How to choose the right computer for home use. How to choose a ready-made system unit? What to look for when choosing a motherboard

I decided to devote several articles to the choice of various devices such as a system unit, monitor or laptop for working at home or on the Internet. In this article, I decided to start with an article about how to choose a computer, namely the system unit.

Let's start with the fact that you first need to decide why we buy it at all. This can be divided into several criteria: "For work", "For entertainment and games" and "Crap! To be able to do everything in it!!!”

Let's take a look at what each criterion includes:

"For work" R12; this includes working with documents, working on the Internet and browser games like "Farm" (but this does not include work with video processing, editing, and so on, I will explain why later), since they do not require high performance and consume low computer resources.

"For entertainment and games" R12; this category includes working with multimedia and, of course, games, because they require more performance and take up a lot of computer resources

"Crap! To be able to do everything in it!” R12; This category includes both working with multimedia, working with 3D graphics (if you don’t want your computer to slow down), games with the latest technology, plus this category of computers will provide you with sufficient performance for many years to come.

Now let's look at what parameters a computer is selected for. What do we see on store windows when we choose a computer? And we see the labels on which some incomprehensible numbers are written, and this is its parameters. Next, I will try to explain to you what is written there. And so, where do we start our choice:

1. Case of the system unit

The case is not so important when choosing. Doesn't affect performance, so choose according to your taste. By the way, system units with excellent performance do not always have beautiful cases, so you should not pay close attention to this. Let it be better not beautiful, but nothing will slow down and everything will fly, plus it will provide good performance for many years to come (if you have chosen category 3 computers)

2. Processor and their number

The tags in the store first of all indicate which processor is installed and the number of cores in it. Basically, the labels do not indicate the number of cores, but simply indicate the processor model (this is in ordinary stores, all parameters are indicated in online stores). How to determine how many cores according to the model.

For Intel processors, usually the number of cores indicates the presence of the word “Quad” or “Duo” in the model name, where “Quad” means that the processor is four-core, and “Duo” is R12; two nuclear.

On processor models AMD usually the number of cores is indicated by a number and the letter X preceding it. For example, if there is a designation x4 R12; so the processor has 4 cores, if x2 R12; then dual core. (In extreme cases, you can ask the seller)

3. Core Clock

When choosing a computer, pay attention to this parameter. It is usually denoted like this R12; 2.8GHz, that is, it is measured in hertz (well, this is natural, because the frequency is measured in them). The frequency of computer cores varies from about 2.6 to 3.3 GHz. In general, I will not go deep into this parameter. Therefore, the larger it is, the better (although 3 GHz is enough to use, the main thing is that there are more cores)

4. RAM

This is the next IMPORTANT parameter that you should pay special attention to, since RAM plays a big role in computer performance. It is measured in gigabytes and at the time of this writing varies from 2 GB to 32 GB. (Below we will consider for what type of computers which memory is better to choose)

Small digression:

Often acquaintances ask: R12; "And with what memory is it better to buy a computer?". Without understanding what memory is in general. And so, I explain so that it was clear to the simple user. A computer has two types of memory: RAM and physical. Operational R12; it is, as it were, temporary, in which something is constantly recorded and stored there until it is needed, and when it is no longer needed, it is erased or overwritten with more recent information used (like a transshipment point or warehouse, and the larger it is, the better, the computer will work faster ). And the physical R12; this is what is stored on the hard drive, i.e. all your files that are there permanently. The speed of the computer does not depend on its volume, but how many films will fit on your computer.

5. Video card

Also a very important parameter of the system unit. Namely R12; video card memory. This is something similar to RAM only for video. This parameter is especially important if you want buy a computer for games. It is also measured in gigabytes, so it is very important not to confuse it with RAM. It is indicated in the video card model and varies from 512 megabytes to 2 gigabytes. This parameter affects video performance and is worth paying attention to if you choose a computer for games, i.e. the bigger, the better.

6. Hard drive

And the last important parameter R12; is the hard disk or its volume. The size of the hard disk does not affect the performance of the computer. It depends on how much you can cram into your computer (i.e. files that take up a lot of space or weigh a lot, for example movies). I will try to explain in human language, so that it is clear to the user who is not very versed in this and I will give comparisons.

Hard drives range from 320 gigabytes to 2 terabytes. Those. in one Terabyte 1000 Gigabytes, and in one Gigabyte 1000 Megabytes (it all depends on the console). For example, one song is from 3 to 10 megabytes. And here it is already easy to calculate how many songs can fit on a 320 GB hard drive (simple math). Let's make an even clearer comparison. One movie (depending on quality) weighs an average of 3 GB (from 1GB to 10GB), and it's easy to calculate how many movies will fit on a 1 Terabyte hard drive (1000 divided by 3, we get about 300 movies).

Now it remains to decide what you will have on your computer, documents (which take up almost nothing) or a collection of films.

Now let's learn how to choose a computer with an example.

