PC World November 2003 Contents
- — 08 October, 2003 08:03
COVER STORY
The PC buyers' superguide: How to buy the best tech gear
Our second annual buying special has advice for buying everything - from PCs and notebooks to printers, scanners, cameras and MP3 players. You'll find all the specs explained so you can make a better buying decision, whatever your price range. Don't go shopping before perusing these pages!
Web and you: Beat the broadband blues
There's more to good broadband service than eliminating the wait for a dial-up connection, or loading your favourite Web sites in less than 30 seconds. Here's how to make the most of your connection, and what to do if it's time to switch providers.
60-minute upgrades: Boost your pc power
Get new PC power in an hour - or less - with these upgrades covering maximum storage, speed boosters, audio/visual power, and wireless. With a little planning and research, the process can go quickly and smoothly.
Pump up your PDA: Handheld heroes
Slinkier and smarter than ever with an expanding range of software, your handheld PC can help you conduct business on the road or find your way around foreign parts while keeping you entertained with music and movie clips.
Inside Office 2003: Upgrade or skip?
Microsoft's new release boasts a brighter Outlook, potent workgroup tools, and a few surprises. For the first time, changes to the package's bread-and-butter apps are so slight that you could miss them. This upgrade isn't for everybody.
FIRST LOOKS
Hardware
AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 processor
PC Range Billion 743GE + wireless adapters
AOC LM729 and Sony SDMX53 LCD monitors
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro, QDI A520Software
Ulead PhotoImpact XL beta, Ahead Nero 6 Ultra Edition
CyberLink PowerDVD 5.0, Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004Quick Takes
Hardware: Palm Tungsten T2, ViewSonic Pocket PC V35, Kodak EasyShare DX4530, HP DVD Movie Writer Dc3000, Canon CanoScan 9900F, LG Super Multi DVD Writer Plus GSA-4040B; Software: Steganos Security Suite 5.0, Ontrack EasyRecovery Lite, Office FrontPage 2003, Office Visio 2003 Standard
HERE'S HOW
UPGRADER: Installing a graphics card
IN DEPTH: User comfort and connectivity
WINDOWS XP Home: Windows XP Q & As
WINDOWS XP Pro: Replacing system files
LINUX: Security with E-Smith SME Server
MAC OS: Using Apple Soundtrack
AUDIO: Introducing Audacity
GRAPHICS: Feathering an image
PHP: Symbolic links
DIGITAL VIDEO: Easy editing with Adobe Premiere Pro
HELP SCREEN
BEST BUYS
Tech.Files
Graphics cards breakdown
Sweet Spot
CPUs
Graphics cards
Motherboards
System RAM
Optical drives
Hard drives
Monitors
PCs: OVER $3500
Plus Corporation Inspire P32
ARC Computers P4 3GHz
Plus Corporation Astra H31
Dell Dimension 8300
Plus Corporation Advantage P32
PCs: $1500-$3500
Infocom Gaming Beast 1.2
Trinity International P4 Power Pack
ARC Computers 3000+ XP AMD
PC eXpress Invader 2800C
Plus Corporation Inspire A36
Infocom M-110
Acer Veriton 7600G
Protac Excel PF1-28C
SATO-Ritmo SN41G
IBM ThinkCentre A50p
PCs: SUB-$1500
PC eXpress Avatar 2600
Trinity International P4 Deluxe Pack
Hotmicks Value 2083
Trinity International P4 Dream Pack
PMP Beat IT
Notebooks: OVER $4000
Hi-Grade UltiNote M6600
Acer TravelMate 803LCi
Hi-Grade Notino C6700
Sony Vaio PCG-GRT30P
Toshiba Satellite P20
Notebooks: $2500-$4000
Dell Inspiron 8600
Hi-Grade Notino R5400
ITC Millennia 6000
ITC Millennia 7000
Pioneer Power-470
Notebooks: SUB-$2500
Mitac MiNote 8080
Stone M3400
Targa Visionary XP
Dell Inspiron 5100
Emagen N1000
Graphics cards: ATI Radeon-based
Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9200SE
Hercules 3D Prophet 9600 256MB
Octek 9600 Pro
PowerColor 9600 Pro
S-Media 9600
Gigabyte GV-R98P256D
Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro 128MB
HIS Excalibur 9800 Pro
PowerColor All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro
Graphics cards: NVIDIA GeForce-based
Albatron FX 5900 Turbo
AOpen Aeolus 5900
ASUS 9560 Video Suite
Gainward Golden Sample Ultra/760 XP
Leadtek WinFast A310TD (5600) 256MB
MSI FX 5200 VT-128
MSI nBox 5600 Ultra
Sparkle GeForce FX 5600
Auriga 5600
ASUS V9950 Ultra
Leadtek WinFast A350 Ultra TDH
plus: Matrox Millennium P750
And exclusive to our PC World online readers: check out this month's Web-only graphics cards Best Buys reviews.
DEPARTMENTS
- EDITORIAL
- NEWS plus Broadband
- LINUXWORLD.COM.AU
- READERS' FORUM Plus Dilbert
- BACKBYTES: Book Review, Skills, Web Review, Gadgets and Gizmos, Games,
- Bytesback
- ADVERTISERS INDEX
