Desktop Decisions Part 4: Operating System (OS), Video Card, and DVD Drives

Now that we have chosen the RAM and hard drive, now comes the operating system.  Most companies only offer Windows Vista now, but sometimes you will see Windows XP available for an additional charge.  In reality, you are getting both Vista and XP, but the computer comes with XP installed.  For basic home use, I would suggest either Vista Home Premium or Vista Busniess.  If you really want it all, you can go with Vista Ultimate, but its not going to be cheap.  The next thing to decide is whether to go 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64).  I would recommend staying with the 32-bit version because most programs are designed to run in a 32-bit environment, and some programs dont actually run in a 64-bit environment.  So, stay with the 32-bit.

Next comes the video card. Now, if you are just doing basic internet browsing, checking and writing emails, typing up documents, etc., then you can use an on-board video card (if offered). These cards are built into the motherboard and arent very powerful.  It provides basic visual support.  But, if youre going to be editing movies or your son is going to be playing computer games, Id suggest getting the dedicated video card.  The two types youll encounter are ATI and nVIDIA.  Either company is fine, they are both good products.  I prefer nVIDIA, but it doesnt matter; its just personal preferance.

The drives are the next on the list.  I would recommend getting a DVD-RW as well as a DVD-R/CD-RW.  This means you will have two drives, which is helpful when making copies of CDs, whether it be data, pictures, etc. If you have the extra cash, I would definitely suggest putting in a Blu-Ray reader or writer.  This will allow your computer to play Blu-Ray movies as well as read Blu-Ray disks, which hold more than 35x more data than CDs and 5x more data than DVDs.