For example, we need a computer at home to work with documents, and to climb the Internet (for example, in classmates). Basically, we will use a program for working with Microsoft Office documents that works with the usual “.doc” formats (that is, with ordinary documents) and some kind of browser (it doesn’t matter which one)

1. In this case, you can pay attention to the case of the system unit.

2. Working with documents does not require too much performance. But we also don't want the computer to slow down. Therefore, we choose a dual-core computer.

3. The core clock speed is also not very important and you can choose at least 2.8 GHz

4. RAM for working with documents is enough from 2 to 4 Gigabytes

5. You should not choose a video card “Super duper” either, but it’s enough for 1 Gigabyte (even 512 megabytes is enough)

6. The hard drive should also not be chosen as the most powerful (the word "powerful" somehow does not fit, I would say R12; "volumetric"). 320 GB is enough (well, if you have several films there, you can choose 500 GB)

Well, it seems that all the main components for which choose system unit.

So what do we get? In general, I went to an online store and tried to choose according to the above parameters, and this is what I got: such a computer will cost you from 11 to 16 tr, which is quite acceptable for work.

Now let's try to choose a gaming computer.

1. You should not pay attention to the case, although gamers will rather choose it first by the case (remember, the case does not always mean high performance, in this case, the marketing ploy of selling a computer under a beautiful case with low performance and unreasonable price increase can simply be used). If you still want a beautiful computer, be sure to check other parameters.

2. Here, of course, a quad-core computer is more suitable, and it is important to pay attention to the line of processors. for example, for Intel processors, the latest lines are R12; i3, i5 and i7. An Intel i5 processor is fine. AMD has processor lines such as AMD Athlon, AMD Phenom, AMD A-6, AMD A-8, AMD A-10, AMD FX. AMD A-8 or AMD A-10 processors are quite suitable.

3. The clock frequency should be chosen at least 3 GHz.

4. RAM for games is suitable around 8 dash 16 Gigabytes (you can take 8 GB, if not enough, you can always add it by buying another bar)

5. The video card plays a big role in the choice, because games consume a lot of video memory due to the fact that they consist mainly of graphics. And we can say that the video card plays the first role in this matter. Therefore, we try to make it as powerful as possible, for example, 2 gigabytes, and even so that it has two cores (by the way, yes, they also come in two cores). It is important that it has support for DirectX 11. This parameter is not indicated on the video card itself, so this must be checked with the seller. If the sales assistant is experienced, then he will tell you, otherwise, ask for another seller who understands this.

6. A small hard drive is required, unless of course you have 100 games installed at once, although games can be stored as image files and they also take up a lot of space, so we choose a 1 Terabyte (1000 Gigabyte) hard drive. By the way, if the place runs out, it, unlike the processor, can also be bought separately and added to an existing one.

Well, now let's sum up the choice of a computer for games. We go to the online store and look at the parameters we have chosen above.

Result R12; "Core i5-4670 (3.3GHz), 8GB, HD7850 (2GB), 1TB, DVD±RW" is a good gaming computer costing 28690 rubles, which is quite acceptable for a good gaming computer.

Well, if you really want a beast’s car at all and your chickens don’t peck for money, then we drive in the highest requirements in the search parameters of an online store (by the way, there are not always such computers in stores because of their high cost) and we are stunned by prices.

That's basically all that I wanted to share with you in this article. Now you know in general terms how to choose the right computer according to its main parameters and components. If you have any questions, then leave them in the comments, I will try to answer everyone!

Basically, an office computer is needed to solve simple tasks, for example, preparing documents in Microsoft Word or Excel, printing them, working with mail and communicating “with the outside world” via the Internet, so for starters, let's start with the budget assembly of the system unit and monitor selection. I’ll make a reservation right away that the indicated approximate prices for the selected components are indicated at the end of 2017.

To begin with, we need a central processor. The most relevant of them at the moment is the Intel Pentium G4560. It has two physical cores and four threads, but is 1.5 times cheaper than the previous generation Intel Core i3. Power consumption is so small that a boxed cooler is enough.

A video card is also not needed, since the built-in processor has all the necessary characteristics for standard applications. Such a “pleasure” costs about 5 thousand rubles. Thus, we immediately save on two elements of the system.

CPU Intel Pentium G4560

The “heart” of the PC must be installed in the appropriate slot on the motherboard. In this case, in LGA1151. This requirement is met by 100 and 200 series motherboards. In order not to update the BIOS, it is better to stop at the second option. For example, on MSI B250M PRO-VD LGA 1151 mATX type, which has two connectors for image output - DVI and VGA. This is very important because offices may still use monitors with an analog video signal. It will cost 4000 rubles.

Motherboard MSI B250M PRO-VD LGA 1151

This board has two slots for RAM with a frequency of up to 2400 MHz. Let's take one bar with a capacity of 4 GB with the possibility of expanding to 8 GB in the future. The Patriot memory module costs 3,000 rubles.

