For today's high school and college students, having a capable computer is as much of a necessity as a backpack and textbooks. And that can come as a shock to those of us whose school days are distant memories from a time when computers were behemoths locked away in climate-controlled rooms.

Obviously, you want your children to have the technological tools they need to do their course work. But shopping for a new PC isn't easy. If you've ventured into your local computer store recently, you've seen some temptingly low prices, but a raft of confusing choices.

Many off-the-shelf PCs are essentially compromises, designed for the "average" home user. The low-price models are often equipped with small-capacity hard drives or limited memory, and the software pickings can be slim. Higher-end models are usually tuned to the demands of business users or enthusiasts looking for extreme entertainment--not necessarily what you'd want to buy for your budding "A" student.

Our purpose here is to present an alternative to the new-PC path. Maybe you've been eyeing a new PC for yourself, or perhaps you've splurged on a new PC in the past year or so. In either case, you may have a leftover PC sitting around. Instead of buying your child a spanking-new PC, why not upgrade that older PC with a few state-of-the-art parts to bring it up to the latest standards? You'll save some landfill space and end up with a computer that's tuned to your child's needs.

Okay, you can almost see your child's face. "You're not going to give me that ancient computer of yours? Everyone will laugh at me." Objection noted--so why not get the student involved in the upgrade process? Your son or daughter can pick out exactly what they want to customize the PC and make it their own.

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