A techs guide to holiday PC shopping

With the holidays here and the gift giving season upon us once more, tech gifts are constantly a popular item. From gaming consoles, gadgets, to computers, there's a lot out there. But when it comes to computers it can be confusing with knowing what's good and what's not. So let me help with that!

And remember to fill out the questionnaire at the end for a chance to win a free treat at Tandem Bagel!

These are the specs your looking for.

Raise your hand if you've been looking at buying a laptop, desktop, or even a chromebook, seen this and wonder if you just had a stroke or are you, in fact, reading another language?

Standing screen display size - 15.6 Inches
Max Screen Resolution - 1920 x 1080 Pixels
CPU - 2.4 GHz core_i5
RAM - 32 GB DDR4
Memory Speed - 3.6 GHz
Hard Drive - 1 TB SSD
Graphics Coprocessor - Intel Iris Xe Graphics

You likely were able to understand some of that, and that was just a snippet mind you, but by and large it can be confusing to know what to look for, and what determines a good machine. Are you getting value for what you are paying for? I'll break down the most important things and what they mean for you in using a computer. Hopefully this can help you narrow down what to buy.

"Wh-what is a gigglebit??"

CPU - Or Central Processing Unit. It's your processor, and there are two major brands here; Intel and AMD. Both are good, it's like Apple and Microsoft, some people swear by one over the other. The brand I would say is less important than the speed and processor count.
CPU Speed - Measured in GHz (gigahertz) the speed determines how fast your CPU is. When shopping for a computer you want CPU speeds from 2.5 to 5 depending on what you're getting. Laptops? 2.5-3, desktops 4.5-5 or more.
Processor Count - When you see this it'll be a flat number like 2 or 5. This is referring to the amount of cores in a CPU. Bottom line? More cores is better. Laptops with 2 or 3 is great, desktops will want 3 or 4. More than that is going to be for your gamers.

RAM - a.k.a Random Access Memory. Simply put, the more RAM, the better. 4 is outdated, 8 is standard. Once upon a time RAM was also called SDRAM, where the SD stood for single data rate, over time double data rate took its place and is now called DDR. So when you see RAM listed in a spec sheet it'll say something like "8 GB DDR4" That is saying the computer has 8 gigabytes of DDR RAM, that is in the 4th generation. The most current generation is 5, so if you see DDR5 that's REAL good. But DDR4 is still widely in use.

HDD/SSD - It's your hard drive! HDD is the older version of a hard drive and what you picture in your heard when you think of a hard drive, looks like this. HDD stands for hard disk drive and there was a literal disc in there that data was written to. SSD, or solid-state drive has no disk, it's all digital. SSD is significantly faster than the older HDD's.

GPU - This is your video card, or graphics processing unit. For most people, the on-board GPU is more than enough, especially in laptops. On board meaning the GPU chip is pre-installed onto the motherboard. But the GPU really starts to matter when you're looking to buy something for the gamers in your family. On board GPU's are going to be the same brand as the CPU, so if you have an Intel processor, the GPU is going to be an Intel. But brand names like Nvidia and AMD will be found in your more powerful computers.

Flash Memory - You want this high, usually 256gbs. Flash memory works in tandem with SSD hard drives and is memory that is stored even when the device is turned off.

Shopping Cheat Sheet:

For School

CPU: Intel i3 or i5, or AMD Ryzen 3, or Ryzen 5
CPU count: 2-4
RAM: 8GBs DDR4
Hard Drive: 256GB SSD
GPU: On-Board GPU
Flash Memory: 256GB

At Home

CPU: Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5
CPU count: 4
RAM: 8GBS or more DDR4
Hard Drive: 1TB SSD (or more for more space)
GPU: On-Board GPU
Flash Memory: 256GB

Gaming

CPU: Intel i5, i7, i9 or AMD Ryzen 5, 7, 9
CPU Count: 6 or 8
RAM: 8GB, 16GB DDR4 (or DDR5 if you can find it)
Hard Drive: 256GB or more SSD***
GPU: Nvidia RTX30 series (RTX3080, 3070, 3060 etc.) or AMD Radeon RX 6000 series
Flash Memory: 512GB

*** The hard drive situation for gaming is tricky. Moderns games are huge and eat up a lot of space. The newest Call of Duty: Warzone's minimum requirement is 125Gbs of hard drive space. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is 75Gbs. I strongly recommend having an external hard drive that's larger just for games. That or look for a gaming laptop with more than 256GBs

Tech Gadgets worth taking a look at

As with every year, we get a slew a gadgets n' things and it can be a pain in the ass parsing through what is actually good and what is just sub-par with a lot of hype. Here are some things that I have on my own Christmas list!

Google Pixel Buds Pro - $149.99 : I own the first generation of these and loved them. Apparently they took all the good stuff from the first generation and made them better. Widely reviewed with positivity, these Bluetooth headphones work best with Android devices but can work with anything.

Wyze Smart Plug - $13.99 & 27.98 : With so many things becoming automated with Alexa and Google home, from lights to thermostats, the Wyze Smart Plug lets you integrate older pluggable stuff into that environment. I have some smart bulbs where I can control the brightness and color from my phone. These plugs would let me also include some older lamps into the mix.

Steam Deck by Valve - starts at $399 - This one is on the pricier side, I know. But for the kid (or adult) that's been REALLY good this year, and is a gamer, this thing is awesooome. Steam is a platform that houses a library of games from publishers and is used by PC gamers. The Steam Deck allows you to play any of your PC games, on the go.

Follow my advice and this is what you're loved ones will be saying!

Other things to consider!

In addition to those things listed above these items I feel like would be gifts.

Portable Speakers: Brands like Ultimate Ears with their Boom 3, Sonos, and JBL all make solid products. I have owned JBL and the older Boom series and loved them.
Smart Bird Feeders: For the ornithologist in your life, or if ya just like looking at the tiny adorable wildlife in your backyard these things are so cool. But beware, some of these can be really crappy so make sure you research. A friend of mine has the Netvue brand and it works well.
Smart Tech: Like the Wyze Smart Plug there's a whole bunch of smart devices that may seem silly, but once you get them setup into the routine of your life, they can be pretty incredible. Smart bulbs, smart thermostats, doorbells and even things like the Ember Smart Mug can provide efficiency, security and comfort.

Happy Holidays and a happy new year!

As we all prepare for our holiday break, do be sure to take the time and savor the moments you have with your friends and your families, and above all, be safe. My intention is to continue this blog into January and right through into June, for as long as I can or it is wanted. I appreciate all the kind feedback I have received about the blog since I started it. But more than that, I appreciate you all! You make me love what I do. I have never worked a job that provided me with as much job satisfaction as this one does. I look forward to seeing you guys throughout December and when you get back in January!

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