Software The research tool that I want to run on my new system was recently
developed by a start-up company here, in Cincinnati. The name of the product is
Webspace, developed by Giage, Ltd. It is a wonderful search tool that will help
me to better organize and file the information I find on the Internet. The
second version is due out by the end of February, which will integrate email
with the application. Other software I will need on my system is: a word
processing, a spread-sheet, an email, and a browser application. The brands of
these are dependent on the system I chose. Some systems come with applications
already installed, and others will be extra. Other The other requirements that
were important to me are cost, support and warranty. The cost must stay below
$2,000.00. This is for the entire hardware, software, applications, monitor and
printer. I would like to find a company with 24-hour support because I may be
doing some of my research at strange hours. The warranty must be at least one
year for parts and labor. However, I would like to find a system with a
three-year warranty on parts. The Results Micron Millennia Max The first system
I picked was the Micron Millennia Max. It was the Editor¡¦s choice in a PC
Magazine review in November of 1999. It comes fully equipped, but still offers
an impressive expansion capacity. The review stated that ¡§the Micron Millennia
Max 533 combines features, performance, expandability, and a substantial service
and support program.¡¨
Since one of my main issues was expandability, this system was more than I
expected. The left side of the tower case releases easily for interior system
access, and expansion room in the Max includes five available PCI slots, three
externally accessible drive bays, and two internal drive bays. This array of
slots and bays and system resources will allow for me to add peripherals to the
Micron to increase capacity or meet specific application needs that I may have
in the future. My other major concerns were support and warranty. The Micron
Millennia Max comes with Web-based support, which includes drivers, bug fixes,
and a trouble-shooting wizard, but it does not offer online documentation. There
is a generous warranty -- three years (five years on the CPU and memory) with
first year on-site service standard. The system can be configured and purchased
over the Internet or by telephone, which makes it very convenient. Dell
Dimension XPS The second system that I was interested in was the Dell Dimension
XPS T500. It is considered to be one of the best home PCs for
performance-oriented users. It has excellent performance, features, and is a
great value for the dollar. My biggest concern is that this Dell system doesn't
have the extra convenience features, such as quick-launch keys on the keyboard
and front-mounted USB ports, which we've come to expect in this class. The
biggest features in the reviews I read were the Dimension's 128MB of RAM, 32MB
TNT2-based graphics card, and the 7,200-rpm hard disk. This is what made it one
of the best performers overall. Dell's offers online support, which includes
drivers, bug fixes, BIOS updates, and trouble shooting, all helpful for users
who want to figure out problems on their own. There is a standard three-year
warranty with 24-hour, 7-day toll-free technical support. Dell also allows their
buyers to sign up for the Dellnet ISP with one month of free access and link
directly to Dell's technical-support group via the Web. This was not a big
advantage for me since I have my Internet access already set up.
