The average office worker doesn't use all of a high-end PC's power; it's difficult to buy a new computer that won't perform well running an office suite or accessing a network.
By John McCormickSpecial to GCNThe average office worker doesn't use all of a high-end PC's power; it's difficult to buy a new computer that won't perform well running an office suite or accessing a network.The place to save when buying a computer is on the box itself. Except for programmers and people working with multimedia or graphics, user satisfaction'and productivity'will depend more on the quality and size of the monitor andthe feel of the keyboard than on having a superfast microprocessor.Some low-end PCs include monitors, but if the computer will be used several hours daily or more, upgrading to a better monitor is always a good idea.New keyboards cost as little as $10; many low-priced PCs come with one that doesn't cost much more, and anyone who will be typing all day will likely need a better keyboard.Many touch typists miss the solid, old IBM typewriterlike keyboards. Cherry Electrical Products of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., at , offers similar keyboards these days that cost upwards of $100.The way most users interact with a PC is through the keyboard and the monitor; a word processor's productivity does not depend on whether these are connected to a $3,500 1-GHz Pentium III PC or a $600 AMD K6 box. But it will improve with a larger monitor and a more cozy keyboard.Companies can do several things to keep PC prices down and still deliver quality computers.For one thing, even if processor speed is important, the brand name isn't. Removing the 'Intel Inside' designation by choosing a processor from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., with similar clock speed can save $100 or more.If you stick with Intel Corp. components, a Celeron runs most applications as fast as a similar-speed Pentium III.CPU clock speed is always highlighted in ads, but bus speed'the speed at which data can be passed between the microprocessor and RAM, hard drive and other components'is usually ignored. Both are equally important in a high-performance PC.Low-cost PCs have a 66-MHz or 100-MHz bus, which is fine for most tasks. Machines designated as home computers often have hot 3-D graphics cards, making them a poor choice for the office. Choosing a slower graphics card with less video memory can easily trim $50 from a system's price.Dropping legacy printer and serial ports in favor of USB ports can cut more than $100 from a PC's price without any performance compromise. Companies are introducing new legacy-free PCs that offer only USB connections.Vendors also trim prices by using slower hard drives. SCSI drives are the best choice for high-end systems, but an 80-Mbps SCSI interface costs $150, while a 66-Mbps IDE controller costs $50. A 2G Seagate SCSI drive costs $100, while a 10G IBM IDE drive costs $140 from the same vendor, JDR Microdevices of San Jose, Calif., at .The bottom line: There is a difference between a $3,000 PC and a $900 PC, but the difference may not matter in your office.Look for a good match between processor speed, RAM speed, hard drive interface and bus speed. Buyers don't really need to pay a lot attention to this; vendors take great care to match component performance'except for processor speed, which they often push as a glamour selling point.When a model is available with a choice of processors, the middle speed will probably make the best use of the other components, but the slowest may well be fast enough for your office use.Beware, though, that not everything that lowers the price of a PC amounts to a bargain.Although there are a number of ways companies can keep the cost of a PC down without compromising quality, some companies save even more through poor quality control or poor support.A PC with a good reputation is easily worth an extra $100.XXXSPLITXXX-XXXSPLITXXX-
Take a component-by-component approach to finding the lowest price without sacrificing the performance you need
www.cherrycorp.com
www.jdr.com
John McCormick, a free-lance writer and computer consultant, has been working with computers since the early 1960s.
 | A Gateway GP7-550sE comes with a 550-MHz Pentium III processor, 4.3G hard drive, 32M of RAM and a 15-inch monitor. It's priced at $1,099. |
www.cherrycorp.com
 | Micron PC's Millennia Max comes with a 533-MHz Pentium III Processor, 10G hard drive, 64M of RAM and includes a 17-inch monitor. It's priced at $1,286. |
www.jdr.com
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John McCormick, a free-lance writer and computer consultant, has been working with computers since the early 1960s.
