How to choose best PC for you
When buying a new computer, it's easy to become confused by the sheer volume of technical decisions that you'll have to make.
How to choose the best desktop PC for you? Well, you might wonder how much RAM you'll need, for instance, which processor to choose or which graphics card to pick, what display to look for, which hard drive will be best for you - there are so many issues that it's difficult to know where to begin.
There is a simple way to at least begin cutting down the choices on offer, though, and ensure you get the best PC for your needs.
And that's to forget about the low-level technical specifications, and fine details like the brand of graphics card just for the moment and instead concentrate on something much more fundamental and important: what you will be expecting your system to do.
So read on to find out how to buy the best computer for you, then check out our 10 best desktop PCs on page 2.
Best computer: using your new PC
Take a moment to think about the sort of applications you'll want to run on your new PC, as these will help to decide which features your system will need.
If you only intend to run basic tasks - browsing the web, sending emails, running office-type software like Microsoft Word - then the good news is that most computers, even at the budget end of the market, will be able to cope with your requirements.
An entertainment PC can handle those basic jobs, too, but might also be used to watch TV and movies, listen to music, play some games, perhaps share music and video files across a home network. Systems like this need a little more in the way of hardware power, like a larger hard drive to store all your music and movies, as well as a big screen, a good sound card and speakers, but they still don't have to be too expensive. Many entertainment PCs are all-in-one PCs these days.
If you want to play the latest games with the best possible performance, then you'll need a gaming PC. This can be much more expensive, as not only will you need a quality screen, a good sound card and speakers, but you'll also require a powerful graphics card, fast hard drive and a decent processor.
And if you're not a gamer, but need to run some heavy-duty software - editing HD videos, say - then you'll need a high-end performance PC. This should include a powerful CPU, plenty of memory, and a large, fast hard drive, so expect a sizeable bill. But you may not need the large screen or powerful graphics card of the entertainment or gaming systems, which will help to keep prices down a little.
Best computer: netbook, laptop or desktop?
With the basic applications of your new computer resolved, it's time to think about the type of system that might be appropriate: a netbook, laptop or desktop?
Netbooks are compact notebooks with small screens (typically 10 to 12 inches), and components that are more about saving battery life than delivering raw power. So expect a slow CPU, only a little RAM (1 to 2GB, usually), no DVD drive, not too much hard drive space, and so on.
This is all that you need for basic web browsing, emailing and similar tasks, though. Their small size makes netbooks extremely portable (most are only around 1-1.5kg), battery life is usually very good at 4 to 10 hours, and you can buy some great systems from as little as £249. Our articles on the best laptop and the top netbooks in the world today will tell you more.
Laptops can seem bulky by comparison to their tiny netbook cousins: they might be more than twice the weight, with larger screens, and more powerful CPUs, which means battery life may struggle to reach 3 hours in some cases.
Of course they can also handle much more powerful applications, though. If you'll be spending hours typing on the system then you'll appreciate the larger keyboard. The built-in DVD drive makes it easier to install software and create backups, and high-end laptops can even deliver very acceptable gaming performance.
Again, we've a guide to suit everyone: The best cheap laptop under £350 focuses on budget systems, while our article on the best student laptops and the best 13" laptops cover a wider range of systems.
The best gaming laptops guide reveals that you buy mobile gaming performance for as little as £599, while the more general Which laptop should I buy? article walks you through the buying process and explains how to make sure you get the right system for you.
If you don't need a computer you can carry around, though, a desktop will be your best option. These are larger, but deliver more power for your money, and are generally much easier to upgrade or reconfigure. So if you decide you need better gaming performance, say, you can just buy another graphics card at a later date, something that won't be possible at all with most netbooks or laptops.
But if you've already got a list of preferred PC manufacturers then it might be more interesting to think about the hardware that your new computer should include - and there's plenty to consider.
Best computer: technical specs
In the past, one of the first questions to ask about your new PC has been how much memory you'll need. These days, though, even many budget PCs come with 4GB of RAM, the maximum a 32-bit Windows system can use.
