PC prices are dropping faster than they have at any time in the last three years. It is now possible to purchase a fully functional system for under $1,000. Among the machines available at this price from stores such as CompUSA and Office Depot are a 300 MHz Packard Bell or a 330 MHz Hewlett-Packard Pavilion. The prices include a minimum of 32 MB of memory and 15-inch monitors. The machines are suitable for patron access catalogs and circulation charge and discharge.
Libraries will probably require more features in machines intended for Internet access by staff and patrons, and for use by technical services staff. A 333 MHz machine which can handle almost anything a library may seek to do now costs approximately $1,600, including monitor.
We have generally discouraged libraries from purchasing top-end PCs unless heeded for special applications. Generally, the third-level machine offers the beat price/performance. At this time that would be a $00 MHz machine. The 350 and 400-level machines are generally priced much higher, while offering speed and power which are not needed for most applications. Dell's newly announced price for its XPS R400 system appears to be the exception to the rule.
The Dell XPS R400 is configured with a 400 MHz Intel Pentium II processor, 64 MB of 100 MHz SDRAM, 10.0 GB hard drive, 17-inch color monitor, 40x CD-ROM drive, graphics card, sound card, Harman/Kardon KK-195 speakers, 56 Kbps modem, 100 MB internal zip drive, preloaded Microsoft Windows 98, and three-year limited warranty, including one-year on-site service. The price is $1,999. For $49 it is possible to upgrade to a 19-inch monitor--an additional cost well worth incurring.
Printers generally add about $300- 400 to the price of a system.
The major factors in the declining prices appear to be the sharp drop in prices for microprocessors, motherboards, and monitors. These now represent 8.5, 9.8 and 21 percent respectively of the cost of a PC--down by more than one-third since 18 months ago.
