If you are planning on doing business online with one of the many work from home based businesses available on the internet, then you are going to want to make sure your computer is up to the task.

Although it is possible to get by with a Pentium 1, at today's prices there is no reason to do so. Pentium 4 computers and AMD equivalent computers have dropped in price enormously.

I have to admit, I am still using an Intel Celeron 766 Mh computer but I upgraded the ram to 384 Mb and the hard drive to 80 Gb. Also a high speed internet connection is a must. I am connected to the internet from 8:00 Am to 2:00 Am (18 Hours) continuously every day. This means my security including firewall must be set up properly and working. But that's another article for another time.

Why do you need a powerful computer for your work from home internet business? Well before I upgraded from my Pentium MMX 233 Mh computer I was spending more time re booting from freeze ups and cleaning my hard drive than I was actually working at my internet work from home based business. Yes I started out over 5 years ago using a Pentium MMX 233 with only 160 Mb of RAM and a 3 Gb hard drive, proving that it is possible to build a work from home internet business on an old slow computer. But why would you. I upgraded to a used Celeron 766 Mh computer with 256 Mb of RAM for $200 Canadian. And here in Canada you can buy a Pentium 4 or AMD equivalent for just $400-$500.

I recommend the following main features when looking for your work from home internet business computer.

1.Pentium 4 or AMD Equivalent.

2.256 Mb of RAM minimum. 512 Mb is better.

3.80 Gb hard drive or better

4.Ethernet for high speed internet connection.

Your video card is less important unless you plan to play games on your work from home business computer. Cheaper computers come with onboard video which is just fine for business purposes.

Try to get at least a 17 inch monitor. Get an LCD monitor if you can afford it. It will save you all kinds of desk space giving you more room to work.

These are my recommendations for your work from home internet business computer based on my past experiences with my own work from home internet business. They are just guidelines only. In fact you could spend thousands of dollars more than what I have suggested here. Wouldn't we all love to have an AMD 64 computer with 2 Gb RAM, dual 200 Gb raided hard drives and a 21 inch LCD monitor!