Best Windows Desktop Computers in 2012?: The Beginners Guide

What makes a great Windows computer in 2012 and how do you choose?

The last section in this page looks at ten outstanding models but it is easy to make you own choices if you break down the issue. These are the things that matter:

• Performance. Nobody wants a PC that chokes on their favorite video game or takes forever to load a spreadsheet.
• Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, USB (2.0 and 3.0), firewire, card slots, HDMI. jack plugs. The more inputs and outputs, the better, for your main PC- when you have the space.
• Size: An All-in-One computer will help keep your desktop clear but might lack connectivity and upgrade potential
• Value for money. Five hundred dollars can get you something outstanding if you look around.

Performance

The faster a PC is, the more people will enjoy using it. Speed is only one part of performance, though. Sound, video, multiple monitors, huge storage capacity can be important too.

So, these are some of the issues addressed on this page:

• What makes a great processor?
• Why is one monitor better than another?
• What kind of graphics card is needed?
• Is it worth investing in one of the best sound cards?
• How many movies, photos and programs will the hard drive hold?

Processors

Video games have the biggest appetite for raw processing power. Manipulating graphics for work or pleasure takes serious processing too. Multitasking- especially for staying connected across multiple social media platforms or networking can be demanding.

Why Multicore Processors are Best

There is a limit to how fast an individual processor can run without bursting into flames. After processors hit 3.5 Ghz, heat and power consumption issues forced manufactuers to offer processors with more than one core.

Programs with large processing demands are written to allow some of their demands to be met by one core and other demands to be allocated to another core.

Individual cores that run at around 1.5 GHz are cooler, quieter and less power hungry. 3.5 GHz cores need bigger, noisier fans.

Windows 7 is especially adept at sharing out the work load across the various cores of a multicore processor. This explains the speed and stabiltiy of the operating system.

Hyper-Threading

Intel's latest chips use hyper threading technology that means each core can work on 2 tasks at the same time and is significant increase in capability.

Fastest Processors?

Intel offer the fastest chips for desktops and laptops with AMD not far behind.

Intel Processors

Intel's Core range is the most advanced on the market:

• The Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition, (3.3GHz-3.9Ghz) is the top choice of hardcore gamers but at around $1000 it will make any PC expensive. Fast cores are also hot and need noisy fans.
• The Core i5 is a fast enough chip for almost most tasks- including most video games. The latest Sandy Bridge architecture means super efficient use of RAM and hard drive capabilities.
• The dual core, i3 is certainly no slouch and offers fast, smooth performance for most needs. It can stutter with the latest games or something like HD video editing.

Intel processors like the Celeron are economy models that will run basic programs but can be noticeably slow with big applications.

The Best AMD Processors

AMD offer processors with up to 8 cores. Mostly they perform less well than comparable Intel chips but they are significantly cheaper.

The 8-core, 3.6GHz FX-8150 AMD processor can just about match the Intel Core i5 but is nowhere near as fast as the Sandy Bridge, Core i7.

For most users, however, an AMD CPU can save money while delivering a very respectable experience.

RAM

RAM is a measure of the amount of 'volatile' data (data a processor does not need to read from a hard disk) a processor can access and manipulate at any one moment. Fast processors are limited by the need to read data on a hard disk.

At present, 6 GB of RAM is considered a good average for a fast computer.

Many, but not all PC's, have slots inside that will accept extra memory. If you buy extra memory it is very easy to install.

Size

All in one Computers like the HP Touchsmart pictured right are ideal for business users or for anyone who wants a small footprint set up. The monitor and PC are combined to produce something like a large screen laptop on a stand. Only the keyboard and mouse are separate.

Many all in one PC's offer touchscreen technology to speed up use.

Tower PC's are also shrinking with slimline towers like the HP Pavillion described below enjoying huge popularity.

Monitors

The best monitors use the same kind of LCD panel technology you find in LCD TV's.

Back lighting gives bright displays that should adjust automatically to ambient light. High definition displays make games and movies look crisp.

Response times and refresh rates are important factors but companies are not always accurate in the stats they give. Having said that, if you buy a monitor with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 2 ms response time you will be getting a monitor with little motion blur and one that you can use for long periods without a headache.

TN (Twisted nematic) panels are cheaper and sold as standard in most low price PC's. The downside is that they are less bright, have a narrower viewing angle and color accuracy is not great.

Multiple Monitors

Some PC's support multiple monitors. You can watch a video and keep up with social media, compare documents or work and take in the news at the same time.

Hard Drives

A one terabyte hard drive is standard at the moment with 3 TB devices available. One TB will allow you to store about 100 uncompressed dvd 9's or about 1000, average sized, standard definition movies in avi format.

The faster you can write to a hard drive the less frustrating moving large files will be. A SATA hard drive running at 7200RPM is pretty standard. The fastest hard drives spin at around 10,000.

As well as being an advantage in moving files, fast hard drives help gamers stream graphics without lag.

Some top end PC's offer multiple hard drives which can be a big benefit if you have specially important docs to preserve. Use one for programs and one for storage. They are also quicker while not necessarily being much more expensive.

USB 3.0 is a faster way moving files than USB 2.0. Many USB 3.0 external hard drives have appeared recently. USB 3.0 support is expected in Windows 8 rather than relying on special cards to adapt a PC to the task.