| Vendor | Product | Processor | Clock speed | Operating system | Hard drive capacity | RAM | USB ports | Special features (all include 56-Kbps modem unless noted) | Price |
| Acer America Corp. San Jose, Calif. 800-551-2237 www.acer.com | APSe-1602 | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win98 | 8.4G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, no modem | $599 |
| APSe-T600A | Pentium III | 600 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, Lotus SmartSuite | $833 | |
| 8400-T733A | Pentium III | 733 MHz | Win98 | 20G | 128M | 2 | DVD, 10/100 NIC, speakers | $1,291 | |
| 4300-T65OA | Pentium III | 650 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, no modem | $843 | |
| APSe-T650A | Pentium III | 650 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, Microsoft Works | $859 | |
| Compaq Computer Corp. Houston 888-576-3364 www.compaq.com | DesktoPentium | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win95 | 10G | 64M | No | CD-ROM | $890 |
| Deskpro EN | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win95 | 6.4G | 64M | No | No CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $890 | |
| Presario 7360 | K-6 | 500 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, Microsoft Works | $599 | |
| Prosignia DesktoPentium 320 | Celeron | 466 MHz | Win98 | 4.3G | 32M | No | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, Microsoft Word 2000 | $819 | |
| Cybernet Manufacturing Inc. Newport Beach, Calif. 949-4700-0300 www.cybernetman.com | Elite-1 model A | Celeron | 400 MHz | None | 4.3G | 32M | 2 | Zero-footprint, everything in keyboard, 10/100 NIC, no CD-ROM, no modem | $650 |
| Elite-1 model G | Celeron | 533 MHz | None | 4.3G | 128M | 2 | Zero-footprint, everything in keyboard, 10/100 NIC, CD-ROM | $1,004 | |
| Dell Computer Corp. Austin, Texas 800-917-3355 www.dell.com | WebPC.466r | Celeron | 466 MHz | Win98 | 6.4G | 64M | 5 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, Microsoft Works Suite 2000 | $758 |
| Dimension L500cx | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win98 | 4.3G | 32M | 2 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, no modem, Microsoft Works Suite 2000 | $699 | |
| Dimension L600r | Pentium III | 600 MHz | Win98 | 4.3G | 32M | 2 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, no modem, Microsoft Office 2000 | $879 | |
| Gateway Inc. North Sioux City, S.D. 800-397-2163 www.gatewayatwork.com | E-1400 Managed | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | No | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $999 $799 $1,099 |
| GP6-433C SE | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win98 | 4.3G | 32M | No | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $799 | |
| GP7-550SE | Pentium III | 550 MHz | Win98 | 4.3G | 32M | No | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $1,099 | |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. Palo Alto, Calif. 800-752-0900 www.hp.com | Brio D9664T | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win95 | 4.3G | 32M | No | CD-ROM, no modem | $499 |
| Brio BA 600 MT | Pentium III | 550 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | No | CD-ROM | $999 | |
| Vectra D8183T | Pentium III | 500 MHz | Win95 | 8.4G | 64M | No | CD-ROM, no modem | $999 | |
| IBM Corp. Armonk, N.Y. 888-746-7426 www.ibm.com | PC300GL | Celeron | 466 MHz | Win98 | 8.4G | 64M | No | CD-ROM, Microsoft Office 2000, Lotus SmartSuite, ViaVoice Gold | $959 |
| PC300GL | Celeron | 466 MHz | Win98 | 8.4G | 64M | No | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, no modem, Microsoft Office 2000, Lotus SmartSuite, ViaVoice Gold | $969 | |
| PC300GL | Pentium III | 450 MHz | Win98 | 13.5G | 64M | No | CD-ROM, Microsoft Office 2000, Lotus SmartSuite, ViaVoice Gold | $1,159 | |
| PC300PL | Pentium III | 600 MHz | Win98 | 10.1G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 8M SGRAM, Lotus SmartSuite, no modem | $1,259 | |
| Megamax Inc. City of Industry, Calif. 888-315-3533 www.megamax.com | Inmax GS-433 Web Cruiser | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win98 | 6.4G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, microphone | $549 |
| Inmax GS-400 Web Cruiser Workstation | Celeron | 400 MHz | NT | 1.2G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers | $419 | |
| RS 500 Workstation | Pentium III | 500 MHz | NT | 6.4G | 128M | 2 | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC,100M ZIP drive, microphone | $1,049 | |
