Which computer specs matter

Some will need a printer. Often the advice will be to get the best PC possible, but they may not get the full benefit if other parts of the system are too compromised. Almost every PC on the market will perform basic tasks such as writing emails and browsing the web.

Most can also do simple photo and video editing, though rendering and other video processing tasks can take a very long time. The problem is not so much the type of task as the resources required by the software and the size of your files. Any PC should be able to handle a one-page letter and post messages on Facebook. Editing page illustrated books or Excel spreadsheets with millions of cells is a different proposition. It makes everyday computing more comfortable, and provides some future-proofing.

Peripherals are peripheral, and replaceable. But this is only worthwhile if the CPU is fast enough to last a few years, when you can replace the PC and keep the peripherals. For example, you can start with 4GB of memory, a traditional hard drive, a cast-off screen and a cheap printer, and improve the system when you can afford new parts. Most desktops can now handle up to 32GB or more memory — check first — and you can replace a slow hard drive with a fast, chip-based SSD.

Short of replacing the motherboard, most desktop PCs are easy to upgrade, once you overcome the fear factor. Monitors have improved a lot in the past decade. Essentially video cards are like separate miniature computers, with processors, RAM and architecture all of their own, and the same performance factors apply.

For the non-expert, there are a couple of useful shortcuts to working out how powerful a graphics setup is without having to pour over the specs in too much detail: how much it costs and the benchmarks reported on the web. Random Access Memory or RAM gives your computer room to think, and the more of it the better, as long as you can afford it.

If the RAM gets overloaded, your computer sometimes stores data it needs on the slower hard drive instead, which is one reason more RAM equals a speedier experience. Clock speeds appear again, usually in terms of a frequency rate, which help to determine how fast the RAM can read and write data as well as how much data the RAM can handle at once its overall transfer rate.

Will it actually boot?! Happy building! All rights reserved. Neither Crucial nor Micron Technology, Inc. Micron, the Micron logo, Crucial, and the Crucial logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Find a product Part no. Your search did not match any active Crucial part numbers or configuration IDs. Find articles and site content Enter keywords. The Best Computer Specs for Gaming. Best specs and performance. Stepping back a generation, however, Intel has an edge in gaming. Most modern games are getting better at utilizing multiple cores at once. For a deeper dive into the best bang-for-your-buck CPUs, check our out in-depth guide.

Model numbers tell you much of the story here, with higher numbered cards typically meaning more performance, though there are some caveats there, and overclocked models from third-party GPU partners can close performance gaps between versions. If you want to game at p at decent frame rates, you need something more powerful like the RTX or RX from the last generation.

One often confusing element of graphics cards is video memory or VRAM. You may find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different VRAM amounts. More VRAM does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but it does allow a video card to better handle certain visual features and is a must for higher resolutions.

Though once a great choice for high-end gaming, today, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential. The current list of games supporting ray tracing is minimal at best, with support for additional titles in the future expanding, but still far from expansive. For more tips on GPU buying, check out our guide to the best graphics cards. A good baseline for modern gaming systems is 16GB, especially with how far prices have dropped in recent months.

After all, memory is one of the easiest things to upgrade later — and one of the most affordable. That said, additional memory beyond 16GB merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 16GB should instead be put toward a component that has a bigger impact on performance.

Everything running on your PC requires memory, from the operating system to your mouse and keyboard drivers. This is why developers recommend higher amounts so your PC has room to breathe while the game remains active. One final note about memory: Make sure your configuration comes with at least two sticks. Two sticks will allow you to take advantage of dual-channel memory on most motherboards, which effectively doubles the data transfer speed versus a single stick.

A GB SSD is enough to store Windows and most of your games and it will make a huge difference to how your PC feels, as well as how fast your games load. With a decent SSD under the hood, Windows should boot and be ready to use in under 30 seconds. Games that take a minute to load on a hard drive should be done in 10 to 20 seconds on an SSD.