Q I’ve been shopping for a new station computer and recently I’ve seen advertisements in the newspaper for Pentium III PCs selling at $600 or less. I knew computer prices were falling, but this seems incredible. What am I missing?
A You’re missing that famous axiom: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Yes, prices have been falling and will continue to fall. Basic Pentium III systems hit the market initially at about $2500, but they’ve since dropped to around $1500 at the time this column was written (late 1999). So how can someone advertise an $600 Pentium III without violating truth-in-advertising laws? There are a number of ways to do this, all of them devious.
The PC in question may have a Pentium III processor, but what kind of motherboard is it using? Chances are the seller has installed the processor in an “older” 66-MHz motherboard, which effectively chokes off any speed advantage you would gain from the Pentium III processor! A 100-MHz motherboard is the only way to go with a Pentium III, but they cost more, of course. What sort of memory is on the motherboard? I’m willing to bet that the seller has installed older (read: “slower”) chips that are not compliant with 100-MHz boards.
What about the video card? You’ll be lucky if you get more than a megabyte of video card memory. That’s way too low for many modern software applications. The hard drive may be an off brand that offers slow-as-coldmolasses access at best. Finally, does the PC come with Windows installed? If it’s Windows 98 you can count on finding the less-stable first edition.
Bottom line: You get what you pay for. What you save in cash you may pay for later with severe buyer remorse. Whenever you purchase a complete PC system, Pentium III or otherwise, examine the specifications carefully and ask plenty of probing questions before you decide to buy.
From QST January 2000