The optimal solution for data storage in the office can be considered a regular hard drive HDD with a capacity of 2 TB. Indeed, recently, some projects may occupy a sufficient amount of free space. About 4 thousand must be paid for TOSHIBA E300 with SATA III interface.

In this configuration, there is no discrete graphics card, the CPU generates little heat, so we will choose a 350-watt power supply, for example, GIGABYTE GZ-EBN35N-C3, at a price of 1000 rubles. It can be connected to any uninterruptible power supply to protect important data during a power outage. After all, it does not use PFC.

350W Power Supply GIGABYTE GZ-EBN35N-C3

The case for office computer elements is usually small. We chose a mATX motherboard, so the most common one, without bells and whistles, for example, LINKWORLD VC-13M33, will do for only 900 rubles.

Peripherals (mouse, keyboard, optical drive, memory card reader) are selected to your taste, as they are almost identical in functionality. It will cost a couple of thousand rubles.

For comfortable work in the office, you need a high-quality monitor. Here we pay attention to color reproduction, static contrast, the ability to tilt the screen. We also take into account the absence of flicker and a decrease in the level of blue, which will favorably affect vision during a long stay in front of the screen. The monitor IIYAMA X2474HS-B1 with a diagonal of 23.6 inches meets these requirements. It is convenient to connect it to the system unit using an HDMI-HDMI cable, which is already included in the kit. And the price is quite democratic - about 8000 rubles.

Monitor IIYAMA X2474HS-B1

The final step of such an assembly is the acquisition and installation of the Windows operating system, better than the 10th version. It can be found for 7000 rubles.

Monoblock for office

Thus, if you assemble a computer for the office yourself, it will take time and about 35 thousand rubles. But there is a shorter way - to immediately buy a monoblock that combines all the components at once (All-in-One), it will significantly reduce the footprint and remove the issues associated with assembling the system unit.

The downside is that it is difficult to find a device that would meet all the requirements at an adequate price.

Consider the monoblock LENOVO Idea Center 510-22ISH based on the Intel Pentium G4560T processor at a price of 33 thousand rubles. The processor frequency is 20% less, the hard disk capacity is 1 TB, the screen is 21 inches, there is no DVD-Rom. But there is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, built-in speakers, keyboard and mouse, and the Windows operating system is also installed.

Ready system block

Currently, there is no need to puzzle over the selection of components and their compatibility, manufacturers offer to buy a ready-made system unit right away, offering various assemblies at various prices. For some, this may be the best option, because in this case, unlike the candy bar, there is a maneuver for choosing a suitable and safe monitor, one of which we reviewed earlier.

As a budget system unit, you can offer, for example, a DELL Vostro 3668 computer with an Intel Pentium G4560 processor, 4GB DDR4 memory, a 500GB hard drive, an optical drive and Windows 10 will cost 21,000 rubles. The only drawback of this solution is the small amount of disk space for storing information, but for most this will be enough, and this can also be solved by purchasing an external 1 TB hard drive, which will cost 4 thousand rubles.

System unit assembly DELL Vostro 3668

We can conclude that for the most budget PC for the office, you need to pay about 35 thousand rubles, and the workers themselves decide which assembly option to use.

Optimal office PC

Assembling the system unit by components

Now let's look at how to choose such a PC, during the work of which the user would be sure that he would cope with any demanding application, be it Photoshop, AutoCAD or something else that requires large resources to work with.

CPUs with two physical cores are gradually becoming obsolete, so four cores are more promising, especially since office computers are purchased for a fairly long time.

Here you can offer an inexpensive 4-core AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor, which costs about 7 thousand rubles. Cooler included. The peculiarity of this CPU is that it is unlocked for overclocking, so its frequency can be close to 4 GHz, which is not bad for this price.

A cheap motherboard like mATX ASROCK AB350M-HDV on an AM4 socket for 4500 rubles is suitable for the processor. It has all the necessary video connectors and six USB 3.1 ports.

If you have several applications running on your computer, and one of them is Photoshop, you may need more than 4 GB of RAM. It is better to take two 4 GB RAM sticks for the future, for example, AMD Radeon R7 Performance Series R748G2133U1K for 5 thousand rubles. Moreover, the memory will work in 2-channel mode, which will favorably affect the performance of the system as a whole.

The case, power supply, hard drive, peripherals and monitor will remain the same as in the budget assembly. The main difference is the lack of an integrated graphics core in the AMD processor, so you need to choose an external video card. One of the cheapest modern models - MSI GeForce GT 1030 Aero - is suitable for office tasks. It will fit into any case due to its small size. The manufacturer promises 10 years of service at maximum load. The cost of this video accelerator is about 5 thousand rubles.

A combination of an AMD processor and a discrete graphics card will be preferable to an Intel Core i5 with an integrated video core if you work in graphic applications. Although the prices are comparable.

As a result, we get a system with an average performance of 45 thousand rubles. It is quite enough for those who are not an avid gamer in the office.

