Top Tips

Whether you are a computer expert, or a computer novice, the advice we are about to provide below will help you optimise the computer you build using our system builder to give you the very best possible performance, and value for money! Some of our tips will question you as to whether you really need a component and of what speed, and others will help you choose the best possible combinations. We get calls nearly everyday from customers who are crying out to pay too much for a computer and end up with facilities that they do not need, so have a quick read and decide for yourself.

Tips and Advice

• Processor: Do you need the fastest processor? A slightly slower processor may save you hundreds of pounds, and unless you're doing extremely large multi-tasking jobs, for example working with large files, or you are an extreme gamer, you will probably be better off (financially) selecting the second or third fastest processor rather than the fastest.
  
  

• Memory: Do you need 8GB of memory? A lot of servers use 8GB of memory, so unless you are going to be using your computer for very demaning work with large files, or you are an extreme gamer, 2GB or 4GB of memory is as much, if not more, than you need.
  
  

• Second Hard Disk: Using our system-builder we give you the option to have two hard drives installed in your computer. Although a first hard drive is essential, a second hard drive is a luxury. We would suggest that you will only need a second hard drive if:

  • You need to store masses of data. (Two smaller hard drives may also be cheaper than one large hard drive.)

  • You plan to use a RAID configuration. (Don't worry if you have never heard of this.)

  • You prefer to store your data on a separate drive to your operating system. Your data is then safe if you have to re-install Windows on your other hard drive.
    
    

• Graphics Card: When choosing a graphics card, don't just go for one with a large amount of memory. Besides memory, graphics cards also have a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and the better the GPU, the better performance you will get from your graphics card. Search Google and read reviews or call us to get information on what will be the best graphics card for your needs.
  
  Every graphics card we sell will give you great performance. The reasons for choosing a more advanced/expensive graphics card would be for advanced gaming, advanced video/photo editing etc. For general home/office use like word processing, internet and listening to music our default graphics card is more than enough. The better graphics card you buy, the better your computer will play games.
  
  

• Sound Card: The onboard sound that comes with the motherboard is high quality, and unless you watch lots of movies, edit music, or would like to purchase a surround sound system, you do not need to purchase an expensive soundcard.
  
  

• Operating System: For normal home and office use we recommend Windows 7 Home Premium. To learn the exact differences between the copies of Windows 7, please Click Here.
  
  

• Memory Card Reader: These are cheap but allow you to quickly transfer data from your memory cards to your computer. We recommend them in every computer that will be used for connecting digital cameras.
  
  

• Firewire: Firewire cards are used for connecting digital cameras/video cameras/external hard drives etc to your computer. Most cameras can connect to a computer via USB, and so you should not need to purchase a firewire card unless you either have one of these devices already or are planning on purchasing one in the near future.
  
  

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