Check your peripherals

The peripherals on your computer are going to be pretty specific to your needs, but there are plenty of them to be thinking about whether you’ll need them, and just how many of them you want. You may want ten USB ports but not have a care in the world about having a DVD drive. On the other hand, you may do everything online and just want as few holes in your machine as possible for soda to spill into and frazzle circuitry.
USB: There is thankfully a standard that most computer peripherals opt to use, and it can be for anything from mouses and keyboards to hard drives and monitors — heck, you can even plug a guitar in via USB if you’ve found the right cord. The modern version of USB is called USB 3.0 and is faster than its predecessors, but you may still run into a lot of computers with USB 2.0 ports. If you plan to transfer a lot of data, make sure you have a fast USB port— or a fast wireless network. An alternative for some major externals (like CD drives and hard drives) is to get a computer with an eSATA port, which will let you plug in those peripherals on the fly with high data transfer rates.
HDMI: If you’re going to use your machine for entertainment, you’ll probably want an HDMI output. This will allow you to connect it to most modern televisions for a high quality visual display, and it will also run the audio out if you’re planning to use the TV for sound.
SD slot: If you work a lot with photography, an SD slot can be a handy way to get the files from your camera over to your computer. For computers with small hard drives, an SD card can also function as a small, out-of-the-way addition to the computer’s overall memory. For the slightly more savvy users, SD cards can even be used to speed up the system.
Wi-Fi: if you plan to connect to a lot of networks a lot of places and want to do it wirelessly, you’re probably best off getting a built-in Wi-Fi receiver rather than working with some sort of external Wi-Fi device. If you’re running a desktop computer, you can probably get away with running an ethernet cable straight into the computer without being constantly annoyed by the need for a wire to get Internet.
Bluetooth: Just like Wi-Fi, you can get a built-in Bluetooth receiver with your computer, and that may be a smart move if you want to be a true wireless warrior. Whether it’s for sending audio to headphones or to a 7.1 channel surround sound set up that will keep your neighbor’s on their toes, Bluetooth is a handy way to make those connections easy and tangle-free. It may be worth it for these types of uses, otherwise, you can probably save yourself a few bucks by not seeking it out.