Inside Our Computer

 

CPU/Processor.

Recommended: Intel Pentium III, or Intel Pentium II, Celeron.

The higher the MHz the better performance. Usually the very fastest Pentium chip is VERY expensive. A good alternative is the 2nd fastest chip.  AMD also makes good processors. Note: If your CPU does not come with a heat sink and fan, you will need to buy one of those separately. (Our CPU: Pentium III 1.2GHz)

 

Motherboard.

Recommended Brands: Abit, Asus, Gigabyte, IBM.

Any one of these companies makes solid motherboards that have good chipsets and all the extras like USB ports. Note: Abit boards (and a few other brands) use "Soft Menu". This allows jumperless configuration of the board; that means, it will take the hassle out of configuring your motherboard. We highly recommend you buy a jumperless motherboard if you can. It is very important you make sure you buy a motherboard that supports the CPU you have chosen. (Our Motherboard: Abit BX6, Jumperless)

 

Memory/RAM.. Recommended Brands: Siemens, Toshiba, NEC.

Stay away from no-name brands. Make sure you purchase the proper size of chip for your motherboard. Most new boards take 168-Pin DIMMS. If you are not sure, just check your motherboard manual or ask the salesman. Buy fast memory. Our Motherboard supports "PC100" memory. If yours does too, buy that type. Buy at least 64MB of RAM if you plan on running Windows 98. 128MB is even better. (Our RAM: (1) Siemens PC100 128MB, 168-Pin DIMM)

 

Video Card/Graphics Adapter.  Recommended Brands: Diamond, nVidia, 3dfx

If your motherboard supports AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) then make sure to buy an AGP Video Card. This will let you take advantage of the higher performance the AGP port offers.  Otherwise you will want to buy a PCI Video Card. Before you buy, you should also think about spending a little extra and getting a combo card that also supports 3D Graphics. Diamond makes some nice fast cards. Check out some recent magazine articles before you make your purchase. Video Cards literally improve every few weeks, so it is important you keep up to date.  Many of the newer cards come with software that lets you watch DVD's! All you need is a DVD-ROM drive. (Our Video Card: Diamond Monster Fusion)

 

Sound Card. Recommended Brand: Sound Blaster.

Sound Blaster has been the industry standard for over 10 years. They are the most compatible card and are worry-free.  There are many flavors of Soundblaster to choose from. The simplest one we recommend is the AWE32. This is a nice card. Sounds great and is cheap. If you really need to pinch pennies, a Sound Blaster 16 is fine. (Our Sound Card: SoundBlaster AWE32)

 

Modem. Recommended Brands: US Robotics,Motorola.

US Robotics has set the gold standard for modems. They cost a little more but are very reliable and will not give you any trouble. Do not buy any modem slower then 56K. Internal modems are much cheaper then external. Get an internal. (Our Modem: n/a)

 

Hard Drive. Recommended Brands: Western Digital, Seagate, IBM.

If your motherboard supports Ultra DMA (i.e. UDMA/33 or UDMA/66), then get an Ultra DMA drive to match. Most newer motherboards support UDMA/66. These drives are fast and cheap. Get the largest drive you can afford. At least 8 Gigabytes is good. (Our Hard Drive: IBM 9.0GB UDMA/66)

 

CD-ROM/DVD-drive. Recommended Brands: Toshiba, Panasonic, Creative, Acer.

CD-ROM drives are very cheap now and also fast. A 24X CD-ROM can be bought for around $50 at a computer show.  Speed is nice, but most software doesn't run from the CD any way, so you aren't going to be worrying to much about how fast your CD-ROM drive is as long as you buy something over 10X. A good alternative to CD-ROM drives are DVD-ROM drives. They are not very expensive and will let you use CD-ROMS, audio CD's, DVD's, and DVD-ROMS. Buy the fastest speed you can.  And remember, if your video card comes with DVD software, you can enjoy DVD movies on your computer too! (Our DVD-ROM: Toshiba 2nd Generation)

 

Floppy Drive. Get any generic 3.5" floppy drive. They are all the same. (Our Choice: Teac)

 

Keyboard. Get a keyboard that feels good to you. Most newer keyboards and motherboards use a PS/2 style connector. Check your motherboard to make sure before you buy a PS/2 keyboard. (Our Choice: OEM version from Dell)

 

Mouse. A cheap mouse will break or begin working poorly. If you can afford one, get a Microsoft mouse. Check your motherboard to see if the mouse port is a PS/2 style connector before buying a PS/2 Mouse. (Our Choice: OEM Microsoft Intellimouse)

 

Case. Get a case that you like. Just make sure it will support your type of motherboard. There are generally only 2 types of cases. The older AT case, and the newer ATX Case. We needed an ATX case because we have an ATX Motherboard. (Our Choice: Generic Case)

 

Monitor. Recommended Brands: ViewSonic , Sony, CTX, LG, Philips.

ViewSonic and Sony monitors are very nice but are very expensive (you get what you pay for). CTX makes some nice monitors and are priced very affordably. In general we recommended a 17" Monitor. Most brands are adequate for home use and will work fine with your new PC.  The key here is "try before you buy". Look at the display of the monitor, preferably while it is next to others, and pick the one that looks the best. You may be tempted to get the cheapest available, but generally a better monitor will have a sharper picture across a variety of resolutions. Be nice to your eyes!  (Our Choice: 17" CTX Brand)