Notes:  This is an outline of the Seminar that I have taught for years, updated for the summer of 2003.

I.   INTRODUCTION

A. Only modern computers will be discussed for the most part.
B.  Only what is currently produced will be discussed in any detail.  If what you want to buy in not in the discussion DON'T buy it.

A.  This is the most misleading area of all.   Computers without software do absolutely nothing except beep at you. 
B.   If you want it to do....  then you will need to buy software that will let you do....  This has nothing to do with buying a computer.   The computer is HARDWARE.   If you buy the right HARDWARE then you should be able to run any software. 
C.   If you stay with middle of the road or better computers with name brand parts inside then you will always be able to run any software that is on the market and probably for the next 3 years.

1.  Wise saying from one of my ex-computer teachers:  "If you paid too much for a computer and it does what you want it to, then you lost a little money.  If you buy a cheap computer and it doesn't do what you want it to, then you have LOST everything. "

A.  Good computers are a SUM of good NAME BRAND parts assembled together to make a BETTER computer. 

1.  No manufacturer makes all the parts that make up their computer system.  Most do not make a single part or at best one or two parts. This means EVERY name brand computer.

B.   Most computer contain what is called an "Integrated motherboard." This computer has one or more of the parts soldered into the main central part of the computer (motherboard).   On upgrading or repairing one of these type of computers you pitch the whole computer in a dumpster and buy another new one.  (Most salesmen always will tell you the integrated computers are upgradable.  I guess after you throw the main computer in a dumpster you could say the monitor and keyboard are then upgradable?)

1.  Commons brands that use a integrated motherboard in most if not all of their computer lines are:  Compaq, IBM  (the worst two), Packard Bell now know as NEC, Gateway, AST, Dell, Micron, Sony, HP  Pavilion, Brio series and probably lots more. 

C.  The following is a list of all the separate parts that good computers contain one or more of: 

1. CPU, (central processing unit) three major designers

a.  Intel: 

1>  Intel Celeron Chip -- JUNK, JUNK, JUNK!  They run slower than most of the old Pentiums do!  They are 100 or 133 MHz bus speeds where all better chips are 133 MHz or better .  (33% slower before you get into the poor internal design and cache problems).  Almost all if not all use integrated motherboard design! Motherboards for these chips are always low grade.   A Celeron 2 GHz is about the same speed as a Pentium 1 GHz. 
2>  Pentium III 1000-1400 MHz (not worth the money, except in Servers. )

b.  AMD Duron 1300-2000 MHz.
d.  AMD Athlon XP 1.7+ to 3.2+  (the rating is based on Pentium 4 equals, GHz is actually less)

(I recommend Intel Pentium or AMD all the time and have for years.)

2. MOTHERBOARD:  the main board that all other internal parts plug into either directly (cards) or indirectly through cables.  In addition memory modules and CPUs plug in also.

a.  Available in 100-166 MHz for AMD & Intel.  Intel uses 100/400 or 133/533 or 133/800.  AMD 133/266 166/333. 

3.  FAX DATA MODEMS

a.  The standard is V92 56K transfer (NOT Flex or X2 --- both obsolete). 
b.  Available also with voice features. Not used much unless you want to use your $1000+ computer in the place of a $50 telephone answering machine. 

1).  If you are looking for a voice mail system then purchase an old used 386 or 486 computer.

3. RAM  (random access memory) made in memory modules

a.  Obsolete: 30 pin (connector) SIMMs (single inline memory modules)
b.  Four year obsolete:  72 pin SIMMs and all EDO configurations (seen sometimes in Celeron boards).
c.  New size and style:  DIMMs (Double or Dual Inline Memory Modules)

1).  SDRAM in 66 MHz speed or 100 MHz speed, or 133 MHz (Synchronized Dynamic Random Access Memory)

d.  DDR (double data rate... hoax in reality) 133, 166 MHz.
e.  RAMBUS, (RIMM) Intel P4 motherboards, 400 MHz. Our dealings so far with these is that they are lots of hype. A 800 MHz P3 with RAMBUS ran slower with a bare install of Windows 98 slower than the 700 MHz Athlon shop computer by at least 20%.  A Dell P4 1.4 GHz at one of our inherited customers runs have the spend of the older Dells P3s that have PC 100 memory in them.

