Why Buy an Upgraded Home PC?

Basic economy PCs can run simple programs and access online content; but quite often, home use extends beyond the basics. Many people also want to edit their home movies and photos, download music and movies or burn DVDs of their family slide shows. Low–end, entry–level systems are often not equipped to run such demanding applications. However, with a few upgrades, these systems can run popular programs and are ready to use out of the box with a monitor, speakers, printer and DVD burner.

What can a good home PC do?

• Home Office/Production: With a functional home PC, you can manage your finances or run your home business. These systems can easily run programs like Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, Quicken and TurboTax.
• Multimedia: Since digital cameras and camcorders are becoming extremely popular, many people need a computer that can store images and run editing programs. If you have 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and a DVD burner, you can run popular editing programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements, Dexster Audio, PowerDirector or publishing programs like Art Explosion Publisher Pro, Print Shop Pro or WinWay Resume.
• Gaming: Many home computers are used for gaming. With a decent 128MB graphics card and 1GB of RAM, you can play most games. These systems can, without difficulty, run online flash games, most DVD games and many MMORPGs. However, if you are really into gaming, we suggest at least a 256MB graphics card.
• Security: Often security software runs alongside other programs, this often tasks the system and makes other programs run slowly. But with a good processor and at least 1GB of RAM, security programs like BitDefender, Spysweeper or ContentProtect can run behind your programs unnoticed.

There are a few things an upgraded economy PC cannot do, such as run multiple complex programs at once. You won’t be able to run a video editor, an audio editor, record streaming video, burn a DVD and play a game simultaneously. If you are a multi–tasker or want to edit large volumes of video, you may want to look at our Multimedia PC Review. If you are a gamer, see our Gaming PC Review, or if you are interested in a PC to hook up to your home entertainment center, see our Media Center Review.

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There are three things to consider before purchasing a home PC. First, you will need to decide what kind of programs you want to run, second, choose what components are needed to run those programs and third, how much you want to spend.

For the purpose of this review, we upgraded entry–level systems to include everything needed to have a great out–of–the–box package that can run popular programs like photo, audio and home movie editing. These systems can also easily access online content like news, Internet radio and streaming video, and can handle common production applications like Word and Excel effortlessly.

To assemble practical home PC systems we upgraded the RAM to at least 1 GB, the hard drive to at least 160 GB and added peripherals like a monitor, speakers, DVD burner, printer and card reader to complete a functional and capable package.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate Home PC packages:

• Processor: A fast CPU, or processor, will run productivity software smoothly. Some systems have dual core processors that allow you to run multiple programs at one time without sacrificing performance.
• Memory: Large amounts of memory will allow the computer to quickly access frequently used information or programs. This is important for home users who use their computers for a variety of tasks. A home PC should have at least 1GB of RAM and sufficient hard drive space.
• Video/Audio: The graphics and audio are secondary to the processor, memory and I/O devices in a home computer. Most home PCs have integrated audio, which is sufficient for home use.
• I/O Device: Home computers should come with various peripherals including a mouse, keyboard, speakers and a monitor. We added DVD burners, media card readers and printers to the systems in this review.
• Value/Price: For this review, we looked at computers under $1,300. Home computers will vary in price depending on the software, peripherals, and components. The leading companies are value oriented - providing lots of power for a good price.
• Support/Warranty: The first–class manufacturers provide quality help and support through email, phone and online chat. They also provide up to three-year warranties at no additional cost.