Choosing the right computer for your use case

Computers have become a household essential at this point, and different people use it for different purposes. One may want a PC to play AAA games, while others need a computer for work like Photo/video editing, programming, animation, music production, and whatnot. But not everyone can afford a PC that can easily handle any task you throw at it. This article can help you better understand which component of a computer to prioritize more and, thus choose a machine best suited for your use case. 

Casual Work 

If you are on an extremely tight budget, but browsing the web and some MS Office work is all you will use the computer for, then a clever way to make your PC faster is to install the OS and important softwares inside an SSD. Meaning, you buy whatever laptop you can afford, but make sure it at least has an SSD slot, so that you can buy a 128gb SSD for around 2-3 thousand taka and set up the OS in it. I recall once using a friend’s laptop for some basic tasks, which was equipped with a core i5 processor with dedicated graphics. But surprisingly enough, I had a less satisfactory experience than I usually have with my core i3 laptop with integrated graphics. Unlike my friend’s laptop, mine includes an SSD. Of course, his laptop would totally outperform mine while gaming or doing some other CPU or GPU intensive task. But then again, all I use my computer for is to browse the web and run VS code.  

Photo and Video Editing

Nowadays most average computers are strong enough to run photoshop, to the point where even phones can easily handle basic photo editing. CPU is perhaps the most important component, followed by RAM. A decent display can have an impact on the colors produced on the screen, which may help you make more informed choices. 

Video editing however, may demand a more powerful machine. The recommended specs depend on the complexity, quality, and duration of the video to be produced. A 60-minute long 4K film will demand much better hardware than a 1-minute HD video will. For most video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, CPU is the most important factor, followed by RAM. GPU isn’t going to drastically improve performance unless you plan on using Davinci Resolve, which relies more on GPU, unlike Premiere pro.   

Programming 

More often than not, it isn't essential for a programmer to own a high-end pc. GPU doesn’t have a purpose unless it is used for game development (we’ll get there). A better CPU will allow for faster compilation or runtimes, but there is no reason why one can’t make do with a low-end pc, especially in the learning phase. I have been doing web development with an 8th gen core i3 processor for a year now, and I honestly can't say I felt held back due to my PC.  

But not to say that better specs would not have an impact on performance, though. If there’s something I could invest in, I’d invest in my RAM. Why? Because a programmer isn't always coding, but rather spending a significant amount of time in chrome, with 10 tabs open, trying to figure out the solution to the problem he has with his code. Ram would definitely help with this sort of multitasking. Also, since programming involves a lot of reading and writing, an SSD would definitely make your development process much smoother. 

3D Animation and Game Development 

This is a field of work where one may feel restrained by a low-end PC. 3D graphics processing can go heavy on a computer and everything from the CPU to storage will play an important role. Not to say you need a supercomputer or anything, but a low-end PC may not be able to handle the workload. Sources suggest a core i5 processor with a decent dedicated graphics unit, 8GB ram and sufficient storage (preferably SSD) should be able to get some work done with acceptable speed.   

Music Production 

The processor is the key player in this case. The role of GPU is minimal, so you’d like to invest more in the processor and 8GB of RAM which is highly recommended. You’d also want plenty of space in your storage, as the VSTs, samples, and WAV files can take up quite a bit of your disk space. What’s worth keeping in mind is that, when it comes to music production, you may need to invest in other components as well, such as a DAW and an audio interface. Therefore, depending on the type of music you want to produce, it is important to do sufficient research on what other hardware and software you will need before investing it all in a computer.