4.  HARD DRIVES  or HARDRIVES

a.  Various brands:  Samsung, Hitachi, Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital.
b.  This is the slowest part of the computer that is used every day, maybe even thousands of times a second. 
c.   Having a good brand and speed of hardrive can double the overall speed of your computer!!
d.  Various RPM speeds, 4500, 5400, 7200. A good design 5400 RPM and a good design 7200 RPM run the same speed in all software 98% of the time. 7200 RPM run hotter and will have a shorter life expectancy.
d.   IBM, Samsung, Maxtor are the slowest overall but they are cheap.  Lots of low end computers have these. Sometimes they are $30-40 cheaper than the other brands above. 
e.   I recommend Seagate or Western Digital.  They usually have been good drives and are usually the fastest in most independence tests.
f.    Millisecond access time is a waste of your time.  This fact about a hard drive's speed means nothing in comparison to its real speed inside a computer running everyday programs like Windows and some office package.
g.   The standard is called DMA 133 or Ultra DMA 100.  As far as transfer it makes NO difference, the problem with hardrives are that they are mechanical devices not electronic. 
h.    SCSI interface hardrives will not be discussed here. About the only reason to own them is for very large file servers where you need 100's of gigabytes of storage. 
i.  Raid and Serial ATA will not be discussed either.  Both are designed for very high end servers Dual P3 or AMD MP or Opteron or Zenon servers.

5.   Sound cards:

a.   ONLY ONE NAME BRAND:   Creative Labs (sometimes called Creative)  SoundBlaster!
b.   Creative Labs is the manufacturer of "SoundBlaster."

1).  SoundBlaster is the original sound card made about 12 years ago.

c.   Creative Labs sells raw chips.  Make sure you have a physical card in your machine. Make sure the card is stamped Creative, not a Chinese card with Creative chips on it. 

6.  Monitors

a.   In modern terms they are all called "Super VGA"

1).  Not VGA, EGA, MCGA, CGA (obsolete predecessors)

b.   SVGA should mean 1024 X 768 resolution or better.  Common resolutions are 640 X 480 (lowest),  800 X 600 (most used), 1024 X 768,  1600 X 1200.

1).   99.9% of all users use 640 X 480 or 800 X 600 resolutions everyday, all day.
2).   The only people I have ever seen that use the 1600 X 1200 are engineers who work on a 21" to 35" monitors drawing or using blueprints. 

c.   Make sure you SVGA color monitor can deliver 1024 X 768 at 60 Hz or higher scan frequency.   This is stamped on the sides of the box with most better brands.  (It is a good selling point.) Even though you may never use the higher resolution, with age the 60 Hz goes down. At 56 Hz most monitors quit working properly if at all.
d.   DOT PITCH:   available from .24 to .28.   In the old days .26-70 was available.  .24 is better but expensive!  As a 45 year old I cannot tell the difference in a .27 or .25.   I can tell the difference in the brands and the coloration though. The worst scrap monitors I have seen was at the so called Discount or Office Stores.

1).   If possible, compare side by side from the same computer different monitors.  It's your eyes and headaches. 

e.   SIZE:  15", 17", 19", 21", 27", 35", LCD projector.

1).   15" today are primarily rejects or seconds or refurbished. 
2).   17" are about $30 to $50 more than a 15" and worth every penny.  Once you have been on a 17" you never want to go back to small. 19" are about $125 more than 17".
3).  19" are about the biggest you can see with your peripheral vision without backing up from the monitor.  $50 more than 17" monitors and again worth every penny.

f.  WARRANTY:  buy three year period; they are better quality almost always.  Buy name brand: CTX, KDS, AOC, Toshiba, Samsung, NEC, Panasonic, Viewsonic. 

1).  These are like VCR's very few tube manufacturers and just a few more that make their own boards and other internal parts. 

7.  CACHE

a.  From about the 286 computers, the memory has never ran the same speed as the processor.  To try and make up the difference supper fast memory called "cache" was used to help speed up the time lag between the processor and the memory.  SDRAM is very similar to cache. 

b.   Cache is internal on all chips now. More the better.

A.  Discount Stores 

1.  Places like: Office Depot, Sam's Club, Comp USA, Best Buys, Circuit City, Sears, Walmart, etc.

B.   Mail Order Manufacturer  OEM's (original equipment manufacturers, or sometimes and  more properly called "assemblers")

1.  Micron, Gateway, Dell, IBM, local custom computer builders, etc.

C.  Local Computer Store (elsewhere) that ships to your area

1.  Various names, usually small businesses that are doing well.  (I did not sell my first computer outside of a 50 mile radius until my 8th year in hardware.)

D.  Local Computer Store

1.  OEM's (original equipment manufacturers) or assemblers
2.  VAR's  (value added resellers, buy someone else's and resells it.)

a. Independent small business
b. Locally operated store. (Gateway is trying to mash out the home town people with their new Gateway stores.)

