Callam McMillan 24/04/2016 1 Comment
Cheap and Basic
What is the absolute minimum you can build a new PC for, and should you? This is a regular series that looks at the market for new PC parts. From May 2016, we'll also look at what's on the used market for the same price.
PC Builder Specials
These are a series of one-off articles that look at different things to consider about the PCs and the PC market.
Welcome to the PC Builder series, a collection of articles looking at the best way to put a PC on your desk. Once upon a time, building a computer was best left to a “professional” – somebody that really knew what they were doing. Even if you could plug all the pieces together, things still might not work the way you expect. Today, anybody capable of using some basic hand tools can build a PC from scratch.
The PC doesn’t get much good press anymore, tablets are considered sexier, and laptops take the portability crown. Yet, when it comes to getting the best value, or the greatest performance from a computer, the PC is hard to beat. As a PC builder, you also get choice. You don’t have to accept what Apple or Dell give you in your computer. If you want a slower processor, more memory, and an SSD, then fine – you can have it.
This series consists of a number of articles looking at different aspects of getting the ideal PC. We don’t just look at new equipment either, we also consider where it’s better to buy a used PC and upgrade it with newer hardware to get the system you want. Consider this: There is no real challenge to build a top of the range PC. You simply select the supported quantity of the biggest, fastest, and best components and put them into a box. The resulting computer will certainly do everything you need, yet it won’t be the best computer for the job. What we’ll try to understand as we go through this series, is how to get the right PC.
My personal PC setup
What that means in a practical sense is that your PC relies on RAM for common tasks like efficiently opening new browser tabs, switching applications, or even quickly loading the next enemy or area in your favorite game. You rely on your RAM more than you probably know. When you talk about your computer running slow, the odds are good that it’s a RAM deficiency that you’re referring to.