Computers are our life. Now it’s hard to imagine a person who does not use this miracle of modern technology. Work, study, entertainment - everything is tied to personal computers. Therefore, the choice of this technique must be approached wisely, hoping that your "iron assistant" will last a long time. You must also consider what system characteristics of the computer are most suitable for your needs. To make it clearer, we will look at some real-world examples of computer performance.
Body
In the first half of the article, we will talk about how to choose the right components if you decide to build a PC yourself. Undoubtedly, the main characteristic of a computer is its performance, that is, the speed of processing information per second, but do not forget about ergonomics.
There are several form factors that are commonly used on personal computers. The most popular of them are ATX and Slim.
- The second option is ideal for those who have little space in the room. Such a computer can be placed directly on the table under the monitor. Of the minuses, it is also worth noting the size. Such system units are not suitable for gaming computers, since it is almost impossible to provide them with good cooling.
- ATX is a universal format that fits most computer configurations. There are many models, from large to small, that will allow you to create a server with many hard drives, and gaming platforms with modern graphics cards.
When choosing a system unit, be sure to first think about where your workplace will be located.
Motherboard
One could say that this is the main characteristic of a computer, if only because the construction of the entire architecture of the future PC is based on it. Whatever parts you buy, your choice will be based on what your motherboard can support.
Below is a list of the latest connectors for expansion cards. If you want the "foundation" of your PC to last a very long time, you also need to take the latest boards. Otherwise, afterwards you will not be able to find spare parts.
- RAM slots in DDR4 or DDR3 format. At least two pieces.
- Processor socket that supports I-5 or I-7 standards by LGA1151.
- PCI-Express slots for connecting expansion cards.
- SATA-3 and SATA-Express connectors.
- Pay attention to the number of USB ports of standard 3.0. If there are too few of them, you may have problems connecting external equipment.
- It is also worth considering the version of the installed BIOS, the possibility of flashing it, and support for various operating systems.
These are the main characteristics of the motherboard, important for the average user.
Video adapter
Just a video card. This is perhaps the main characteristic of a computer adapted for games. Depending on its quality, you can play computer games with varying degrees of comfort.
When choosing this board, of course, you can just ask the seller if they have “gaming video cards” and he will be happy to offer you a choice of options. But what you should pay special attention to:
- Graphics card cache size. Some of the most powerful and sought after have a memory of 2 and 4 gigabytes.
- Bit width - shows the speed of data exchange between the video card and the motherboard.
- Bus frequency. The higher this number, the faster the information is displayed on the screen. Maximum values can reach 6-7 thousand Mhz.
So, if you want to have a gaming computer, then be sure to consider all the options in detail.
RAM
Another main feature of the computer. The size and type of RAM affect the amount of information processed over a time interval and the speed of access to it. When we looked at the motherboard, we already wrote that modern memory slats have the DDR3 and DDR4 formats. Therefore, depending on your motherboard, you will have to choose your memory.
For most of the latest games, 8 GB of RAM is enough to run them at maximum settings. In general, it’s good to have a small supply, so you need to choose the appropriate set of trims. For example, three strips of 4 GB or, if you have only two slots, two of 8 GB.
For working purposes, the size of RAM is not so important. Therefore, you can limit yourself only to your needs. But keep in mind that many graphics programs like "3D Max" consume a huge amount of resources, which is much more than the cost of games.
Power Supply
Whatever the characteristics of the computer device, it will be tied to energy consumption. Remember that the better and better the equipment, the more electricity it consumes. In order for your computer not to be a pile of iron, it is important to choose the right power supply.
Your video card will become the main energy consumer, therefore, when purchasing it, specify what power supply unit will be required for it.
CPU
Finally we got to the "heart" of your PC! Let's look at the characteristics of a computer processor using an example. To do this, take the Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge.
- The first thing you should pay attention to is the socket. We already agreed when we talked about motherboards that the most current format is LGA1151. This processor uses LGA1155, which allows you to put it in any modern "mother".
- Number of Cores. The more of them, the more efficient the processor. In this case, 4 pieces are used.
- The core clock frequency is 3400 MHz. Responsible for the number of operations per second.
- L2 / L3 cache size: 1024 Kb / 6144 Kb. The amount of information processed per unit time depends on their size.
HDD
This is the last main characteristic. In total, there are three important parameters that are responsible for the quality of this device.
- The speed of data exchange (access), depending on the connection interface.
- The number of revolutions per second.
- And, of course, volume. Responsible for the available space in the computer's memory.
In general, choosing a hard drive is not difficult, but be careful. A common mistake is unsuitable connectors on the motherboard and the HDD interface.
"My computer"
If you are already the owner of this digital technology, but you are interested in the performance of this particular PC, then you will need knowledge on how to find out the characteristics of your computer. Indeed, because even if you did not look at the exact configuration of the PC at the time of purchase, one day the time will come when you will have to improve and expand it, because it will cease to satisfy your needs.
There are several ways to see the characteristics of a Windows computer.
- The simplest . To find out the general picture of what is happening on your PC, right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties. A window will open in front of you, in which you can see the type of processor and RAM. Then go to "My Computer" - and you can understand the size of the hard drive.
- Full . If you need more accurate information on the devices and characteristics of your PC, then you can go to the device manager. To do this, go to "Start" - "Control Panel". Then select the icon you need.
- Software . For the most detailed analysis of a personal computer system, you can use specialized utilities. For example, Everest Ultimate Edition. This is a great way to find out the characteristics of your computer.
Purchase
One of the most expensive techniques in stores is computers. Prices and specifications vary greatly. We have already given you some self-assembly tips. Now let's see how to choose the right PC. To do this, consider several models from online stores.
Gaming computer CompDay. Intel Core i3 4150 3.5GHz, with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, a GeForce GTX 960 2048Mb graphics card with a 500 GB hard drive. The price is 45 thousand. Actually, the price is clearly overpriced, because of all the components, only a video card pulls a "four" and can be up to a quarter of the price. Otherwise, this device can hardly be called "gaming", since a dual-core processor is the same outdated concept as Pentium II.
DigitalRazor Reaper S for 310 thousand rubles. But this device is much closer to the concept of gaming. Four-core I-7 processor with a frequency of 4 GHz, 16 Gb of DDR4 RAM and two video cards GeForce GTX 980Ti with 6 GB of cache. This device is able to cope with absolutely any task and launch any most modern toy at maximum settings. By the way, if you remove the second video card, the computer will immediately become cheaper by 100 thousand, but at the same time it will lose almost nothing in its performance.
Alienware Area 51 A51-7838 for 566 thousand rubles. An octa-core Core i7-5960X processor with a frequency of 3.5 GHz, 32 Gb of DDR4 RAM and three video cards GeForce GTX TITAN X SLI with 12 GB of memory. As you know, by analogy with the previous case, the price can be greatly reduced by removing unnecessary video cards. But even without them, it will be the most powerful computer, whose characteristics are so high that it is difficult to imagine what it might be for. Unless to launch several copies of the most modern toys on multiple screens at once.
So, we examined a variety of computers, the prices and characteristics of which differ very significantly. What can I say? Without a doubt, the average user will not spend either 500, 300, or 200 thousand on a computer. However, this does not mean that people cannot play their favorite games at maximum settings. For 50-60 thousand you can now assemble a fairly powerful gaming computer, which will be relevant in the coming years 5. Or, for the same money, buy a gaming laptop. In this case, everything is much simpler - you can not worry about equipment compatibility. If ordinary computers are assembled in a warehouse in a store, then laptops are tested immediately at the factory.