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COMPUTER BITS BY JASON COLE Should you buy the very latest PC? Unless you’re a “techno-junkie” who really must have the latest and greatest, it often pays to hold back when it comes to new computer hardware. The latest and greatest may not be the most reliable if you buy on the cheap. When is the best time to buy computer hardware? Should you buy the very latest technology or should you opt for something that’s been around for awhile? In my opinion, you should definitely go for the latter option. There are two reasons for this. First, you will usually get much better value for your money (or more bang for your buck) if you buy behind the leading edge. Second, unless you buy good quality gear in the first place, the older tech­ nology will generally have less bugs and will be more reliable. By way of example, when the Pentium processor was first introduced, it was available in 60MHz and 75MHz versions. Due to its internal architecture, it was faster than the 486 (even the DX4-100) but because it still ran at 5V, it generated a lot of heat. Eventually, the Pentium processor was redesigned to run at 3.3V which reduced the amount of heat generated for a given clock frequency. Now as we all know, the faster a CPU runs the hotter it gets. One way of overcoming this problem is to reduce the operat­ing voltage of the processor. However, there’s a limit to how low we can go before we start getting logic errors. The alternative is to dissipate the heat generated by fit­ting a heatsink to the processor. However, a CPU is only so big and the heatsink fitted to it is generally too small to dissipate sufficient heat by itself. For this reason, a small fan is now integrated with the heatsink to provide forcedair cooling. However, integrated fan/heatsinks were not universally used by PC vendors until about the time that Pentium 100 machines were released. Consequently, there are some earlier machines out there with inadequate CPU cooling and these can suffer reliability problems. On a hot day, such machines will crash far more often and, in extreme cases, the CPU can be damaged. If you have a Pentium 60/75MHz machine, then its a good idea to check the processor. If necessary, purchase and fit an integrated fan/ heatsink – the CPU will run much cooler if you do. The same goes for many 486 machines. Imagine how hot a DX2-66 or DX4-100 processor gets when it is working at 60 or 100 million instructions per second. There are many such processors that don’t even have a heatsink to keep them cool and again some suffered from reliability problems because they ran too hot. This problem is well sorted out in the later Pentium (and equivalent) machines, which invariably have adequate cooling. Higher bus speeds An integrated fan/heatsink should be fitted to the CPU to ensure reliability. If necessary, you can buy and fit one yourself. 58  Silicon Chip Until recently, the fastest bus clock speed was 66MHz but that’s now been upped to 75MHz. Unfortunately, some 75MHz bus motherboards initially displayed a few quirks when used with a 233MHz processor. Generally, the motherboards that caused prob­lems Tip Of The Month were the cheaper brands; the more expensive motherboards were usually OK and worked well. Some time ago, an acquaintance of mine bought a new comput­er based on the latest Intel Pentium II processor. Unfortunately, to cut costs, he went for the cheapest motherboard, the cheapest video card and the cheapest sound card he could find. He ended up with a system that would only work on alternate resets – the rest of the time, it would lock up. This took place about two weeks after the Pentium II was released. As it turned out, the CPU itself worked fine but the combination motherboard, video card and sound card did not. In my opinion, it is never a good idea to buy cheap if you want the very latest technology. If you do, you are more likely to strike problems than if the technology has been around for awhile. You should also buy from a reputable dealer who is rea­ sonably close to your home, so that you can get the machine fixed if there are problems. So the message is this: if you want the latest technology, be prepared pay a premium for top quality components from a reputable dealer. If you want to buy on the cheap, it’s best to go for something that’s been around awhile. It’s a bit like buying a new car. How many times have you heard someone say that it’s best to wait for six months after a new model is released, so that SC the bugs have been ironed out? SILICON CHIP SOFTWARE Now available: the complete index to all SILICON CHIP articles since the first issue in November 1987. The Floppy Index comes with a handy file viewer that lets you look at the index line by line or page by page for quick browsing, or you can use the search function. Notes & Errata: this file lets you quickly check out the Notes & Errata for all articles published in SILICON CHIP. Not an index but a complete copy of all Notes & Errata text (diagrams not included). The file viewer is included in the price, so that you can quickly locate any item. The Floppy Index and Notes & Errata files are supplied in ASCII format on a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppy disc to suit PC-compatible computers. Note: the File Viewer requires MSDOS 3.3 or above. OR D ER FOR M PRICE ❏ Fl oppy Index (i ncl . fi l e vi ewer): $A7 ❏ Notes & Errata (i ncl . fi l e vi ewer): $A7 ❏ Al phanumeri c LCD Demo Board Software (May 1993): $A7 ❏ Stepper Motor Control l er Software (January 1994): $A7 ❏ Gamesbvm.bas /obj /exe (Ni cad Battery Moni tor, June 1994): $A7 ❏ Di ski nfo.exe (Identi fi es IDE Hard Di sc Parameters, August 1995): $A7 ❏ Computer Control l ed Power Suppl y Software (Jan/Feb. 1997): $A7 ❏ Spacewri .exe & Spacewri .bas (for Spacewri ter, May 1997): $A7 ❏ I/O Card (Jul y 1997) + Stepper Motor Software (1997 seri es): $A7 ❏ Random Number Generator/Chook Raffl e (Apri l 1998): $7 POSTAGE & PACKING: Aust. & NZ add $A3 per order; elsewhere $A5 Disc size required:    ❏ 3.5-inch disc   ❏ 5.25-inch disc TOTAL $A Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $­A__________ or please debit my Bankcard   ❏ Visa Card   ❏ MasterCard ❏ Card No. Signature­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________________ Card expiry date______/______ Name ___________________________________________________________ PLEASE PRINT Street ___________________________________________________________ Suburb/town ________________________________ Postcode______________ Send your order to: SILICON CHIP, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097; or fax your order to (02) 9979 6503; or ring (02) 9979 5644 and quote your credit card number (Bankcard, Visa Card or MasterCard). ✂ The Desktop is a wonderful place too have Shortcuts so that you can quickly start programs but remember that it is still a folder. It is generally located in C:\ Windows\Desktop and like any other folder you can place small programs in there and have them run. That means that if you delete the item from the Desk­top, you will delete the actual file; not the short­ cut to it. So be careful because not all items on the Desktop are necessarilyshortcuts. How do you identify a shortcut? Just look for the little shortcut ar­ row associated with the icon. June 1998  59