Prices shown are mainly from computer fairs, i. e. "stall" prices - what you actually pay, i. e. no v. a. t. to be added; note that some stalls do not accept credit cards (some do, sometimes with a few percent surcharge).
This document contains no images:- it's intended to be saved for examination offline (though can certainly be read online). {Note: TV and Radio cards, operating systems, and some comments on processors and motherboards, are in separate files.}
Blanks in tables in this document mean I don't know, not that something doesn't have the feature; if I do know, I put "no" or "0" or whatever.
I've also included my own thoughts on PCs in general.
This was last revised 2004-1-4, based on information mostly 2003-11-8 (and some earlier); be aware it's out of date even before I am doing this editing, and probably in some respects now actually incorrect!
Figures | thus | were noted | 2003-11-8 | in | London | - and were the lowest I found - allow at least ~ 10-15% margin; |
thus | 2003-8-16 | |||||
thus | 2003-3-8 | |||||
otherwise | (mostly) earlier | (various places) | and've probably dropped more. |
Some example systems [monitor not included]:
make (model) | processor (megahertz) | memory M | hard disc G | CD | sound | price (£) and other details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dell | 233MMX | 64 | yes | 50 with USB | ||
PII 233 | 3.2 | no | 35 with USB | |||
PII 266 | 4.3 | no | yes | 45 with USB and net | ||
DELL (OPTIPLEX GX1) | PII 400 | 128 | 6.4 | yes | yes | 75 with graphics & network |
PII 450 | yes | yes | 85 with graphics & network | |||
Dell (Optiplex) | 10 | yes | yes | 85 with USB, 10/100 net, Windows 2000; 3 months | ||
DELL (OPTIPLEX GX110) | PII 667 | 256 | yes | 129 | ||
P3 450 | 128 | 6.4 | yes | 150 with PCI graphics, 2 × USB, and 17" monitor | ||
Viglen | P3 500 | 6 | yes | yes | 135 (2003-10-26, Chelmsford); desktop; with
floppy, MoDem, USB, Windows XP, 30 days RTB warranty | |
DELL (OPTIPLEX GX110) | P3 733 | 256 | 10 | yes | 139 | |
COMPAQ (EVO) | P4 1700 | 20 | yes | 300 with network, 4×USB, 16M Nvidia graphics; black, like a small VCR |
component | basic system | costing (£) | might remain current (years) |
---|---|---|---|
necessary to work at all: | |||
case (with power supply) | midi ATX, >=350 watt power supply, 3 bay | 18 (2002-11-3) | ~4? |
motherboard | SEE BELOW | 35 upwards | ~3? |
processor | Pentium iii 866 megahertz | 35 | 1¼ |
memory | 256 megabytes PC133 | 21 | |
hard drive | 40/60/80 gigabytes | 40/50/57 | |
monitor | 17" second-hand, or non-CRT | 35 or 180 | 5+ |
graphics hardware | 8M AGP with TV out | 20 (2002-2-16) | 2½? |
operating system | Windows 98 SE | 35 (2002-10-19) | already obsolete |
keyboard | (as required) | 3 | 4+ |
cables | as needed | (included) | (indefinite) |
you'd almost certainly want these: | |||
floppy drive | 3.5" 1.44 megabyte | 5.50 | 6+ |
CD facility | CD-RW drive with BURnproof (optionally combined with DVD) | 28 (55) | 3- |
mouse | PS/2 | 3 | 5? |
sound hardware | (on motherboard) | 0 | ~4 or more |
speakers | mains powered (ideally with T connector) | 5 | >5 |
printer | HP640C | 59 (2001-8-18) | 4+ |
MoDem | V92 internal (hardware/software) | 9/8.50 | 4- |
further additions: | |||
other software | 3+? | ||
portable USB "drive" | 10 to 59 | 2+? | |
DVD-R/W or DVD-ROM drive (if not combined with CD-RW [above]) | 89 (2003-10-26) or 23 | 4- (1 for R/W) | |
scanner | 11.74 (2003-10) | 3+ | |
digital still camera (most can also be used as "webcam"): | 20 [Gadget, Lakeside: 2003-9-27] (352
× 288 pixels); 39.90 [Jessops, Lakeside: 2003-9-27] (640 × 480); 46.99 [Morgan] (640 × 480, 3× optical zoom); to 1000. | >1½ | |
TV and radio cards (receive radio and/or television via your PC; most can also grab video). Can have multiple-channel monitoring, NICAM stereo sound, remote control ... | 29.99 (2003-3-1) upwards | 4+? | |
FireWire card: for interfacing to digital camcorders (and other FireWire devices) | 18 | 3+ | |
receiver for digital radio | If you can find one, 39.44 (2002-4) | 4+ | |
network card (for connecting PCs together in a network) | 6 (10/100) per PC [if just 2 PCs, in Windows 9x, just a laplink cable - 3.50 (2m parallel) 5 (5m serial, to be avoided!) - works fine] | ||
USB card (if your PC hasn't got USB on the motherboard; all new ones do) | 9 (2 port) 15 (4 port) |
The slimline (thin desktop) case has more or less
disappeared, due to awkward mounting arrangements and
ventilation concerns.
