There’s no question that personal computers were built with baseline functionality- all of them can process documents, and to a certain extent, play multimedia and display the same. However, there are significant difference when we think of specific needs of users of personal computers.
A case in point would be the difference between the usage and needs of a professional personal computer gamer and a student. Though there are blurry marks between the two types of individuals, there are none when we think of their personal computers.
Why exactly does a student need a PC anyway? Take into consideration the various activities that your average college student would be doing, so you can easily get how PC functionality matters. For sure, a student needs to be typing and printing a lot of reports, essays, and assignments. More often than not, a PC for a university student is more like a typewriter or word processor.
If the student is in architecture and engineering, there are specific needs, but the computing power remains the same more or less. Often, the student would have thousands of saved files on his or her personal computer, and maybe some software like electronic encyclopedias installed. With this in mind, we are simply talking about space.
Speaking of hard disk space, here are some basic figures for the student: at least 80 GB of space would be good enough, but some coeds would need as much as 300 GB. Now, you also have to consider the processor of the PC, as computing power determines how well the PC can handle the work load it is given. A student would not really need a processor with speeds above 1.5 GHz. In terms of the video card, 512 MB would do for him. However, these figures will have to change if you set your sights on the needs of a gamer.
A gamer is most likely to have a PC for two main reasons: for working and for playing. You can tell that the play aspect will be the one that expects a lot of effort on the part of the PC. Think about it: the PC must process algorithms repeatedly during game time, play sounds and videos, and receive non-stop input from the user.
Speaking of hard disk space, a gamer would need more space that a mere 300 GB, simply because of the software and files that need to be saved. In actuality, hard drives with large disk space can be very expensive, which is why some gamers install more than one hard disk on their PC. There are some games that can consume 5 GB of space or more, jus to have them installed, and when the game is being played, more memory will be needed as well.
When thinking about a processor that is powerful enough for the gamer, the basics simply would not do. Intel Skulltrail is one that is highly recommended for these purposes.
