Originally prepared as a paper for th 1996 CHECS conference.
Purchasing PCs
The Moving Target
by Peter Shkabara
Western New Mexico University
Introduction
The desktop computer has become an essential tool of every
office. Selecting an appropriate machine to satisfy a need
becomes a matchmaking game of comparing what is needed by
the user to what is available in the market. After having
been the purchase coordinator for our university, I have
prepared some criteria to help in the process.
Assessing the user's needs
Many users don't know what their true computer needs are.
Some will mention some processor speed or hard disk size
without really knowing what those figures mean. The first
step in specifying a computer for purchase is establishing
what the machine will be used for.
On our campus, many of the new computers ended up being used
as a fancy VT terminal replacement. Although a PC with
emulation software has advantages over a terminal, such use
does not require a fancy new computer.
Here are some suggestions of items to consider:
* Will the user run more than one program at a time? -
multi-tasking
* If word processing is a major use, will there be fancy
layouts which may indicate a need for a larger monitor?
* What specific applications does the user plan to use?
Is a PC or a Mac the proper solution?
* How will the documents which are produced be protected
from failure? - backup methods needed
* What operating system and hardware is the user familiar
with?
* Who will the user need to share documents with? Is the
software and operating system compatible with the others?
Choice of the Operating System
If a Macintosh is chosen, then the Mac OS is the only choice
at present. However, the Be and NT operating systems may
soon be valid choices for the PowerPC Mac.
There are three available choices of OS for the PC.
* DOS plus Windows for Workgroups
* Windows 95
* Windows NT
Although some users have been resistant to leaving the
familiar Windows for Workgroups environment, Windows 95 is a
better choice. Win95 offers much easier configuration, has
many new user features, and it is more stable than the old
Windows (I know that is not saying much though).
A more serious decision is whether to got for Windows NT or
not. At WNMU, we went with NT for the computers in our
Information Systems department while the rest of the campus
got Win95. Windows NT is the most reliable and stable of the
Windows series. The penalty for using NT is its fairly
stringent hardware requirements and the compatibility
problems with some software. As fast hardware becomes
cheaper and more software vendors start supporting NT, the
choice for NT may be easier. For now, Win95 is probably the
better choice for most users.
Hardware specifications
Once some of the software and operating requirements have
been determined, it is possible to start matching equipment.
There are three main variables to the hardware that are a
cost/performance consideration. These variables are
applicable to both the PC and the Mac.
* Type and speed of processor
* Amount of RAM
* Size of the hard disk
Because of the higher price of a comparably equipped Mac,
and the smaller availability of software for it, I strongly
favor the PC computer. There are some applications in
graphics processing area where the Mac is still better, and
since the computer is just a tool, it is sometimes advisable
to simply provide the user with whatever is their
preference. However, I have found that some users may
express a desire for a Mac without understanding some of its
limitations. One user I talked with recently, was surprised
to learn that most business computers today were PCs and
that newer software for the Mac is not as plentiful.
Regardless of platform, there may be a tendency to want the
highest speed processor currently available. This is a very
expensive proposition. The best value can be found in the
level of performance someplace below the "cutting edge." For
example, today the Pentium 133 (MHz) is significantly
cheaper than the 166, but not much more than a 120. Once the
processor itself has gotten down to a price of around $150
or less, then even if a slower processor was being given
away for free, the most you can save is the $150! I look for
value where the processor price has dropped to under $200.
Only if there is a defined need, can the cost of a faster
machine be justified.
On the Macintosh side, Apple has discontinued its line of
68x00 computers. All of the new Macintoshes are based on the
PowerPC processor. Within the PowerPC line, however, there
is a range of performance levels. The PowerPC 601 and 602
are designed for low cost systems. The 603 is primarily for
portables where low power is a consideration. The 120 MHz
604 is probably the best value for a faster PowerPC at this
time. All of the processors mentioned so far are 32 bit
versions. The PowerPC 620 is the 64 bit entry which offers
performance at a price.
