Computers can vary greatly depending on the needs of the people who use them. Different people have different specifications when it comes to PC's, so choosing the right one is not a task to be taken for granted. What should you look for in a PC that is right for you?

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.

What does a student need a computer for in the first place? Let us try to discuss what kinds of activities that a university student would engage in, so that we can tie that up with the kinds of functionality later. A student would be doing a lot of typing- this is a given. Depending on what he or she is taking up in the university, more or less the computer would be used often as a typewriter, and of course, for printing.

If you think about the degree or course of the student, such as engineering or architecture, then you can expect that there are certain changes from the basic type of PC. Definitely, the student has a huge database of files to be saved, and possibly even special software for designing. For sure, he needs ample disk space to accommodate all his files.

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.