Buying A New PC

Most people buy "too much PC". In other words, they load up on features and functionality that they will never use. Before buying a PC one should carefully think about what you are going to use the PC for. Most people are only going to surf the web, do email, and maybe burn the occasional CD. For most buyers there is no need to get the "latest and greatest". There is only one exception to this rule: buy as much memory as you can afford. Memory drives the PC's performance and it's relatively cheap now. I recommend a minimum of 512 MB of memory. In the following article the author gives some excellent suggetions for PC buying.

Be not dismayed; good buys are out there for PC shoppers

Mike Himowitz

There are plenty of good, inexpensive computers on the market, and buying one doesn't have to be an exercise in frustration. For as little as $600, you can get a perfectly good system to handle the basics - word processing, Web browsing, e-mail and financial record-keeping. For a few hundred dollars more, you'll get a system that's fine for digital photography, music and other forms of entertainment.

Just remember that PCs are a lot like cars - they start off with basic equipment and add options. And just like a car, a PC has a sticker - on the shelf or the side of the box - that tells you exactly what's under the hood. If you order online, you can often build your own sticker.

So let's get down to details and discuss what you'll see on that sticker - so you can decide exactly how much PC to buy.

MICROPROCESSOR: Also known as the Central Processing Unit or CPU, the microprocessor is the heart of a computer - the chip that does the computing. The faster and more sophisticated the processor, the better a PC will run - within limits.

If your PC usage is limited to the basics, the fastest processor on the market won't do it much better than the slowest. On the other hand, if you're shopping for a serious gamer or budding video producer, a fast CPU is definitely worth the expense.

Processors are labeled by manufacturer, model and speed - measured in gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second.

Intel has the lion's share of the Windows CPU market. Its flagship processor is the Pentium 4, but many entry-level PCs use the lower-end Celeron.

To confuse things in time for Christmas, Intel has relabeled its Pentium line with three-digit model numbers that take into account factors other than pure clock speed. These include the chip's architecture, the size of the on-board memory cache, and the speed of the front-side "bus," which carries data between the CPU and other key components.

This has made life harder for shoppers, especially when Intel's Web site says that "processor numbers are ... not a measurement of performance." Luckily, most manufacturers still mention processor speed in advertising and on stickers.

Intel's main competitors are AMD Athlon 64 and Athlon XP chips, which are roughly equivalent to higher and lower levels of the P4. Athlons are compatible with Intel chips, so it doesn't matter which manufacturer's CPU you buy if they're within the same performance range.

P4 chips run faster than Athlons, but Athlons get more work done with each clock cycle, so you can't compare that directly. Athlon uses chip numbers, which are roughly multiples of the equivalent Intel clock speed. So an Intel P4 running at 3.2 GHz and an Athlon XP 3200 will provide similar performance.

For basic PC use, even a Celeron in the 2-GHz range will do fine. If you're interested in multimedia, games, or digital video, go with a P4 in the 2.8- to 3.2-GHz range or equivalent Athlon. You'll pay a stiff premium for faster chips, so unless you're a crazed gamer or you're willing to pay for bragging rights, stay away from the fastest CPUs.

MEMORY: Often referred to collectively as RAM (random access memory), these chips store programs and data when the PC is running. Their capacity is measured in megabytes (MB), or millions of bytes. With more memory, your PC can run multiple programs with less effort and a smaller chance of crashing. Get a minimum of 256 megabytes and 512 MB if you can afford it. Serious digital photographers and video buffs may want more.

Most computers use a type of RAM known as DDR (double data rate). More advanced machines use something called dual channel memory, known as DDR2. You might notice the difference if you're a power freak.

HARD DISK STORAGE: Often confused with RAM, your computer's hard drive stores programs and data permanently - and constantly feeds and retrieves data from the CPU when the machine is turned on. Hard drive capacity is measured in gigabytes, or billions of bytes. You want a drive that's big enough to hold all your stuff and fast enough to move around without slowing down the machine's operation.