A.  Discount store (cheapest on lower speed computers, highest on high speed, high end machines when or if they even have them.)

1.  Thirty day money back guarantees with some of them and this is all the warranty that you have! Some manufacturers will not back their own computer if purchased from an Office/Computer Super Store after the 30 days!
2.  Old or refurbished merchandise common (see #1 above or read the side of the box or the fine print.)
3.  Not high quality computers
4.  Lot of integrated or proprietary parts inside.
5.  No service departments and seldom qualified sales people (they sell dishwashers on Thursdays)
6.  No custom configuration or options past a monitor or printer.  Some "special sales" don't even allow that.
7.  They sell bare minimum or do not include necessary items like printer cables or mouse pads or enough memory.  Then they mark up the parts 500%.  Example an IEEE printer cable cost about $7 at Office Max it was $31.95 and they were the cheapest of the three discount stores in my area.
8.  Can sell previously sold computers because of money back guarantees.  Most do a good job with the shrink wrap machines. I have opened used computers straight out of the Factory sealed(??) packages more than once.
9.  They have service contracts or insurance policies because they make more money on them then the computers. Can be an advantage if the backer of the policy is there when you need them.  (Flip a coin and take your chances.)

B.  Mail Order Manufacturers (next cheapest on lower speed computers, next to highest on high end computers.)

1.  Three year warranties out of their own back pockets. Don't ever open the case, no warranty! Never upgrade, no warranty, software additions removes Tech Support.
2.  One bad year will bankrupt most of these manufacturers.

a.  The third largest computer distributor in the world when bankrupt about 8 years ago. I have seen lots more distributors and manufacturers go under since. Many older major computer companies and system manufacturers have or are leaving the business. No business can survive on a least than 10% mark up.

3.  Quality is fair overall. (Their main concern is price, too much competition for them to do anything else.  $50 difference in price, they are out of the business permanently.)
4.  Some have technical support 24 hours a day. Some, you will need it about 2:00 AM California time.  Call the "Tech Line" a few times before you buy and see if you ever talk to a human or even better one you can understand!
5.  Wide variety of computer parts inside.  Seldom can you state exactly what you want inside and get it.  (I have opened many Gateways that were delivered the same day and nothing but the outside case was the same!)
6.  One of my customers, whose network we maintain, bought the best Dell computer they make.  A couple of things they ordered was wrong. It took two weeks to get the right options.  It did not even have a SoundBlaster sound card inside!  It was also $200 more than what we would sell matching Dell's lower grade parts to our better parts.  In all our recent quotes we print off Dell's website quote and staple it to our with "can't they do better then this" printed on it.
7.  Some of these can do custom configuration with some options like hardrive sizes (not brands), video or sound cards, etc.
8.  They have pretty advertisements. To the uneducated "pretty" sells. But if you can, please explain the "cow" to me and why do I want it?
9.  Tech people, usually teenagers, are fairly good answering software questions, but heaven help you on hardware problems.  Gateway's own brand of modems (made to their specifications by US Robotics) have given me problems for years.  Most of the time it is cheaper to the customer for me to replace one with a new US Robotics or another descent brand than to fight with them.

C.  Local computer stores doing mail order (OEM's)

1.  Prices usually around the above suppliers on low and middle of the road computers, much cheaper on the high speed computers if they sell them.

A.  Good question.  Find out before you buy WHO works on the computer if it dies, in the warranty period and out of it.

1.   Is it fixed locally by the company who sold it to you?

a.  Is the repair done in their own repair shop or is it shipped by them back to the manufacturer (not a part like the VGA card but the whole computer. All integrated motherboard brands go back to an authorized factory repair center.  You can tell if he is telling you a lie.)

A. Example of a person who brought in a two month old computer  purchased from Office Max.  Estimate to make the computer into one with real parts and install a real version of Windows 98: $475  (All programs have to be reinstalled by the customer or $25 per hour charge.)
B.  A 2 year old customer of ours wanting to upgrade: $265.   (This person losses nothing in software. He also will have a faster computer than the poor discount store buyer because he has better parts to start with even 2 years old.)

VIII.   Conclusion

A.  Buy locally, when possible, from someone who can custom build you computer and works on it in his own shop.
B.  Don't get into the "looks" of the business. Face it, big million dollar+ buildings are paid for by low end junk at inflated prices.
C.   You pick the internal parts (SoundBlaster, Western Digital or Seagate, Nvidia)  and make sure you see what the inside of the case looks like, (real computer people have nothing to hide). 
D.   Buy middle of the road or better, never barest minimum or obsolete.  You may need an upgrade sooner than you think.