Please feel free to phone us with questions. We're open 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays and 10-5 Saturdays (Pacific time) (208) 883-5500. Click on any blue, underlined item on the pricing page for a description. page updated 8/20/99.
The GA-586-AX unit will take Intel Pentium, AMD K6-2, or K6-3 processors. (Actually, it will accept other processors, such as Cyrix, but we don't recommend them.) It has an Ultra 33 hard drive controller. We do not recommend this board with Windows NT.
The GA-686-BX motherboard's bus speed is configurable to 100 or 66 MHz. It will take the Pentium 2 233-450 processors, as well as the Pentium 3. If you're running Windows NT and don't want the dual processor board (below), we recommend this motherboard. It has an Ultra 33 hard drive controller.
The GA-686-BXD will accept either one or two Pentium 2 processors up to 450 MHz. Dual processor machines require Windows NT or Unix to use both processors, and run programs at almost double the speed of the corresponding single-processor machine. They make excellent servers for networks. This board has an Ultra 33 hard drive controller.
GA-7IX accepts AMD's K7 Athlon chips up to about 750 MHz. It has an Ultra 66 hard drive controller on-board.
ATX Case and Power Supply
The medium ATX tower has seven drive bays. It has been our experience that many people end up with a second hard drive and a Zip drive as time goes by. This case would still leave room for expansion under those circumstances.
The Tall Tower and Server cases are used primarily for network servers, which tend to collect hard drives like lint. The Server case has dual, hot-swappable power supplies for added security.
The K6-2 and K6-3 are made by AMD. Used in general purpose machines, the K6-2 is equivalent to the Pentium 2 in floating point speed, and has special 3D features for games. The K6-3 is faster than the Intel Pentium III for most software.
The Celeron-A is made by Intel, Most versions cannot do multiprocessing, but otherwise is roughly equivalent to the Pentium 2 processor below. Older Celeron processors had no cache, and were noticeably slower than both the K6 and Pentium 2. The Celeron-A has 128K of full-speed cache, and runs approximately the same speed as the equivalent Pentium 2 with 512K of 1/2-speed cache.
The Pentium 2 is made by Intel. It is required for multiprocessor computers using the BXD motherboard.
The Pentium 3 is Intel's new RISC chip. It runs regular PC software at approximately the same speed as a Pentium 2 of the same clock speed.
The K7 Athlon is AMD's answer to the Pentium 3.
Notes:
For Pentium 2 or 3 microprocessors, you need a Pentium 2 motherboard. Go back to the top section and make sure you've chosen one of the Pentium 2 options.
Longevity of your microprocessor, as with all electronic components, is affected by its running temperature. We have a chart of temperature and power vs. speed.
Check the fan. If you've chosen a Celeron or Pentium 2 processor, mark the appropriate fan. The Athlon takes the Pentium 2 fan.
Memory (RAM) is one of the components whose price falls rapidly with time and is easily added to your machine later. For this reason, most people buy enough RAM with their new machine to serve their needs for the next six to twelve months, and rely on later upgrades if they need more after this time.
For Windows '98 machines, 32 megs of RAM is marginal. If you tend to run several large programs at once, such as MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint all at the same time, choose at least 64 megs. Game players will also want 64 megs.
Most people simply get one 3.5" floppy drive. But occasionally someone wants a second drive as well.
Hard drive capacity has increased rapidly in recent months. Most people don't really need more than the minimum hard drive. But one of Murphy's Laws of Computing is that information expands to fill available hard drive space. So if you don't know which drive to buy, it makes sense to look for a price break (where the drives below are not much less expensive, and the drives above are much more expensive) and buy there.
If, in a year or two, if you need additional hard drive space, it's fairly easy to simply add another drive. At that time it will be less expensive than it is now, so you're not wasting your money. Our computers have extra drive bays and can easily handle four IDE devices (Hard drives, CD-ROM drives, Zip drives ... ).
Most hard drives on the List are Ultra 33. Ultra 66 drives are starting to appear, but give an advantage only on the motherboards with built-in Ultra 66 controllers.
If you're running Windows NT in a server, it's possible to set up two identical hard drives to mirror each other. That way, if one fails the other takes over and no information is lost. There isn't even an interruption in service. This is most useful in a network or Internet server, where uptime and data integrity are crucially important.
Other people may simply want more hard drive space than one drive can provide.
We currently sell more 17" monitors than any other size. When comparing monitors, an often overlooked parameter is the dot-pitch. The smaller the dot-pitch, the sharper and clearer the picture. For instance, a .25 dot-pitch monitor is sharper than a .28 dot-pitch monitor.
Note: as of 4/99, do not specify a BXE motherboard and a Savage 3 video card.
One of the most misunderstood variables in designing a computer is the graphics card. Graphics speed is based on design of the graphics card, and the more expensive cards are faster. The type of slot the card goes into also makes a difference. All of our current motherboards have an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot that allows data to flow faster to an AGP card than to a normal PCI card. 2X AGP is faster than the earlier 1X form.
The newest craze in computer games is 3D graphics. All of the graphics cards on our list have at least basic 3D acceleration, but the top end cards have the best support from the game makers. For the best and most widely supported 3D gaming solution, pick a Voodoo3 card.
