1 - Desktop Types & demands on PC configuration

Depending on the intended usage of applications, desktops can be classified into 4 different types: 1. The humble - Home user 2. The savvy - Business user 3. The creative - Power House user 4. The fanatic – Gaming application user

1.1 - The Humble Home User

1. Reading the morning news online with a hot cup of coffee! (cnn.com, news.com etc)
2. Maintaining the family budget (spread sheets; MS EXCEL and word processing applications; MS WORD)
3. Chatting with friends/acquaintances (Y!, MSN, AOL etc)
4. Running simple financial applications (Income tax related software; TurboTax etc)
5. Check e-mail, surf the World Wide Web and/or blogging
6. Saving from the WWW and transferring information from hard drive to floppies or CD’s

Their PC’s are not overloaded with applications and utilities and contain only the core applications that are necessary and sufficient. In general these habits and usage applications demand less storage processing power. This implies lower memory and storage capacity requirements and is naturally less expensive.

The minimum requirement for personal or home use desktop (with multimedia capabilities), are as follows:

1. Intel Celeron or 800 MHz Pentium IV or AMD Athlon 64 Processor
2. 256 MB of Memory
3. 40 to 60 GB of Hard drive
4. CD or DVD burner for additional storage
5. Stereo Speakers
6. Graphics card from Nvidia or ATI
7. 17-inch CRT or 15 to 17-inch LCD monitor
8. Windows XP Home Edition Operating system and MS Office software

1.2 - The Savvy Business User

1. Begins the day by checking e-mail from clients, colleagues etc – which seems to inflate everyday (MS OUTLOOK, EUDORA etc)
2. Is almost always online and needs to procure that critical information on time (Increased time in surfing)
3. Running data intensive applications (Accounting, Data base applications, ERP etc)
4. Store as well as process huge volumes of information for future reference (Increases storage demands on the Hard Drive)
5. Need to complete that last-minute presentations (add that fancy multimedia component!)
6. Running the usual word applications (MS-Word), spreadsheets(MS-Excel)

These desktops need to be rich in features when compared to the home use desktops as they will be expected to carry out data intensive work and also have increased storage demands.

The minimum requirement for business desktops are as follows:

Midrange Intel Pentium IV/V or AMD processor with 800 MHz speed 512 MB RAM 80 GB Hard drive CD-RW or DVD+RW/-RW Burner for additional storage Integrated graphics card from Nvidia or ATI 17-inch LCD monitor Windows XP Professional Edition or Windows 2000 Professional Operating system

1.3 - The Creative Powerhouse User

These are people who live on making that creative tag line, that one advertisement that could make or make a Brand! In addition, it also represents the architect who designs your apartment, the engineer who designs the pipelines etc.

These of course, demand heavy resources to run proprietary multimedia applications. Users are characterized by the following habits:

1. Need to intensively explore and search on the internet for resources
2. Creation of many manuscripts (drafting, redrafting) – heavy documentation
3. Need to host libraries of cursory relevant/remotely relevant information
4. Making, breaking and re-creating that illusory image! (AutoCAD, Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop)
5. Handle media-intensive graphics and design applications, high-end web development, multimedia editing and storing of digital images

Such applications demand a speedy processor, high memory and large storage capacities.

The minimum requirements for Power House Desktops are as follows:

1. Intel Pentium IV Extreme Edition, AMD Athlon 64 FX processor or Apple G5 processor
2. 1 GB RAM
3. 200 GB or more hard drive
4. Dual layer DVD+/-RW drive
5. PCI Express Card
6. 17 inch LCD or 19 inch CRT monitor
7. or 7.1 Surround sound speakers
8. Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000 Professional Operating System

1.3 - The Fanatic Gaming User

They spend most of their time:

1. Playing 3-D games
2. Conquering new levels of gaming conquests
3. Running high-end animations, graphic and 3-D engineering applications.

Needless to say, these desktops are highly demanding in terms of storage and speed.

