After reading this guide, you will know how to choose a reliable and efficient computer according to your needs, even if you know nothing about computers! Mac or PC, computer or laptop, which brand of PC to choose, what are the important components of a computer, the pitfalls to avoid when buying a computer, … you will know everything!

I’ve seen too many people buy a PC at a discount that they had to change after 1 year because it was so slow and annoying. My goal is to take the frustration out of you and help you spend your money wisely when buying a computer…

If you’re tired of being fooled by unscrupulous salespeople or tired of not understanding anything when you walk into a computer store to buy a computer, this article is for you. It was not written for specialists or to spread my knowledge. I share all the tips for choosing a good computer

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When buying a computer, the most important thing is to know what you are going to do with it. The answer to this question will have an influence on the price, the type of computer (desktop or laptop), and the power you will need.

How will you use your computer?

In which category(ies) do you fall?

A Mac can perform the same tasks as a PC. Mac OS and Windows are great operating systems, and at the risk of shaking a widely held myth, a Mac doesn’t always cost more than a PC of equal configuration and in certain cases.

Here are some objective criteria to help you decide between a Mac or a PC:

In summary, a Mac is no better than a PC and the reverse is also true. It all depends on how you use your computer and what you value. Choosing between a PC and a Mac is a matter of trade-offs and preferences. Keep in mind that statistically, Windows is widely used more than Mac OS in the world (source: Wikipedia).

The choice between a desktop PC or a laptop once again depends on your needs. To help you choose, here are the main advantages of one over the other.

For games, I recommend that you opt for a desktop computer. A laptop made for games is very expensive and it will in any case be less powerful than a fixed computer with the same configuration. If you persist, you will have to go to Asus, MSI or Dell Alienware to find portable configurations really designed for gamers.

The performance of a computer depends on the following four components:

These are the elements that you absolutely must take into account when buying a computer. For a laptop, you will also need to consider its weight and battery life.

To help you make the right choice, I will briefly explain what these components correspond to and how to choose them.

The processor is the brain of a computer. There are two major processor brands: AMD and Intel. To put it simply, here are the series to be preferred.

Finally, always favor the latest generation of the series that you will remember (better performance), especially if you buy a laptop (better autonomy). To find out what the current processor generation is, see this page for Intel and this page for AMD. Branded computers almost always contain older generation processors…

Here is a graphics card installed on a motherboard of a fixed computer.

Here are the two things you need to know before making your choice:

These three factors combined make it possible to choose a high-performance graphics card:

If in doubt, these sites will help you make your choice:

At the brand level, MSI and Asus are solid references in the field of graphics cards. If you are looking for a silent graphics card, I recommend MSI

On the left, a mechanical hard disk drive (HDD). On the right, an SDD.

The hard disk is where the contents of your computer are stored: your documents, music, photos, videos, programs, etc. It is therefore important to choose a sufficiently large and fast storage space. There are two types of storage: mechanical hard drives and solid-state drives.

On a fixed computer, the ideal is to have an SSD disk (minimum 512 GB) to store the operating system and a mechanical hard disk (minimum 2 TB) to store its documents personal. On a laptop, I recommend you go for a 1TB SSD drive, and if needed, expand your laptop’s storage space with an external hard drive.

Here are four memory modules installed on a motherboard of a fixed computer.

When making your choice, you should pay attention to the following three elements:

The following indications should allow you to choose a computer or laptop suitable for playing recent video games in good conditions. Such a setup is also suitable for editing 4K video and performing demanding tasks:

If you want to play in good conditions on a Mac, you will always have to order it online in order to be able to personalize your configuration and choose a dedicated graphics card for drinking. This will drastically increase the price of your beast, but unfortunately it is the price to pay to play on a Mac in acceptable conditions. Compare Macs

The following guidelines should help you choose a computer or laptop suitable for surfing the Internet, writing letters, managing your emails and watching movies. Such a configuration also makes it possible to edit videos in Full HD (1920*1080) and to process images in good conditions:

Cheap is often expensive in computers, but here are some guidelines that should allow you to buy a decent and inexpensive computer. Don’t expect to play recent games or edit 4K videos with this configuration, however. It will be sufficient to do office automation in good conditions.

A branded PC is a computer assembled by a manufacturer. That is to say that in principle you will not be able to customize its configuration when purchasing it. Either you like it as it is or you don’t. A assembled PC is a computer assembled by yourself or a specialized company, which gives the advantage of being able to choose its components freely from the start.

If you want to buy a Mac, this question does not arise and you can only buy a Mac from the official Apple website, an Apple Store or an authorized reseller.

If you opt for a PC equipped with Windows or Linux, the choice is more open. Large surfaces (Fnac, M Eltronics, InterDiscount, Fust, Manor, Media Markt, etc.) generally only sell branded PCs. If you opt for a branded PC, choose the following brands:

To buy a mounted PC, it will be necessary to go through a specialized store:

Computers exist for ridiculously low prices, but don’t be fooled: these computers are slow, unreliable, and often outdated. They will irritate you and quickly end up in the dump (because no one around you will want them). You’ll be buying a cheap new computer every year…

If you know what you will do with your computer, spend the right price on your computer and you will be happy with it for 5 years. If you’re buying a Mac, don’t save $200 for an option that’s important to you (like more storage), because then you can’t go back. Think it over and do the right math. The cheap is often much more expensive than a thoughtful investment from the start.

When buying a computer, also consider the following:

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types of computers that don’t need cables