Video memory governs resolutions and colors, and to an extent, speed. On a 15" monitor most people find 800x600 to be a comfortable resolution. 17" and 19" monitors are most often run at 1024 x 768.
If the computer will be used for CADD or graphic design, speed is everything. The Matrox cards have been very hard to beat for professional graphics applications.
If you're only running office software, the minimum card is fine. If you'll be running a few games, but mostly office software, move up one or two.
Keyboard choice is a very personal matter. The NMB Click keyboard is probably the fastest if you're a very fast touch-typist. If you're sitting in front of a computer more than four or five hours per day, you may want a Microsoft Natural board. It's curved to fit a more natural hand position than traditional keyboards, for less tiredness and fewer repetitive-motion complaints. But if you move from one machine to another, it's definitely best for all of your keyboards to have the same layout. Trying to retrain your reflexes once a day is not a good idea.
The Microsoft Intellimouse and some others have a central wheel which allows you to move the scroll bar without moving your mouse pointer on some software.
The speed of your CD-ROM drive makes little difference if all it is doing is loading software. If your software runs from the CD every time, as with many games and graphics programs, then the speed does matter. However, currently most CD platters aren't well enough balanced to run faster than 20X, so getting a faster drive is mostly an investment in the future.
We are not listing "generic" sound cards such as most computer manufacturers sell. We list only genuine Sound Blaster cards. Although generics work well for most applications, some games (and even some operating systems) won't use them. Sound Blasters have remained the standard for many years and will probably continue to be the standard. That means you can be assured that future software will run with them for many years.
Speakers - you get richer sound from the more expensive ones, but all the speakers on this list are good speakers. All of them come with AC adapters, so you don't have to keep feeding them batteries.
Choose a network card if you access the Internet through a LAN. This usually means that the computer will be on-campus or on a network.
The first two network cards are made by D-Link. They are both less expensive and better (in our opinion) than most of their competition. We use a mixture of D-Link cards in our own networks, after having tried and discarded SMC and 3-Com cards. In particular, do not choose a 3-Com card for a network server.
We have tested every modem on the list for speed, using Quake 2 gaming as the standard. The Echo 56K ISA won. In general, ISA modems have faster ping times than PCI modems, but PCI modems win when download speed is the object.
If you use a modem, pick a surge suppressor with TLS (telephone line suppression). Over the years, our service department has seen several computers where the modem was visibly crisped, the motherboard was dead, and the rest of the computer was fine. Obviously, lightning or another strong electrical surge had traveled over the phone wire, into the computer, and fried it from the inside out. Don't take this chance. If you don't use a modem, the other surge suppressors are fine. We really, really hate to sell a computer without one or the other - our service department prefers upgrading computers to fixing them.
Be aware that putting a 56K modem on a TLS surge suppressor will reduce its connection rate slightly. But weigh this against the real possibility of a large surge on the phone line. Be safe.
Most people are now getting Windows '98. It is the operating system of choice for games, and for people who don't need extreme reliability and security. Its networking is more stable and it's plug-n-play better than Windows '95.
Windows NT is used for servers and other computers for which extreme reliability is more important than wide hardware and software choices. It's resistant to viruses, has more robust password protection, and makes it a lot harder for a program to crash the operating system. But there are some drawbacks.
To increase stability, Windows NT does not allow a program direct access to the hardware. For this reason, Windows NT is not the operating system of choice for gamers. This is because many games require the access to the hardware that Windows NT denies. Windows NT is more complicated to install and administer. We'll do the installation part, but administration is up to the buyer. Also, some hardware devices don't have Windows NT drivers, and so can't be used. New devices are often released after the Windows '98 drivers are complete, but before the Windows NT drivers are ready.
FAT 32 formatting is the default for Windows '98. It allows partition sizes larger than 2 gigabytes, and stores data more efficiently - this can increase your available drive space by 30%. Don't use older hard drive utilities, such as pre-1997 versions of Norton Utilities, on a drive formatted with FAT 32.
The Epson Stylus Color printers have to be seen to be believed. We've got print examples on our wall at the store. Even the Model 440 produces spectacular color photo prints with standard ink cartridges. As on any inkjet printer, the quality of the paper makes a large difference. Paper ranges from fuzzy zerox paper, where the ink travels along the paper fibers to blur the image, through the good stuff, to photo glossy paper. Come in and see the difference.
Paper makes less of a difference with laser printers, because they melt little plastic beads on the paper (that's why it's hot coming out) instead of spitting ink droplets at the paper. The Okidata OP6e prints its first page in 17 seconds, and successive pages at 6 ppm. It's 600 dpi.
The standard one-year warranty can't be un-checked. It comes with every machine. Some individual parts, such as the motherboard, hard drive and most monitors, have longer warranties from the manufacturer.
Accessories and software have more individual features than I want to address here. Click on their links for descriptions, or phone, or stop by. We'll be happy to show them to you.
If you've read this far, you're probably serious about a new computer. So it's time for my pitch. Cactus Computer has been in operation since 1982, we own the building we occupy, and we have an experienced and professional Service Department. In other words, we are stable, capable, and would really like your business.
It normally takes about three days to get your new computer ready. We'll put it together, install your new software, and put it through about a day of burn-in and tests. To order, simply bring, fax, or e-mail your configuration, name, and phone number to us. Our voice line is (208) 883-5500.
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