Berlin - Laptop sales may have caught up with PC sales in Germany, but that's by no means an argument to make the jump. The old PC still has a lot of life in it, often offering similar service at a cheaper price and more options for expansion.

If a PC and a notebook cost about the same, the odds are that the desktop will offer more computing power and accessories. "And some high-end software is only available in a PC," says Christof Windeck of the Hanover-based c't magazine.

Don't buy a PC at random. Instead, go over it thoroughly, look at its inner workings to see how much noise its ventilation system makes when running and then make a decision.

Industry association BITKOM forecasts that 11.6 million computers will be sold in Germany this year - 1.5 million more than in 2007. That growth has largely been fuelled by notebook purchases. For its part, PC sales are expected to stay steady at 4.4 million units.

Stiftung Warentest, a consumer research association, tested nine PCs and an Apple iMac. "Most of the computers tested are completely adequate when it comes to computing power," the results show. All the computers cost between 495 and 1,000 euros (660 to 1,332 dollars).

Ideally, customers should get a chance to test drive their PCs. But in a world of pre-packed commodities, customers have little time for a test. Some problems can be avoided by heeding reports from testers. More adventurous shoppers can go online and chance their luck.

Windeck advises thinking long and hard about what you plan to do with your computer before making a purchase. Consider which connections will be necessary. One for Firewire, one for the camcorder or an eSata for the external hard drive or HDMI?

Consumers should also consider how easy it will be to add expansions to their purchase. Unused PCI or PCIe slots mean a TV card can easily be added later. Anyone who wants to add a Blu-ray burner at some point needs to make sure there's a free slot or be prepared to choose between the pre-installed DVD drive and the new addition.

"So far, Blu-ray drives have only been built into high-end computers," says Joerg Hartmann of Fujitsu Siemens Germany.

Some PC manufacturers are already putting high-end chips like the quad core version into standard PCs. But Windeck says there are few applications that can make use of the powerful chips.

"There's a few filter functions in Photoshop," he says. In general, shoppers get a better cost-benefit ratio with a dual-core chip.

If a computer's processor is its motor, then the graphics card acts like a kind of turbo thrust. The more powerful it is, the more fluid 3D graphics will appear on the monitor. Examples include the GeForce 8600 GT by Nvidia or the ATI Radeon HD 3600, both with 512 megabytes of memory.

Two gigabytes of RAM is the minimum for working memory. It's better to have three, especially if your computer is going to run Vista, which eats up memory. Shoppers should not accept anything less than 500 gigabytes of memory for their hard drive. It's not hard to find models with 640 or 750 GB. Drive capacities of 1 terabyte will be quite common in a few months time. (dpa)