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Software

Where It All Begins

Once you've answered the question, 'What do you want to do?' make a list of everyone's expectations, and keep it handy while you browse through the vast selection of software titles available both online.

Amazing new software programs enter the market every day. These new programs are more robust, fun and easier to learn and use than ever before, but they often demand higher hardware requirements than current software.

Each software programs lists both minimum and suggested hardware and memory requirements. When selecting a new computer system, it's wise to accommodate or exceed the software manufacturer's suggested requirements - if your computer's equipment and memory capabilities meet only the minimum requirements of the programs you want to use, the programs will not run at optimum performance.

Software can be generally categorized into operating systems, games, digital imaging and music, business software, and internet applications.

Windows is by far the most popular operating system, and all PCs sold at other stores are bundled with Windows pre-loaded and ready to go. Sometimes you may have operating system that is not used and you may want to consider purchasing computer without operating system and installing operating system yourself.

Games can be very demanding on computer hardware and memory. If you plan to play advanced games on your computer, look for the fastest processor and a good graphics card.

If you want to store and share all your favorite photo and music files, look for a large hard drive and CD burner.

If it's business software you'll be installing, opt for a large amount of RAM, which will allow you to multi-task without running into memory problems.

Internet applications work best with a large hard drive, lots of RAM and a fast modem. Another way to be ready for fast Internet access is to make sure your new system has a built-in network interface card.