The more RAM the better! For a PowerMac, the minimum for a
usable system is 16 MB. A PC running Win95 can survive
reasonably with only 8 MB, but 16 MB is a good investment to
speed operation. Windows NT needs a minimum of 16 MB with 32
MB strongly recommended. On my own system at home, I run
Windows NT with 64 MB RAM. Recently, RAM prices have come
down to the range of $5 per megabyte. However, as this is
being written (right at the deadline as usual), prices of
RAM have begun to climb again. Keep watch on this item.
Just as with RAM, hard disk prices have been going down
rather rapidly. Unfortunately, the size of new software has
been going up at a pace that seems faster than the increases
in hard disk sizes! A Gigabyte hard disk should be
considered a minimum size for a PC or a Mac. Price of a 2 GB
hard disk is now under $300 and should be seriously
considered for any new computer purchase. Recognize that
Windows 95 by itself uses around 50 MB of hard disk and
office suites such as MS Office will eat up over 30 MB!
Windows NT will need 90 MB just for the OS. Add a few more
of the newer programs that each use over 20 MB and your
large hard disk starts looking smaller.
Accessory items
The relatively low cost of adding a CD-ROM to a computer
(under $100) has made it a necessity. Even if the user is
not planning to use the CD-ROM, installation of new software
is made so much easier that this item is likely to pay its
own way in a short while.
Because the hard disks are now large, give serious
consideration to their backup. A Travan tape backup unit can
be purchased for under $160. The 4mm DAT is still a better
system, but its cost is around $650. Backup tape cost,
however, favors the DAT system. Travan costs about $20/tape
while a 90 meter DAT is under $7.
Another item to consider is a UPS (Uninterruptible Power
Supply). All of the computers in Information Systems
department (as well as my three computers at home) are
protected by UPSs. Cost of a 450VA unit is under $170 and
will provide about 20 minutes of backup power to a PC with a
17 inch monitor. The UPS also protects the equipment from
power surges in addition to protecting from data loss. With
the number of thunderstorms that we get in the area, the UPS
is a "must have" item.
Many users wanted (and got) sound cards for their new
computers. Although the addition of sound to an office
computer is of dubious value, cost of such cards is now
under $40 and is not a major item of dispute. Use your own
judgment in this area.
Most users will need to share information with one another
as well as access the campus central computers. A network
card can be purchased for as little as $18. This should be
considered standard equipment for all new purchases.
Monitor size
Although many of the new 14 inch monitors are now rather
good, there is still a difference in display quality between
them and the 15 inch models. Cost of a good 15 inch monitor
is under $300 and should be considered the base level for
any computer. Characteristics that should be considered in a
monitor:
* Flatness of the picture tube - cheaper models often
have a curved surface. A flat face helps reduce glare.
* Actual display size. The advertised size refers to the
diagonal size of the glass of the picture tube. Different
models may produce actual images which may be smaller or
larger than others. Because of lawsuits by several states,
most advertisers now include the dimension for actual
viewing area.
* Display dot pitch - the spacing between color dots on
the screen. The largest value that should be acceptable
today is 0.28mm. Many monitors now have dot pitch of only
0.26mm. The smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the image
will be.
* Display resolution - the number of scan lines and dots
per line used to produce the display. For PCs, the available
values are 640x480, 800x600, 1152x768, 1024x768, 1280x1024,
and 1600x1200. Macs have similar values. Although the
setting is a matter of personal preference, the practical
limit is based on monitor size. On a 15 inch monitor most
users prefer 800x600, although 1024x768 is possible. On a 17
inch monitor 1024x768 will most likely be used.
* Refresh rate - the number of times per second that the
image is reproduced on the screen. This is a number
specified in units called Hertz (Hz) which means cycles per
second. A rate of less than 70 Hz will produce a perceptible
flicker resulting in eye strain. Refresh rate is linked to
the display resolution and monitor size. It is harder to
have a high refresh rate with high resolution and large
monitors. When looking at refresh rate numbers for a
monitor, make sure that the rate is at the resolution you
are planning to run it at. For 15 inch monitors, a minimum
rate of 75 Hz should be expected for all resolutions. A 17
inch monitor should have a minimum rate of 70 Hz at a
resolution of 1024x768.
* Low radiation. The Swedish government has set
electromagnetic radiation limits for monitors sold in
Sweden. Most monitors now comply with the MPR II
specification. This compliance should be expected in any
monitors purchased.
