A computer needs a motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drive, monitor, CD-ROM (or DVD-ROM), keyboard, mouse, case and power unit. A modem (typically an ASDL or dial-up here in Beijing) is necessary if you want to connect to the Internet. A sound card and speakers are nice to have. We install a floppy drive also, but it's not the necessity it once was. If you are looking forward to playing games a quality video card is highly recommended.

Before we continue, allow us to state that if you're baffled by some of this stuff, don't worry. Patient education is one of our trademarks. We really care about our customers and we take the time to consult with you and determine your needs, whatever you're level of computing is. We know how difficult it is to get English computer assistance here in Beijing and we bend over backwards to help. There are some testimonials here. If you need help with terminology, check out this page.

With the above hardware you will be able to do most of the Internet things that your friends talk about; download songs, listen to them and save them to a very large hard drive, or watch movies, listen to the radio, play games, etc. All the computers we build have multiple USB 2.0 connections, which will allow you to attach most any modern peripheral such as a digital camera, electronic pen & pad, etc., etc. If you have (or think you will have) a digital video camera in the future then we can install a 'firewire' card for you as well. SCSI and RAID devices are also something that we are intimately familiar with.

The Windows operating system includes rudimentary office applications such as Wordpad, Outlook Express (E-mail) and fax capabilities. Office XP is a great office application and both the home and professional versions are available in English here in Beijing, China. Office XP includes; Word (data processing), Excel (spreadsheet), Access (data base), Power Point (presentations), Outlook (E-mail) and Front Page (web site editor).

Additional peripherals that are usually USB 2.0 these days are printers and scanners. If you have older ones, there will be serial ports and parallel ports to attach them to, although these types of devices are starting to be referred to as legacy (as in getting old and gray) devices, as are floppies.

We think that a CD-RW (CD rewriter) is an invaluable tool to have to back-up your important data. The cost of CD writers has really fallen over the past couple of years. If you have A LOT of data (or do home movies) and some extra cash, DVD writers are an option as well.

Are you or your children into games? Video (graphic) cards are an often overlooked area. We want you to be able to play that latest game and we spend a lot of time researching the Internet and scouring the computer markets looking for the best value video cards.

Let's not forget about the operating system. Windows XP Professional is a great system. The Home version isn't available in English in China, but if you're a neophyte don't let it worry you, you probably would never notice the difference. We also do Red Hat Linux, but it's geared more towards office use. If you're looking to have some fun with your computer, go with Windows XP. Our computers are also perfectly compatible with Microsoft's Windows Vista OS.

Have a multi-lingual household or office? Windows XP and it's related language packs along with different user accounts allow you the capability to have several different languages on the same computer. More info here.

We also do dual-boot computers. You can keep your Windows 95/98 or ME and have Windows 2000 or XP. Some of those older programs and games (i.e. Tomb Raider) won't run on Windows 2000/XP. Want to explore Windows Server or Linux? How about a triple-boot! More info here.

Please don't hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

Joe - Beijing Computer Co.