In the last time I got vast amounts of email with questions or recommendation requests. As you can imagine we spend a lot of time doing our normal work, which often doesn't leave enough time for answering emails. Thus I have to apologize first that many emails cannot be answered.

Christmas is near once again and this is the classic time for many users to buy a new computer. Maybe you know this situation: Working with your two year old computer becomes boring and your new graphics software as well as some new games just don't run very well. It just seems as if the PC had become slower over night.

Many of our readers have decent computer knowledge and improve their system's performance by upgrading some components, e.g. the CPU or the graphic card. But still more users don't want to put their hands on their computer; they will rather go for a completely new machine.

That's why this article is split into two major parts: Single hardware recommendations for most relevant computer components and complete buying recommendations depending on your wishes and requirements. Always keeping an eye on the market, its developments and innovations isn't always possible; so I will try to sum up the most important facts to make it as easy as possible for you to find the right components or the right computer.