| ADV 3D DVD | Pentium II | 350 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 128M | 2 | 17-inch monitor, DVD, 480-watt speaker and subwoofer, Lotus SmartSuite 97 | $969 |
| Vendor | Product | Processor | Clock speed | Operating system | Hard drive capacity | RAM | USB ports | Special features (all include 56-Kbps modem unless noted) | Price |
| MEI-Micro Center Inc. Columbus, Ohio 888-621-3927 www.mei-microcenter.com | PowerSpec PC 4611 | Celeron | 466 MHz | Win98 | 4G | 32M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, Microsoft Works | $399 |
| PowerSpec PC 4830 | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, Microsoft Works | $599 | |
| PowerSpec PC 7450 | Pentium III | 600 MHz | Win98 | 17G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, speakers, Microsoft Works | $999 | |
| Micro Pro Inc. Cleveland 800-353-3003 www.micropro.com | NetCraft 1112CL | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win98 | 8.4G | 64M | 2 | DVD, NTSC video, Corel Suite2000 | $612 |
| Constellation 3512AD | K6-2 | 500 MHz | Win98 | 8.4G | 32M | 2 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, Corel Suite2000 | $799 | |
| Constellation 4512MP | Pentium III | 550 MHz | Win98 | 13.6G | 64M | 2 | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, Corel Suite2000 | $1,179 | |
| Micron PC Inc. Meridian, Idaho 888-218-7502 www.micronpc.com | Millennia Max | Pentium III | 533 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, Microsoft Office 2000 | $1,286 |
| Quantex Microsystems Inc. Somerset, N.J. 800-749-4617 www.quantex.com | M533c | Celeron | 533 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | No | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers, Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 | $879 |
| M650v | Pentium III | 650 MHz | Win98 | 15G | 64M | No | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers, Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 | $1,029 | |
| M667t | Pentium III | 667 MHz | Win98 | 15G | 128M | No | 17-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 250M ZIP drive, speakers, Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 | $1,229 | |
| SB600c | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | No | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers | $799 | |
| Sony Vaio Direct San Jose, Calif. 888-349-8246 www.sony.com/vaiodirect | PCV-R545DS | Pentium III | 500 MHz | Win98 | 20G | 128M | Yes | DVD, CD-RW | $1,500 |
| SysteMax Inc. Port Washington, N.Y. 800-326-3917 www.systemaxpc.com | Ascent PMA-500K | Celeron | 500 MHz | Win98 | 10G | 64M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, speakers, Microsoft Works | $599 |
| Ascent PMA-600a | Anthlon | 600 MHz | Win98 | 20G | 64M | 2 | DVD, 10/100 NIC, speakers, subwoofer, Microsoft Works | $999 | |
| Business 433C | Celeron | 433 MHz | Win2000 | 10G | 64M | 2 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM | $799 | |
| Corporate 500 | Pentium III | 500 MHz | Win 2000 | 10G | 64M | 2 | 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM, Fast EtherLink | $1,049 | |
| TigerDirect Inc. Miami 888-667-2582 www.tigerdirect.com | TM44D | K6-2 | 300 MHz | Win98 | 8G | 32M | No | 15-Inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers | $550 |
| TM50D | Celeron | 400 MHz | Win98 | 8G | 32M | No | 15-Inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers | $590 | |
| TM68A | Pentium II | 450 MHz | Win98 | 8G | 96M | No | 15-Inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers | $705 | |
| TM43F | Pentium III | 500 MHz | Win98 | 15G | 96M | No | 17-Inch monitor, CD-ROM, speakers | $980 | |
| Tiny Computers Inc. Tacoma, Wash. 877-202-8529 www.tiny.com | Millenium Power System 500 | Pentium III | 500 MHz | Win98 | 13G | 64M | No | 17-inch monitor, Lotus SmartSuite, DVD, color printer | $1,299 |
| United Micro Inc. Solon, Ohio 440-498-0993 www.unitedmicro.com | United M1000 | Pentium III | 550 MHz | Win98 | 10.6G | 64M | 2 | speakers, CD-ROM | $989 |
| United M7000 | Athlon K7 | 550 MHz | Win98 | 13.6G | 64M | 2 | speakers, CD-ROM | $989 | |
| Zerus Hardware Inc. Springfield, Mo. 417-881-4999 www.zerus.com | Z-Machine Workstation | K2-6 | 366 MHz | No | 1.2G | 32M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC, no keyboard, no mouse | $299 |
| Z-Machine 2 | Celeron | 466 MHz | No | 8.4G | 32M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $499 | |
| Z-Machine 7 | Pentium III | 600 MHz | No | 8.4G | 32M | 2 | CD-ROM, 10/100 NIC | $799 |
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