If you're short of cash and only want to run very basic programs, perhaps to browse the web or send emails, then you might just about get away with 2GB. Maybe. But opting for 4GB will help to improve your system's performance, even here, so avoid skimping on memory if you possibly can.
If you're buying a more high-end system, though, you might also want to consider the type of memory it should include to deliver the best results. Our article on How to buy RAM will tell you more.
It's a similar situation with hard drives. If you're buying a budget PC (around £400, say) then look for the highest capacity you can afford; we'd recommend at least 500GB, although even many budget PCs now include 1TB drives.
If you've more cash to spend, though, it's worth paying more attention to the technical details. Read How to buy the best new hard drive for a grounding in the basics. And if you've a big budget, then solid-state drives (SSDs) deliver the best performance around, though their capacities are low. Our guide to the best SSDs, or solid state drives, will tell you more.
To help you choose between a hard disk drive and a solid-state drive, take a look at our guide SSD vs HDD: which is best?
Then of course there's the issue of your computer's processor: which one is the best CPU? The good news here is that even the cheapest PCs now include CPUs with two cores, essentially separate processors that allow you to run multiple tasks at the same time. But even if money is tight, look for something with more cores, if you can: something like Intel's Core i3-530 or AMD's Athlon II X4 640 offer decent performance at a budget price.
While we've hopefully covered most of your concerns here, there may be one or two other issues you want to consider.
If you aim to play the latest games on your computer, for instance, the choice of graphics card will be critical. Let us help you out with our guide to the 15 best graphics cards in the world today.
And whatever you're doing on your system, a quality LCD monitor will be crucial - so be sure to read our guide to the technical details you really need to know before you buy a monitor.
It's a lot to consider, then, but doing your homework now will really pay off later. And that's because understanding the features you need (and the ones you really don't) will both save you money and help you choose the best PC that will serve you well for years to come.
Which, of course, is the best news of all, because your systems' extended life means you won't have to go computer shopping again for a long, long time.
10 best PCs to choose from
So what's the best desktop PC for you? Although they've been overshadowed by just about everything recently, the fact that they're comfortable to use and can be upgraded easily means that they're still our weapon of choice when it comes to both gaming and general computing.
We've poked through the TechRadar archives to bring you 10 of the best desktop PCs, including the best all-in-one PCs. If you're after a top desktop, look no further.
1. Acer Aspire Z5763
The Acer Aspire Z5763 knows the deal: all-in-one (AIO) PCs aren't supposed to be masters of all things, they're slimline entertainment boxes. We all know that they are usually weak in the processor and more importantly the graphics department, but that doesn't mean they need to hide from the limelight. This all-in-one proudly struts its credentials, this is a 23-inch entertainment system that boasts a 1080p resolution and a Nvidia 3D-ready screen with Blu-ray 3D support.
Read our Acer Aspire Z5763 review
2. CyberPower Liquid Xtreme GT
From the unassuming chassis, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Liquid Xtreme GT was just another mid-range machine from CyberPower. Maybe packing a Core i5 2500K, or a new GTX 560 Ti 448 Core. Or maybe, just maybe, it's a combination of a £500 processor and a £400 graphics card. It's the latter. CyberPower has dropped the lower-end Sandy Bridge E chip, the Core i7 3930K, into this machine and paired it up with the best single-GPU card currently available, the Nvidia GTX 580. That's around £900 worth of processor and graphics cores, easily covering half the price of this full machine.
Read our CyberPower Liquid Xtreme GT review
3. Dell Inspiron One 2320
We're certainly warming to all-in-one computers, and if they continue to be as good the Dell Inspiron One 2320 we can happily see them taking over all of our desks. The £799 price means a lot, and there's a lower-end Pentium model also available, at an MSI Wind Top AE2210-beating £599. As with the other PC all-in-ones we've mentioned, the main "new" headline feature - despite the option of the Sandy Bridge Core i5 processor - that the marketing boys are dying to tell us about is the touchscreen. Decades of careful mouse-based interface design down the tube, as it's far more fun stabbing your podgy fingers at a desktop screen.
