It's time for my annual fall PC buyer's guide. As always, this guide covers what average consumers doing typical tasks should look for in a desktop or laptop PC. That excludes heavy-duty gamers, corporate buyers, techies, or enthusiasts.

But this autumn, we find ourselves in a serious global economic slowdown. So I will focus this edition of the guide on how folks whose PC budgets have shrunk can still get something adequate for light use.

The guide below applies to both desktops and laptops, since the latter, at least in the consumer market, have achieved rough parity in performance and versatility, and are now more popular than desktops.

-- Windows vs. Mac: I consider the Mac operating system, Leopard, to be faster, easier and more stable than Windows XP or Windows Vista. It isn't susceptible to the vast majority of malicious software that circulates on the Internet. And Macs also include Apple's superb built-in iLife multimedia suite. Macs can even run Windows, though that costs extra.

However, Apple has consciously chosen not to offer machines in the bargain category. The cheapest Mac desktop, the minimalist Mac Mini, which doesn't even include a monitor, speakers, keyboard or mouse, costs $650 for a model with a hard disk I consider adequate. The cheapest Mac laptop, the base model of the prior-generation MacBook (which Apple has retained in its lineup) is $999.

Both are good values, mainly due to the software. And Macs can save you money over time. But if the lowest upfront cost is your objective, you can pay hundreds less for desktops and laptops from Windows PC makers.

-- Which Windows: Windows Vista is too often slow, and incompatible with older peripherals, such as the printers you might not want to replace in this economic climate. It also can cost more because it demands beefier, and thus costlier, hardware to run well than does the older Windows XP.

Budget shoppers should look around for a computer that still runs XP, either one of the dwindling number of models built with XP in mind, or one that has been 'downgraded' by the manufacturer to XP. This downgrade 'feature' can cost $50 or more upfront, but permits you to buy a cheaper machine.

For instance, I recently advised two of my budget-minded friends to buy a low-end Dell desktop, the Inspiron 530, at Micro Center, a small but very good national chain of computer superstores. This Dell runs XP, and has a low-end Intel processor. The store is currently selling a version with a 250-gigabyte hard disk -- more than enough for an average user -- and 2 gigabytes of memory, generous for XP, for just $400 after instant rebate. You can get a similar good deal directly from Dell.

These particular friends, one on each coast, each bought a nice LCD monitor for $100-$150, and were out of the store for very little money. Since they only wanted to run Microsoft Office, browse the Web, do email and manage photos, this machine met their needs.

Another option is a low-cost machine with the Home Basic version of Vista, which also tends to cost less and to require less-expensive hardware than the more-common Vista Home Premium. If my friends had wanted laptops, I could have steered them to a 15-inch Acer Aspire laptop at the same store. This machine runs Vista Basic, with 1 gigabyte of memory and a 120-gigabyte hard disk, and costs $380.

You can often buy an even less-costly computer if you opt for the Linux operating system, but I still don't advise this for average non-techie users.

-- Memory: For XP, or a Mac, I suggest 2 gigabytes of memory, but you can get away with 1 gigabyte for light use. For Vista, I recommend 3 gigabytes, but 2 megabytes will do on a tight budget. You can always add memory later.

-- Hard disk: On a laptop, 160 gigabytes is the minimum I usually suggest, but you can get by with 120 gigabytes and upgrade when economic times are better. On a desktop, 250 gigabytes is easily obtainable, but 160 gigabytes will do.

-- DVD drive: If you never record DVDs, you can save money by buying a cheaper combo drive, which plays both DVDs and CDs, but records only the latter.

-- Processor: Look for a dual-core processor, but to save money, don't worry about the speed, model number, or brand.

-- Video: A separate, or 'discrete,' video card is best, especially for Vista Home Premium, but budget shoppers should stick with lesser 'integrated graphics.'

-- Other features: If your home lacks the fastest 'n' version of Wi-Fi, spend less for a laptop with the older 'g' version. If you don't need to do video chats or recording, don't pay for a built-in camera and microphone.

-- Netbooks: If you don't mind a tiny screen, cramped keyboard and limited file storage, these popular new mini-laptops can save you money. Some sell for under $400, even equipped with Windows.

Remember, pay only for the computing capabilities you need.

