An 8-bit color monitor will display 256 different colors. Not listed above, but highly recommended, is a backup storage device. It is possible to back up your operating system, applications, and data onto floppy diskettes, but given the size of today s applications, doing so can be time-consuming. Furthermore, floppy diskettes are not the most reliable of media. Various inexpensive backup solutions exist.
Some people purchase another hard drive, internal or external, and back up their software to that.
Others use a tape drive or an inexpensive device with removable media, such as a ZIP or Jaz drive. Starting with the minimum system, you can upgrade your shopping list based upon the use to which you plan to put the computer. If you wish to run high-end games or other multimedia applications on a PC, a Pentium processor with MMX technology or a Pentium II is also a good idea. People who spend a lot of time on the Internet will appreciate an investment in a 33 K modem. Faster 56 K modems are available at reasonable cost, but some Internet Service Providers do not as yet support these modems, so check with your ISP before investing in one.