Computer Shopping

Buying a Personal Computer

Buying a personal computer in today's market is a difficult decision. We are constantly bombarded with new technologies, brands and designs, all leaving us wondering what we can buy to serve our current needs and give us room for growth in the future.

A year ago, we were looking at $1500 for a fairly well-equipped 350MHz machine. Well, now you can get more then twice that fast for the same money. Can you believe how fast processor technology has advanced in the past year? I mean, from 500 to 1500MHz in one year isn't half bad.

Anyway, for our purposes we are still going to be sticking to the basics. We are still looking for a home computer for the average user. Someone who is using his/her computer for basic SOHO applications (small office/home office) and an occasional game or two. The nice thing about the newer systems is the average home PC will now play some of the latest 3D games without having to fork out the extra money for video cards, RAM, etc. -- an enhancement in versatility for sure.

As you can probably see, we are going to be focusing on the PC, pretty much leaving out the Mac. But before you diehard Mac fans start firing up your E-Mail to say mean things about me and PCs, read on a little. I am going to present my case.

PC or Mac

While my area of "expertise" is in the PC, I do know a little about the Mac. I do my homework and look at the benchmark tests; I know Mac makes a very fast and stable machine. For those of you not entirely familiar with the Mac, in many benchmarks the Mac can produce the same, if not better, scores than a PC running at a faster clock speed. Pretty darn impressive!

However, is a PC better than a Mac for home use? Yes, I think so.

The market for PC hardware is incredible and this makes your options on what type of machine you want to buy just as impressive. Users in the market for a PC can custom build their own machines using select hardware available from the vendor. You can design a machine just for the basics or all the way up to one for the professional graphic artist or gamer.

And while the iMac is marketed as being so simple right out of the box, I just do not see where it holds a big advantage over a PC. You unpack it, plug in whatever peripherals you have (the most common being keyboard, monitor, mouse and speakers), turn the thing on and you're ready to go. Sounds pretty easy to me.

The iMac, in my opinion, is innovative in the way its hardware is packaged but that's about it. It's a fantastic idea to include everything in one case -- it makes for more room on your desktop.

The packaging of the components did spark PC makers to come out with something similar. eMachines' eOne and the Gateway Astro are the latest "all-in-one" computers, and Dell has just released a new computer called the WebPC. In a review by PC Magazine, the total time for setup and getting online with the WebPC was 13 minutes. Not bad at all for something that is supposed to be so difficult to do on a PC.

Upgradability is my next argument. If I read a review on one of the latest video or sound cards and I want to buy one, I can. I can choose from a number of different vendors, shop for the best value and bring it home to install in my computer. I just don't see as many options available for the Mac.

Yes, upgrading can sometimes turn into a disaster and you hear horror stories about it. But, many of the horror stories come from individuals who were not qualified to perform the upgrade in the first place.

Well that about sums up my Mac vs. PC argument but before we continue let's clarify something. Macs are great machines but so are PCs. They both offer a great computing experience.

Now that we have passed the PC or Mac discussion, let's take a look at some of the options you have when shopping for your new PC.

Processor:

The CPU (Central Processing Unit), often referred to as "the brain", is the circuitry inside your computer that executes instructions to process data retrieved from RAM. There are a number of brands available and they do vary in performance. You should research all of the different brands like AMD, Intel and Cyrix so you can get to know your CPU before you buy a system based on that processor.

Ok, now the big choice. How fast do you go?

For the home user let's go with 1000MHz; pretty nice huh!. You can pick up a complete 1000MHz system with a 17" monitor for an average of about $1400. 1000MHz will deliver blazing speed when you are working with standard office applications and will play games without missing a frame. Not at all a bad deal.

We should be thankful to AMD and Intel for having a fierce rivalry. With processors now topping out at 1500MHz, picking up something like a 1000MHz is not a big strain on the wallet.

How well will it do in the future? Just fine. I have not seen any software, nor have I read of any that is going to be coming out in the near future that would really tax a 1000MHz processor. Applications that you will use for basic home computing should run on a 1000MHz wonderfully for a long time to come. Although there are faster processors available, I just don't see the worth in paying the extra dollars for SOHO use.

Hard drive:

The hard drive is a unit mounted inside your machine where all of your applications' instructions, graphics and multimedia files are permanently stored. Sizes vary greatly with some higher-end machines sporting 70GB drives, but 20GB drives are still very common on PCs in our price and MHz range.

What's more important than hard disk size is the RPM rating. A hard drive spinning at 5400 RPM is going to be slower than one spinning at 7200 RPM. This can make quite a difference in the speed of a machine and you shouldn't consider buying anything less than 5400 RPM.

Hard drive sizes are really less of an issue now than they used to be. 20GB is a phenomenal amount of space and should serve the needs of most for a while. Although you might consider spending the extra money for something a little higher. This is a good idea if it fits the budget; you can never have too much storage.

So far we have gone over the heart of the PC and what kinds of things a prospective home PC buyer should look for, but we are not done. Peripherals like CD-ROM, DVD, sound cards, video cards and monitor are also important things to consider. All of these components must work together to give you the best possible performance.

