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Compaq Buyers' Guide Flawed

Toronto Star Fast Forward column for September 21, 2000

Copyright ©, Myles White, 2000

Everyone is getting into the computer-buying advice act or at least it seems that way. When I first wrote How to Buy a Computer, then updated it with a second edition a couple of years ago, there were few guides to buying a new system on the market. 

Plextor did one on CD-ROM drives a few years ago, and Hewlett Packard has one out about printers, but not many other folks have devoted the time and energy to attacking the whole shebang. Now Compaq has released the third in a series of free pamphlets aimed at the computer consumer, titled Computer Buying Made Easy. 

The 8 by 4-inch pamphlet takes a reasonable approach to the problem. But because it devotes only 14 small pages to the effort (plus four pages of sometimes-inaccurate terminology definitions), the advice often lacks necessary detail. My overall assessment is that you'll get just enough information to clear up some very basic items of jargon and then to land you in trouble. Let's have a closer look at the parts of the pamphlet with which I agree - and disagree.

Homework: Computer Buying Made Easy starts out by taking the same approach I took in How to Buy a Computer, 2nd Edition by advising that you have a planning stage, a homework stage, and stage for nailing down your decision. If I were paranoid, I'd wonder if the company was looking over my shoulder. 

Nevertheless, the planning and homework advice is sound: before you shop, you'll be better off thinking over why you want a computer in the first place, taking as much time as necessary to do some planning, and basing at least your preliminary decisions on how you imagine using it. The pamphlet emphasizes homework as the key to helping you get a computer suitable to your needs that neither costs too much, nor too little. 

It and I agree that you can't have too much processing power, hard drive space, or memory. In my terminology, that means there's no such thing as a computer that's too powerful for you, but I fully acknowledge that there may be several that are too expensive in light of your experience and reasonable expectations of how you're going to use it. 

Where the pamphlet starts to go off the beam comes on Page 5, in a chart of decision points. For example, it says if you plan to use the computer to "work hard," you'll need "Word Processing Software such as Word or WordPerfect (or desktop publishing software such as Quark or Publisher for high-end layout), scanner and printer." 

Fair enough, but the next two sections, labelled, "Be Entertained" and "Be Net Savvy," mention CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM drives, speakers, sound card, and dial-up or high-speed telephone or cable modem, as though these were optional accessories. Sure, you'll get a choice of CD, CD-RW, or DVD drive, but a modem of one kind or another, sound card, and some sort of speaker system are fast becoming standard, not add-on, components. 

We also agree that you should expect to get the latest revision of the operating system suitable for your PC or Mac. You wouldn't want a new car with an old engine. But I'm not so sure of its advice that you shouldn't expect the new computer and its operating system to be useful to you for more than three years. 

When we hit discussions of the technology, however, we begin to diverge more quickly. For example, under "Microprocessor Speed," Computer Buying Made Easy becomes Computer Buyers Made Under-informed. The pamphlet correctly suggests that microprocessor speeds are measured in MegaHertz (MHz) - ignoring newer 1 GHz and faster models - and that this speed is sometimes referred to as the "clock speed." 

What it doesn't bother to mention is that this is the processor's internal speed and that it is a multiple of the system's motherboard main system bus speed (also called the front side bus) and a function of its logic chipset. Without knowing that or the details, it becomes difficult to distinguish the difference between Intel's Pentium III and Celeron products, or between AMD's Athlon and Duron processors. In fact, there's a complete lack of reference to either company, as well as to the alternative VIA Cyrix M3 (a Celeron clone). 

The pamphlet wastes a paragraph on cache memory. Once upon a time, when it was optional and companies such as Compaq (and IBM) weren't adding any to home systems (slowing them by about 20 per cent), a dissertation on Level 2 (L2) cache memory was instructional. However, all of today's PC processors come with L2 cache integrated into the processor. It isn't optional or expandable; you get what comes with the processor. Other factors, such as the ignored front side bus speed and the system's logic chipset noted above play a much more important role in determining how nimble the system will be. 

Under "Memory," I find a curious reference to what happens when you're a little short of electronic memory (or RAM), defined as being less than 128 MB. According to the pamphlet, "Your computer speed will slow down to a crawl and you might even hear an annoying 'hammering' noise." 

Hammering? What's actually happening here is that the operating system, short on electronic memory, starts swapping program code to your hard drive and the drive gets busy. If Compaq's drives produce a hammering noise when they operate, I'd be a little alarmed, because that's not the sign of a healthy component. 

I have no issues with the bulk of Pages 7 and 8; the explanation of the Internet and the World Wide Web's part of it, as well as the explanations for e-mail and modems, are acceptable for someone beginning their research. 

