Home Computer Systems
It’s not unusual these days for families to own more than one type of computer. Students and executives on-the-go often prefer the convenience of laptops, while online bill-payers and game-players often choose desktop computers set up in a comfortable place in the home. If you’re looking for information about computers, Consumer Reports is your best resource. Consumer Reports’ computer reviews will give you honest buying advice that you can trust. Use our computer buying guide to discover which features are most important to consider. We also provide unbiased Ratings and computer reviews to help you choose the best computer for your needs.
Do you need a new computer?
Before you replace a sluggish computer, try these steps to beef up its performance.
Get in the habit of closing applications you’re not using. That will keep them from straining system resources.
Shut down your computer at the end of the day. This will clear out digital detritus (such as temporary files) and free up system memory and other resources.
If a virus scan is running, pause it until you’re finished working. Scans hog system resources, slowing everything down. Set auto scans for times you’re not using the computer. Don’t skip antivirus software entirely, because malware can really mess with your system. Also set Windows for automatic updates so that you get the latest security patches.
Delete programs you no longer use. If that isn’t enough, and if the computer is no more than four years old, make sure you have at least 4GB of memory. Adding memory is an inexpensive and easy way to upgrade your computer.
If you’re running out of hard drive space, burn your music, photos, and videos onto CDs or DVDs, or onto an external drive, and delete them from your hard drive. To gain storage space, consider adding a hard drive.(Adding an external drive is an upgrade even a novice can do.)
If you’re using Windows, run its Disk Defragmenter utility. That will help your hard drive access files faster.
If none of that works, and the computer is more than four years old, it’s probably time to replace it. See the “Recycling your old computer” section in our computer shopping tips.
Laptops
Laptops let you use your computer away from your desk, but you pay for that mobility with a keyboard that’s a little more cramped, a higher price, and sometimes, reduced performance. They’re also more expensive to repair than desktops. Technological advances have lessened the performance compromises for the most part, however.
Hard drive/solid state drive
Also known as a hard disk, or HD, this is where your programs, documents, music, photos, and videos are stored.
Bigger is better. Hard drive sizes are measured in gigabytes and terabytes, and commonly range from 250GBto more than 1TB (terabyte).
Though size matters, speed is equally important. Speed is measured in rpm (revolutions per minute). A slow hard drive will take longer to start up the OS and programs, and complete tasks (such as installing programs or scanning your hard drive for viruses).
For best performance, get a desktop with at least a 7,200rpm hard drive and a laptop with a 5,400rpm hard drive.
Hard drives often fail after a while, so you must back up your data periodically to avoid losing it. The best option is an external hard drive, which connects to your computer through its USB, FireWire, or eSATA port.
Some high-end desktops and laptops can be configured with a RAID (redundant array of independent disks) setup. These computers have two or more hard drives. There are several types of RAID, the most common being RAID 0 and RAID 1.
RAID 0 distributes your data across multiple hard disks, which can greatly improve speed. But if one fails, you’ll lose data on all your drives. RAID 1 automatically copies data from one drive to the other. If one crashes, all your data will be safe on the other.
A service that could ease the agony of a crash is cloud computing. With a backup solution such as Carbonite, all your data resides on the company’s servers. Any documents, files, data, applications, and e-mail you put on Carbonite will be available to other computers, as well as iOS, Android, and Blackberry devices.
Solid-state drives (SSDs, also called flash drives) are a newer type of storage technology, letting your computer access data without the moving parts required by a traditional hard drive.
SSDs don’t have the spinning disk of a conventional hard drive, so they use less power, work more quietly, and should be more resistant to damage from rugged use. And because there are no moving parts, they promise quicker access to data.
But they cost several times as much as traditional hard drives and have smaller capacities. Lower-priced hybrid drives, which combine a hard drive with solid-state memory, represent a good compromise.
Networking
For connecting to the Internet, all desktops come with an Ethernet port that lets you run a cable between your desktop and your router. If it’s not possible to run such a cable through your home, consider a Wi-Fi adapter. Some desktops have this built in. If not, you can buy one for about $40 and plug it into a USB port. You’ll also need a wireless router.
Laptops come with wireless built in, and most have a port for connecting an Ethernet cable.
Wireless adapters mostly use the newer 802.11n standard (which is backward-compatible with 802.11g). The latest use 802.11ac, a new standard.
Intel’s WiDi capability is built into some new laptops that have an Intel Core i-series processor (with a four-digit processor number). WiDi lets you wirelessly stream video from your laptop to a TV. As mentioned earlier, it requires an external box, which costs $60 from Netgear.
WiDi supports 1080p resolution. Similar streaming-media technologies include DLNA, WHDI, and Wireless HD. Other products, such as Roku and Apple TV, let you wirelessly stream video directly to a TV without a computer.