gg@hpsemc.HP.COM (Gumaro Guttierrez) (12/01/88)
A friend of mine is thinking about getting a PC for his son for Xmas. Could anybody advise him on what pc to get if he only wants to expend about $500.00. His currently atractive to the atari 68k. Any information will be really appretiated since he doesn't know much about pc's and niether do I.
rona@hpdml93.HP.COM (ron abramson) (12/03/88)
Gumaro Guttierrez writes: > A friend of mine is thinking about getting a PC for his son for Xmas. > Could anybody advise him on what pc to get if he only wants to expend about > $500.00. > His currently atractive to the atari 68k. Any information will be really > appretiated since he doesn't know much about pc's and niether do I. First off, what will your son use the machine for? The Atari 520ST is still one of the best HARDWARE values around. For its price class it is loaded with interfaces (RS-232, Centronics Printer Port, DMA, MIDI, and RGB output). Atari packages a product that is fairly complete in that you don't need to buy a monitor board, monitor, memory expansion... just to do some useful work. Also, in the <$800 range the performance is probably the best. The Amiga is the only real competition for very low cost AND high performance. (I could be wrong here as I'm not an expert) One disadvantage of the machine is that there is less software available for it than there is for a Mac or IBM clone. However, even though there is less variety, there are a lot of quality programs available. Not only that, but even the best programs for the ST are reasonably priced! I, for one, am pretty satisfied. On my home computer I'll do word processing, spreadsheet stuff (home budget, investment tracking...), some BASIC programming and, I must admit, play a few games. So, for what I bought it for, the Atari is an excellent machine considering that I paid less than $1000 for the whole system. Had I wanted to spend a bit more money on a system, I would have looked at an AT compatible (an HP Vectra, of course) or a new MAC, but for 5-15 hours a week of use, the price just didn't seem justified. One good reason for buying a particular computer is because your buddies have the same kind. Its fun to try out a friend's game or swap opinions about the best this or that. Living in the Bay area you have an advantage in that you can find a big users group for almost any computer. You might want to visit a users group meeting or two before making your purchase. A good users group with public domain software can make a huge difference in the satisfaction you'll have with your computer. Specifically, you might want to attend an Atari ST and an Amiga users group. If your needs are similar to mine and you want to keep the price down, the Atari is worth serious consideration. I think that you're going to have a hard time getting a computer system for $500, by the way. If you see a $499.95 computer at your local discount store, make sure that you're getting a decent monitor. Both the B&W and RGB monitors that Atari sells are pretty nice (again, in that price range!). Some computers don't even come with a monitor board, much less a monitor (a pet peeve of mine)! Once again, try to figure out what you are going to do with the computer before buying something that doesn't meet your needs. Also, make sure that you're looking at the total system cost when you compare prices. Good Luck! Ron Abramson P.S. More than ever, these opinions are my own! Not HP's!!! I use HP computers at work and love them. No really!