Music is stored digitally on a computer and needs to be converted to analogue to be heard on speakers or headphones. The average sound card is good enough for understanding speech but not good enough for delivering the kind of quality sound that brings games, movies and music to life.

So, if you want your computer to be part of a great sound system it is worth looking out for something like a Creative Labs or Audiotrak sound card. Or any of the sound cards on this page: audiophile/sound_cards_dac.html

An external DAC (digital to analogue converter) is an alternative.

Graphics cards render video and are most important to gamers whose video processing demands can be huge.

The best graphics cards come from NVidia and AMD. Generally speaking, smaller monitors need less powerful devices. Large monitors or multiple monitors can require monstrous processing power.

This UK site offers a good overview of the best cards in 2012 -best-graphics-cards-in-the-world-today

For ordinary uses a top quality processor can do away with the need for a graphics card at all.

Blu-ray, CD and DVD Players/Readers

Gamers will want dual layer Blu-ray readers.

Most people will want a CD and DVD reader and burner combo at the very least. A Blu-ray player is a nice addition but Blu-ray burners are still slow and relatively expensive.

Lightscribe Technology

You can use this to burn labels onto CD's and DVD's. So all those ugly, felt tip scrawls will be a thing of the past.

TV Tuner

PC's with a TV tuner can let you watch, pause, rewind, and record live television

Mice

For most people, a mouse just has to be comfortable in the hand and have a couple of buttons and a scroll wheel. A cheap generic model can be all you need.

Wireless mice are a way of keeping your desk clear of wires. These can lag but not enough to bother the average user.

Once more, gamers are driving tech and a top gaming mouse will have eight buttons and adjustable sensitivity.

Best PC's in 2012?

There are a lot of ways of breaking down the PC market. What works for me is using the processor. Processors more than any other thing determine performance and price.

The models below are good representatives of what is best in 2012.

Best Core i5 PC's

Business users and home users who want high performance will usually go for an Intel Core i5 PC.

Where space is at a premium (in many offices) an All in One PC can be a a good option. There is section for these below.

HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060

This is one of the more economical destop towers with a Core i5 processor on board. It is fast and has plenty of memory at 6 GB.

The video card is a capable 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6450. There is plenty of space on the 1TB 7,200 rpm hard drive.

The DVD/Blu-ray combo will satisfy movie and game fans.

There is WiFi onboard and plenty of standard USB ports but no Bluetooth, USB 3.0, FireWire, or e-SATA

This will appeal to demanding home users who don't need every connectivity option.

HP Compaq 8200 Elite Slimform Business PC

With Windows 7 Professional 64-bit operating system and a Intel Core i5-2500 processor, this Compaq is aimed more at business users than home users.

There is a little less RAM at 4 GB than many people would like but there are enough slots to upgrade to a more than healthy 16 GB.

The 7200RPM SATA-6G hard drive is unremarkable at one TB but the AMD Radeon HD 6450 graphics card is above average.

There is a card reader that will cope with almost all formats.

Best Core i3 Computers

HP Pavilion P6330F Desktop

The Core i3-530 processor, one terabyte hard drive and 6 GB of RAM make this a capable PC for most home users.

There is is no dedicated graphics card instead Intels graphics Media Accelerator offers 32MB of shared memory with a total of 1696MB total available graphics memory allocated by Windows 7. This means it will play your HD videos and simpler games.

A nice feature is the lightscribe technology for burning labels onto discs.

There is a 15 in one media card reader and front USB ports.

Dell Inspiron i620-1298BK Desktop- High performance for under $500

Dell have taken a lead in competitive pricing and performance with their Inspiron range and deserve their impressive sales.

The i620-1298BK offers the latest Core i3 3.3 GHz processor with hyper-threading.

The hard drive is smaller than some rivals at 500 GB and if you have a huge music library and movie collection you might find an external hard drive is needed.

The 6 GB of RAM onboard is plenty for most tasks but the potential for upgrading is slender with only 2 slots available allowing a total of 8 GB.

There is no dedicated graphics card instead it uses the Intel HD 2000 graphics capability on the processor chip. This will allow for respectable game play but very demanding 3D, big game worlds will be slower than serious gamers will like.

There is WiFi and CD-R/RW, DVD±R, DVD±RW, DVD±R DL, and DVD-RAM. So no Blu-ray or Bluetooth.

With a price under $500 and a stellar performance compared to other entry level PC's its shortcomings deserve to be forgiven.

Best AMD Computers in 2012?

Gateway offer one of the best ranges of AMD driven PC's.

Dell offer AMD processors as a lower priced alternative for most of their PC's including the Inspiron range.

Gateway SX2370-UR30P

This model is one of the best balanced AMD driven set ups. The AMD Quad-Core Processor (A6-3600) is fast and the AMD Radeon HD6530D Graphics card supplied will deliver enjoyable game play.

The hard drive offer one TB of storage.

Core i7 PC's for Gaming

Gaming PC's are so specialized, I would encourage you to go straight to the manufacturers pages and pay careful attention to the stats.

Cyberpower

The Cyberpower Black pearl has an awesome reputation.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com

DigitalStorm

The best from Digital storm will cost you around $4000 but then the best is the best.

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/

Dell Alienware

Dell offer affordable,customizable gaming PC's. Prices start at around $700 but a fully featured machine will cost more in the region of two thousand dollars.

alienware.com/Landings/desktops.aspx