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It's part of working at PC World: Whenever relatives, friends, or friends-of-friends are in the market for PC hardware, they call us for advice. Rarely can we instantly recommend one perfect product, though. Instead, we ask what they want to get out of their new PC, monitor, or peripheral. Then we tell them which features are critical for meeting their needs, and which ones they can skip to save some money. We also point them toward places or Web sites where they can find the best deals. The right product isn't always one of our Best Buys. We choose chart toppers based on a mix of performance, price, features, and service that best represents what the average buyer is looking for. But when we talk to people, we invariably discover that each person has slightly different preferences.

We can't provide a one-on-one consultation for each of our 6 million readers, but this article is the next best thing. Here, the PC World Reviews editors and Test Center analysts, who track the latest developments in hardware month after month, tell you the 41 most important things you should know before buying a desktop system, notebook PC, monitor, graphics card, or optical drive. These tips, together with the information in our monthly Top 100 product charts, should sufficiently prepare anyone to make the right buying decisions--but we still expect to get telephone calls from our mothers.