Cost is often one of the first and only things users examine when buying a new PC. However, what is really important is the match up of the PC to the user. If the user and PC are not paired up correctly, many frustrations will follow. Let us take a look at two PC’s (focusing on Intel based PC’s only) offered on TigerDirect.com today.
On the high end, we have the CybertronPC Armor ARMV2QX965BK Gaming PCfor $5999.99. This PC highlights a huge amount of power starting with it’s processor, an Intel Core 2 Extreme which has 4 processors and runs at 3.0 Ghz. It is stacked with 8GB of RAM (DDR II 800mhz) and has dual 74GB hard drives backed up by an additional 500GB hard drive. A 20x DVDRW drive comes in handy for backups and fast reading of DVD’s. For video, this PC will knock your socks off using it’s three NVIDIA 1GB video cards chained together to act as one large source. This PC also provides many additional ports to add on and expand to include eight USB, two 1394a (Firewire), and 6 internal slots for more equipment.
On the lower end, we have the Lenovo IdeaCentre K210 Intel Desktop PCselling for $299.99. The processor of this PC is the Intel Celeron Dual Core running at 1.60 Ghz. Backed by 2GB of RAM (DDR II @ 667mhz) and one 320GB hard drive, this PC has plenty of storage space for any application put on it. This PC also includes a DVDRW to read and write DVD’s but no speed is indicated on the website. The video options on this PC are limited by its on board graphics accelerator that shares up to 256mb of RAM.
The high end PC is intended much more for the intense gamer. Someone who wants to play the latest and greatest video games with no slouching in performance, no video frame drops, and little hassle when the next round of technology opens up. With this PC they will accomplish that hands down. The low end PC is intended and should be purchased by the average home user that generally writes a few documents, sends email, and browses the web. Any more activity than that and this PC will probably be returned for being too slow.