CD-ROM Drive

This peripheral allows for the playback of CDs and audio CDs, if your software will allow you to do so. Nearly every computer sold on the market today comes with a CD-ROM drive. It is now common to see a combination DVD/CD-ROM. This only makes sense since most software titles available are sold on CD.

You will often see CD-ROM drives advertised as 32X or 40X. [the number refers to the data transfer rate of the unit]. The standard rate of a single speed CD is 150KB/sec and each increment will increase the speed of data transfer accordingly, 2X = 300KB/sec and so on. It may be a little surprising to some but most software titles are aimed at data transfer rates of 2X or 4X and really do not take advantage of 32X speeds.

What should you look for? Even though most software does not take advantage of 32X speeds, you would be hard pressed to find anything less. 32X CD-ROM drives are extremely inexpensive therefore manufacturers have dropped the lower speed models entirely.

What about CD-RW? A CD-RW can be a very useful tool for creating backup copies of data files and presentations while enabling you to easily share these files on another computer if you write to a CD-R. When CD-RW first came out, I really did not see where a home user would get a whole lot of use out of one. Well that opinion has changed. I love my CD-RW and I use it quite often. If you can, I recommend getting one.

It does take a little more time to transfer to a CD but the convenience of transporting large amounts of data from one computer to another is great.

ZIP and LS-120 drives

This particular option can get a little tricky. ZIP drives are very popular therefore many of your friends and probably somewhere at work you will find a ZIP drive. Lets take a brief look at some of the stronger points of each unit.

ZIP drives are capable of handling 100MB or 250MB disks. You would be surprised at how much data you can put on a disk of this size. Massive spreadsheets, databases and multimedia files are just a few of the things you could store on one. I did not mention backups because it would be nearly impossible to backup a 20GB hard disk onto a 100MB ZIP. You could backup one or two of your most used programs to one but that would be about it. As previously mentioned, the compatibility along with ease of use make the ZIP a strong contender for one of your drive bays.

LS-120 drives or SuperDisks will hold 120MB of data and will also enable you to read/write to a standard 1.44MB floppy disk. This particular drive can do all of things a standard 100MB ZIP can do plus a little more and stay close in price. The disk can hold more data and the biggest plus is its ability to handle standard floppies without taking up an extra bay in your case. That one more bay may be just the one you need to add that extra hard drive later on down the road so it is something to bear in mind.

Which one is right for you? My suggestion is to ask your friends and family which drive they have. If ZIP is the majority get the ZIP drive and vice versa. You will no doubt be sharing files with these individuals that will not fit on a standard floppy disk.

Now that we have covered the basics and a couple of other options like SuperDisk and Zip drives, it is time for sound and video options.

Sound Options

Sound, ahh that beautiful music we all love to hear. Sound generated from you computer is fantastic with the right components and believe it or not, these components are rather inexpensive. Deep, rich sound quality can make all of the difference in the world when using multimedia programs, it adds a lot to the experience.

When you are shopping around at the various vendors Web sites you may notice a few different sound and speaker options. Many of these options like a 4 pc. speaker system with subwoofer can be had for as little as $50-100 more, which is a fantastic deal. Options like this retail can run up to $200.

Does a subwoofer really make a difference? Yes, adding a subwoofer helps produce the lower bass levels you just can't get from a standard speaker setup. Do you have to have a subwoofer? No, you can still get excellent sound quality without it, having one is just a plus. If possible, get at least a 2 pc. speaker system with a sub. You will enjoy it much more.

Regardless of your speaker setup, without a good quality sound card your sound will suffer to some extent. Many vendors offer 128 voice sound cards as OEM, which is great for the standard PC. Now if you are looking for that little extra boost, (it'll cost a boost in dollars also) look into the Soundblaster Live! or the Aureal Vortex 2 card. These are two of the latest and greatest on the market today.

Video Options

Typically an 8MB 2D/3D video card can be found on the average home system and this is more than adequate for your basic multimedia applications. These 2D/3D combo cards have advanced quite a bit in technology lately and are producing very color rich video at acceptable speeds.

On occasion you might see what is referred to as integrated video. All this means is the video is built into the motherboard rather than having a dedicated card slot. While integrated video performs well, it is better to go with an AGP based card or at least make sure you have an AGP slot to allow for expansion in the future.

Would you notice much of a difference between AGP and integrated video? It depends on the application. Standard applications like Microsoft Word or Excel will be just fine because running basic applications typically does not put a real strain on video but video games, graphics editing, etc. do. This doesn't just go for integrated video but for any 8MB or less 2D/3D combo card.

Now if you are looking to add that gaming boost, you would want to consider a 16MB or 32MB video accelerator. These cards provide support for high-end accelerated titles.

Well, we are all done with this one. We have talked about the different components we could look for when purchasing a system for the average user. Is this a must use guide? No. The whole purpose of this article was to briefly discuss the different components used in your PC and to hopefully give you some advice to help make choosing your next PC a little easier.

[ Home ] [ Up ]