The Case For The Branded Pc

Post budget slashing of duty and tempting festival offers -- the increasingly ubiquitous computer is more within reach than ever before. But the spectra of users ranges from absolute novices to regular users, well-versed with this 20th-century aid.

While a seasoned user pursues utility and the resources available, a first-time user is swayed by what is in vogue. As Amit Mishra (not real name), dealer-cum-assembler, says, "I have people insisting on a Pentium 120 MHz with Windows '95. They may have never used a computer before and have no need of such high speed computers. Yet they adamantly go ahead because they have been advised by friends or seen it advertised." In fact, anything from a 75 MHz to a 100 MHz processor would probably be good for most.

 

So as a first step decide on the need for a PC. Sumeet Kapur, of Chipsoft Technology Pvt Ltd, feels, "If you want good graphics and games or the latest educational and entertainment packages you need a more powerful machine than one used for accounts and letters."

Adds Kapur, "Your selection should depend upon your understanding of the PC. New users may find special home PCs like Beanstalk are more useful as it is an auto set-up with pre-arranged software and easy manuals."

Figuring out whats in a name may help to decide between the branded and a customised PC, "Pre-budget, the middle-class or single buyer tilted towards the assembled product, guided by the heavy price difference. Although still not at par with the assembled, branded PC prices too have dropped following a cut of almost 25-30 per cent on imported hardware. A buyer would today rather opt for the reliable product."

Kapur agrees, "For a novice it is more advisable to go for an international brand." The grey market is really for those familiar with the computer. But if you are still game for a working machine at half the price, here are some tips. Rohit Bhat (not real name), also selling assembled wares, advises, "Buy an assembled PC from a person you can trust. That will ensure a good after-sales support." Compaqs or IBM computers may offer a three-year warranty but assemblers don't give more than a year's annual maintenance contract (AMC), which may exclude parts like the hard disk. Understandable, since the HD is played around with in the grey market. Ask for a 1 GB HD and you may be dumped with 630 MB HD - a mark up of nearly Rs 3000.

Similarly, the PC speed dependent on the processor chip is also tampered with. One way is to attach a jumper to a slower processor and pass it off as high speed. So what the screen reflects as 100 MHz may be just a 75 MHz! This market also thrives on cheaper duplicate Intel chips from Singa-pore or Taiwan (Rs 1300-1400) or AMD or Cyrix chips.

"Get a written agreement from the supplier to hold him accountable in case of a mishap. A sales slip means taxes but is still one way of trying to ensure that the assembler is keeping in line with the order placed," advises Mishra.

Unfortunately, a layperson can never make out the difference and frankly how many would take apart the computer to check it out. However, there are simpler ways of doing so, such as using utility packages like QAPlus or Norton which check RAM, floppy drives and speed of the computer or the Disk Manager that tests the HD. Not foolproof but these packages have an accuracy of upto 95 per cent. They are easily available and if you insist you can get these free!

What about pirated software. "Branded PCs come with pre-loaded legal software which hikes the cost of an assembled one. Pirated stuff is aplenty but no buyer company would like to be involved in this. Take also software and maintenance into account and the price difference may not be much," says Kapur.

In fact, the prices of the branded 486 models have been slashed drastically, making assembled sets unattractive. Those in the trade may view this as a tactic to unload stocks fast becoming redundant but the grey market is indeed hit hard by this cut especially since their PCs have low resale value. Bhat says, "Even we can't match these reduced prices on offer. It is more economical to buy the branded 486 and add Rs 2,000 to replace the 4 MB RAM to 8 MB and Rs 10,000 more if you want a colour monitor, to boost it."

Although there are options like upgrading the 486, remember this would involve changing the motherboard and processor. Also if you are buying your first computer, the difference between the cost of a new better machine and upgrading a slower model later is not much with some recent special offers. So why not think long-term? Provided, of course, that you intend to be a high-end user.