Geek Spot 10 by Jeff Timm

Hi! I’m Jeff Timm, personal computer user since 1983. My wife Holly insisted I share my knowledge and answer your basic computer hardware questions.

Christmas 1999. It may not be a good season for computer buying. Intel has just rescheduled their latest supporting chip set, people claim the latest Intel Pentium III 600 MHz and faster are really factory overclocks which are using too much power to achieve high speeds and the memory chip sources are all having production problems and the price of memory is up.

What does this all mean? If the experts are right it means this is not a good Christmas to buy leading edge technology. Wait until spring, but realize by fall prices will be lower and performance higher.

Now, if you really want to buy a desktop computer now, look at the midrange of computers. There is little real difference in performance, between a very fast computer and a very very fast computer. Flavored by my own personal opinions here are my recommendations.

Stick with an Intel CPU from a major manufacturer. Dell is currently the recommended mail order source, edging out Gateway for the title of "Chevy of Computers."

The Intel Celeron 400 MHz and the Intel Pentium III at 450 or 500 MHz, both are excellent processors counting on their two little fingers 400,000 times a second or 500,000 times a second. Unless you are running some very complex games you won’t see much difference. RAM or Random Access Memory is the workspace the computer thinks in; running Windows 98 you need at least 32MB of RAM, 64MB is better and you won’t see a real difference if you buy more than 128MB. How big a hard disk? It is difficult to find one smaller than 4 Gigabytes, and most manufacturers are using 6 or 10 or even larger disks, because the prices aren't much higher for a bigger Hard Disk. The Hard Disk is the library of the computer, some say "The Bigger The Better," but even with huge programs and large databases it’s very hard to fill up a 4.3 Gig hard drive. As an example I have hundreds of digital pictures, two complete office packages (MS Office 97 and StarOffice 6.1) many other programs and files and all I’ve used is 2.2 Gig out of 15 Gig. Video Memory: Get a 3D accelerated card with 8 or 16 MB of memory or more, it’s very hard to find a video card with less than 8 today. It just means the screen will work faster with complex webpages and games. CD-ROM or DVD? More and more data is available on DVD, the difference? In recent versions of the National Geographic one DVD disk holds as much data as 4 CDs, and you can watch movies on your computer. The difference in price is $50 to $100 at time of purchase. But some over the counter models require moving to a more expensive model, showing a larger price difference. Sound systems are usually built into the motherboard now, most of them are so good that a SoundBlaster or Yamaha chipset are equal unless you are using the computer to make and mix music. Modems, the PCI V90 Data Fax Modem is the current standard. A 3Com brand is nice, but most of the generic models are good enough now. The Keyboard and Mouse are very much a personal choice. You can try Logitech or Microsoft brands almost anywhere. I’m working with a low price generic keyboard and wheel mouse and I’ve had no problems.

Nice to have items: Zip Disks for sharing large files, and larger monitors, 17 or 19 inches diagonally.

It’s a matter of taste, but before you buy a new computer check out the space you have available to put it in. There is nothing more disappointing, than unboxing your new computer, and it doesn’t fit in your desk, or office or bedroom corner. Some families have problems with the computers taking over the living room … I can’t see why.