Judging from the number of calls NICAR has been getting on computer hardware, news organizations have begun putting more money into CAR programs. There are several special requirements needed for a good computer system to do this kind of work. Here are some things to consider.

Go for processor speed

The faster the processor, the faster programs are going to run. But if you're going to cut corners, this is a good place to do so. That's because in CAR, there is more concern about storage and data transfer speeds than about the CPU (central processing unit). Much of the time wasted is spent going to peripherals (such as the hard drive or a nine track machine) and reading the data.

Still, a fast CPU is a wonderful thing. If you can afford them, there are a number of crunchers out there that can smoke. At a minimum, I would suggest a full 486 machine (not an SX) with speed of at least 33 MHz. Currently, 50, 66, 90 and 100 MHz machines are on the market in the 486 variety.

Pentium machines are a step up. The Pentium is the next generation CPU chip after the 486 chip. Prices for Pentiums are falling very quickly so they make a lot of sense. If you opt for the 486, get one that is easily upgraded to a Pentium.

The future lies in the Power PC. It is a jet engine compared to the Pentium's propeller. It will be cheaper, better and faster within a year. Not a lot of software written for the chip takes advantage of its speed yet. Keep a close eye on them.

How many megs of RAM?

Easy answer here. Get a minimum of 16 mb of Random Access Memory (RAM). Not enough RAM will slow your system down. Think of it as desk space. If you don't have enough desk space to work on, you'll have to keep swapping files in and out of your storage area. Plenty of RAM lets you lay it all out and not make wasteful trips. Make sure your RAM is expandable to a reasonable amount (about 128 mb).

Shopping for disks

For a discussion of peripheral storage systems, see the two previous issues of Uplink.

Make sure you have enough hard disk space. It's usually the first thing you run out of. Programs are getting big (OS/2 takes up 80 mb of disk space), and you'll need a big work space for your databases. If you can afford it, don't buy less than 1 gigabyte (a gigabyte is equal to 1,000 mb). Better to buy a 2 or 2.4 gb drive. It'll be worth it in the long run.

If you go with an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) system, you're stuck with only two drives and a maximum partition of 528 mb each. The alternative is a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) controller. SCSI can handle up to seven peripherals (compared to four for IDE). It also can handle any size drive on the market.

SCSI controllers are more expensive and a little more complicated to set up. They're also much faster. Fast and wide SCSI hard drives can handle up to 40 mb/sec compared to mb/sec for IDEs. But look for the enhanced IDE drives coming out in the near future. The new standard will support up to 8.4 gb drive partitions.

Take the local bus

A bus is an electronic transportation system on your motherboard that allows you to transfer data at higher rates. I strongly suggest getting a computer with a high-speed local bus.

If you buy a PC at Sears, it's going to have the old-fashioned Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) buses, which have a 16-bit processor and a 8 MHz speed.

In 1988, Extended-ISA (EISA) came along. It had a 32-bit processor but still operated at 8 MHz. Now VESA Local (VL) and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) buses operate up to 32 bits and 64 bits with speeds up to 66 MHz. While IDE can transfer data at 8 mb/sec, the new buses can move data at 140 mb/sec with bursts up to 320 mb/sec.

The faster access allows you to get the maximum speed out of your peripherals. But be careful. These buses can create some potential compatibility problems if you don't spec out your system carefully.

Basic Computer System: 486-33 MHz system, 430 megabyte hard drive, VL-local bus, 8 mb RAM. Approx. cost: $2,200.

High-End System: Pentium 90 MHz system, 2 gigabyte hard drive, PCI bus, 16 mb RAM. Approx. cost: $4,400.

Prices include monitor, keyboard, videocard, tower case, mouse.

If you have any questions or if you've discovered something you would like to share with other journalists, call Drew Sullivan at (314) 882-0684 or better yet, e-mail me at C621897@mizzou1.missouri.edu