swarup@m.cs.uiuc.edu (07/18/90)
I'm looking to buy a home computer and am quite bewildered by the choice
out there. I'm a complete PC illiterate, and have a whole bunch of
questions. I'd appreciate any information/pointers you could provide.
1) What is the minimum 386-based computer configuration I'd need if my
main current need was to run Latex, preview the output, and print the
output? My work involves a *lot* of formulas and arrays/tables. I'd
also like to be able to run Windows 3.0 effectively, and eventually do
some serious hacking on the machine.
2) Is there any literature that provides a detailed technical description
of each component of a PC, the technology choices available for each
component, and benchmarks/analyses comparing their performance/tradeoffs?
3) What are the main factors I should consider (and pitfalls I should
avoid) when configuring a system and selecting a mail-order firm?
4) I'd appreciate the names of PC systems and mail order firms that
you'd either strongly recommend or strongly advise me to avoid.
I'll summarize all responses sent to me by e-mail. Thanks for your help.
Vipin.
Vipin Swarup,
Dept. of Computer Science,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Internet : swarup@cs.uiuc.edu
UUCP : ...!{cmcl2,uunet}!uiucdcs!swarup