Optimal monoblock for the office

A similar configuration within the framework of a monoblock will cost 57 thousand rubles. For example, the ACER Aspire Z24-880 monoblock has a 4-core Intel Core i5 7400T processor, 8 GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX discrete graphics card.

Ready system block

If we consider a finished system unit without a monitor, then ACER Aspire TC-780 with the same parameters can be found for 41 thousand rubles. Taking into account peripheral devices and a monitor, it will be more expensive than self-assembly by 5,000 rubles. But in this case, we get a smaller hard disk capacity of 1 TB and the lack of the possibility of overclocking the processor. Moreover, when choosing components, you can stop at a suitable video card and RAM.

System unit ACER Aspire TC-780

Powerful office PC

Assembling the system unit by components

The difference between a high-performance computer and an optimal office computer is the presence of a more powerful processor. In 2017, its assembly costs have dropped dramatically due to the introduction of new AMD models.

For example, a six-core and twelve-thread CPU AMD Ryzen 5 1600 BOX with a frequency in turbo mode of 3.6 GHz costs 15 thousand rubles. This is comparable to the latest 6-core Intel Core i5-8400 Coffee Lake, which does not have Hyper-Threading technology. Moreover, motherboards for Intel processors are still sold within 10 thousand rubles and are mainly designed for the home market segment.

Thus, in order to assemble a good PC for the office yourself, you need to spend 53 thousand rubles. The difference from the gaming system will consist only in a powerful discrete graphics card and power supply.

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 1600 BOX

Monoblock for office

Ready system block

A ready-made case with components based on AMD Ryzen 5 1600 - DEXP Mars E167 - with the installed Windows 10 operating system can be bought for 45 thousand rubles. If you include a monitor and input devices, then the prices will become almost the same. Therefore, a choice is made between a large hard drive capacity when selecting components or a slightly more powerful video card in the finished assembly.

System block DEXP Mars E167

Conclusion

It is difficult to say which particular assembly is suitable for a particular office, since it is completely individual, but considering the configurations indicated above, we can say that they will suit most offices. All of the above is summarized in a summary table.

Table 1 - Assembly of the computer system unit for the office from components

	Budget	Optima	Power
CPU			AMD Ryzen 5 1600
Motherboard	MSI B250M PRO-VD LGA 1151	ASROCK AB350M-HDV
RAM	Patriot DDR4 4Gb 2400MHz	AMD Radeon R7 Performance DDR4 4Gb x 2 2133MHz
HDD	Toshiba E300 - 2 TB
video card	Intel HD Graphics 610
power unit	Gigabyte GZ-EBN35N-C3 - 350W
Frame	Linkworld VC-13M33, mATX
Monitor	IIYAMA X2474HS-B1
operating system	Windows 10
Peripherals	Mouse, keyboard, optical drive, memory card reader
TOTAL (approximately in rubles):	35000	45000	53000

Table 2 - Options for the finished system unit for the office

	Budget	Optima	Power
System unit	DELL Vostro 3668 (Intel Pentium G4560)	ACER Aspire TC-780 (Intel Core i5 7400)	DEXP Mars E167 (AMD Ryzen 5 1600)
TOTAL (approximately in rubles):	34000	50000	54000

Table 3 - Options for monoblocks for the office

	A budget option	The best option
Monoblock	LENOVO IdeaCentre 510-22ISH (Intel Pentium G4560T)	ACER Aspire Z24-880 (Intel Core i5 7400T)
TOTAL (approximately in rubles):	33000	57000

Think about what you need a PC for

In this article, I will tell you how to choose a computer for the home and what you should pay attention to when buying. So, you have decided to buy a desktop computer for your home. First of all, you must decide for yourself which PC you will consider:

• New computer(system unit)
• Used computer. This option will be much cheaper. But the downside is that there is no guarantee.

Used computers are much cheaper than new ones, but here you should at least somehow understand computers, their design and how they work. Because now there are a lot of unscrupulous sellers who can give you some super old or half-working PC. You will need to check everything yourself and know what to look for.

Everything will be easier with a new computer. The store will advise you exactly what you need. But consultants will not always take care of what exactly you need. Here, too, you need to rely on your knowledge in computers. So, the first thing you should do before buying is to decide for what purpose you need a PC:

• Mainly for games(tanks, GTA, shooters, racing, etc.) and work in resource-intensive programs.
• Mainly for the Internet and work with documents(typing, printing, watching online videos, movies, etc.)

