Cheap PCs. How Cheap is too Cheap?

When it comes to computers, how cheap is too cheap? I'm Fred Fishkin with Bootcamp, a report on computers and technology. If you're looking to buy your first PC, price is the thing that catches your eye first. One store in New York was recently running ads for computers for just 88 dollars and 88 cents. What buyers got for their money were refurbished 33 megahertz 486 PCs. Jake Kirchner, editor of PC Magazine and the new Easy Computing, says that's no bargain....

"I don't think it's any better buy than a car for under a hundred dollars, unless you're somebody who knows enough about computers that you can somehow make this thing work. And the reason I say you should know something about computers is because if you're a beginner I think you'll be frustrated by the lack of power and storage capacity and the other things you're going to get with that kind of machine. It's an old machine.""So it's the kind of thing you might be given by a relative?" "I have two or three in my attic."

. At Windows Magazine chief technology editor Digs Majumder says it's a great time to buy a first computer...but figure on spending closer to a thousand dollars...

"This is absolutely the perfect time to do it. You will get more power today for less than a thousand dollars than most scientists had in huge labs less than seven or eight years ago."

. You'll find buying tips in the latest issue of Windows or in the new Easy Computing magazines.