Shopping for the perfect PC?

The Broadway/Kingsway corridor is Canada's "Computer Alley." Come with us as we ask the right questions and dig for the best deals... and the best dealers.

Buying a computer is, of course, one of the most challenging aspects of computing in general. First, your consultant (that's us) has to help you determine what kind of computer will best serve your needs. Will it be a PC (the generic term for a computer that might otherwise be known as an "IBM compatible") or Mac? How much do you want to spend? What do you want to do with it? How long do you expect it to serve you? It’s safe to say that any one of these topics deserves an article of its own. However, back issues of Vancouver Computes! (available on our website at www.vancouvercomputes.com) can help you with this info, if you have access to a friend’s computer. We’d also recommend perusing our most recent list of Editors’ Choices at the PC Buyer's Guide website at pcbuyersguide.com for additional advice on recommended brands and models.

For the sake of expediency, let’s say that you are willing to consider both PC and Macintosh, but you know that you want to limit your spending to about $2000. The questions you have to ask yourself is: will a machine within your budget be able to do what you want it to (remember, computers need software, printers, cables, power bars, mousepads, disks and so on!), and if so, will it become "obsolete" too soon? Are the components the best choices? There's an old saying (at least, it's old in "computer-years"): "There's Good, Quick and Cheap. You can have any two of the three." In other words, there's always a tradeoff, and a set of choices you'll have to make.

Shopping List
To help you with this often-confusing task, we've prepared some recommendations on what to look for when purchasing a computer or peripheral. The recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt. Just because a dealer or manufacturer's product proved suitable for our editors, doesn't mean that you will encounter the same model, price or salesperson. Our overall recommendation is: buy from a helpful dealer, based on the recommendation of a friend.

Although everyone’s needs are different, there is a basic list of components we think most systems should have to be useful. Your list should probably start with the following:

• A computer with a central processing unit (CPU) with a speed at least 300 MHz (at this writing, the slowest Intel chip on the market). Examples of recommended CPUs include Intel Pentium II or Pentium III, Intel Celeron-A, AMD K6-2 or K6-III, or, if you are shopping for a Mac, one with a PowerPC G3 or G4. Of the Intel-compatible CPUs, the AMD and Celeron chips are the least expensive of the recommended group.
• A hard drive at least 4 Gigabytes in size, and preferably double that. 4 billion characters of storage might seem a lot, but these days, games and applications with clip art and multimedia content can fill up a disk very quickly. If you plan on running more than a handful of programs, a bigger drive is a good plan. Almost any of the big-name brands will provide reliable storage. We’ve had good luck with drives from Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Western Digital and Fujitsu. Note that most manufacturers offer both "value" lines and "high-performance" models. You’ll have to choose the one that fits your needs.
• A good display. Personally, we’d rather have a good quality 15-inch monitor than a mediocre 17-inch model. There are many good brands – we’d recommend checking out the editors’ choices at http://tcp.ca/1998/9808/9808labs/seventee/seventee.html and using your eyes. Consider paying a little more for a better monitor than the cheapo model usually bundled with advertised packages.
• A modem or other method of connecting to the Internet. We’d recommend looking into the options in your area to see if your cable company offers cable modem service. If you’re really lucky, the phone company may offer a high-speed service called ADSL. Both offer Internet connection speeds that far outpace the performance of a modem. However, if you do decide to get a modem, be sure to get one that incorporates the latest "V.90" standard for the best performance.
  You’ll also need a suitable graphics card, sound card, CD-ROM, mouse, software, etc. Obviously, pre-packaged systems from big-name companies such as IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Apple and so on, already include all the basic items listed here and above in the standard package. Superficially, at least, it might be reasonable to say that the brand-name machines are a safer bet for first-time buyers. They tend to have more user-friendly documentation, 24-hour helplines and often have extra software goodies bundled in with the package. Note, however, that, in many cases, such pre-packaged "good" systems do not offer the same levels of raw performance that custom-configured clones can. Remember… choose good, quick or cheap.
• A printer. Although it is beyond the scope of this article to get into the finer points of inkjet versus laser printers, suffice it to say that affordable inkjets can do color, but cost more per page. Epson, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark are three of the leading brands. Again, use your eyes and get a unit that meets your needs. If you are printing hundreds of pages per week, a low-cost model probably isn’t going to do.
• And then, of course, there are a number of peripherals you probably want, but may elect to defer purchase of until a later date: a scanner, removable storage drive, joystick, and so on. It’s a fact: the average shopper that sets a target price of C$2000 for "everything" -- computer, monitor, printer, modem (cables, power bar, etc.), and a basic set of Office software packages -- ends up spending more than $2500.

Is it Good?

How can you check the quality of a computer before you actually bring the computer home from a store? I take a notepad, a pen or pencil, a Philips screwdriver and a flashlight (and of course, copies of The Computer Paper, Vancouver Computes! and ComputerSense) with me when I want an answer to that question.

Since you don't want to unnecessarily annoy dealers by wasting their time and/or messing up their displays, do your homework by circling ads that describe systems with high-quality, brand-name components (asking the computer whiz in your office for his or her opinion of what you should get is usually a good idea, too), then visit the stores and work with the salesperson and let them help you determine whether the system seems likely to meet your needs and your budget. Once they feel you are a "qualified" customer, they will be much more likely to approve of you asking to check the manuals, examine the exterior components and so on.

Assuming that you find a machine that looks suitable, the next step is to check the quality of the components. Look for a spot-welded (not pop-riveted!), easy-open case, good heat sinks in the power supply (generally, these will be visible when peering into the fan vents on the back of the machine as heavy, usually shiny, metal fins), more than one fan in the case, insulation between the motherboard and the metal case, neatly tied cables, bolts that aren't worn looking, clean edges on the metal port slots at the back, a solid-feeling case, a boxed CPU (the boxed Celeron, PII or PIII has an Intel logo hologram on its integral fan), motherboard manuals, name brand PC100 SDRAM (when applicable), and, of course, CSA approval.

Make careful note of the model of motherboard, hard drive, graphics card, sound card, CD-ROM, modem, and other major components. Most PC problems are caused by driver-related issues, so be sure that the components -- both internal and external -- your new PC uses are well-supported brands. The most trouble-free components will likely be ones that are labeled as "Designed for Windows 98" (or whatever operating system you intend to use). As well, check the following: are all the manuals included? What discs are supplied? Warranties? Expansion options?

Then, attach the power cord (etc.) and boot the machine. If it is running Windows, open the System control panel > Device Manager and examine the status and name-brands of the installed components. I'll leave it to your own research to determine what brand names and features to look for (visit the website at www.vancouvercomputes.com for a list of Editors’ Choices), but please opt to pay a little extra for quality components wherever possible. Of course, dealing with reputable dealers and asking them to help you put together a system with better-quality components is the true solution.

For more information on dealers and products available in the Vancouver area, drop by the pcbuyersguide.com website and read our in-depth Buyer's Guide Reports.

For Further Reading:
http://www.computerautofix.com/my_webs/buy_computer.htm