If you will be play a lot of games, then you should first of all pay attention to the following parameters:

1. Frame size. Yes, it's important for games. There are sizes of cases (the most popular ones) of ATX format (standard size), mATX (reduced case - mini) and Full Tower (very large and roomy case). Games require a very powerful processor and a powerful graphics card. Consequently, these parts will heat up at maximum performance, which means they will generate a lot of heat. To provide decent and competent cooling, you need a large case (at least in order for the air to circulate better inside). For games, they take either ATX or Full Tower.
2. Processor and video card. For toys, this is very important. For example, GTA5 needs a very powerful processor (ideally, you need a new quad-core core i7 6700), or a processor not lower than the core i 3 (new generation) line. Old processors such as Intel Pentium, Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon x 2 are not suitable for modern games. On such processors, you can only play old games. A video card for modern new games also needs a fairly powerful one. Ideally, this is NVIDIA Ge Force 1060, 1070 or 1080.
3. RAM. For games, a very important parameter. The amount of RAM should not be less than 4 GB. Better 8 - 16 GB.
4. HDD. For games, some people want to buy an SSD 500 - 1000 GB, which is completely useless. An SSD drive is appropriate to use only under Windows and for applications. Games can be safely installed on a regular hard drive (HDD). Previously, when SSD drives first appeared, many people thought that when installing games on these drives, they would increase FPS, but this is not so. Therefore, ideally, an SSD drive should be installed for the system and programs (128 - 250 GB is enough for the eyes) + a hard drive as a second one, for storing data, for installing games on it, etc. A 1TB hard drive will work for you.)

If you will be mainly spend time on social networks, watch online videos, work with documents, then an inexpensive computer with average characteristics will suit you. The main thing here is to understand that it is not worth taking a very weak PC for minimal money. Since even ordinary viewing of online high-definition video requires a good processor and not the weakest video card. Pay attention here:

1. Processor and video card. Our tasks do not require an expensive core i7 processor and a new generation video card. It is enough to have any processor of the core i3 line "on board" (the above is not necessary). A video card suitable for a medium or low price category (for example, NVIDIA Ge Force GT 740)
2. RAM. Previously, a couple of years ago, it was assumed that 2 GB of memory is enough for normal online video viewing. Now believe me, this is too little. The minimum starts from 3 GB. 3-4 GB will be enough to watch Full HD video online without brakes.
3. HDD. It is not necessary to choose per terabyte here. Drives with a capacity of 250 - 500 GB are suitable, quite. But it's better if there is an SSD drive. In our case, the ideal option would be a computer with a 128 GB SSD drive. A hard drive as a second is not necessary in our case.

Now you know what to look for first of all in the store. Now you should have no problem asking how to choose a computer.

If you need a computer, but you do not want / do not know how to assemble it yourself, then buying a ready-made system unit is the best choice. However, even when buying a ready-made system unit, you need to at least study the possible combinations of components and determine the range of tasks for which the computer is being bought.

It should be understood that a ready-made system unit will cost more than all the components cost separately. However, when buying a ready-made unit, you will be sure that all components are compatible and you will not need to deal with various hardware and software problems. Below are a few recommendations that will allow you to choose the best finished system unit.

Computer forum

To get started, go to some computer forum. Usually there is a topic in which they discuss the configuration of a new computer. For example, you can describe the tasks that you will solve and you will be prompted for the best configuration of the system unit. Or you can specify your budget and they will advise you on a suitable computer for your money. Of course, it is not necessary to trust 100% the judgments of such members of the forum, but you will present the big picture.

Computer Case Dimensions

To begin with, it is worth deciding on the size of the computer case. Now you can find computers ranging in size from a little more than a USB flash drive to solid structures weighing several tens of kilograms.

The best choice for a universal home / office computer would be a Mini-Tower or Midi-Tower format system unit. Such cases are quite compact, but at the same time they allow the use of very powerful components.

Processor selection

The processor must be selected from the performance you need and your budget. No need to go to extremes and buy the worst processor just because of the love for a particular manufacturer.

If you're buying a computer solely for word processing, watching movies, and surfing the Internet, then a dual-core processor will suffice. But if you plan to run games on your computer, then the minimum must be a quad-core processor, because already now some games do not run on dual-core processors even with the most powerful video card (more on video cards below).

It makes no sense to buy a processor with a large (6-10) number of cores for a regular home computer.

Selection of RAM

When choosing RAM, you need to be guided mainly by its volume. More volume is better than less. The minimum amount of RAM in the finished system unit, which should be today, is 2 GB. This volume is enough for unhurried work in Word / Excel and surfing the Internet. If your computer is busy solving more serious problems, then you can think about a system unit with 8-16 gigabytes of RAM.

If you're on a tight budget, it's better to buy less RAM but a better processor or graphics card. RAM is not very expensive and adding it is quite simple. Therefore, as soon as finances allow you, you can install it.

Video card selection

The choice of a video card will also be determined by the tasks for which the system unit is purchased. Do not think that a powerful video card is needed only for games.

There are two types of video cards: integrated and discrete.

As the name implies, the integrated video card is built into the processor, and the discrete one is a separate board (sometimes very large).

For office computers, the built-in graphics of even entry-level processors will definitely suffice.

