PC Personal Choices
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Dell PCs
www.dell.com
Processor (CPU)
Most PCs today are fast enough for all office admin type work, but currently
the speed only becomes important for game players and for video editing for
example, because these types of programs require more intensive work from the
processor which handles all the data. The Processors are usually made by one of
two companies AMD or Intel. Speeds are typically 2600 to 3000+ GHz and faster.
Some people recommend buying the fastest you can afford, but sometimes you end
up paying a high premium this way – and to this end, it’s each to their own
philosophy!
Certainly the PCs I see Dell selling today are well suited
to the admin type programs and web activity.
www.dell.com
Memory (RAM)
Memory is the next issue to consider. Memory is the working area which the
computer uses to get it’s tasks done. The more it has, the faster it should
perform. Memory in this context is not where programs are stored (that’s the
hard disk drive). For Microsoft’s Windows XP software, I would not consider
anything less than 512MB RAM – I think personally 256MB is too little today.
1024MB would be recommended for serious game players and those who indulge in
video editing – it’s better to have excess resources in these circumstances,
than be left waiting while the PC thinks! In many of Dell’s offers watch for
their double memory upgrade offers without further cost - could be a great
bargain.
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
The hard disk drive is the next consideration – these are massive compared
to years ago and for most uses other than video recording and video editing,
most of us will currently be OK with a 40GB (40,000MB) drive, although most
today are 80GB+ and currently go up to 320GB in size...... only necessary I
would think for video purposes.... but who knows exactly what new uses of the PC
will come along in the coming year... So briefly 40GB fine, 80GB ideal, 320GB
excellent !
CD / DVD and Writers
One of these is certainly almost standard today and I’d make sure the PC has
at least a CD writer. Anything better is a plus in case you need it in the
future.
CD
With a CD drive, it is probably writable (CD-R) and probably re-writable
(CD-RW). These allow the easy backing up of your data including word
processed documents and photos, both for archival and backup purposes. Some
users also use CD writable drives for copying music rightly or wrongly to
another CD – remembering that copyright applies to these actions, but most CD
writing programs allow with ease. Storage capacity is typically 650MB of data
or 70 minutes of music.
DVD
With a DVD drive that is writable, you can store much more data than a CD,
in fact 4700MB or even 9400MB. Great for major hard disk backups, or for
storing your entire photo collection on one DVD. For video creation, again
this is very useful due to large file sizes. Beware that a DVD writer does
not usually allow you to copy DVD movies you have bought or rented. Firstly
this can be classed as illegal and copy protection tries to interfere
with this activity, but there are programs available on the web which may
assist you with this.
(Note: Copyright Law. In the UK it is
claimed that we have the right to make one copy for archival purposes for our
own use and therefore sometimes software to do this can be purchased and used
legally in the UK. I am not a lawyer, so you should seek your own legal
advice on whether this is legal or not for your own activities!!! And whether
CD or DVD - don’t go selling ripped off copied material at the car boot sales
– copyright theft is treated as a serious crime.)
Floppy
A floppy disk drive (3½ inch) was always essential in the past, but now they
are hardly used any more...the floppy disk could only hold 1.44MB of data
and now this is easier transferred as an e-mail attachment from one PC to
another.
Dell PCs usually have this as an optional extra, but I
expect hardly anyone needs them today. If you are an existing PC user, think
about when was the last time you used one other than for backing up a file on
your own PC...
USB Key, Pen, Stick, Gizmo, Drive or whatever the makers
call them
These days if you need to carry some documents around with you, it is much
more practical with a USB memory device. They are a revolution in ease of
transfer of large chunks of data from one PC to another and for you the good
part is the price. These currently range from 16MB to 1000MB in size and are
generally physically sized between that of your pinkie and thumb. A current
example would be £20 for a 256MB. On XP PCs they operate almost like
floppies used to do.
This may not be a major or urgent consideration and I see
they can be picked up in Tesco with the weekly shopping, so why not leave this
till you need one, as the price on these devices is falling very fast at
present.
www.tesco.com
Video Card
The video card is nothing related to domestic video recorders. A video card
controls the display of everything on the computer’s screen. For games the
faster this information is displayed, the better it mimics real life, therefore
the higher specified the better. For most business related uses and use on the
net, the standard offered in most PCs should be sufficient.
Modem and Broadband
A modem is required for the PC to “talk” to the telephone line - which
usually means dial-up internet access.
For always on internet access with Broadband (ADSL) it is
usual (at present) to get one sent to you free when you sign up with your
broadband provider. Some companies may specifically only support a certain
brand...
Unless you know that you will definitely use broadband, it
would be worth having a dial-up modem. Should there ever be a fault with your
broadband system you could also use the dial-up modem as a backup option with
many internet Service Providers (ISPs) so that you can still send and receive
your e-mail.
www.virgin.net
MS Windows
MS Windows XP Home edition is used by most of my customers and seems to be
sufficient for our uses, but there is also MS Windows XP Professional which has
extra features – consult www.microsoft.com for
their fully detailed explanation.
The latest version of Windows called Windows Media edition,
included much support for handling images and specifically video & TV – whereby
with the right hardware your PC acts as a TV and digital video recorder.
I believe in the next couple of years we will see more PCs
becoming the family video recorder and source of TV viewing.
www.microsoft.com
Flat Panel Screen
The days of the bulky box monitor (CRT) are numbered and probably won’t see
2007. Flat Panel monitors (not to be confused with flat tubes) are taking over
due to their desk space saving size – the whole unit (other than the base) is
typically around an inch in thickness. They are easily marked by pointing at
them (yes your mother told you it was rude to point! - now it can also be
expensive!) and a pen or pencil dot damage to the screen is there for ever -
annoying though that can be. Some makers are reintroducing glass – as a front
to the screen beneath and I think this is a good idea.
Glass tubed CRT monitors were good for 15 years - my 1989
twice-handed-down before-it-got-to-me-monitor, is still working for a friend
today......!
A story I once read somewhere suggested flat panels are
good for 4 years... I haven’t heard anything else about their life span.
Certainly those who have them seem happy with them!
Certainly the way ahead and the future - is flat panel,
but there are some good offers on the traditional monitors in these inclusive
Dell packages and you should make your own decision on this preference. Note
that Dell always seems to include a monitor whether you want one or not !
Warranty
Some PCs now are sold with shorter warranties – 3 months in
some occasions and it may be worth extending it to be one year. I am sceptical
of any long three year warranty but remember if it fails just out of warranty
are you ready for the extra costs involved....?
Installation
Well I am quite happy to do most installations and data
transfers for my customers locally, price will be comparative to those offered
by manufactures – usually cheaper, and will usually cover much more.
PC Help at Home where
you need it most !
