INTEL HAS CREATED a rating system to help options. To find the processor with the right
computer buyers choose the right processing amount of “smartness” for what you want to
power to meet their needs. The rating system do, just look for the new Intel brains.
below offers three simple ways to compare
TIPS &TRICKS
SPONSORED BY
CHOOSING THE
RIGHT MONITOR
FROM WORD PROCESSING and spreadsheets
to blockbuster shoot-’em-up games and
movies, today’s computer monitors are true
gateways to productivity and entertainment.
To fully experience immersive multimedia
computing, users are turning to large, flat
LCD panels as the choice of display. Do some
homework to choose the best monitor for
your needs.
• Look for the largest wide-screen within
your budget, but also pay close attention to
its resolution. For example, a 20-inch LCD
offers only 1 inch more than a 19-inch LCD,
but offers 36 percent more resolution at
1680 x 1050—the same as a 22-inch. This
means you can fit the same amount of data
on-screen as a 22-inch, including 1080p
high-definition input.
Hard drive: Bigger is better for these systems, up to 750 GB.
Optical drives: HD optical drive plus a CD/DVD burner are recommended.
Graphics: Make sure to get a high-performance video card.
Software: Look for Windows Vista Ultimate, Office 2007 and advanced
graphics applications such as Adobe Photoshop.
Let your purpose be your guide
Choosing the right PC can seem bewildering when you first begin the
search: The number of choices is almost infinite. But the search gets simpler if
you start the process with an eye on the end result. First decide how you want
to use your new system and what you want to do with it. Then pick a machine
with the processing capacity and other resources for the tasks that are most
important to you. Add some performance margin for future growth and you’re
well on your way to a PC that’s perfect for your own personal purposes. A
• Look at contrast ratios and response time.
High dynamic contrast ratios and low
response time will improve picture clarity,
especially in movies and games, and Windows Vista premium certification will assure
that everything works seamlessly.
• An insider hint: For video inputs, you can
use a simple HDMI-DVI adapter to connect
HDMI output from set-top and gaming
boxes to your monitor’s DVI input. A
