RAM, or random access memory, is a very important factor in purchasing a new PC. RAM is vital to a PC. RAM gives the PC a place to load programs for quick access. All open programs will be placed into RAM. The more RAM you can afford, the better. If you do not have enough RAM installed on your PC, your OS will resort to swapping, using free space on your hard drive as temporary memory. Right now, two gigabytes of RAM will see you through most of your needs. If you can afford to go for three gigabytes of RAM, you should do so. You can buy RAM from other sites on the internet for a lot less than your PC manufacturer will charge. If you do not feel comfortable opening your machine and placing new RAM inside, get the most you can afford now.

Storage space is also important when it comes to choosing a PC. Hard disks are pretty cheap now, so you can get a lot for the money. If you will be doing video editing, it's a good idea to invest in two hard drives. They can both be inside the computer, or you can have one internal hard drive and one external. The more storage space you have free, the more room you have. Storage gets used up more quickly than most people anticipate, so keep that in mind when buying a PC. The best bet is to buy as big a hard drive as your budget will allow. New computers are being sold with 120 gigabytes of hard disk space. Go for more if you can afford to.

Video and audio cards are another topic to keep in mind. Gamers will be spending a lot of money on video cards. Everyone else will want a video card with a lot of memory on board. Video cards have their own RAM chips; the bigger this number, the better. Also important is getting a video card that is not integrated into the motherboard. Integrated cards are part of the motherboard; they use the RAM on your machine. If you can afford to upgrade to a separate video card, do it. Separate video cards will have their own RAM chips. The minimum to consider is 128MB of RAM, but go higher if possible.

Most new computers will have the audio card integrated. This is an issue only if you plan to do audio mixing or need surround sound. Some manufacturers allow you to upgrade the audio card to a better one with surround sound. Those of you who need high-quality sound should go for a separate audio card.