Desktops Buying Guide

Monitor

Do you want a less expensive but bulky CRT or a sleek LCD?

The original CRT (cathode ray tube) technology was invented more than 100 years ago and has been greatly refined since. Inside a colour CRT, three electron guns shoot streams of electrons at the screen. A mask blocks the electrons so that the beam from one gun hits only red phosphor dots on the screen, just as the beams from the other guns only hit green or blue phosphors. By controlling the position of the beams and how fast they turn on and off, a CRT can create pixels of varying sizes, so it can produce different-resolution images with little loss of image quality.

Although they're big and boxy, CRTs are inexpensive -- and indispensable for some computing tasks such as video-editing and gaming. They generally have good colour rendition and cope well with moving images, but sharpness and geometric distortion can be problems. They also flicker if the refresh rate is too low.

LCDs, or liquid-crystal displays (also called flat panels or flat screens), are thin sandwiches of glass containing a liquid-crystal material. When exposed to electric current, the molecules of liquid-crystal material change their alignment to either transmit or block light, which ultimately creates an image. Each pixel is composed (in most cases) of red, green, and blue subpixels.

LCD monitors cost more than same-size, old-school CRTs, but they offer a few significant advantages. They are thin, stylish and relatively light. They give a crisp, geometrically perfect image, but can have problems with colour rendition and smearing of moving images. LCD monitors are also more energy efficient than CRTs.

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Speakers

For basic audio, you'll need to choose a monitor with integrated stereo speakers or a cheap two-piece set. If you have any appreciation for music, look for a 2.1 set at the very least. The number 2.1 refers to the two satellite speakers and the one subwoofer. If DVDs are your thing, a 5.1 (or better) set will give you surround sound.

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Keyboard and mouse

The wireless revolution has spread to keyboards and mice. Now you can find wireless varieties of each, often powered by rechargeable batteries. They obviously cut down on the dreaded mess of wires that can entangle your desktop, and they also give you more freedom of movement than their wired counterparts. For living-room computing with a Media Center PC, for example, a wireless keyboard-and-mouse tandem makes a lot of sense, because you can sit back from the PC (say, parked on your sofa) and still view photos, play music or surf the Web.

Many keyboards come with shortcut keys for office or multimedia apps. This editor, for one, couldn't live without the dedicated cut, copy and paste buttons on the Microsoft Office keyboard he's typing on right now. Other common shortcut keys you'll find can be used to play a CD, jump from one app to the next or simply open your favorite apps with one-button ease. The best part is, in most cases, you can programme the keys to best suit your needs.

Mouse functionality these days goes far beyond mere right and left clicks. A scrollwheel has become a necessity for comfortable Web scrolling. Buttons hidden on the side where your thumb rests often let you jump forward and backward between Web pages. A more important development over the years has been the optical mouse replacing its roller-ball forebear. An optical mouse offers better accuracy and won't get all gunked up with dust and dirt.

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Printers

Many vendors offer a discount on a printer when you choose to bundle it with your PC. And in some cases, companies will throw one in for free. A colour inkjet offers versatility, although you may prefer a personal laser printer if you're producing large volumes of documents.

Inkjet printers have come a long way in the last ten years. Today's versatile inkjets can produce both crisp text and rich photo prints. Most manufacturers offer both general-purpose and photo inkjet printers, which shouldn't be confused with snapshot or photo printers designed for only 100x150mm or smaller prints.

Inkjets print an image by applying a precisely controlled stream of tiny ink droplets from one or more cartridges to coated paper. Each manufacturer uses slightly different techniques, and the size of the droplets and the way they are applied to the paper determine the image quality. Unfortunately, the process is relatively slow compared to that of laser printing -- and the ink cartridges and the special papers can be costly -- so inkjets are best suited for home users and small businesses with light printing needs.

Though the technology has been around for years (HP introduced its first LaserJet in 1984), laser printers are still going strong because they combine fast print speeds, sharp output, and a low cost per page. Like copiers, laser printers use a photographic drum to attract electrically charged toner and transfer it to paper, where the image is fused using a heated roller. The vast majority of laser printers are monochrome (black and white), and they are best suited for printing text and simple graphics. Until recently colour laser printers were too expensive for individuals or small businesses, but there are now several models for less than £500, and these could soon become viable alternatives to colour inkjets.

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