For a home computer, the built-in video may also be enough, but this will be the envy of the tasks. Modern processors, even in the middle price range, have a fairly powerful built-in video that allows you to play modern games (though not at maximum graphics settings) and quite comfortably work with complex programs (graphics, video editing, etc.).

When choosing a discrete graphics card, you should look at reviews and tests on specialized sites. No need to buy a discrete graphics card with less power than the built-in one. You also need to understand that when using a discrete graphics card, the system unit can significantly increase in price, because you may need a more powerful power supply, a larger case and additional cooling.

In addition, it is necessary to strike a balance between the power of a discrete graphics card and the power of the processor. It makes no sense to pair a powerful graphics card with a dual-core processor.

Hard disk storage capacity

The choice of hard drive size depends solely on your needs. You can also install a 4 TB drive if you have something to fill it with. But nowadays you should not buy a system unit with a disk less than 500 GB.

Recently, the configuration of hard drives has become popular, when the operating system and programs are installed on an SSD drive, and various content is stored on a regular hard drive (HDD). This separation allows you to run and use programs at maximum speed and does not hit your pocket hard.

A sufficient amount of SSD disk will be 120-240 GB. This is enough to install the operating system, the necessary programs and even several games.

Devices connected to the system unit

Often, various additional devices are installed in the system unit. Here you decide what you need. Someone may need a DVD drive, and someone no longer uses discs. Useful additions include a card reader and built-in Wi-Fi. But this is all extremely individual.

Preinstalled operating system

The issue with the pre-installed operating system, everyone decides for himself. You can install something free from Linux, you can use the old Windows license (if available), you can buy a ready-made system unit where the Windows operating system will be installed immediately (which is somewhat more expensive) or download and install a pirated version of Windows (at your own peril and risk). ).

In this article I will tell you how to choose a home computer for purposes such as work and study. Beginners very often do not understand at all which component of the computer is responsible for what, what it is needed for and, therefore, they cannot choose the computer themselves. They have to seek advice or buy a computer almost at random, which may turn out, for example, to be too weak for the needs of the user (if they decide to save too much) or, on the contrary, they will overpay a tangible amount for a modern hardware that will never be used for its entire power, because the user needs it for simple tasks, such as surfing the Internet, creating some kind of text document or table, printing something, watching a video and other similar tasks. And in this article, I will just tell you which components and from what price category it is worth purchasing if the computer is used for the simplest office tasks: work and study.

What exactly do I mean when I talk about an office computer? This is a budget version of a computer (you can assemble it somewhere for 15,000 rubles), the performance of which will not be high and will serve for work and study. More specifically, on such a computer you can easily work with office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the like), surf the Internet, watch videos, use simple and “light” (in terms of resource consumption) programs like Skype, online disks, various managers downloads and, in general, everything that does not apply to modern resource-intensive games. In this case, the computer will not work somehow, but will work fast enough! Quite the same, a weak computer that will slow down on modern operating systems (Windows 7, 8) can be assembled for less than 10,000 rubles, but who needs such junk, on which one torment works?
Perhaps the only thing that will be practically impossible on a computer of a regular office configuration is playing modern games. But do you choose a computer for work and study? So you don’t need toys, and if there is a need for someone to play, then you should assemble an expensive gaming computer for 40-50 thousand.

First of all, if you are not completely oriented in the hardware of a computer, I will advise you to figure out which component of the computer serves what, what it looks like, what main characteristics it has. One of my previous articles will help you with this, which I recommend for beginners to read before reading this article! Because just choosing components for assembling a computer almost at random, not understanding at all what, why, and why is not an option ...

In this and subsequent similar article (on assembling a gaming computer), I will cover exactly stationary ones, i.e. home computers, and we'll talk about laptops and netbooks in a separate article:

I note right away that in these articles I will mean exactly the assembly of the system unit with all the necessary components, without taking into account the monitor, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals! We will talk about the choice of various peripheral devices some other time.

Is it worth buying a ready-made system unit?

Firstly, a ready-made, already assembled system unit will always cost many times more!

But here it is worth considering your experience. If you have ever assembled a computer from separate components at least once, then you should not even think about buying an already assembled computer. Why overpay a tangible amount (maybe about 5,000 rubles or more), if you can already assemble a system unit from individual purchased components?

If you are a beginner, you have never even opened this computer box and do not know what and where it is connected, then in this case the easiest way is to buy a ready-made system unit and not bother. Overpay for an already installed operating system (but not always) and, accordingly, for the fact that the computer is already completely ready for work. Most often, everyone has at least one friend who is versed in computers and could help you with the assembly. If you have such an acquaintance / relative / friend, and he will not refuse to help, then of course, it is worth assembling a computer from separate components. Well, in this case, you probably won’t even need this article, because your person will tell you everything :)

Below I will show by example exactly the selection of individual components for the subsequent assembly of the computer! But if you decide to buy a ready-made system unit for work / study, then make sure that it consists of components of approximately the same level and with similar characteristics, which I will discuss below ...

