I have always understood the PC-for-the-graduate buying surge.  I have been through it myself a couple of times.  But I have always been a bit mystified about why so many other people ask about buying a new computer in May.  Maybe they've just begun to realise how long it is till the holiday season and decide they can't wait.

In any case, the news is good.  Just for kicks, I checked back to 1985, when I first started writing about this subject.  In those days, the IBM PC-AT, a pretty good business computer, sold for US$5,400 (J$332,000), which translates to US$9,500 (J$584,000) in today's dollars.

DESKTOP COMPUTER

Today, you can buy a good, basic desktop computer system for US$600 (J$37,000) to US$800 (J$49,000), with capabilities no one dreamed of in 1985, and a capable laptop for US$1,000 (J$62,000) to US$1,200 (J$74,000).  You can find cheaper machines, but the components are likely to be marginal.

The main thing to consider in a buying decision is how you and the family really use a PC.  I like to talk about computing power in terms of the basic computer user, or BCU.  A BCU machine will handle Web browsing, email, word processing, spreadsheets, financial record keeping, music and digital photography ­ in other words, the stuff that 95 per cent of us do every day ­ without breathing hard.

But there are reasons that reach a bit higher.  For example, if you or your student wants to watch DVD movies, you'll need a machine with a DVD drive, and possibly upgraded video circuitry.  If you want to edit digital movies, you'll need even more video oomph, a big hard drive, additional memory and a faster processor.

If you are serious about gaming, you will need even more of the above.  It seems counterintuitive, but today's cheapest computers can handle business chores without breaking a sweat, but to play games at the highest level, you'll have to part with some real money for top-grade components.

ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

You might also wind up spending more than the minimum if you want your computer to be an entertainment centre, for example, adding a set of good speakers if you are a music lover.

For more sophisticated users who are willing to spend the money, Pcs running Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition are designed as complete digital entertainment hubs.  They can record TV broadcasts and serve up music and video to other Pcs and TV sets on a home network.  Depending on the components, these systems can run as high as US$3,000.

That said, virtually every PC on every store shelf meets the BCU standard.  So, if you are a BCU, do not worry so much about which PC to buy.  Instead, decide on how much space you want the box to occupy and whether you want to travel with it ­ in other words, do you buy a desktop or laptop?  That decided, look for the best screen you can afford.

SERIOUS BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

A few years ago, I recommended a laptop only for serious business travellers.  That is because laptops cost 50 per cent to 75 per cent more than desktops with equivalent power.  They were also difficult to expand and more likely to break.

Many of these differences still exist.  But the main component that made laptops outrageously costly, the liquid crystal display, or LCD, has dropped so far in price that a 15-inch laptop screen (my minimum requirement for adults) is no longer a luxury item.  In fact, flat-panel LCDs are taking over the desktop, too ­ more than half of the desktop monitors sold next year are likely to be LCDs, as opposed to older cathode ray tube, or CRT, designs.

LCDs are still more expensive and do not deliver the image quality of CRTs, but consumers like them because they take up less space and look so cool.

Just as importantly, the overall cost of computing power has dropped to the point where the laptop vs. desktop decision has very little impact on the pocketbook.  When a good desktop system cost US$1,500 and an equivalent laptop was more than US$2,400, the price-performance gap meant something.  Today, with capable desktop systems selling for US$800 and solid laptops for US$1,100, it doesn't matter.

Still, there are good reasons for choosing one over the other.  If you have the room on top of or under your desk and do not plan to travel with a PC, a desktop still delivers more bang for the buck.  Typically, desktops come with more ports to connect with printers, scanners, music players and other devices.  Many come with media-readers that can handle a half-dozen different types of flash memory cards.

INTERNAL COMPONENTS

If you want to expand the PC with a TV tuner, additional disk drives or other goodies, you can buy relatively inexpensive internal components that require no additional desktop space.  If you do not want to go to that trouble, you can use more expensive external equipment ­ but you get a choice.

Which leads to another issue ­ because many laptop makers use proprietary chips, desktop PC memory frequently sells for half the price of laptop memory, or less.  Finally, desktop Pcs are less likely to break ­ and if they do, they are much cheaper to fix than laptops.

On the other side, laptops have become far more civilised over the years.  If you do not want the clutter of a desktop computer, you can buy a laptop that will do everything that a desktop machine can.  Except at the very high end (multimedia and gaming machines), the premium for a laptop is no longer overwhelming.

As a result, a laptop can now be your only computer.  This is increasingly the case on college campuses, now that laptops come with larger (15- to 17-inch) displays that serve double duty as TV and movie screens.  Because larger screens require a larger form factor, laptop designers now have more room to design a comfortable keyboard ­ although not all of them do so.

STUDENTS

More students are also lugging laptops to class and using them to take notes, and some schools even require that incoming freshmen have laptops.

On the downside, laptops suffer the limitations of their size and weight.  Their screens max out at 17 inches diagonally, and you'll pay a stiff premium for that much space.

Displays of 14 and 15 inches are more common.  While they're certainly sharp and legible, you'll be a lot happier with the image from a 17- or 19-inch desktop monitor ­ particularly if your eyes have seen 40 birthdays or more.  Likewise, laptop keyboards and pointing devices still can't compete with the comfort of a desktop keyboard and mouse.

The nice thing about a laptop is that you can overcome many of its limitations with the application of money.  For example, you can hook almost every laptop to a standard monitor, keyboard and mouse if you're willing to pay for them ­ or already have them from an old PC.  Likewise, you can add an external hard drive, a DVD burner, media reader or TV tuner to a laptop.