Although a larger monitor may seem to be a good idea, there
are also disadvantages. Some of our users had asked for 17
inch monitors only to discover that they lost a large amount
of desk space! The 17 inch models will weigh in at 40 lbs or
more and are usually fairly bulky.
The moving target
The rate of change in computer performance specifications
seems to be accelerating. A recent example is that of the CD-
ROM. In December of 1995, the quad speed CD-ROM at $130 was
the norm. Today the quad speed drive is almost impossible to
find. It had been replaced by a six speed device that had a
life of only a few months. The eight speed took over for a
short while, and now the ten speed CD-ROM drive is fast
becoming the standard. This represents three steps taking
place in a period of less than a year. Concurrent with these
spec changes, the prices were equally volatile. Cost of a CD-
ROM drive had been dropping, then going up as the higher
speed device took over. While the cost of a drive had
dropped at one point to as low as $50, today it will cost
about $90 for an eight speed device.
RAM prices became very volatile this year. The cost of RAM
had long stood at about $40 per megabyte. Due to an
oversupply, the prices took a slide since December till they
recently stood at only $5 per megabyte. As of this writing,
the prices are starting back up since manufacturers had cut
productions and the surplus is drying up.
In Pentium machines, the 75 MHz version has been
discontinued, although AMD is producing some clone parts.
Today the entry level is a Pentium 133 where it was still a
premium device only a few months ago. Apple has also
discontinued many of the lower end machines and is
concentrating on the higher performance, higher priced
computers. Prices of the Macs have also been dropping. Or,
more precisely, you can now purchase a better Mac for the
same price that you paid for a simpler Mac only a few months
back.
Warranty and maintenance
Most computers come with a one year on-site warranty. There
are vendors who offer two and even three year warranty with
the first year on-site. Read the warranty specifications
carefully. Many vendors claim the extended warranty, but the
fine print says that it only covers the cost of parts, NOT
labor. The catch is that the unit needs to be returned to
the vendor for warranty repair and thus the labor charge has
to be paid.
If your facility can support the repair of computers, the
value of a longer warranty can be factored in when comparing
prices from different vendors. As a figure of $75 per year
per computer can give you a good starting point for
comparison purposes. Since most vendors will try to get you
to first troubleshoot the computer and fix it yourself, the
value of an extended warranty may be questioned.
The maintenance of PCs can "eat your lunch" if you are a
campus computer center responsible for them. This can be
especially distressing if users bypass your department when
they order the equipment and then expect you to maintain it
when it fails. Try to establish purchasing standards that
include consideration for warranty support. For example, all
Macintosh computers come with only a one year warranty.
Extended coverage is offered only towards the end of the
first year, not at the time of purchase.
Selection of a vendor
Sometimes the choice of vendor is dictated by the time frame
for the purchase. By state law, most computer purchases
fall in the category requiring a bid process. To avoid the
bid, you may chose a vendor who is on a state contract. For
many this becomes a Gateway 2000. Although there are better
computers, cheaper computers, and better values to be found,
Gateway is a formidable vendor. My latest comparisons show
that a Gateway machine is about $150 to $200 more expensive
than the best value I could find. These figures are arrived
at after factoring in the value of software bundled and the
3 year warranty offered by Gateway.
Although many vendors will want your business, and they may
offer "bargain" prices, it is important to check out how
good the warranty support may be. In particular, will the
vendor still be in business in three years?
Paying extra for a "premium" vendor may not always be a good
decision. With the very rapid change in technology,
computers have a practical lifetime of about 3 years. At
that point, the machines will likely become "hand me downs"
from the real users to those just getting into using a
computer.
Software requirements
Don't forget to add the software when you buy a computer. A
computer without application software is not much use beyond
playing Solitaire to pass the time! It is best to
standardize on a package of business software to include on
all computers. At WNMU we chose to include the Microsoft
Office Professional on all computers purchased. The
exceptions were certain teaching labs where it was not
needed or computers for library patron use in accessing CD-
ROMs.
When buying from a larger vendor such as Gateway or Dell,
the office suite will likely be included. Check with the
vendor how much value is assigned to the software. If you
can buy the computer without the application software,
consider its value. Microsoft in particular, has excellent
values for educational institutions. A license for Microsoft
Office Pro costs about $50. You don't get any books with a
license, but most users don't need the kind of manuals that
come with this software anyway.