The minimum requirements for Gaming Desktops are as follows:

1. Intel Pentium IV/V 1.5 GHz processor or AMD Athlon/XP 3 GHz Processor
2. 1 GB RAM
3. 80 GB Hard drive
4. CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive
5. PCI Express 256 MB graphics card from Nvidia or ATI
6. Windows XP Professional Edition or Windows 2000 Professional Edition Operating System

Now, that we know the user groups as well as the minimum requirements, let us look at each element of PC configuration in detail:

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2 - Form Factor

Form factor refers to the shape and size of the chassis of a desktop. Accordingly desktops can be classified into 4 common types

2.1 - Mini Tower Case

2.2 - Mid Tower Case

2.3 - Full Tower Case The full tower case is the largest of all the standard PC cases. These cases are heavy, are about two to three feet in height. Due to their large space occupancy, these are placed on the floor. Large space facilitates addition of hard drives, optical drives and other PCI cards. These are the most expensive of all cases.

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3 - Processor

The processor (CPU) is a chip that controls the interpretation of instructions and data contained in the software. The speed at which it operates is measured in GHz or MHz, speed is an important feature in processor as it influences the overall performance of the desktop. The speed of the processor refers to the clock speed. Different chips have different clock speeds. The clock speeds are useful for providing comparisons between computer chips in the same processor family. A high-end application requiring enormous amount of processing, necessitates the use of processors with higher speeds.

The two major processor manufacturers are Intel and AMD. Celeron and Pentium are two of the most popular processor brands from Intel. Celeron processors are entry-level CPU’s typically meant for low-cost systems. Pentium III, Pentium IV, Pentium IV Extreme Edition, Pentium IV 6x Series, Pentium IV 5x Series and Pentium D processors are some variants of the Pentium brand of processors.

Sempron, Athlon 64 X2, Duron and Opteron are some of the more popular AMD processors. AMD Sempron processors are low cost processors that have speed comparable to that of Intel Celeron processors. AMD Athlon 64 X2 is a dual core processor containing two processor cores that allow easy transition from 32-bit to 64-bit applications. AMD Duron processor is a cost-effective processor that improves business productivity. AMD Opteron processors enable simultaneous 32 and 64 bit computing and deliver high performance. Apple, manufactures processors under the brand PowerPC G3, PowerPC G4 and PowerPC G5.

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4 - Memory

Memory (RAM) is another key component that impacts the performance of the desktop. RAM is a temporary storage area for the data that is to be processed. A system with more RAM will perform better, however it will come to you at an additional cost. The normal RAM requirement for a system with Windows XP operating system is 128 MB; however 512 MB of RAM will help boost the performance of the desktop. There are different types of RAM technology available which are described in the table below:

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4 - Hard Drive

The function of a hard drive is to store your programs and files. Information on the hard drive is not lost when the computer is turned off. Whenever you save a file, it gets stored on the hard drive. Huge amount of data requires higher capacity hard drives. Movies and digital images occupy greater space, while simple word documents require less hard drive space. The size of a hard disk varies, however most desktops are designed to accommodate 3.5 inch hard drives. The speed of a hard drive is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). A hard drive with a speed of 7200 RPM is better than one with 5400 RPM, if one is looking at performance and affordability of price.

The communication between a hard drive and a PC takes place through an interface.

For a snapshot of different types of interfaces refer to the table below:

5 - Optical Drives

Optical disks (CD/DVD) can store considerable amount of data. An optical drive is used to read /write data from optical disks. Optical drives use laser technology to read/write data on the light reflecting surface of the optical disk. The different types of optical drives are as follows:

CD-ROM Drive: CD-ROM drives are read only drives on which data is already encoded. A CD-ROM drive allows you to read the data as many times as required. The fastest speed with which a CD burner can write to a CD-R is 52x.

CD-RW Drive: CD-RW drives can read and write CDs i.e. with a CD-RW drive data can be erased and rewritten. The fastest speed with which a CD burner can rewrite to a CD-RW is 24x

DVD+RW/-RW Drive: DVD+RW/-RW Drives are faster and have higher storage capacities as compared to CD-ROM drives. These drives are ideal for watching movies. The data on a DVD+RW or DVD-RW drive can be erased and recorded over numerous times.

DVD-ROM Drive: A DVD-ROM drive is a read only drive that can hold a minimum of 4.7 GB of data. A DVD-ROM drive is capable of reading CD-ROM’s and CD’s. DVD-ROM’s compress video data using the MPEG-2 video format.