The desktop lies horizontally, usually under the monitor
(otherwise tending to occupy too much desk, with the monitor as
well) - but raises the monitor rather above the comfortable
eyeline, and makes the drives awkward to get at (hitting, or at
least interfering with, the keyboard, or being round at the
side); it also requires the monitor to be moved if access to the
inside of the PC is required for any reason.
The mini-tower is basically a desktop stood on end,
though set up so the drives are still horizontal. The
midi-tower, as you might expect, is higher than a mini-
(at least three 5¼" drive bays), without being as
overpowering as the full; probably the most popular.
The full tower is becoming commoner; though maybe
overkill for most home uses, and certainly less discreet, it can
be very convenient if later system expansion needs the space
(usually a lot easier to work on too). In general it costs a
little more, but not as much so as you'd expect.
shape | ATX (£) [AT no longer available] | ||
---|---|---|---|
mini | tower | 20 | 3 + 2 bays; 350W |
midi | 18 (2002-11-3) | 3 bay 350W | |
24 | 4 5¼"and 2 3½" drive bays; 350W; front sockets | ||
28 32 35 | 3 + 2 4 grey 300, P4+AMD app.s blue | ||
34 (2002-10-19) | 4 5¼, blue metallic, 300W | ||
full | 44 (2002-5-25, Chelmsford) | 300W | |
64/69 (2002-5-25, Chelmsford) | 300/350W, AMDa | ||
170 (2002-10-19) | "Lian Li"; 6 + 3 bays (+ 6 internal), 4 fans, 4 USB ports at front; NO PSU | ||
desktop | 39 (2001-10-27) |
All are more than adequate for the purpose (unless the number of
drives etc. requires larger, or you have a certain
processor so require a certain power supply rating); what
you get for more money varies from smarter appearance (lights,
switches, flaps) to easier internal access (hinged panels,
swing-out drive bays, sliding sides). You may also find ones
where the USB connectors are on the front of the case,
rather than the back. It's important to check, if buying
separately, that the motherboard is compatible
with the case, though most fit most.
Motherboard
Large board into which everything else plugs. Many types; among
the differences are the processor type they are designed to work
with, and the top speed.
Unfortunately, there are currently two or more main shapes for the processor device, and it is far from clear which will prevail (the processor shape affects the motherboard choice, as obviously the motherboard must have the correct socket).
There are some observations on the various types here (only about 3 sides of A4).
The motherboard includes the serial (external MoDem, sometimes
mouse/trackerball, though ATX motherboards usually have a
dedicated socket for this which is of the PS/2 type), parallel
(printer [etc.]), and USB (universal serial bus) ports.
ATX motherboards need a (usually ATX) case with holes in the
right places.
Motherboards have slots for plug-in cards. There are sometimes
one or two ISA ones, for older ISA cards - rare now,
though IMO it's worth having at least one ISA slot still. There
should be several PCI slots; most cards are of this type.
Finally, there is often an AGP position: this is for a
modern graphics card. (PCI graphics cards are still available,
though quite hard to find.)
[The names mean Industry Standard
Architecture, Peripheral Connect
Interface, and Advanced Graphic(s)
Processor.]
