Academy
Plain-language guides to choosing and comparing hardware: which specifications matter, how to judge a price and how to read a comparison before you buy. Each guide starts from a decision you face, explains the numbers and ends with a link into the live comparison.
Start here
How to choose hardware: from the whole market to a shortlist
Eight steps, about ten minutes, from a whole market to a short list. Start here if you are choosing hardware for the first time.
Start the walkthrough →- Choose your marketCountry and category
- Remove what cannot workBudget, socket, size, capacity
- Choose what mattersA preset, or your own priorities
- Read capabilityA grade for the job, price left out
- Read ValueHow good the current price is for you
- Compare finalistsOnly what is different
- Check the offersStore, price, condition, checked date
- ChooseThe final call is yours
Common tasks
Start from what you are trying to do — each lesson is a short, step-by-step workflow on the live tool.
I know what I use it forFind hardware for a jobStart from the job (1440p gaming, video editing, a home server), keep only products good enough for it, and find the most capable product in a market.
I need a short listFilter a marketGo from a whole hardware market to a short list: filter the hard requirements, set a minimum grade, then let Value rank what is left.
I have a budgetShop within a budgetSet a maximum price as a filter, require the grade your job needs, and let Value rank what is left. Then see what a little more money would buy.
I am choosing between two productsCompare productsWhen to use Compare and when to use a head-to-head page, how to read only what differs, and what the price at which the answer flips tells you.
I found a price elsewhereCheck a priceScore a used listing or a store we do not track against today's market with Try your price: set condition, shipping and warranty, and read the result.
I already own a partPlan an upgradePlan an upgrade from the product you own: the capability you gain for your job, what it costs after selling the old part, and whether it fits your platform.
I need it to fit my platformCheck compatibilityWhich compatibility facts The Comparator lets you filter by (socket, memory type, form factor, power, size), and what you still have to check elsewhere.
Understand the numbers
What every grade, rank, Value and price on the page means — and what it does not.
Capability vs ValueThe two numbers on every product: a capability grade that ignores price, and Value, which tells you how good the current price is for your priorities.
Grades and ranksHow to read an S–F grade, the est. marker and the rank in the tier matrix, and why neither depends on price.
Why Value changesThe four reasons a Value moves, and how to find out why one product ranks above another in your view.
Offers and freshnessWhat a market snapshot is, how current and last seen offers differ, and how to read when each price was checked.
No current offerWhat a product page shows when stores no longer list it: its facts and grades, the last offer we saw, and the closest products on sale now.
How to choose, by category
For each kind of hardware: what to compare, the jobs it is graded for, the filters that matter, what to check for compatibility and what we deliberately do not claim.
Graphics cardsWhat to compare when choosing a graphics card: the jobs it is graded for, the filters that matter, the compatibility to check and what to verify outside The Comparator.
ProcessorsWhat to compare when choosing a processor: the jobs it is graded for, which filters matter, what the platform decides and what to verify outside The Comparator.
SSDsWhat to compare when choosing an SSD: capacity, interface and form factor, speed and endurance, how to check the slot, and what to verify outside The Comparator.
MemoryWhat to compare when buying RAM: why DDR4 or DDR5 comes first, how capacity, speed and latency work together, and what to verify outside The Comparator.
MotherboardsWhat to compare when choosing a motherboard: the build it is graded for, the filters that decide compatibility and what to verify outside The Comparator.
Advanced
Custom priorities, matrices, evidence packets for AI and the edge cases — for when the basics are not enough.
Custom prioritiesHow presets and custom weights shape Value, how to change them, how to include energy cost, and how to tell when a ranking depends on you.
Tier matrix and BestHow to use the tier matrix, which shows every product graded for every job with price left out, and Best views, which are saved views of the live market.
Copy for AICopy a comparison, a product or a market view from The Comparator as dated, structured text to paste into an AI assistant, and see what it contains.
For publishers and retailers
Documentation for embedding The Comparator and for listing a store's offers.