However, when we get to the section on monitors, I begin to see red. The description of what "dot pitch" is and its relationship to resolution (the number of picture elements or pixels on screen) is simply wrong when the pamphlet suggests that the two are the same. They're not. And by suggesting that the lower limit of dot pitch figures is .26 mm, then suggesting that the best alternative is an expensive LCD monitor, the whole section is both misleading (albeit perhaps, accidentally) and self-serving.

Time out: To set the record straight, a pixel represents the smallest portion of the screen that the computer can change. In conjunction with the system's graphics controller, a given monitor may be able to display a range of pixel combinations (or resolutions), starting at 640 across the top and 480 rows (640 by 480), all the way up to 1600 by 1200 (or even higher). But this has nothing to do with the monitor's dot pitch. 

"Dot pitch" is a term applied to shadow mask monitors. For aperture grille models, formerly known as Trinitron monitors when Sony held the exclusive patent and not mentioned in the pamphlet at all, the term is "stripe pitch." 

Inside the face of a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor are fluorescent dots that light up when excited by electron guns at the rear of the monitor. Each pixel will have at least three of these dots - corresponding to red, green, and blue - within its borders (otherwise, we couldn't change the pixel's colour). In fact, each pixel will likely have many more than three. Your picture, however, is composed not only of the glowing dots, but also of the space between them. That space will determine whether the image is sharp and crisp or grainy and it's this space that dot pitch measures. 

The standard measurement for a shadow mask monitor is the diagonal distance between two dots of the same colour. In an aperture grille model, it's the horizontal distance between two rectangles of the same colour. In no case is it, as the pamphlet helpfully explains, a measurement of the distance between pixels (sigh). I should also note here that the range for a shadow mask monitor may be as low as .26 mm (reasonably sharp) or higher than .31 mm (very grainy) and that the difference will be reflected in the price. For an aperture grille model, the stripe pitch equivalent is usually .25 mm. 

However, you will see some shadow mask units advertised with smaller numbers. That's because some naughty manufacturers have started measuring horizontally, not diagonally, in the hopes that their lower "dot pitch" numbers will convince you to buy their models. My response to this bit of marketing chicanery is to refuse to review any monitor that reports this bogus measurement.

Back to Computer Buying Made Easy: We'll sail past advice on form factor (desktop or notebook) and multimedia and hone in a little on the paragraph dedicated to expandability. It points out quite properly that having empty expansion slots and drive bays is a good thing because it allows you to deter having the system become obsolete as soon as you buy it. It also points out proudly that "Compaq's Presario PCs support industry standards..." It neglects to mention that the company uses non-standard Torx screws to hold many of its systems together, making them difficult for consumers to open, or that through various industry initiatives, Compaq is one of those companies on record as suggesting that consumer systems should be sealed to prevent upgrading. 

The pamphlet's author(s?) appear undecided about whether it's a good or a to-be-expected thing that a monitor comes as part of the deal. Most of Compaq's products don't include them in the price (and often don't come with speakers just to urge you to buy one of theirs with them built-in), although this is fairly common among name-brand products. 

Last, but not least, there are sections on warranties and questions you should ask salespeople before you consummate your deal. The advice is sound, so far as it goes. It doesn't, for example, advise you to get a component-by-component list of parts on the invoice so you can check to see if you got what you thought you bought. It doesn't suggest that you insist on getting any technical manuals associated with the computer and the components so you're not dependent on the store where you shopped or the manufacturer of the computer for repair work once it's off warranty. It does advise you to check the bundled software and any printer that may be sold with the system against your needs and against competing products, but doesn't mention that it's a good idea to have the original software discs as part of the deal (instead of only a set of "Recovery CDs" that force you to wipe out everything you've added to the system since its purchase just to reinstall one of its included applications). 

And in perhaps the most self-serving bit of advice, it underlines that name brand systems will provide you with more peace of mind. Hint: nearly 60 per cent of consumers buy locally branded "white box" systems. You might also want to check with some of the US glossy magazines online (use the library) to read up on some of their customer satisfaction surveys.

Next edition: The Computer Buying Made Easy pamphlet could have been more accurate and given consumers the benefit of the doubt about their need to know more about what goes on inside a computer. I can't fault Compaq for the wee blurbs strung throughout it extolling the virtues of the company's products (under the heading, The Compaq Advantage), but I might suggest that a slightly more independent source of information may be to your advantage. 

I also appreciate the need to keep the information lean when it has to fill only 18 small pages - but the whole pamphlet is 24 pages long and I can't help feel that the section on how to set a new computer up would have been better in the box, with the computer, instead. 

You can have a look at Compaq's Computer Buying Made Easy (available in both English and French) by calling 1-800-567-1616 or by visiting the company's Web site.

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