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Page 10 Diablo Blue March, 2001
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(Continued from page 9)
A system with a speed range of 800 MHz to 900 MHz of processor should cost under $1600. The processors could be either AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium III. This is a good range for power users. I am not sure you could discern a difference between these machines and the much more expensive gigahertz computers.
A system with a speed range of 900 MHz to 1.0 GHz of processor should cost over $2000. The processors could be either AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium III. These computers will probably also have lots of memory and large hard drives, bringing the system cost closer to $2500.
The top-of-the-line computers are in the 1.1 GHz to 1.2 GHz range, and will cost almost $3000. The processors could be either AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium III. This range is just for the user who has to be the fastest on the block. These computers will probably also have lots of extras, bringing the system cost closer to $4000.
Watch Out for That Rebate Scam!
When you look at the prices in the advertisements, you will see prices that are $400 less than the prices I quoted. This is because of a rebate from MSN, Prodigy or Compuserve. These are not good deals, do not do it. To get the rebate, you must sign up for a 3-year commitment to the ISP at $21.95 a month (a commitment of $790.20 over 3 years). That price is a little high for the Sacramento area; most ISPs will give you equivalent service for less money. It is the possibility of higher bandwidth connections that really sours the deal. If you finally get DSL or cable modem service in your home, the MSN, Prodigy, or Compuserve service is just money you are throwing away. I believe that most of us will have a high-speed link within the next 3 years.
Tip: The best time to buy a computer
There really is a best time of the year to buy a computer. That time is a few early morning hours on the day after Thanksgiving. On that day, stores like CompUSA will have sales that feature computers as loss leaders. These are computers that they are selling below cost. They will only have a few available (maybe 10) and they will be gone before Noon. If that sale computer is close to your desired computer in specifications, wake up early and buy it.
Ken Hopkins has been involved with computers since the early seventies and has collected more computer information than he is willing to admit. He currently serves as layout editor for SacraBlue, the magazine of the Sacramento PC Users Group. Send topic ideas to ken.hopkins@sacpcug.org.
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Star Lancer is a space combat game released by Microsoft and Digital Anvil, the creators of the Wing Commander series. The game is set about a hundred years in the future and is based on the premise that the Cold War just turned hot again. The Russians and Chinese launch a surprise attack on the rest of the solar system.
The graphics are very good -- bordering on great (especially the explosions!) but the game is very similar to many other space combat games. The scenarios are very standard: escort duty, interceptors, dog fighting, etc. There are some unique features like special shields and thrust reversers that add to the game play. At this point, I have not had much experience with the multiplayer options.
This is a good game for someone new to the genre, but I would expect that a hard core gamer would feel this to be an "average" game.
When we demonstrated it at the Education and Entertainment SIG it was very well received. The main criticism that I heard was that the joystick control was a little irregular and that the viewing system (used for targeting) and radar were a bit cramped.
All in all, a good game -- but not a great game.
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