The motherboard sometimes contains on-board sound and/or video -
sometimes even a MoDem and/or LAN. This can be a good
idea, as it is fewer thing(s) to have to buy and to go wrong,
and fewer slots used; conversely, the incorporated sound and/or
video may not be quite what is desired, and in the case of the
video, may use some main RAM. In many cases, the on-board
option can be disabled, by moving a link or changing a setting,
so that a different (usually better) separate card can be used
instead (or, sometimes, as well). On-board video
circuitry, if it shares some of the main memory, can have
an effect on performance, so is best avoided in many cases
(though on-board video circuitry that has it's own,
separate, memory is OK - but rare). There is little if
any disadvantage to on-board sound circuitry.
make | name/ model | processor | sound | video | slots | system bus speed | price (£) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
socket | speed (MHz) | AGP | PCI | ISA | ||||||
PC Chips | A | yes | 45 with LAN and MoDem (and 1.2G Duron for 82) [both prices 2002-10-19] | |||||||
Elite (?) | P455A | 478 | yes | no (?) | yes | 5 | 0 | 79.99 (Maplin 2003-4-26); DDR + DIMM | ||
Intel | 7 | to 1.2G | 35 w. USB | |||||||
ASROCK | M810MLR | A | 32M shared | 2 | 200/266 | 40 Modem, Lan | ||||
ASROCK (ASUS) | K7VT2 | 4× | 5 | 0 | 99.99, or 124.97 with XP2700+ & fan (both Maplin, 2003-4-26); USB2, LAN, PCI/DDR to 2G | |||||
L7VTA | 8× | 4 | DDR 400/333 | (Maplin, 2003-4-26) USB2, LAN |
Processor
Few new processors of speed less than about 2 GHz (2000
MHz) are obtainable; the current maximum speed is around 3 GHz
(3000 MHz) (probably more by the time you read this).
See also comments under
motherboard.
Pentium IIIs, or PIIIs as they are usually called, as well as earlier Celerons, fit the "socket 370". The socket 370 is often referred to as PGA or flip-chip (though there are some differences between these various forms).
The latest developments I know of as I type are the Pentium 4 from Intel (socket 478 - or 423 for some of the early ones), and the Athlon and Duron (a cut-down Athlon as the Celeron is a cut-down Pentium) from AMD (both socket A).
make | type | form | speed (megahertz) | price (£) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
processor | front side bus | ||||
Cyrix | 333 | 15 | |||
AMD | Duron | socket A | 1300 | 28 | |
Athlon XP | 1800+ | 45 | |||
2200 | 52 | ||||
2400+ | 65 Retail Box | ||||
2600 | 333 | 68, 125 box | |||
2700 | 105 box | ||||
2800 | 110 | ||||
Barton | 2500+ | 69 Retail Box | |||
2600+ | 77 Retail Box | ||||
2800+ | 115 Retail Box | ||||
make | type | form | speed (megahertz) | price (£) | |
processor | front side bus | ||||
Intel | Piii | socket 370 | 866 | 35 | |
Pentium 4 | . | 1700 | 99 | ||
2400 | 533 | 115 | |||
800 | 130 Retail Box | ||||
2600 | 145 Retail Box | ||||
2800 | 533 | 185 box | |||
159 Retail Box | |||||
3000 | 205 Retail Box | ||||
Pentium 4 Celeron | 2000 | 52 Retail Box |
The processor should be fanned (£1.08 to 12 {2002-2-16}
[socket 7 & 370], £5 {2001-3-31} [Pentium III],
£7 {2002-2-16} [P4], £9.50 {2002-5-25 Chelmsford}
[socket A, up to 2GHz]) - if not, reliability will be reduced
(in some cases lifetime reduced to a few seconds!).
Memory
Also known as RAM (originally Random Access
Memory). 16 megabytes is an absolute minimum for Windows
95; the amount makes more difference to a system's
speed than almost anything, to a first
approximation.
Don't accept less than 256 in a new system, or 48 in a
second-hand.
Two types are currently widely available:
In short - get memory that suits the motherboard, and won't compromise the performance of the rest of the system.
Although a combination of capacities is usually allowed by the motherboard (do check), don't, e. g., buy two 128 modules rather than one 256, as it uses up the slots faster, reducing future options. If the motherboard uses DDR memory, it may well not have any PC1xx slots at all.
