Shopping for a computer can be overwhelming. Companies can bombard you with numbers and details in an attempt to get you to spend more money than you may need to for your needs. Knowing what these mean can save you money and frustration. Like Goldie Locks visiting the three bears, don’t spend too much money on a computer that’s too fast, or get the cheapest computer that’s too slow, spend the time to pick the computer that’s just right for your needs and your budget.

Before you go shopping, ask yourself what do you want to do with the computer? Is this going to be used to store and edit thousands of family pictures? Do you want to play the latest computer games? Is it just going to be used for internet browsing and the occasional Office document? Answering these questions will help you decide what is best for you.

The screen resolution is one of the most important areas to consider. Many laptops will have a low quality screen to make them cheaper, but you will pay the price in eyestrain and low quality picture. The resolution is commonly expressed as one number by or “x” another number, for example 1920x1080 or 1366x768. It can also be shown as number of lines, like 1080p. Beware of screens that are just called “HD” as these are 1366x768 and are poor for most uses. Get at least a “Full HD” or 1080p screen; this is the same resolution as a HDTV. Super high resolutions are available now such as QHD, WQHD, or 4K, but these come at a high premium and isn’t needed for most day to day uses.

The next most important decision is what type of hard drive storage is right for you. This will determine how much you can store on your computer, for example the number of pictures, videos, or games. There are two main types available: Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD). Hard Disk Drives store your information on spinning magnetic platters. They can hold lots of information, but are fragile to drops and are slower to access. Solid State Drives are much faster, your computer will start faster and programs will open faster with one compared to a HDD, but they can be more expensive, and won’t hold as much information. If your laptop has a SSD and you take lots of pictures you may need to buy an external hard drive to store them on.

How much storage do you need? 256 Gigabytes (GB) of storage is a minimum to hold the needed operating system and programs while leaving some space to grow. If you don’t plan to play large games or save many photos or if you do everything using a web browser this is enough. A 512 GB SSD will hold a lot of photos and games, but if you plan on storing videos you will need more space. Extra hard drives can be purchased that can store terabytes, or thousands of gigabytes, of data.

The processor is another important piece of the computer purchasing decision, but may people get caught up in comparing specifications. All modern processors, or the CPU, can do basic tasks such as web browsing and editing documents. An example of a basic processor would be an Intel Pentium line, these will generally work, but may leave you a little disappointed. The Intel Core line or AMD Ryzen give better performance. An Intel Core i3 or Ryzen 3 is a good baseline to look for. If you plan to do some photo editing or light gaming an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 will give better performance. An Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 will be more than many people will need unless you plan to do video editing or play demanding games.

You will also need to decide how much Random Access Memory (RAM) the computer will have. While the hard drive is how much the computer can store, the RAM can be thought of how much it can work on at the same time. The more programs or browser windows you open the more RAM you will need. A good minimum is 8 GB, which will be enough for most basic uses. The next main step up is at 16 GB which is more needed for demanding games, multitaskers or video editing.

Choosing a computer can seem to be a daunting task, but with the right information you can make an informed decision and find the computer that meets your needs.