What’s in a Computer?

• Processor: works with the data and runs the programs. Speed is determined by how many gigahertz (or GHz) it has; the more GHz, the quicker your computer will be able to access data on your hard drive and associate that data with the respective program or programs needed to put that information to work.

• RAM (random access memory): measured in megabyes or larger gigabytes, holds data temporarily instead of saving it to a hard drive, so systems can access data and application files quickly instead of having the computer search the hard drive. The more RAM you have, the faster your computer retrieves data.

• Hard drives are the long-term storage units of the computer, measured in gigabytes. The more you have, the more data (photos, music, videos) and application files you can store.

• Graphics cards: measured through a combination of memory size (in MBs or GBs) and speed (in GHz) the cards hold data temporarily so that graphical elements (movie files, pictures or animation, among others) can be viewed without taxing system resources.

• A computer’s speed is measured by how fast the processor is and how much RAM is available.

Comparison Shopping

What does your teen need? Here is a sampling of specs and prices to help you decide.

For about $450:

eMachines W3609

Features include:

• Windows Vista Home Basic

• 1.3GHz AMD Sempron processor
  

• 512MB RAM40GB hard drive

• CD/DVD-RW drive

• USB and camera ports

• 15-inch flat-screen monitor

Recommended for: Word processing and printing; basic Internet use (email, chat rooms/IM-ing and web page browsing); iPods.

Not recommended for: Gaming; graphic design; web page design; media storage.

For about $550:

Dell Dimension E521

Features include:

• Windows Vista Home Basic

• 2.0GHz AMD Athlon processor

• 512MB RAM

• 80GB hard drive

• USB and camera ports

• 15-inch flat panel monitor

• CD/DVD-ROM

Recommended for: Basic web design; digital photography; light gaming; file sharing; iPods; music and photo storage; word processing; general Internet use.

Not recommended for: Graphic design; photo manipulation; movie file storage; animation; video and music editing.

For about $650:

HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n (with monitor)

Features include:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
  

• 2.0GHz AMD Dual-core processor with two chips, so that when one is overloaded, the second will pick up the slack.

• 1GB RAM

• 250GB hard drive

• DVD/RW drive

• 9-in-1 media reader card

• 17-inch flat panel monitor

Recommended for: Graphic design; gaming; music, photo, music and movie file storage; digital photography; iPods; chat rooms/IM-ing; file sharing; web design; animation.

Not recommended for: Video and music file editing (add 1 to 3 GB of RAM to make that possible).

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Issue: August 2007