SRS -

Since HP and Compaq have merged, it's a little uncertain which you're getting from either of them now. I haven't looked recently in detail, but a few months ago it looked like you might get an HP computer with a Compaq name on it, or the other way around. Both have good reputations, but each has had some minor quirks. Latest gossip is that they'll probably settle out eventually with only Compaq desktops/laptops, HP maybe still for some servers, but the HP name going almost exclusively to printers and scanners. I wouldn't be too reluctant to buy from either now, but I'd be careful about "spec-ing out" what I was getting.

With HP/Compaq, you need to watch what you're getting for "productivity suites" as sometimes in PCs I've looked at they've made "innocent" swaps to slip Lotus Works and other suites in on specific models, with Office on others. The "others" are generally good suites, and have their defenders, but most people who've used both Lotus and Office (especially if they got good at both) get upset with anything but Office. Suite yourself, but pay attention to what you're getting.

Even if the machine you're looking at says "Microsoft Office" you need to check very carefully to be sure what specific issue they're talking about. OEM versions of "Office" a few months ago came in at least 3 separate "Home Editions," 3 or 4 "Small Business Editions," and about 4 different "Professional Editions." Although they've improved a lot, I'd suspect you won't be happy with any of the "Office Home" packages. The "Small Business" editions should all have "real" Word and Excel but may omit various from the Access, Project, Publisher, etc. lines. The same goes for the "Professional." Make SURE THAT THE PACKAGE contains the specific programs you want.

My last 5 desktops have all been Micron, now called just "MPC" for computers. Back when there really was a "nerd factor" difference, the reviews consistently showed them having the little extras and well-balanced products. Since everything now is competitive on cost-only, it probably makes less difference, but I'd probably go back.

MPC gives you a choice of going in as a "Home" user or as "Home Office/Small Business/." I've found recently that it's easier to put together a good office machine – probably what you want – as a Home Office/Small Business customer. You can check out both, but the "home" machines seem, like most makers, to go toward "wonderful multimedia" at the expense of office performance. Our last 4 MPC desktops have been from the Millennia line, which generally provided good office capability without too much "consumerist" trash. (You may actually want some of the trash(?) – and you can get a lot of it.) Support has been better than what I've heard for users of other similar hardware, and we've required relatively little.

I found a better deal from Dell for a laptop a couple of years ago, and it's been a really good machine, but there's no way any laptop can replace even a mediocre desktop if you really need to use it.

With a new machine you almost certainly want Windows XP pre-installed. The usage you've indicated in previous "conversations," I would say, mandates WinXP-Professional. There have been a few people for whom I've suggested saving the few bucks to get a Home version, but the expectation there was they really just wanted a "modern doorstop." They're happy with XP-Home, but I woudn't be; although the differences now are not as significant as they were a year or so ago.

You should be sure to get SR-2 preinstalled, assuming you go with WinXP. You'll probably have a hard time getting a new machine anywhere now without it.

With WinXP, I'd really recommend at least a 120GB hard drive. With Win2K, many machines came with 30GB, mainly because early Win2K couldn't read a FAT32 disk larger than that, and machines were delivered with FAT32 for "compatibility." Most WinXP machines now should come with the hard drive in NTFS, and larger sizes are no problem for the WinXP OS to manage in either format.

While WinXP will theoretically run on 128MB RAM, my personal minimum acceptable would probably be 512MB. (I might buy "her" one with 512MB.) I run 1024MB in my own main machine, and would hate to have less. (Not everyone builds 60MB Word files 3 at a time or opens 40 photos at a time in Photoshop Elements. I've become accustomed to it.)

Many new machines will come with DVD/ROM and DVD-R/RW, with the DVD-R/RW being the burner. You're unlikely to find them without the "Compact Disk" logo, but you should check to make sure. DVD/ROM with the "Compact Disk" capability is indistinguishable from a CD-ROM drive for reading CDs, and lets you watch DVD movies if you wish. You can read your DVDs from the DVD burner, so there's no real handicap in having a CD-ROM with a CD-compatible DVD burner.

DVD-R/RW with the "Compact Disk Rewritable" label should work fine for burning CDs, although they may be somewhat slower than a "comparably spec'd" CD-R/RW on CDs. There are at least 3 DVD formats in use, and in earlier drives they were NOT interchangeable. DVD–R and +R are the two most used. Verifying exactly what you're getting may be worthwhile, and you'll likely see them as "DVD-R/RW," "DVD+R/RW," or "DVD-R/RW+R/RW," along with more exotic naming.

I've found DVD for data backups nearly useless. You can put an enormous amount of stuff on one, but accessing and retrieving a few files from one is so slow I generally just use a stack of CDs. They're a little more reliable, perhaps, than mini-tape backup, but not really much faster, especially for retrieval – for the ones I've tried to run. (And I can label a CD with something fairly meaningful, but a DVD isn't big enough to describe the "usable content" on the disk. Stick-on labels have worked fine for me on CDs, but are NOT safe on DVDs. Unless things improved while I wasn't watching, putting a label on a DVD nearly always makes it unreadable, eventually if not immediately. They do sell labels for them, so you may get better mileage.) DVDs are for Music and Video.

For a basic MPC machine, I started with the MPC Millennia 940i Professional, (a little down on the page) If you click the "Buy/Configure" button, you'll find a base price of about $1200. With a quick-look selection of what I thought you might like, and/or what I'd recommend, I came up with a pretty decent setup, perhaps, at about $2400. (The flat panel monitor is a big part of the add.) I note that there was a free upgrade to 512MB RAM and to 120GB hard drive, but I forgot to look at whether that was figured in. You can configure a machine/software, recalculate total (you have to click the button to recalculate when you make changes), and save quote. They ask for an email addy, and will send you a copy of the spec and quote. They promise to sell for that price, to that spec, for a time; but it's non-binding on you if you go back and find it's cheaper. You can go back to it and change, etc. for a reasonable time while you look at other systems. I haven't gotten a lot of spam from giving these guys my email addy when I pulled specs for others fairly recently. (Most web sellers do offer something similar, with the spam variable).

Looking back at your spec., I believe I omitted the ZIP drive. (If they're older disks you may find it hard to get a 100MB or 250MB ZIP drive now without a special order.) The mem card reader is a good idea, but you can get a plug-in for your USB-2 port for $30 or so, and many printers now come with ports to read cards.

Note that I went to MPC because I've been there recently, and sort of knew what they had. I've been happy with them, they're in Idaho and build here, but Taiwan makes good stuff too. The above was more to see what the current market is than to recommend a specific setup.

SUMMARY – I'd suggest:

512MB Minimum RAM
120GB Minimum HD (80 GB acceptable, but I consider it marginal)
WinXP-Professional SR2 preinstalled
Office Small Business or Office Professional – BE VERY CAREFUL that the specific offering includes the programs you want.
CD-ROM (DVD-ROM okay, but be sure it reads CDs)
DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW or "multiformat" DVD burner (be sure it burns CDs)
Monitor – your choice, but many sellers are quoting without monitor, so make sure you get one.

Options: Either Roxio or Nero are good burner programs. I use Roxio for data and Nero for audio, usually. WinXP has "built-in" capability, and there are "OEM Bundle" products sometimes offered; but you have more control with a burner program.

"Integrated Sound Cards" are usually okay, but if you want to do much real sound work this is one of the few areas where I'd suggest "take what they offer" and plan to get an add-on later. (If the OEM installs it, the "maker" won't support it, and the OEM won't know anything about it and can't support it.)

Peripherals later maybe.

John