We select components for a budget office computer!

The most convenient way to select components, in my opinion, is through various online stores. For example, for Moscow, these are: Yulmart, Wow! , Citylink . There are also a bunch of others. Look at one of the sites and you will understand what I'm talking about ... In principle, in any city there are similar online stores where it is convenient to choose components according to various parameters. And another very convenient way to pick up components is the Yandex-Market service. Using it, you can, just like in online stores, filter the selected equipment according to various parameters, and then select one of the stores where you currently have what you are looking for.

So, what do we need for a simple inexpensive computer:

Choosing a processor. It's not that hard here. For an office computer, we do not need any fancy processors with 4 or more cores, for example, the Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 lines. These cost decently, for example, Core i7 will cost you about 18,000-20,000 rubles, at least!

Let's dwell on simple processors of the Intel Pentium line. For our requirements, a processor with a frequency of somewhere around 3 GHz (gigahertz) with two cores is quite suitable. This will cost about 4000 rubles.

As an example, Intel Pentium G2030, for 3730 rubles:

You can even take it cheaper with a frequency of 2.5 GHz.

Choosing a motherboard (system) board. First of all, we need to filter out exactly those boards on which we can install the selected processor. The characteristics of the processor always indicate the connector for installation on the motherboard or "Socket" (Socket) in a scientific way. For example, we chose the Intel Pentium G2030 processor and in the characteristics we see that its connector is LGA 1155:

This means that the boards must be chosen such that they support the installation of a processor with such a socket! In addition, it is good if the board has all modern interfaces for connecting devices:

• USB 3.0 - for appropriate flash drives and external hard drives;

  SATA3 - for connecting hard drives and SSDs to the board;

  Support for DDR3 RAM.

Of the top companies, Asus and Gigabyte are considered the most reliable, but the price will certainly be higher. For our own purposes, you can choose one of MSI's motherboards, which are cheaper, but the quality is still on top. For the price, you can freely keep within the region of up to 3000-3500 rubles.

As an example of a suitable board - MSI B75MA-E33, for 3100 rubles:

Suitable for the processor mentioned in the 1st paragraph, there are all modern connectors, expansion slots. In general, what you need.

Choice of RAM. For office tasks, 2 GB of memory is enough with one module (bar). Be sure to check on the characteristics of the motherboard what frequencies of RAM it supports and also build on this when choosing. For example, in paragraph number 2, I showed an example of a motherboard that operates at a number of frequencies, including 1600 MHz. So you can take memory with such a frequency and get something mediocre. We also look for the memory type to be DDR3, because DDR2 is already gradually becoming a thing of the past. Such memory will be quite enough for a simple computer for office tasks. Of the firms, we choose Kingston or Hynix - the most famous on the market.

The motherboard always has at least 2 slots for RAM, which means that later you can buy another memory module and increase the total amount! RAM significantly affects the performance of the computer and if it is not enough, you will immediately feel the slowdown of the entire system.

Here is an example (DIMM DDR3, 2GB, Kingston, KVR16N11S6/2 for 1440 rubles):

Choosing a hard drive. It should be noted right away that when assembling a budget version of a computer, we cannot afford an SSD drive, because they are much more expensive than ordinary HDDs, which we will take. The main characteristic of a hard drive is its capacity. In fact, the choice of a hard drive is an individual matter, because everyone knows how much data he will store on his computer. Someone downloads a whole mountain of movies in good quality, while someone will mainly store installed programs and ordinary office documents. If you fit into the budget of the system unit for 15,000 rubles, then we can hardly afford a disk with a capacity of more than 500 GB. And to be honest, this volume is enough for most, if not greedy. Personally, this would be enough for me!

It would also be nice if the HDD would support the modern SATA3 interface, which has a much higher data transfer rate than the outdated SATA2. When choosing a board, we already took into account that it supports all modern interfaces, so you can take a SATA3 drive. From firms I will advise Seagate and Western Digital. I myself personally buy Seagate drives and consider them the most reliable.

A hard drive with the parameters listed above will cost about 3,500 rubles.

Example: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.12, ST500DM002 for 3370 rubles:

Choosing a case. If we take all the components that I showed in the example, then it has already been spent: 11640 rubles. In total, there is still 3360 rubles to purchase a case and preferably a CD / DVD-ROM, since most users still need to use disks.

The case can be taken directly with the power supply and keep within the region of 2000 rubles. The power supply is suitable for us at 300-400 watts, because our computer is far from powerful. Most of all, a video card is required, but we will use the built-in one, since it is not required for our tasks. When choosing a case, the most important thing for us is its form factor. The form factor determines which motherboard will fit in that case.
The format of mini ATX (mATX) motherboards is very popular now, and the board that I showed in the example in paragraph No. 2 is just such a format (this is always indicated in the characteristics of the board!). The case must be of the same form factor as the motherboard, but you can take it with a margin, for example, an ATX form factor case. The ATX case will fit both a full size large ATX motherboard and its mini ATX form factor board.

