With hardware prices dropping down every week, and hardware speeds jumping up, you can't help to think about buying or upgrading your computer. Technology as always, is moving too fast for our wallets so when looking for a new computer you need something to last for a good amount of time without having to upgrade it weekly. You need the "right" PC.

Having the "right" PC does not mean having the "best" PC; it just means that you have a computer that is attributed to your personal PC lifestyle. Knowing your PC lifestyle is very important. Lots of money could be thrown away if you don't recognize what you are going to be doing with your new computer.

With that in mind we're going to try and guide you towards this goal by breaking down what hardware is best for you based on those three different PC lifestyles. We've randomly chosen several online computer retailers to help give you an idea of where to go should you want to pick up your parts online.

What we hope to accomplish with each of these lifestyles, is just to explain what kind of components we think would be best (based on price primarily) for that setup, and to offer a few online places to purchase them. Obviously, if you're building your own computer you may want to substitute one part for another, but if you've never built a computer before, consider this a jumping off point for what you'll need to get.

The Family Computer:

The first lifestyle is the Family oriented PC. A family PC is one that will be used by everyone in the household. The PC does not need the "top of the line" hardware, but does need parts that will last them a good while, without upgrading too often. Based on the family budget, the PC also needs to be inexpensive, but with sacrificing quality. Below is a guide to each part of what a family PC could look like.