Tips on how to make the most out of your components

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monere

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Oct 13, 2012
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Hi everyone,

I was wondering if someone can direct me to a resource that explains in detail the various linkage between PC components and how to make the most of them.

More specifically, I'm interested to know these:

1) which RAM is better when it comes to various usages of a computer (gaming, video editing, multitasking): the normal RAM, or the GPU's RAM?

2) which speed is more important for the various usages of a computer (the CPU's speed, the Motherboards, the RAM's, etc)?

3) which part of a RAM memory plate (CAS / Mhz / capacity, etc) gives the best bang for the buck and what motherboard and CPU should I buy to get the best out of my RAM?

4) just like above, which CPU and MB should I pick that gets the most out of ALL of my components (RAM / CPU / MB)?

I need to ask these questions because I'm at a loss at how the various aspects of the main PC components affect the performance of a computer and I never understood whether I should spend more money on a CPU with more cores, or with a higher value of MHz (whatever MHz represents...) .... whether I should spend more on higher RAM capacity, or like others said on better CAS feature (whatever the CAS is...)... whether I should spend more on a MB with more and newer gen peripherals, or with better bandwith (whatever this bandwith refers to...)

I know that I could Google each of these parts separately (I actually did read about them on wiki sites), but the problem is that all these components affect each other in one way or another to create "bottlenecks" (I think that's the term geeks use for what I'm trying to understand) and I couldn't find a source to explains how these components affect each other, in a clean, fool-proof way that my poor brain could understand.

Again, can someone point me to a newbie friendly source that explains how all these components relate to each other, and what I should put my money into when buying a desktop computer?

Hopefully you've read so far and can understand my confusion and frustration with regards to this matter, and can help me out.

Thanks in advance and I'm awaiting your replies.

John
 
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Mattp2017

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Jan 25, 2017
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The Processor

The Processor (CPU) is the “brain” of your computer, the thing that carries out the tasks you give it. Better CPUs can perform more tasks at once, and perform them faster. That said, not everyone actually takes advantage of their processor’s full speed, so the high-end models are only really crucial if you’re performing intensive tasks like video editing, video conversion, compiling code, or (to a lesser extent) gaming. It’s also one of the most expensive parts of a machine, so if you aren’t performing these types of tasks, you definitely don’t need to worry about buying the latest and greatest.

The Motherboard

The motherboard connects all the other components to one another, and is the physical base upon which you build everything else. It contains a lot of your machine’s core features, like the number of USB ports, the number of expansion cards you can put in (such as video, sound, and Wi-Fi), and also partially determines how big your computer will be. Which motherboard you pick will depend on whether you build a low, medium, or high performance machine and how advanced of a user you are.

The RAM

RAM, or Random Access Memory (or “Memory” for short), is like your computer’s short-term memory. It stores data your computer needs quick access to to help your programs run faster, and help you run more programs at one time. Thus, if you run a lot of programs at once, you’ll want a computer with more RAM. If you use virtual machines, you’ll want even more RAM, since it has to run its own programs in addition to yours.

The Graphics Card

The Graphics card, or GPU, is a processor specifically designed to handle graphics. It’s what you hook your monitor up to, and it’s what draws your desktop and your windows on the screen. Some motherboards come with a GPU already integrated, which is enough to manage your desktop, but usually not enough for playing 3D games. For those, you’ll need a dedicated graphics card, since it can do the legwork needed to draw those complex images.
 
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