Prices fell below 6p a megabyte (£15 for a 256M PC133 module) around October/November 2001; they then went back up again, though have dropped a bit again (countered by the newer DDR originally costing more, and PC1xx now beginning to show a rarity premium). In pounds:
capacity (MB) | 168 "pin" SDRAM | DDR | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PC100 | PC133 | |||||||||||||
64 | 12 (2002-3-9), 6 s/h (2002-2-16) | 6 (2001-10-27), 12
128 | 9 (2001-10-27), | 15B/13 (2002-11-3) 8 (2001-10-27),
11B (2002-10-19), 10 (2002-11-3),
15B
| 16 (2001-10-27), | 333: 27 (2002-10-19) 256 | 22B
| 15 (2001-10-27),18B/16 (2002-10-19),
24B,
21OEM
| 2100/266:
22/24B | 2700/333: 25B 3200/400: 33B 512 | 32B
| 34B (2002-10-19), 30 (2002-11-3) | 59B, 37 266/2100:
43B | 333/2700: 45B 400/3200: 69B |
gigabytes | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 20 | 30 | 40 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EIDE (£) | 27 (2001-10-27) | 33# | 38# | 39 (2002-11-3) | 42 (2002-10-19) 47 5400 | 49 (2002-10-19) | |||||
7200 RPM (£) | 37 | 40 | |||||||||
gigabytes | 60 | 80 | 120 | 180 | 200 | ||||||
7200 RPM (£) | 50 | 59 | 72 | 185 | |||||||
7200 RPM with 8M cache (£) | 57 | 75 | 123 | 130 | |||||||
serial | 79 |
Monitors not based on the conventional cathode ray tube are becoming available. Advantages are perfect flatness (though flat c. r. t.s are available) and zero distortion, very high clarity, and, mainly, much greater thinness (and less power consumption). Against these are slightly worse colour rendering (especially off-axis), lower viewing angle, and some hesitancy with moving images; however, improvements have reached the point where these are unlikely to be a problem. The main thing about these so-called flat panel displays is their considerably greater cost - two to three times as much as ones based on c. r. t.s. (They are also more fragile.) Note that refresh rate in such displays is not related to flicker, zz only smearing of moving images.
The number of colours is not a function of a CRT monitor; walk away from anyone who tries to use this as a selling point J!
size | resolution | make/other claims | status | warranty | price (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14" | (second-hand?) | 3 month | 22 (maybe not SVGA) | ||
15" | Samtron | second hand | 25 | ||
1024×768 | RELISYS | new | 84.99 (Maplin 2003-4-27) | ||
17" | 1200×1024 | 99.99 (Maplin 2003-4-27) | |||
DELL | second-hand | 35 | |||
HiPoint | new | 3 years on-site | 85 | ||
19" | 1600×1400 | Sony .24 Trinitron 160 hertz | 179 | ||
21" | 1920×1440 | SONY .24 | 499 (2002-3-9) | ||
SONY | second-hand | 159 | |||
non-CRT (TFT etc.) | |||||
15" | ECS TFT with speakers | new | 180.00 | ||
TV/PC/S-video monitor SAMSUNG | 600 | ||||
15.1" | 1024×768 | HYUNDAI TFT with TV tuner etc. | 499 (2002-3-9) | ||
17" | Relisys TFT no speakers | 3 years | 259 | ||
LITEON TFT with speakers | 3 years on-site | 289.00 | |||
18.1" | TFT | 3 | 450 (2002-10-19) | ||
19" | 1280×1024 | Samsung DVI and SVGA | new | 549 | |
24" | Samsung | 1400 |
make and/or model | memory (M) | slot | 3D | TV out | price (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ATI | 8 | AGP | 15 | ||
Mentor | 2D/3D | no | 18 (2002-2-16) | ||
yes | 20 (2002-2-16) | ||||
PCI | 22 (2002-2-16) | ||||
NVIDIA GEFORCE | 16 | AGP | 17 (2002-2-16) | ||
32 | AGP | 20 | |||
ASUS | 64 | AGP 8× | 35 | ||
Geforce 4MX420 | AGP 1/2/4/8 | yes | 40 | ||
PCI | 49 (2002-10-19) | ||||
Radeon [DDR, DVI and SVGA] | 128 | 49 |
These days the video circuitry is often on the
motherboard; this saves a lot of bother, though it's useful
if it can be disabled in case you want to change later without
having to change the motherboard. Unless it uses separate
memory, "on-board video" can also seriously affect the
performance of the motherboard. (See also
motherboards and
TV cards.)
The operating system (software)
Basically, you need one! This is the software that runs under
all other software. It will cost from
£19.99 [2002-10-19] (Windows 95 OSR2.1 - CD with book
and floppy) to £125
(Windows XP, professional edition).
