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Useful tips: It is advisable to sit down straight and set the monitor such that it is exactly at eye level.

Technically, in the modern scenario, your postal address wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t a computer at home. Turning an essential part of our lifestyles, the PC is what one uses, be it for work, recreation or just to sit back and wat ch the latest flick. But how to setup your new/existing home computer so that it doesn’t look like boxes wired to each other?

Placing the PC according to one’s comfort levels is definitely the right thing to do. For starters, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) a.k.a the processing cabinet, ‘tower’, should be kept within the close reach of the user.

It is advisable to place the processing cabinet on top of the table so that one needn’t bend down to switch on the computer.

Moreover, with Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives increasingly being used, positioning the CPU on the table provides better access to USB ports. But if the CPU is put below the table, don’t bother.

The market is full of USB connector chords that are available at nominal prices. These chords have open ended slots that connect a flash drive to the CPU.The monitor or the screen is another part that needs to be placed perfectly.

While most of us tend to lean forward while looking at the screen, it is advisable to sit down straight and set the monitor such that we look at it exactly at eye level.

“One should make sure that there is ample space around the tower and the fans in it should be in working condition. Also, UPS and speakers shouldn’t be placed beside the monitor as they tend to cause distortion and colour imbalance”, says K. Kishore Kumar, Senior Technical Support Associate, Dell. “The speakers can be placed on top of the tower and the UPS should be secluded from other components preferably”, he adds

Using an ergonomic keyboard and mouse is the best bet that one can opt for as they are designed for comfort and also look trendy and stylish. These keyboards and mouse come in various shapes and are designed according to the wrist posture and elbow placement.

While the keyboards come in split designs for better key strikes and lesser finger effort, the mouse is designed to reduce pressure on the carpal tunnel and the wrist. These ergonomic products are designed in view of their placement and also their usage.

Moreover, it would be appropriate to use an air conditioner if the PC is being used continuously. Generally, lower temperatures are good for any computer. “In my opinion, any temperature below 50 degrees is good for a PC.

When the computer is being run on a temperature greater than 50 degrees, then one should look for a better cooling solution,” says Madhu Murthy, a Computer Science student from Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University.

Most of the computer tables at home have a heap of papers, entangled wires, stacks of DVD’s, what not. So it’s better to do away with all the extra junk and keep the table uncluttered.

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