floppy disks for storing and transferring data, you might have to pay extra to put one in your new desktop computer for home users. Many vendors are providing media card readers instead, letting you pop in flash memory cards such as CompactFlash, Secure Digital, or Memory Stick and transfer files to and from your system that way.

In addition to the operating system, many vendors will include software bundles with their desktop computers for home users as well. While many of these applications will be 30 or 60-day trials, you'll often get full versions of software such as multimedia programs for editing video and burning DVDs or office application suites. Check the fine print to see what programs come with your home desktop computer.

Often the input devices that ship with a new system are rather basic, with just a plain keyboard and sometimes even a non-optical mouse. Again, if you're checking out a home desktop computer in the store, play around with the mouse and keyboard to make sure that they're comfortable enough for extended usage. You can usually upgrade to higher quality input devices, such as keyboards with programmable multimedia keys or wireless devices that let you remove cord clutter from your desktop.

Whatever choices you make on your desktop computer for home, you can find a configuration and a price tag that will appropriately suit your needs.