Return to Buying A Computer

Computer Life column for October 3, 1998
by
Richard Gordon

This column might as well be titled Buying A Computer XII. Why another sequel on this topic? Because readers keep asking!

Earlier this month, the acting rector of a church in Smyrna and his wife took me to lunch to discuss the computer of their dreams.

Last week, the mother of a UD student asked me via e-mail about her daughter's computer purchase.

In both cases, here's what I advised these people to look for:

1. Customer service and support: Novice and intermediate users are wise to spend a little extra on a computer if it means the company will offer some extra help. All buyers should ask about price protection. For example, Gateway will mail you a rebate check if you notice that the price on your computer drops within 30 days of when you received it.

2. Processor: Try to buy something with at least the Intel Pentium II 350Mhz processor. You can settle for the AMD K6, Cyrix, or Intel Celeron 333Mhz processor if you are on a tight budget; however, remember that Pentium II systems outperform the other Windows systems. If you are interested in an Apple Macintosh, get the fastest G3 processor you can afford.

3. Memory: Get a minimum of 32M. If you can afford the extra $70 or so, upgrade to 64M. The more memory you install in your computer, the longer you will find it a useful system.

4. Monitor: You can save $100-300 if you are willing to use a 15" monitor instead of a 17" monitor.

5. Hard Drive: Most people can get by quite nicely with a 6G hard drive. Having the equivalent of 4,100 diskettes' worth of space may sound like a lot; however, new applications get bigger and bigger. You'll need the space.

6. Software: Some vendors offer money-saving software bundles. For example, many Windows systems come with "Microsoft Home Essentials"--Word and a few other goodies. But if you have work to do that involves spreadsheets, data bases, and presentations, you can often get a full version of Microsoft Office--and some other goodies--for an extra $100-150. That's a lot cheaper than buying it later.

7. Extra storage: Some form of removable large storage--for sharing files too large to fit on a diskette and for backing up your work efficiently--is an important addition. A ZIP drive is the least expensive of these options (about $100).

8. Network connection: For most of us, this means getting a modem. But if the computer is going to college with its owner, check to see if an Ethernet connection is available; in that case, add a network card, too.

9. A printer: Excellent Hewlett Packard and Epson printers are available for $140 and up.

10. Multi-media: Let your budget dictate how hog wild you go on this stuff. Even if there are no gamers in your household, there are cool things you'll want to do that require some kind of graphics accelerator, sound card, and speakers. A DVD drive (instead of a simple CD-ROM drive) positions you well for future developments here, too.

11. Power Protection: Most of us don't need something fancy, but a simple surge suppresser is a wise investment.

12. Finally, don't get seduced by bigger and better numbers. Set your budget and stick with it.

Tip of the week

Most of us want to make it easy to find the programs we use regularly. When you install them, many programs automatically put an icon on the Windows desktop so that you can start the program easily no matter where it is installed.

If one of the things you use every day doesn't have one of these shortcuts, it's a snap to create new one.

Using the right mouse button, click anywhere on the desktop.

Using the left mouse button, select "New," then "Shortcut."

Using the left mouse button, click on "Browse" and find the program you want to associate with the shortcut.

You can even modify the name of the shortcut before you save it to the desktop.

Copyright © 1998, The News Journal Company

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