See here for more
details.
Keyboard and mouse (or trackerball)
IMO, there's little to choose between keyboards as
regards feel; others disagree. (How quiet [or
otherwise!] they are certainly does vary!) New standard
ones cost from £3.
Keyboards are now around (from £7, usually called multimedia
keyboards) with keys for things like controlling sound and video
file (and CD) playing, audio volume, and - usually - some user
definable keys. Cordless ("wireless") keyboards
[with multimedia keys] £15 (2003-10-26, Chelmsford), or
with [optical] mouse from £25. A feature worth having on
the mouse (from £3)
is a wheel (often where the middle button [seems to have fallen
from use] would be [usually the wheel also is a button]);
this makes scrolling, e. g. in web pages, much easier.
Personally, I prefer a trackerball (from £9.95
[2002-11-3] serial) to a mouse, for reasons of space and [not]
running out of mat; however, small ones are hard to find, which
defeats the object somewhat (though I have found one
[£9.95 {2002-11-3}), and small ones with wheel
don't seem to exist. Optical mice do not have the
conventional ball that needs cleaning. Check keyboard
connector matches motherboard one, or that
you have an adaptor, if buying for an old system; also check
that the motherboard has a PS/2 mouse socket if buying such a
mouse/trackerball (most modern ones do).
Cables
Some should come with the motherboard. Ones worth checking:
mains (PC, monitor, extras such as scanner); video cable if
not part of monitor; (internal) power "Y-adaptors"
if power supply doesn't have enough for all your peripherals;
(analogue and/or digital) audio for from the CD; hard and floppy
disc ribbon cables; and printer leads, especially if buying
switchboxes.
Floppy drive(s)
The humble 1.44 mega- (actually 1440 kilo-)byte,
3½", floppy, while small for many modern
applications, is still the only universal medium that almost any
PC with which one is likely to want to exchange data will have,
though CD (see below) has been in all new machines for
some years; it would thus be a brave person who decided to save
the £5.50 (£8 for a black-front
one) a (new) floppy drive costs. (Floppy
discs: £2.50 for 10 [2003-10-26 Chelmsford].)
CD (compact disc) drive(s)
For most purposes, 4× speed is enough - but you won't find
below about 32×, in read-only drives. CD-R discs are
write-once - the same capacity as a CD (about 650M), but can
only be written to once (they can be added to, but not
erased, so can't be re-used), but blanks are very
cheap. (Such drives and blanks can also make audio CDs.)
Next is the CD-RW, or CD-rewritable; these can be
re-used, so can be used as a giant
([571 and 665 for "80'"]) floppy - the discs cost
more, but of course aren't wasted.
size | audio | as CD-R | packet ("giant floppy") mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CD-RW | CD-R | |||
12 cm | 74' | 650 | 531 | 621 |
80' | 700 | 571 | 665 | |
90' | ||||
99' | 900 | |||
8 cm | 180 | |||
21' | 185 | |||
22' | 192 or 193 | |||
250 | ||||
business card | 33 | |||
37 | ||||
43 | ||||
50 |
type | make | speed | price (£) | BURn (Buffer Under-Run) proof | comment | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
read | write | ||||||
CD-R | CD-RW | ||||||
CD drive | ACER | 52× | (not applicable) | 11.74 (Morgan, 2003-10) | (not applicable) | (read-only drives: i. e. the original) | |
MITSUMI | 54× | 17 (2002-11-3) | |||||
AOpen | 56× | 22 (2002-5-25 Chelmsford) | |||||
CD-RW drive | 32× | 8× | 15, 2 for 25 | ||||
OptoRite | 52× | 24× | 28 | yes | |||
LITEON | 32× | 29 | |||||
ARTEC | 25 | with software | |||||
AMOCON | 32× | 8× | 65 | USB | |||
blank discs | size | speed | in cases | uncased (£) | |||