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6 - Graphic Cards

Graphic Cards are also known as video cards. Most systems have an integrated graphic card (for e.g. Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900) that is present as a chip on the motherboard. This graphic card shares the same system memory and is adequate to carry out routine tasks such as web surfing, e-mail etc. However if you are web designer or have to make 3D graphic presentations then you need to look for 3D graphics card. This 3D graphics card is also required by those interested in playing new generation 3D games and other high-end graphic applications.

ATI and Nvidia are the two companies that hold a major percentage of the graphics card market. The price of a graphic card varies with the features and its memory capacity. In the low-price segment we have the Nvidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache, ATI Radeon X600 and ATI Radeon X300 SE graphics card.

The graphics cards that are moderately priced include ATI Radeon X700 Pro and Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT. For high-end gaming experience you have the Nvidia Quad graphics processing unit with SLI technology. A budget oriented gamer can opt for the ATI Radeon 9550 while someone who desires sophisticated real-time visual effects, crisp image quality and advanced video features can select the ATI Radeon 9700 that features 3D graphics performance.

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7 - Ports and Slots

Ports help you connect different types of cables. Ports provide connection points for devices such as MP3 players, PDA’s and digital cameras. This helps transfer data between your desktop PC and these devices. The most recent type of port is the USB port. Offering speeds up to 480 MBps, USB ports have now replaced the PS/2 ports. FireWire port also known as the IEEE 1394 port, help you connect peripherals such as digital camcorders and storage drives to transfer high volumes of data.

Expanding the capabilities of your desktop PC is made possible with the aid of expansion slots. Expansion slots for PCs are of two sizes, half and full size. A half-size slot allows 8-bit transfer at one time and is also called an 8-bit slot. A full-size slot allows 16-bit transfer and is also called a 16-bit slot. Other common types of slots include PCI, PCI Express, and AGP. PCI (short for Peripheral Component Interconnect), a local-bus standard developed by Intel runs at clock speeds of 33 or 66 MHz and uses a parallel connection. With its implementation as a 32-bit bus, it yields a throughput rate of 133 MBps. PCI express is compatible with desktops using PCI cards. Transporting data packets in pairs, PCI express uses a serial connection and has a data transfer rate of approximately 200 MB/s. AGP (short for Accelerated Graphics Port), is specifically designed to meet the need for 3-D graphics and has a total bandwidth of 266 MBps.

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8 - Monitors

Common display types that one comes across are CRT and LCD. CRT monitors are much cheaper than LCD and differ in size, features and aesthetics. LCD monitors are costlier but they are rapidly gaining popularity because they feature high contrasts and perform exceedingly well under most ambient light conditions. Monitors are commonly available in three sizes 15 inch 17 inch and 19 inch. However there are monitors with sizes of 21 inch and above also. Most monitors today are 17 inches. Higher the resolution supported by a monitor, better are the chances of good quality picture. A 17 inch monitor should be able to support a resolution of 1024 x 1080. Monitors of 19 inch should be able to support higher resolutions of 1600 x 1200 that will deliver superb quality pictures.

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9 - Keyboard and Mouse

9.1 - Keyboard

9.2 - Mouse The computer mouse is the most common pointing device for desktop PC’s. Mechanical, optical and optomechanical are the three different types of mice available today with mechanical being the most commonly used. It consists of a rubber ball that can be rolled in all directions. This mouse has sensors that detect the motion of the rubber ball when moved and results in the movement of the onscreen mouse pointer. The optical mouse does not have any moving parts and makes use of the light-emitting diode to detect movement. The optomechanical mouse is a combination of optical mouse and the mechanical one.

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10 - Support

After sales support is a must for your desktop PC. Different vendor's offer various support and warranties for the most part a warranty should cover both parts and labor. Some vendors provide on-site technical support, in such cases the company representative will collect the desktop from your house. On-line technical support (web support) is also provided by some manufacturers, they should also provide web-based support tools that automate and speed up the resolution of technical problems. Quite a few problems can be solved by referring to the manuals, included with your desktop.

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