Computing guides and advice

Looking for a new computer? Whether you are a student, gamer, or professional on the go, here are all the things to look for when choosing your new computer. From power to portability, find a laptop that meets your social, gaming, and work needs

Whether you're just getting started or want to level up your gaming set-up, here's a guide to help you make the best choice. From gaming desktop towers to laptops, and graphic cards, to processors, here are all the products designed specifically with gamers in mind.

If you are spending a lot of time at your desk, it's important to maintain the right posture. Many monitors are adjustable, meaning you can change the angle and height for your comfort. Ideally, your eyes should be at level with the top of the monitor, with your back and neck straight and not hunched over.

The size of screen depends on a couple of things; how big your desk is and the kind of tasks your're going to be performing. A larger screen will be of benefit if you work with large spreadsheets or image and video applications like Photoshop. Bigger screens can also make it easier to multi-task, as you can have more tabs open on screen at one time. 

Similar to a TV, the higher resolution a monitor has, the better the picture will be. Standard HD (1920x1080) is likely to be sufficient for most home workers, while gamers and those who work with video and image applications may want to invest in a crystal clear 4K screen.

Some monitors have speakers built in. While a laptop may have built-in speakers, desktop users are likely to be without an audio output - so having a monitor with speakers will save you having to purchase separate speakers.

The most commonly used operating system, and likely the one you are most familiar with. It's compatible with a large number of laptop and PC brands.

Why it's great:

• Easy to use.
• Optimised for gaming.
• Lots of easy to download apps and games from the Microsoft store.

Things to note:

• Compatible with popular Microsoft Office apps, such as Word and Excel, but the subscription for these may need to be purchased separately.

Found exclusively on Apple products, this is a fast, powerful and protected operating system, which is easy to sync up with other Apple devices you may own.

Why it's great:

• Ideal for multi-tasking.
• Built-in privacy features and security.
• Lots of easy to download apps from the Apple App store.

Things to note:

• App availability is limited in comparison to Windows and Chrome OS.

Exclusive to Chromebooks, this is a speedy, simple and secure operating system built by Google. Log into your Google account to sync Chrome across your devices.

Why it's great:

• Built in virus-protection.
• Up to 12 hours of battery life.
• Lots of easy to download apps from the Google Play store.

Things to note:

• Before you buy software, you'll need to make sure it's compatible with Chrome OS.

Ideal for home use, they're great for multi-functional printing, be it documents, homework, tickets etc. They can also be quite compact, making them a great choice if space is at a premium.

Ink costs

• Cartridges are cheaper to buy up front, but you get less prints per cartridge.
• They may require several colour cartridges, depending on the printer.

Ideal for home office and business use, they're great for printing documents at speed, especially if they are black and white. Their large printing components mean they tend to take up more space.

Ink costs

• Cartridges are more expensive up front, but you get more prints per cartridge.
• Needs a black toner and colour toner to work (black and white only models are available).

These combine a scanner, photocopier and printer in one unit (some even include a fax machine). They're available in both inkjet and laser printer varieties.

The only way to get photo-quality prints is with a dedicated photo printer. These use additional colour cartridges to produce more colour detail.

Almost all printers can be easily connected to a desktop or laptop computer using Wi-Fi. You can also connect via USB if you prefer.

To connect with a network, your printer will need an ethernet port.

Most printer manufacturers offer apps you can install on your mobile devices so you can print from them directly.

Many printers are also compatible with Apple Airprint (for Apple devices) and Google Cloud Print (for Android devices).

SD or Secure Digital cards are the most popular type of memory card format available. Their compact size and excellent transfer speed make them ideal for small portable devices, such as tablets and mobile phones.

There are 3 main types of SD media - SDHC, SDXC and microSD.

• SDXC cards have a higher capacity than SDHC cards.
• MicroSD cards are smaller versions (in physical size) of SDHC and SDXC cards.

USB flash drives are great for storing smaller files like documents, photos and videos. You can get a 3.0 or 2.0 version. This refers to the speed of the USB interface of your device. Devices with USB 3.0 will transfer files faster than 2.0, but before you buy, make sure your device's port supports USB 3.0 or you won't see the benefit.

Portable hard drives are a great way to store important documents, photos, videos and other files off your PC, laptop or gaming console. They tend to be lightweight and small in size making them easy to move, use and store away.
They range in capacity from the smaller 500GB and under, to the larger 1-2TB. And for those of you who need it, there are also some even bigger portable hard drives, that offer over 3TB of storage.

This generally depends on what you are planning to do. If you are planning to play games or store a lot of photos or videos, then a larger hard drive is what you'll need. For general use and document storage, hard drives under 500GB should be more than sufficient.

Here are the average sizes you would need for different content:

• Music - 80 - 120GB
• Software - 120 - 320GB
• Videos - 320GB - 1TB
• Gaming - 512GB - 2TB
• 4K or HD videos - 1TB+

A solid state drive (or SSD) uses flash memory to store data. Think of them as simply a large version of a USB drive, as they use the same base technology.

What they're great for

• They have good energy efficiency.
• Fast loading times for games, films and other software.
• They're lightweight and durable, so more likely to withstand being dropped or moved.

Hard disk drives (or HDD) are the most well-known hard drives. They use internal, magnetic spinning disks (sometimes known as platters) to read and write data.

What they're great for

• They have much larger storage options.
• They’re more widely available and tend to be lower in price.
• They have long lifespans so, if looked after, they won’t need replacing as often.

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