CD-R | discplant | 80'/ 700MB | (not applicable) | 10, 50, or 100 for 4, 19 or 37 | (Write-ONCE discs.) | ||
"silver" | 48× | 100 for 12 (2002-11-3) | |||||
Imation | 40× | 200 for 21 (2002-11-3) | |||||
99'/ 900 | 32× | 10/5, 25/10, 100/39 | 25 for 10 | ||||
Infiniti | 21' 185M | 10/7 | 100/60 | 8 cm discs | |||
Memorex | 210M | 24× | 7.99 for 10 (2003-3-1 Chelmsford PCW) | ||||
250M | 1.50, 10 for 13 (both 2002-10-19) | ||||||
33M | 50p (2002-3-9) | business card | |||||
37M | 70p, 10 for 6.00 (both 2002-10-19) | ||||||
43M | 90p, 10 for 7.50 (2002-3-9) | ||||||
50M | 5 for 5 (2002-3-9) | ||||||
CD-RW | Infiniti | 80' | 1, 10, or 50 for 75p, 7, or 34 | (RE-writable discs.) |
make | model | type | £ | comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
HP | 2500L | colour laser | 699.99 (2003-4-26 PCW) | |
MINOLTA | 23000L | |||
EPSON | C900 | 599.99 (2003-4-26 PCW) | ||
Minolta | PagePro 18L | monochrome laser | 152.74 Morgan | 18 ppm |
Samsung | izzi Plus II | 99.99 (2003-4-26 PCW) | ||
Lexmark | printer/copier/scanner | 69 | (black) | |
HP | 640C | double-cartridge resistive inkjet | £59 (2001-8-18) | (I like HP) |
Lexmark | Z35 | 33 | USB; black |
Capacity (M): | 16 | 32 | 128 | 256 |
---|---|---|---|---|
£ (USB1): | 10 | 17 | 25 | 45 |
£ (USB2): | 38 | 59 |
type | play CDs | play DVDs | make | price (£) | comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
read-only, usually called DVD-ROM | 48× | 16× | SONY/LG | 23/24 | |
Lite-on | 26 | inc. software | |||
32× | 8× | CYBERDRIVE | 20 (2002-10-19) | ||
48× | 16× | SONY (OEM) | 29.50 (2002-11-3) | ||
combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW | 52× | Samsung | 47 | 52× CD-R, 24× CD-RW; with software | |
48× | SONY | 55 | 48× CD-R, 24× CD-RW, BURn-proof; with software | ||
read/write ("DVD-R/RW") | yes | NEC | 115 | 4× DVD±RW; can also do CD-R/RW, of course | |
Pioneer | 189 | 4× writer; inc. 20 discs (DVD-R × 1!) | |||
89 (2003-10-26, Chelmsford) | DVR-A05; 4× DVD-R, 2× DVD-RW, 16× CD-R, 8× CD-RW | ||||
blank discs | Bulkpaq | 17 (2003-10-26, Chelmsford) for 25 | (DVD-R, 4.7G, 4 ×) | ||
. | 16 for 10 | 24×, 4.7G, DVD+R |
name | version | edition | £ | word processor | graphics/ presentation | database | spreadsheet | commments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows | 3.1x | i. e. included in OS (along with Notepad, a plain text editor) | Write | Paint | Cardfile | - | ||
95/98/Me/NT | WordPad | - | ||||||
WordPad is not unlike Write (it lacks both-margin justification, but Write can be copied from your W3.1x system). | ||||||||
Works Suite | 4.5 | 15 | Word | Draw | Works 4.5 | |||
Word | 97 | 10 | Word 97 | CD | ||||
Office | Professional | 30 | Word 97 | PowerPoint | Access | Excel | CD | |
2000 | 50 | Word | Powerpoint | |||||
Viewers (so you can view [and I think print] but not edit) for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, are available free from Microsoft. |
Software other than the above costs from zero to thousands!
scanner
A4 scanners can be obtained for
dots per inch -> v interface v | 600 × 1200 £: |
---|---|
parallel | 11.74 (Morgan, 2003-10) |
USB | Medion 23.49
Morgan; Lexmark (black) print/copy/scan 69 |
type | connection | type | speed | £ |
---|---|---|---|---|
external | serial port | V90 | 23.49 Morgan | |
internal | PCI | software | V92 | 8.50 |
"hardware" | 9 |
Some motherboards include a MoDem
(usually a software type).
What G6JPG bought
My current PCs (out of date now of course, in both
specifications and price) are
these. The desktop came to
£603 on 1999-5-30 plus about £91 at then-current
prices from my old system or stock - excluding monitor, remember
and printer (£110 then) - and the laptop £359 (plus
some extras) in 2003.
I bought a digital camera on 2000-1-12. DVD-ROM added to the desktop 2000-6.