又到了一年一度我為準備購買電腦的朋友們支招的時候了。同往常一樣，本指南僅針對那些使用臺式機或筆記本電腦執行一般任務的普通用戶，而不包括超級游戲玩家、企業用戶、專業人士或者是電腦迷。

全球經濟在這個秋天陷入了嚴重放緩的困境。所以，本期指南將旨在幫助那些削減電腦預算的人們買到一臺能滿足一般操作的電腦。

本指南對臺式機和筆記本電腦均適用，因為至少在消費市場，筆記本電腦不論是從性能還是從功能上來講已達到了臺式機的水平，眼下變得比臺式機更受歡迎。

Windows vs. Mac蘋果電腦：我認為蘋果電腦的Leopard操作系統比Windows XP或Windows Vista的運行更加快速、簡單和穩定，也不受充斥互聯網的大多數惡意軟件的侵擾。該系統還配備了蘋果公司(Apple)超棒的內置iLife多媒體套裝軟件。蘋果電腦甚至還可以運行Windows系統，當然這需額外付費。

不過，蘋果公司有意不對產品進行降價銷售。簡簡單單的Mac Mini是最便宜的蘋果臺式機，它甚至沒有安裝顯示器、音箱、鍵盤和鼠標。只配有一塊硬盤的Mac Mini售價650美元，我認為這樣的配置已經足夠了。蘋果電腦中最便宜的筆記本電腦是上一代MacBook（蘋果公司保留了這個系列）的基本款，售價999美元。

兩者都物有所值，主要是由于它們的軟件不錯。而且，從長遠看，蘋果電腦能夠幫你省錢。但是如果你的目標是前期投資成本最低，那么你可以少花幾百塊去買Windows電腦生產商制造的臺式機和筆記本。

購買Windows哪個系列：Windows Vista總是運行緩慢，而且和上一代的外設不兼容，比如說，在當前的經濟形勢下你或許不愿更換的打印機。另外，因為Vista需要比上一代Windows XP更強勁、也因此更昂貴的硬件來保持平穩運行，你還要花上更多的錢。

預算有限的用戶應該留意仍使用XP系統的電腦，選擇那些內置XP系統的機型──這樣的機型已經變得越來越少了，或者被制造商“降級”成XP系統的機型。這個降級“特點”會為先期成本增加50多美元，不過卻能讓你買來一臺更便宜的機器。

比如說，我最近建議兩個打算省錢的朋友在Micro Center購買了低端的戴爾(Dell)臺式機Inspiron 530。Micro Center是家規模不大但卻非常出色的全國性的電腦連鎖店。這款電腦安裝了XP操作系統，配有低端的英特爾(Intel)處理器。這家連鎖店正在銷售一款配備有250G硬盤──對普通用戶來說足夠了──和2G內存的戴爾電腦，足以運行XP，折扣價只要400美元。你還可以直接從戴爾公司購買，也能得到類似的優惠。

這兩位分住在美國東西海岸的朋友，每人以100到150美元的價格都買到了很好的液晶顯示器，只在商店里花了很少的錢。因為他們只是想用電腦來進行Microsoft Office操作、瀏覽網頁、收發電子郵件和處理照片，所以這臺機器能夠滿足他們的需要。

另外一個選擇是裝有Vista家庭普通版(Home Basic)的低成本電腦。它的價格更低，需要的硬件也比更常見的Vista家庭高級版(Home Premium)要便宜。如果我的朋友需要買臺筆記本電腦，我會建議他們去看同一家商店里15英寸的宏 (Acer) Aspire。這臺機器使用Vista普通版操作系統，配有1G內存和120G硬盤，售價為380美元。

如果你選擇Linux操作系統，那么你經常可以買到更加便宜的電腦，但我還是不會向非專業人士推薦這種做法。

內存：對于XP或蘋果機，我建議購買有2G內存的機器，但是如果你只是進行常規操作，1G的也可以。對于Vista系統，我建議要3G的內存,但如果預算緊張，2G的也可以。你可以在今后增加內存。

硬盤：對于筆記本電腦，我通常的建議是最小160G，但你可以買個120G的，等經濟好轉時再升級。對于臺式機，250G的硬盤可以輕松買到，但160G也夠用了。

DVD驅動器：如果你從不刻錄DVD，那么你可以省些錢，買比較便宜的combo驅動器。它可以播放DVD和CD，但是只能刻錄CD。

處理器：最好買雙核處理器，但從省錢角度講，不必在乎運行速度、型號或者是品牌。

顯卡：獨立顯卡是最好的，尤其是對Vista家庭高級版而言，但是預算有限的用戶應該選擇功能相對較低的“集成顯卡”。

其他部件：如果你家里沒有最快的n版Wi-Fi（無限保真），那么就少花些錢，買臺使用老一代g版Wi-Fi技術的筆記本電腦。如果你不需要視頻聊天或錄音，就不用為內置攝像頭和麥克風花錢。

Netbooks：如果你不介意小屏幕，狹促的鍵盤和有限的文檔存儲空間，這些新上市的迷你筆記本很受人們歡迎，還可以為你省錢。其中某些機型售價低于400美元，甚至還預裝了Windows操作系統。

記住，買臺滿足自己需要的電腦就可以了。