- PC HARDWARE -

Your monitor is your primary PC `output' device (with your printer being your secondary).  Monitors give you immediate feedback from all the things you are inputting to your PC, and they should be clear, colorful, and fun.  I won't go into the long evolution from the old black-and-white and green-screen monitors of the first PS's (even though I went through it) and just say that if you don't have a 19" hi-res monitor, go out and buy one (it will perk up your PC pleasure multifold).  Also, they are cheap (around $200).  If you want to get fancy, the new `flat screen' units (above) are fantastic, and you can get an 18" for around $700.

When shopping for a monitor, the most important specification to check is the size of the `dots' on the screen.  The best monitors to day have a dot-pitch of about .25MM - and the smaller the dots, the better the picture.

As far as brands, stick to ViewSonic, Sony, MAG, CTX, or one of the other well known manufacturers.  A lot of generics perform well also, but don't have the service support that the brand names do.