BUYING YOUR FIRST PC

RIVER BENDER - August,  2000

I often receive calls from people asking for help in purchasing a new PC. It seems that everybody wants to get on the Internet. The story I hear most is that they are pressured by family members scattered around the country to have e-mail. Many of these people have never used a computer. As one lady in her eighties remarked, "I don't know diddly-squat about computers and I have no idea where to begin."

It must be hard on someone that has finally decided to buy a PC and doesn't know diddly-squat. Computers still cost a lot of money despite the fact that prices have dropped. If setting up your VCR timer seems complicated you may want to give second thoughts about buying a PC to use on the Internet because there's many software options that have to be set up.

Don't buy a PC

Here's the bottom line: If you're scared to death of making a mistake and buying an expensive PC that you think may be too complicated, you might want to opt for something like WEB TV (1-800-469-3288) or NETPLIANCE (1-800-467-3637). WEB TV is about the size of a VCR and hooks to your TV and phone line while NETPLIANCE is a small Internet terminal without all the features of a PC. Both units will allow you to send e-mail and surf the web but are simpler and cost less than a PC. However, the monthly charges will be higher than connecting a PC to the Internet. Neither unit will have the standalone capabilities of a PC but the people I know that have them seem to be satisfied.

When buying a new PC, one has the choice of buying it off the shelf locally, ordering it by mail or having it custom made locally. Each purchase method has pros and cons.

Off the shelf PC.

A nice thing about buying a PC off the shelf is that you get to see and operate it before you buy and take it home. You can ask questions and if you're lucky to have a good salesperson you'll get good answers. Another advantage is that if the PC doesn't work you can return it to the store. The store, however, may ship it off somewhere for repair that could take weeks. A disadvantage of buying a PC off the shelf, especially in a small town is that you have limited choices of brand names. Beware of ads that give a rebate on a PC provided you sign up with a particular Internet service provider. Often times the Internet service provider does not have a local phone number and you'll end up paying toll charges to connect.

PC by mail order.

The best recommendation on buying a PC by mail is to pick a reputable company. Do some research. Ask friends who have ordered their PC by mail how they like them and particularly how they are treated on service calls. Companies like Dell (1-800-WWW-DELL), Gateway (1-800-846-4208) and Micron (1-888-224-4247) are survivors and have established excellent reputations. They can't afford to use inferior components or provide poor service. These companies will also work with you on the phone to custom make the PC fit your requirements. The price won't be as low as ordering from an unknown company but you'll be assured of getting a quality PC.

Local custom made PC

Having a PC custom made may appear to be out of the question for a novice but it might be the best approach for some people. If you know nothing about computers you can simply tell the computer shop how much you're willing to spend and they'll work with you to fit the PC to your needs.

Do your homework. Look at PC ads and see what they offer and compare them with a custom-built PC. The big advantage of having a PC made locally is that if you have a problem it can be repaired in short order.

A disadvantage is that you really don't know if you're getting top quality components unless you trust the company. I once had a custom made PC from a company that had the lowest prices in town. They were lowest because I discovered later that they had substituted a cheaper slower CPU chip. The PC was timed to run at the proper speed but in so doing the CPU chip overheated. Sometimes it pays to look under the hood.

The faster the PC, the higher the price.

The main features that affect a PC's price are speed, monitor screen size, size of memory and size of the hard drive. The faster and bigger these features are, the better quality other items will be, including software. Most new PCs now have a minimum of 400 megaHz speed, 15" monitor, 64 megabyte RAM memory and 5-10 gigabyte hard drive. All this is fine for the Internet, however, it is suggested that you get a 17" monitor if at all possible since it will make web pages much easier to read.