Where I Was With My Computing

In 2011, I would be the surprised windfall recipient of my very first PC, an HP Pavillion p7. A relative purchased it originally as a replacement to his dying old computer from late 2004, but grew unsatisfied by it due to it lacking a TV Turner as his old machine had. Since I'd been victim to the recent death of my laptop (twas killed by a power surge), rather than send it back, he decided to ship it my way as a psuedo-holiday present and get himself a fancy laptop instead.

Truthfully, he remarked, laptops are all the power a typical, non-power user such as himself needs these days. A good point. For an aspiring developer such as myself though, it represented a wonderful opportunity to learn, .

So would begin my exciting entry into the land of PCs. As my only experience had been with laptops for college and work related reasons, among the first things I was curious about was what was meant by "PC Gaming," as my work-laptop experience never allowed me to really understand what all the fuss was about concerning this computing function.

So I tried installing a game demo that my old laptop couldn't really play.

To my unimpressed chagrin, this new PC couldn't really play a game either, as it was designed as a workstation. To allow it to play games, I'd need to install that which is known...as a graphics card?

More on that later, but for now I'd just like to say this.

If you are thinking of getting your very first PC, one often asks if they should buy one, or build one themselves.

In my opinion, I'm now an advocate for simply buying your first computer, complete and assembled, and concentrate on how to handle a single upgrade, such as how to install a graphics card or TV Tuner without overwhelming yourself. Its a confidence builder to know you taught yourself how to do at least that much

So at least, it will go for this person's story.

Next - The First Graphics Card