The best computer systems do not come cheap. With computers, like most things, you can spend an almost unlimited amount of money on more stuff.
However if you plan on keeping your computer for a while, it often pays to spend a little extra and get a really beefy system. It can be a real pain in the neck changing over to a new system when you upgrade, so getting a fast computer to start with means you do not have to worry about doing that for years.
The main drawback of buying the best computer system available is that sometimes you can pay through the nose for the latest and greatest parts. This is why I recommend getting a processor speed one down from the top.
Here are some tips to help you get the best computer systems you can buy in terms of performance.
An example system would feature a 3 Ghz Pentium 4 processor with Hyper Threading. The fastest Pentium 4 is actually 3.2 Ghz but it is about 50% more expensive and offers less than 5% more performance. Definitely not worth it in my opinion.
 If you want to check some new computer prices to get an idea about the price range I"m talking about then you will want to check out Dell, Alienware and TigerDirect to view some high quality computer systems.
Pentium 4 computers are generally a pretty solid choice for home use. They excel at media applications like encoding Mp3s and hyperthreading should offer increased performance down the road as applications take advantage of it.
Hyper Threading is quite a nice feature, it allows you to reduce the performance hit of having multiple applications at once. These computers are so fast that hyper threading won"t make a noticeable difference now but in a few years when your computer is no longer top of the line you will really appreciate having the extra flexibility
Another important feature to consider is the graphics card. Don"t buy a computer with integrated graphics if you intend to play games. Look for computers with GForce or Radeon graphics cards, in particular the Radeon 9600 pro and GForce 5900 are currently the best value high performance graphics cards.
With a DVD writer you will be able to burn your movies onto DVDs and watch them anywhere. Look for a computer system that also has a separate TV output so you can work using a monitor and watch a DVD on another TV or monitor at the same time!
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