In addition to the "standard package" of software, your
users may need special applications to fill a particular
need. Most users will also need to have connectivity to the
campus central computers. This will require emulation
software. There is an excellent product called Anzio
available for only $20 per license. A shareware version is
available to try out. This is not a fancy "bells and
whistles" product, but it does a good job of emulation and
allows the keyboard to be remapped to the terminal needs.
Case study of WNMU
After years of deferred purchases (budget problems that you
probably don't know anything about), WNMU went on a computer
buying spree starting in June of 1995. The first round of
computers came from Gateway. These were Pentium 75 with 8 MB
of RAM and 500 MB hard disks. All machines included a
network card and MS Office Pro. Although the computers came
with Windows for Workgroups, we later received and installed
Windows 95.
In December, another round of purchases occurred. This time
we went to bid. Specifications were written to describe
computers with 15 inch and 17 inch monitors, 1 MB and 2 MB
video memory, 500 MB and 1 GB hard disk, and 8 MB versus 16
MB of RAM. Minimum performance specs were included for the
video board in the computer and the monitor to ensure crisp,
flicker free displays. All machines were to have a Pentium
75 and a quad speed CD-ROM.
We received seven bids. Several were easy to dismiss since
the quotes were up to twice the price of the lowest bid.
Although we are a Digital shop, the price of Digital's PCs
was prohibitive. Three vendors had quotes that were
reasonable, but the options that each offered required
making adjustments for comparison. For example, Gateway
offered a three year warranty and bundled software, while
another had only a one year warranty and no software.
However, Gateway had no cache RAM on the motherboard while
the others did. Every vendor needed some sort of variance
from the specifications in order to be considered.
The final analysis showed that for a small purchase, Gateway
would be best, but for the number of computers we were
considering (30 units to start), two other vendors offered a
better deal. The bundled software was only worth $60 to us
since we could get a Microsoft license and CD for that
price. Additional warranty beyond the first year would cost
us $75 per year. We decided to "self insure" and put $125
per machine aside into a warranty fund. Our greatest concern
regarding warranty was the monitors, and they were warranted
for two years already. All computers would have Windows 95
installed.
It was still difficult to compare the two lowest bids. Some
configurations were cheaper from one, while the other vendor
was cheaper for the other configuration. We did not want to
split the order because we would then have to deal with two
vendors and have two different computers to maintain. The
average cost difference between the two vendors was less
than $30 per computer when all adjustments were made. We
finally chose the larger of the two vendors for two reasons.
* A larger vendor could be expected to still be there in
three years.
* The salesman I was dealing with at the smaller vendor
chose to leave for another company. I did not feel
comfortable dealing with a small company I did not know and
had no person there that I had prior experience with.
The winning vendor was Liuski International with their
Magitronic line of computers. This company usually deals
only with resellers, but had recently set up operations to
deal with government agencies and educational institutions.
Based on the December bid, we continued to buy computers
through the end of June, 1996. The prices we paid for
computers purchased later were lower and we got more
computer for the money. This is a fact of life in the fast
changing world of computer technology. The last computers we
purchased were Pentium 100 and Pentium 133 with most of them
getting 16 MB of RAM.
There was an unfortunate experience with the computers
purchased in December. Due to a component vendor's change in
design, there was a high failure rate of the motherboards
from the December lot. Of 30 computers purchased then, eight
failed by May. Computers purchased later used a different
component and seem to be reliable. We also had a failure of
three monitors out of over 80 total purchases.
Keeping track of prices, adapting the purchase
specifications, placing the orders, and monitoring
deliveries became a time consuming chore. Although I enjoyed
the process, I found it very difficult to keep up with all
of the extra work load. If you are to attempt such a
procedure, expect to assign a PC expert to do this on a full
time basis.
In August 1996, I moved from the IS department to a one year
teaching assignment. My departure stopped the "other vendor"
purchases and WNMU reverted back to buying from Gateway. My
calculations show that we are currently paying a $200
premium for the Gateway, but it does make the purchase
process much easier.