Buying a Computer: Narrowing your search - Part 2

At this point you should have narrowed down your search, now lets look at the details

1. All computers come with ways of either installing or removing information, for purposes of storage or mobility.
These are called drives. There are many choices of drives so read carefully and choose just the ones you will use. It is not always true that more is better.

Floppy or 3 ½ Drive: This was the main way of storing or inputting data for years. This is now old and not that useful. If you need it for a specific use, you will have to pay extra for the floppy drive.

CD-R and DVD-R Drives: The drives below fall under two types, combination and no combination drives. Read carefully.

CD Drives can only read (play or view) information on a CD.

CD-R Drives can both read and record (burn) information. They can store up to 700MB or 80 minutes of audio

DVD Drives can only read information on CD and DVD

DVD-R Drives usually can read and write information on CD and DVD. They can store up to 4700MB or 4.7GB

Ports
There are two types of ports (plug-in areas) that are common to almost every computer made today.

USB 2 is the standard. This port is used for everything from a flash Drive (removable storage like a floppy disk) to a lighted fake aquarium. Any accessories that you buy will most likely be USB 2, for example a digital camera.

FireWire is another port that is not as universal (usually Mac only) but faster than USB 2.

2. One of the more confusing aspects of buying a computer is the vocabulary. Memory can mean two separate things.
Storage memory, or hard drive space, usually measured in gigabytes. Simply put, this is how much your computer can hold. The current range is between 40 GB’s to 160 GB’s. The more you are going to store, the more space you will need.

RAM is the amount of memory the computer can use to power its applications, kind of like gas for cars. The more gas means the more cars you can run at one time. The minimum ram on a new computer should be 256 megabytes.

A quick reference for how much memory is taken up by certain things.

Printable buying checklist

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