Home Computer Review

Why Buy a Home Computer?

Having a computer in the home is almost a necessity nowadays. Your home computer serves the purposes of a file cabinet, music player, internet portal, homework station, photo archive, entertainment center – and the list goes on. A desktop computer is the ideal choice for a stationary home computer because it offers the most ergonomic solution and the most features for the best price. Desktops offer disc drives, a whole lot of memory and storage space, plenty of ports and room to expand your hardware when you want to upgrade. They're also easy to set up and run right out of the box.

As mentioned, your home computer should do a lot for you. First, it should cover your home office needs. This means you will be able to manage your finances as well as run office programs such as Word, Excel, Quicken and even TurboTax when that time of year rolls around. Second, it should be useful for multimedia purposes. With the increase of digital media, you will need a place to store your images, home videos and music. And with the right software, and a good machine, you can do all your own editing without needing to pay for a pro.

Some people also want to play resource-intensive games on their computer. There are computers out there designed specifically for gaming, but if you don't need a machine that specialized, you should at least have something that lets you play your online games or even some MMORPGs. And as with all systems, if you are planning on being online, you should have good security software to protect your machine and your information. Security software can bog down any machine, so having enough RAM will make all the difference.

We've researched and written reviews on the best home computers and articles on desktop computers so you will be able to make an informed decision. The computers we found to be the best include the Dell Studio XPS 7100, Acer Predator G3 and Dell XPS 8300.

Home Computers: What to Look For

Sometimes looking for the best computer can be a headache, especially with all the different hardware specs you need to consider. You don't want to pick the wrong desktop computer or you'll just end up with an expensive paperweight. Here are the criteria we used to find the products that meet our standards and give you the most for your money.

Performance
There are several factors that affect the performance of a home computer. The first factor is the random access memory. The more RAM you have, the easier applications run. We also looked at hard drive size, which will determine how much data you can store on the machine before needing an external hard drive. A fast CPU, or processor, will run software smoothly. Some systems have dual-core processors that allow you to run multiple programs at one time without sacrificing performance. The graphics and audio are secondary to the processor and memory. Most desktop computers have integrated audio, which is sufficient for home use.

Feature Set
This includes everything from the operating system to the disc drives. We also looked at whether each machine is Wi-Fi enabled so you can take advantage of wireless internet. Then we compared the number of ports and hook-ups on each system. You'll want to know that there are enough USB ports, memory card readers and so on to connect all the peripheral devices you need to tether to your computer.

Design
Sometimes the physical design is what really makes the difference. If you have a limited amount of space or don't want to repeatedly move something heavy, you will want to pay particular attention to the dimensions of the desktop computer so you don't purchase something that will later become a hassle.

Support
The first-class manufacturers provide quality help and support through email, phone and online chat. They also provide warranties at no additional cost. Nothing is worse than being without warranty coverage and technical support should you encounter a problem.

With the world growing more digital every day, having a home computer that meets your growing needs is a must. We make sure the systems we review will keep you connected, store your electronic files and even keep you entertained.

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Dell Studio XPS 7100 Acer Predator G3 Dell XPS 8300 Dell Studio XPS 9100 Gateway DX4850 HP Pavilion HPE h8m Gateway SX2855 Acer Aspire M3 Apple iMac Asus Essentio CM5675
Dell Studio XPS 7100 Acer Predator G3 Dell XPS 8300 Dell Studio XPS 9100 Gateway DX4850 HP Pavilion HPE h8m Gateway SX2855 Acer Aspire M3 Apple iMac Asus Essentio CM5675
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Overall Rating
Ratings
Performance
Feature Set
Design
Support
 
Performance
RAM 8GB 6GB 6GB 6GB 6GB 8GB 6GB 4GB 4GB 8GB
Hard Drive 1500GB 1TB 1000GB 1000GB 1TB 1.5TB 1.5TB 1TB 500GB 1TB
Processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Intel Core i5-2300 Intel Core i5-2310 Intel Core i7-930 Intel i5-2300 quad core AMD Phenom X4 960T quad-core Intel Core i3 AMD Athlon II X4 645 quad-core Intel Core i5 quad-core Intel Core i5
CPU Speed 2.8GHz 2.8GHz 2.9GHz 2.8GHz 2.8GHz 2.9GHz 2.6GHz 3.1GHz 2.8GHz 2.8GHz
Clock Rate 1333MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz 1066MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz 1333MHz
Video Card AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB GeForce GT 520 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB NVIDIA GeForce G310 512MB Intel HD 2000 AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB Intel HD 2000 IntelĀ® GMA X4500 AMD Radeon HD 6750M 512MB Intel HD 1759MB shared
Feature Set
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium OS X Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Wireless Optional
Optional Optional
Optional
 
Memory Card Reader
 
USB Ports 8 10 8 8 10 6 9 10 4 10
Optical Drive Blu-ray Disc Combo 16x DVD Writer 16x CD/DVD burner 16x CD/DVD burner Blu-ray Reader/DVD-Writer 16x SuperMulti DVD Burner DVD-Writer DVD Writer 8x DVD SuperDrive DVDRW
Design
Depth (in) 17.90 19.19 17.9 20.78 15.82 16.22 13.86 16.5 7.42 16.1
Height (in) 16.02 16.46 16.05 19.4 14.92 16.34 10.08 15.2 17.75 15.9
Width (in) 7.31 7.09 7.31 7.79 7.09 6.88 3.94 7.10 20.8 6.7
Weight (lb) 22.4 28.9 22.4 40 25 23 18.3 35.27 20.5 24
Support
Phone
Costs Extra
Costs Extra Costs Extra Costs Extra Costs Extra Costs Extra
Live Chat
  Costs Extra  
Email
  Costs Extra
User Forums
 
  
 
Warranty 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 90 Days