Choosing a Computer for Home Audio

Because any new desktop computer or laptop can play music, you don't need to worry too much about what you get. In general, get the best one you can afford. However, keep in mind that with all the technological innovations happening, the computer you buy now may be out of date in just a few months. But that shouldn't stop you from constructing a computer system to satisfy your online music cravings.

Here are some things to consider if you're starting completely from scratch:

• Macintosh or PC? If that's the question, the answer is probably among the most personal in the high-tech world. Mac and PC users are equally dedicated to their machine of choice. For music purposes, you can find more goodies available for PC than Mac, but the Mac is home to the exceptional iTunes player and iTunes Music Store. The average online music fan can be happy with either one. Therefore, don't buy a computer just for music. Think about the other things you want to use it for, too.

Music-loving programmers have been busy. In addition to the standard Windows and Mac OS-based MP3 players, programmers have written players for DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari, OS/2, BeOS, FreeBSD, Solaris, Linux, SunOS, IRIX, HP-UX, AIX, and other UNIX platforms.

• Computing power. A computer's performance is dictated by its processor — the device inside your computer that does all that complicated thinking — and the amount of RAM installed in the computer. Processors are measured by the speed at which they make calculations; such measurements come in units called megahertz. If you're using a PC, you should get at least a Pentium 4 processor. For a Macintosh, don't get anything less than a G3. For each platform, anything less than 500 MHz won't do you much good. On the RAM side, your computer should have at least 256MB (megabytes) of memory to fully enjoy today's audio player applications.

• Monitor. The bigger, the better. Though you're tweaking your computer for music, you're going to be viewing a lot of Web pages along the way. The more screen space you have to see what you're surfing, the more pleasurable the ride will be.

• Keyboard. An ergonomic keyboard can save your wrist from the dreaded wrist-crunch condition called carpal tunnel syndrome. Unlike normal keyboards, an ergonomic keyboard is split and angled in such a way to line up more comfortably with the natural position of your hands.

• Mouse. You can get by just fine with the mouse that comes with your computer, but you may want to invest in a mouse (or trackball) that has several buttons that you can program to do different things.