Luckily, hard disk storage is dirt cheap. For general-purpose computing, 40 gigabytes is fine, while an 80-gig drive will store plenty of music and photos. But if you're into video, look for at least 160 gigabytes. For the best multimedia performance, look for a drive labeled Ultra-ATA 133, or even better, one that uses the new Serial ATA standard (you'll pay for it).

VIDEO: Your computer's video circuitry produces the image on the monitor. For basic computing, whatever comes with the PC is likely to be fine. Lower-end machines generally use Intel video circuitry built into the main circuit board. This setup usually "shares" part of the computer's main memory, which might degrade performance. Avoid it if you're interested in serious digital photography, video or gaming.

For better performance, look for video circuitry from nVidia, ATI or another major manufacturer, with at least 128 megabytes of dedicated video RAM. If it's inside, the sticker will say so. A good video card with decoding software built in can also give you smoother playback with DVD movies.

CD/DVD: All computers have some variety of a compact disk-based drive, or two. They're used universally to install new software, and increasingly to back up data and create music or video disks.

At the very least, make sure your computer has a CD/RW drive, which can read data disks, play audio CDs, and create both types of media. A DVD-ROM can play CDs and commercial movie DVDs, which use much higher capacity disks. If you or your favorite student wants to watch movies on a PC (very big in college dorm rooms), look for a PC with both types of drives, or a combination drive known as a DVD-CD/RW, which can play DVD movies as well as read and write standard CDs.

To create movies on DVD, you'll need a DVD writer, which will add $100 to $150 to the cost of a system. They're easier to use and more reliable than last year's, but DVD writers are still troubled by competing industry standards and buggy software. But they'll handle reading and writing to CDs and DVDs. For maximum compatibility with external DVD players, look for a drive that can handle DVD+RW and DVD-RW formats.

SOUND: Since PCs have become entertainment centers, most arrive with decent audio circuitry for playing audio CDs or digital music files stored on the PC. But if you're an audiophile, a music producer or a gamer who wants the latest Dolby 5.1, surround-sound home theater reproduction, look for a computer with Creative Sound Blaster or Turtle Beach sound technology.

Low-end machines, and even those with higher price tags, often come with tiny, two-speaker systems. If you're serious about audio, consider buying a three-speaker setup with a subwoofer for music or a five-speaker system for games and home theater sound.

Oh, yes. If you buy a teenager a speaker system, don't forget headphones with an extension cord. Then you can tell him to turn the speakers off when the house starts trembling.

PORTS: The back of a computer can be a confusing place, because that's where most manufacturers put the "ports," or receptacles for gadgets that plug into the PC, including the keyboard, mouse, printers, scanners, cable modem and so forth.

Most peripherals, including digital cameras and music players, hook up to the PC through Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. More USB ports are better - some PCs come with as many as eight. But look for one that has USB, headphone and other multimedia ports on the front panel - it's much more convenient than crawling behind the PC to plug stuff in.

One item that's not standard equipment on all PCs is the IEEE 1394 port, also known as FireWire. This is the port that digital camcorders require - so if you're going to edit digital videos, make sure the PC has at least one.

CARD READERS: The hot built-in this year is a multicard reader that accepts the flash memory cards used by digital cameras and music players, making it easy to copy photos and other material to your computer without special software. While it's convenient, a card reader, or lack of one, shouldn't be a deal breaker. You can buy a card reader that plugs into a USB port for as little as $20.

MONITOR: Flat panel, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have taken over the monitor market everywhere but the low end. Using the same technology as laptop screens, they're only a couple of inches thick, so they occupy a fraction of the front-to-back room of a monitor based on a cathode ray tube (CRT). Flat panels also use a lot less electricity than CRTs and look much cooler.

An LCD screen will add from $100 to $500 to the price of a system, depending on the size - larger LCDs are far more expensive than smaller models. Bargain systems with LCDs usually offer 15-inch screens, which might be a bit small for older eyes. So it might be worth upgrading to a 17-inch screen, or a 19-inch monitor if you're feeling flush.

Flat panels vary greatly in quality. Look for one that has good brightness and contrast controls that work - and make sure the brightness doesn't drop off a cliff when you view the screen from an angle.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun