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So you've decided to join the telecommuting revolution and
work from home, or perhaps you recently took the plunge into
self-employment. Whatever the reason, you need to set up a
home office, and that means you need to buy a home-office
computer system.
You know all about computers, you say. In fact, you just
purchased a computer for your teenage son, or maybe you bought
a budget laptop for your daughter who went off to college
last fall. Well, you're entering new territory when it comes
to purchasing a PC for your home office.
The PC you buy for your office is a different animal from
the PC you buy for your family. Let's compare the two:
| Feature |
Minimum for Home Office PC |
Fine for Family PC |
| Processor |
800MHz - 1GHz Pentium III |
800 MHz Celeron |
| Monitor |
17" |
15" |
| RAM |
128 MB (256 MB is better) |
64 MB |
| Hard Drive |
20 GB |
20 GB |
| CD |
CD-RW |
CD or DVD |
| Printer |
Laser or Multi-function |
Color Inkjet |
| Software |
Microsoft Office Suite, Quicken, Virus Protection |
Microsoft Word, Games, Quicken, Virus Protection |
| Warranty |
three-year on-site |
one year parts and labor |
As you can see, there are some major differences between
the two types of computers. For your office, you need more
power, more storage, a CD-RW drive, and a laser printer. The
family can get by on less power, different software priorities,
and a low-cost inkjet printer.
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