Read our Dell Inspiron One 2320 review
4. MSI Wind Top AE2210
We're keen to see if the well-priced MSI Wind Top AE2210 can manage to balance a £700 price tag with good performance. Wire-free is also something the MSI Wind Top AE2210 almost achieves - the only lead you actually need connected is the main power supply. MSI has opted for an external power supply unit, which is something to lose and an additional thing to have to lug around. We'd argue that this could help with cooling, but the unit has an obvious cooling fan. While it mostly ticks over at a low level, it's a little disappointing that it's audible at all.
Read our MSI Wind Top AE2210 review
5. Acer Revo RL100
A triumph of form over function, Acer's ultra-tiny media center PC includes a slide-out backlit touchpad keyboard. It also packs a Blu-Ray/DVD-RW combo drive, with an Nvidia Ion 2 processor to power those high-definition films and a touch of light gaming. An integrated digital TV tuner means that it will compliment a plush home cinema set up quite nicely, and it runs very quietly. It's not the cheapest media center option, but it does perform perfectly adequately.
Read our Acer Revo RL100 review
6. Shuttle SX58H7
A great place to start your media centre PC. Stick a Core i7 CPU, some DDR3 RAM and a DX11 graphics card in this barebones PC and you'll have a fully-fledged unit that's actually capable of running the latest games. It's got a compactl form factor, and it'll certainly look the part next to a TV of epic proportions. It is a tad pricey for what it is, but in recent years Shuttle has got tiny PCs like these down to a fine art.
Read our Shuttle SX58H7 review
7. Apple iMac 27-inch 2011
The mighty Apple's first venture into the world of Intel's Sandy Bridge processors comes in a 21.5-inch form factor (below), and this whopping 27-inch model. It's the most powerful iMac we've ever seen, and it totes a 2TB HDD in partnership with a 256GB SSD so it doesn't get too bogged down. Graphics are catered for with an AMD Radeon HD 6970M, and as gaming on Macs becomes more popular you'll need every megabyte of its 1GB of DDR5 memory. It looks pretty darn nice, too.
Read our Apple iMac 27-inch 2011 review
8. Apple iMac 21.5-inch 2011
Apple's smaller all-in-one addition is a powerful upgrade from 2010 models, and not hugely pared down from its bigger 27-inch brother. Its 21.5-inch screen doesn't need quite as much power, and the price reflects this. The graphics chip - a HD 6750M in this case - can handle games and video editing, and there's even a built-in 720p camera to take advantage of Apple's FaceTime. Just about everything impressed us here, and it's a great first step if you want to move away from Windows.
Read our Apple iMac 21.5-inch 2011 review
9. PC Specialist Vortex M59 OC
So PC Specialist, what have we here with the Vortex M59 OC? An overclocked Core i5 2500K? Why, a system with a CPU specification like that puts you in some pretty illustrious company: there's Chillblast's Fusion Rocket for starters. Chillblast's overclocked 2500K runs at 4.5 GHz, which is 300MHz slower than this rig, but then it's also £150 cheaper. There's also our new favourite Core i5 system, the AT-FX Polaris. Inside that rig lies a 2500K overclocked to 4.8 GHz, matching PC Specialist's rig. It costs nearly £300 more, but there are several luxurious higher specified components inside to justify that.
Read our PC Specialist Vortex M59 OC review
10. Sony Vaio L Series
The Sony Vaio L Series is the Japanese firm's latest stab at this expanding market and it comes in two powerful derivatives – the VPC-L21S1E and VPC-L21M1E – the latter of which we're focusing on here. The S1E costs just under £1,500, while the M1E is a touch more down-to-earth at £1,200. The discernible differences between the pair are a Core i7 processor rather than a Core i5 in the VPC-L21M1E, an extra 4GB of RAM (making for 8GB in total) and a Blu-ray writer instead of just a Blu-ray player. Whichever of these machines you opt for, it's a considerable investment for the privilege of owning one.
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