Just Say No

All computer upgrades are not created equal

In the computer world, you may buy something expecting it to be the perfect fix or upgrade, only to find it’s the equivalent of warm milk. You can drink it, but it’s not very satisfying. Knowing when that might be the case can prevent disappointment and save you money. Let’s look at some risk areas:

RAM – Especially with the arrival of Windows Vista, you’ll see the benefit of having upto 2GB of RAM. But if you still have XP, 1GB does nicely for most uses. While adding more RAM than this may speed up a computer slightly, you run into the law of diminishing returns. In most cases, adding still more RAM is a waste of money.

Hard Disks – My friend’s 200GB hard disk has about 115GB free. Replacing that disk with a larger one would offer no benefit at all. If your hard disk is less than half full, there’s no point replacing it. Instead, if you have the cash on hand, consider adding a second external hard disk. That will give you room to grow as well as providing a handy way to store backup copies of your data.

Computer Monitors – I love the way flat-panel LCD monitors look. They take up less space on a desk than a tube monitor, and prices have come way down. But if you have the wrong expectations, they can be a waste of money. Sure, there’s plenty to recommend about them these days- the response time is vastly improved from the first generation of these monitors. In the early days, LCD had trouble handling fast action, such as video or video games. But if you have a top- notch tube- type monitor, don’t expect even the best LCD monitors to offer better colour or sharper images. Replace your monitor if you want a more modern look, or think a wide-screen flat panel would make life easier. Otherwise, avoid the expense and disappointment.

Routers – Humans have always been fascinated by speed. Me too – I still remember the way the early Pontiac GTOs pushed you back in your seat when you pressed hard on the accelerator. To take advantage of this craving, you’ll see all sorts of speed claims on the packaging for both wired and wireless routers. I expect those claims are true. But even the slowest router is faster than your Internet connection. So, if you expect to get faster response on the Net based on your router, you are heading for a disappointment.

PC tune- up programs – They promise to fix problems, speed up your computer – if you believe the ads, they’ll do almost everything, but cook scrambled eggs for your breakfast. I’ve found these programs to do only a so-so job of fixing problems. And they seem so eager to find and report problems that I suspect they end up fixing things that aren’t really broken at times – a dangerous habit. My advice: Use one when – and only when – a problem is hurting the performance of your computer. Don’t use them on a computer that is working just fine. Ironically, my favourite of these tools is free for the download. Unlike some of the commercial products, CCleaner is very simple and has no annoying pop-ups.

New PCS – When you spend several hundred or even thousand dollars on anew computer, you expect to experience a real difference. But if you have a relatively modern PC – with processor rated at 2GHz or higher, XP installed and 1GB of RAM – replacing it with a new computer with Vista installed isn’t going to be life-changing experience. That’s especially true if most of your computing involves surfing the Web, using e-mail, writing some documents and doing some spreadsheets. Even a hot new PC using a chip with multiple processors won’t give you much – if any – noticeable improvement. Sure, it’ll be faster, but not in ways the average user would notice.

I hope I’ve saved some of you a few bucks by steering you towards a cool drink of water.

The Sound of Music

One of the most asked for guides has been on the audio world. Unfortunately, this is such a vast domain that covering most aspects would take up pretty much time. Here is the shore, concise and very precise guide to assembling your own audio system. Now, I take on the source and the amplification. Next time will be the big daddy component – the Definitive Loudspeaker buying guide.

The Big Myth

The big myth here is that you should always buy an integrated all-in-one music system. Nothing could be further away from the truth. It’s almost impossible for a single company to make every single component of the audio system perfectly.

Each component needs its own expertise, skill and proficiency. For instance, those who make a state of the art CD player may not be able to make the best loudspeakers. The all-in-one music-system has its own place when it comes to bedroom audio, space constraints or convenience but cannot suffice when the audio system you are planning to build has to be a soul stirring work of passion.

The good news is that it’s not as complicated as most people will have you believe. Break it into simple steps, keep to the basics, avoid the jargons, be aware of the gimmicks and trust your own judgment.

The Source

In a domain where we are all about to move to Blu-Ray and HD-DVD this is now getting to be very confusing decision. Still, the way to go right now is to choose a dedicated, stand-alone CD player. DVD players that also play CD’s may not be able to give you the same performance. Look for an easy interface, ability to play CD-R’s and a robust build. Play a CD on it and firmly tap around the player with two fingers. If it skips then it should be off your buy list. It should also be able to play scratched CD’s easily. If you are buying a high-end audiophile level CD player then look for DVD audio and/or SACD multi-channel capability and make sure it has an output to feed an external Digital-to-analog converter. It should have an S/P-DIF output, usually marked as ‘Digital Out’.

Most importantly listen to the source player by disabling all features and carry a CD with music you are familiar with.

The Boosters

A basic receiver is an all-in-one box component with an integrated preamp, tuner and preamp. These receivers have everything a basic amplifier has with an added processor to decode formats and sound encoding like Dolby Digital and DTS. They also have multi channel power amplifiers, DSP processing and plenty of Audio/Video inputs/outputs. You need to figure out whether your usage is purely for audio or combined with some video too.

Look at the rating of the power supply, the build quality, the sound, the bass management and match the impedance to your speakers. Be very careful when choosing this product as some receivers with wiz-bang feature lists and nice lights suffer from a common problem – terrible preamp/processor sections. Once gain, take some familiar source material with you and leave the final judgment to your ears.

Next time, we move to the world of Loudspeakers. This admittedly is where some complexity comes in. The Big Payoff is that the speaker is easily the most important piece of audio equipment you will ever buy. Get it right and the audio performance will take you to places you have never been before.