Computers

Computers: What I Use & Recommend

My General Thoughts on Computers

Computers are arguably the greatest invention man has created. They create a safer environment by allowing us to monitor thousands of variables at one time with little or no human intervention. Computers allow us to work more efficiently by automating tasks, processing records, and just the basic ability to save files for later use. Computers have changed our civilization more in the last 25 years (since home computing became possible) than anything else has (including the automobile) in such a short span of time.

My Background in Computers

I began my experiences with computers in the first grade in 1984. Back then we used Apple machines, specifically Models IIc and IIe. But soon after my parents bought our first home computer - intended for helping them manage some aspects of their printing business. But of course, I managed to take over it as much as possible.

That first machine was built by a company called Leading Edge - they lasted into the 90s, but barely. That computer had the Intel 8088 processor running at a whopping 7.5 MHz. It came with 512 KB of memory, but we soon upgraded that to 640 KB. The original two 5.25" floppy drives were adequate, but we still added a 40 MB hard drive - yes, that is 40 Megabytes! I still remember playing Sid Meier's great games on that machine. I played "F-15 Strike Eagle" and "Submarine Simulation". They showed up just fine on our 4-color monitor (which was high tech for then). And the sounds coming out of the system speaker (the one inside the case) sounded just fine to me!

Those were the days when you walked into a computer store and the software section was as big as a supermarket. It had to be back then because every title came for DOS, Apple, Mac, Atari, Commodore 64, and a few others that I don't even recall. Then it started to get even more complicated because they became available in both 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disks. Finally, the smaller formats died off and everything went to Mac and Windows and with things being available on CDs, they were able to put both formats on the same disk.

As you can see, my life with computers has been quite extensive. And I always keep learning more great things. In 1995 I began creating personal webpages for myself. And in 1999 I began building webpages for others.

My Home Office Equipment

Cassie and I have a total of four computers in the house.

First, we have a Gateway laptop. This thing is several years old - was one of the first generation of Centrino machines! But it is still kicking along and does what we need it to do.

Second, Cassie's machine is an old Pentium 4 Dell tower. It isn't the fastest, but it does what she needs.

Third, I built a server for our home office system. This functions as a domain controller, DNS box, and file server. I built it from scratch with an Antec case and power supply, Intel motherboard and processor, Kingston RAM, and Seagate Barracuda hard drives. This box has five hard drives totalling 1,360 GB of space. The processor here is a 3.2 GHz Pentium D.

Last, my own desktop machine. I also built this myself and I built it to be "God's Computer." It is built in an Antec server tower with a 550 watt power supply. It has an Intel extreme-series motherboard, Core2Duo processor, 4 GB of memory, and four Seagate Barracudas in a RAID 5 array. Total storage space here is 900 GB.

Total space on all computers in the house is 2,420 GB, or nearly 2.5 TB!

My Recommendations

First, decide if you want a laptop or a desktop machine. When deciding this, remember that laptops are more expensive to buy, more expensive to repair, and more expensive to operate (batteries cost big bucks). Also, keep in mind that while people generally buy laptops for the mobility convenience, few people actually use them for that capability. Most of the time, buying a desktop machine is the best option.

Second, are you getting a Windows or Macintosh machine? I view this choice as simple. Around the world the vast majority of machines run Windows. There are more software choices available for Windows and it is MUCH cheaper to buy both hardware and software for Windows than Mac. It used to be that Mac was better for graphics and sound, but so many improvements have been made in these areas on the Windows platform that I can no longer see any reason why choosing the Mac is a good idea.

Next, what are you going to do with your machine? School Reports? Database work? Graphics Design? Movie Editing? Gaming? Maybe just browsing the web? Each of these would have slightly different hardware configurations.

Basic Configuration

PROCESSOR: My personal opinion here is to stick with Intel chips. If you are squeezed for cash, the Pentium D chips are a great value. If you can afford it, go with a Core 2 Duo or Quad. These are either dual or quad core processors with tons of power! Price obviously goes up with speed, but the price will increase faster as your processor speed increases, so if you can stand a slower one, it will be cheaper.

MEMORY: 1 GB minimum, but buy as much as you can afford. The more you have, the faster your computer will seem to run. While you can get away with the 1 GB, I wouldn't buy a computer with less than 2 GB today.

HARD DRIVE: get at least 120 GB, but don't waste your money on the new Terabyte drives. If you use up your original 120 GB, it is cheap and easy to add a second hard drive.

MONITOR: Get at least a 17" screen. LCD Flat Panel displays are great if you can afford them because they take up less space than standard CRT displays, give off less heat, and are generally easier on the eyes. If you must get a standard CRT screen, get a Trinitron monitor as they are much easier on the eyes.

GRAPHICS CARD: Get at least a 128 MB graphics card. If possible, get a 512 MB card. The cards made by nVidia (geForce) and ATI's Radion and Rage cards are very good. If you are going to do gaming, bump this up as high as you can afford.

SOUND CARD: I highly recommend Turtle Beach cards, but SoundBlaster cards are also a good choice. If building your own machine, the onboard sound with the motherboard is usually sufficient.

MOUSE: Always get an optical or laser mouse! They are always accurate and you never have to clean them out. I love my Logitech mice. I use the MX610 regularly. This is a cordless laser mouse. The batteries tend to last a couple of weeks. I use rechargables so it doesn't cost much. These new mice also have lots of buttons. Don't buy one unless it has a forward/back button for the web. My mouse also has volume controls on it, which has proven really convenient.

OTHER DRIVES: If you have a choice about getting a floppy drive, don't. There really isn't much need for a floppy since Windows XP and Vista allow for bootable CDs. I do highly recommend a DVD-RW drive and a DVD drive. These should be the fastest you can get and it would also be acceptable for a combo drive.

SCANNERS/PRINTERS: I highly recommend Epson inkjet printers because they offer finer ink droplets, fast print speeds, and affordable supplies. Even the most inexpensive Epson printers are far better than most models offered by the competition. For laser printers, I have had excellent luck with my Samsung CLP-510n color laser printer. For scanners, go with HP. The HP scanners are fast and accurate, giving brilliant colors and specacular copies. The newer models even scan 3-D objects just like a taking a picture!

WHAT BRAND? I personally recommend Gateway. They offer great hardware options and reliable and helpful support. If you don't care about getting a custom built laptop, Toshiba and Sony are both very highly rated - they just can't be custom configured. I have purchased several refurbished Gateway machines for others and all have fallen in love with them. They haven't experienced any trouble so far.

Questions???

Any more questions? Email me!

Updated 19 January 2008