If the case is taken immediately with a power supply (it usually turns out cheaper), then you definitely need to make sure that in addition to the appropriate power, the power supply has all the necessary wires to connect to all of our purchased components.

It is necessary that the power supply has the following connectors (pins):

• To connect the motherboard. Requires a 20 or 24 pin connector. You need to look in the characteristics of the motherboard, what kind of connector it has. But if the power supply has a 24-pin, then it can be connected to a 20-pin. In the documentation, such a connector may be called "ATX 20/24 pin";

  Additional power for the processor. The power supply must have a 4-pin square connector, which in the documentation can be designated like this: “CPU 4-pin”;

  For connecting SSD and CD/DVD-ROM hard drives. To connect the power of the listed devices, the SATA connector is currently used. It is desirable that the power supply has at least 2 of them, since we will have a hard drive and a CD / DVD-ROM installed!

The remaining connectors for our assembly are optional.

An example of a description of the connectors that the power supply has:

Connectors must be specified when choosing a case along with a power supply, otherwise it turns out that you buy at random!

An example of a case with a 450-watt power supply for 1966 rubles:

Of course, you should understand that the case cannot be of high quality for such money. There may be poor-quality material and other shortcomings that you notice. But we are currently assembling a budget computer, which means we have to save on something one way or another.

Selecting a CD-DVD drive (drive). For office tasks, and indeed very often many users today need a drive. For example, even for reinstalling Windows, since far from everyone knows how to write the system to flash drives and boot from them. Also, a drive may be needed to install any programs, burn discs with music, movies, games, and so on. In general, today, flash drives have not yet clearly replaced disk drives.

If we take my example, then 1394 rubles are left to choose a drive, which is quite enough.

There are quite a few companies producing high-quality drives, and here are some of them: NEC, Asus, Pioneer, Plexter.

Of the characteristics, you just need to pay attention to the fact that the connector of the selected drive for connecting to the system board is SATA, as well as what types of disks the drive can read and write. To be honest, if you take a drive costing from 1000 rubles, then it is unlikely that it will be unable to read any type of CD or DVD disc. We do not consider Blu-Ray drives, because, firstly, they cost an average of 4,500 rubles, and secondly, they are not needed by a wide range of people in my opinion. For example, I have never needed to burn Blu-Ray discs on a computer, and to read it too.

An example of a selected CD / DVD drive for 1160 rubles:

OK it's all over Now! In the example above, I made a selection of components for a budget computer that will be used for work and study, costing up to 15,000 rubles, and at the same time it will be comfortable to work with.

Why didn't they choose a video and a sound card?

Reading the article, you might have noticed that when I showed you the example of selecting components for a budget office computer, I did not consider the choice of video and sound cards. And you probably ask: "Why?". The fact is that most motherboards already have an integrated (built-in) video card, as well as a sound card (a sound card is built-in, perhaps, in all motherboards today). If the motherboard has an integrated graphics card, then you will see the corresponding connector on the back of the board, which looks like this:

When buying, you, as a rule, will not find the characteristics of an integrated video card. But it's enough to simply understand that such a video card is not designed to run complex graphical applications and, of course, modern games (if only old ones). On the integrated vidyuhi, you can freely work with any documents, with difficulties (slowdowns) work in graphic editors like Abobe Photoshop. But when you try to play some modern games, they will either simply not start at all, or it will be impossible to play them due to terribly low performance. But for a budget computer, an external video card is not needed, because it is not planned to launch games on it, and for everything else, an integrated one will serve quite well!

The presence of an integrated sound card on the board can also be seen from the corresponding connectors on its rear panel:

The built-in sound card is more than enough for the vast majority of users! It is suitable for, perhaps, everything except recording music through connected instruments and other tasks related to professional work with music. For example, if you play an electric guitar and want to connect it to your computer to run related programs, then connecting to the built-in sound card is a bad idea. The quality will be bad. For such purposes, it is recommended to buy an external sound system!.

That's why, when choosing the components of a simple computer for work and study, we did not consider buying a separate video card and sound card :) I hope this is understandable...

Well... After reading this article, you only need to select components of approximately the same level, based on the criteria and characteristics that I gave above, and place an order through any online store (this is the most convenient). It often happens that in one store there are not all the necessary components with certain characteristics, and therefore you have to take it from several stores. But it's not scary at all. After the purchase, all that remains is to fix all the components in the system unit (case) and you're done!

On a computer assembled from approximately the same components that I mentioned above, it will even be possible to run various out-of-date games. Well, if a computer is bought specifically for games (especially all modern ones and preferably with a margin in advance), running very “heavy” graphic applications, or will be used for any other tasks that will require a lot of computer resources, then the assembly will be completely different and cost about 3 times more expensive :) And I will tell you about the selection of components for a gaming computer in one of the following articles:

That's all for now... Good luck! Bye;)