Please direct your media and public relations inquiries to: mediarelations@cdw.com 800-800-4CDW CDW to Offer Value-Priced Solutions to Growing Businesses with Compaq's New Prosignia Line VERNON HILLS, Ill. - November 11, 1998 - In an effort to strengthen its leadership position in offering direct computing solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses, CDW Computer Centers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDWC), a Fortune 1000 company, today announced it will offer Compaq's new Prosignia family, making CDW one of the only direct providers to bring the new line of aggressively priced, high-value solutions to customers. In offering the new product line, CDW builds on the company's ongoing, successful strategic partnership with Compaq, joining forces to help SMB customers get the computing solutions they need quickly and easily. CDW is the No. 1 authorized direct source for Compaq, selling more Compaq products in the United States than any channel partner in its class. CDW will begin offering the Prosignia line today with desktop prices starting at $1,162; notebooks starting at $2,038; and servers priced from $1,379. "CDW and Compaq share some natural synergies-we're both industry leaders in bringing value and performance-driven solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses," said Joe Kremer, CDW's vice president of marketing. "The Prosignia line adds a new depth and breadth to both CDW and Compaq's product offerings, and is consistent with CDW's leadership in offering affordable, bundled solutions to growing businesses." Together, CDW and Compaq are helping make SMB customers' jobs' easier by bringing to market these "easy-to-own" desktops, notebooks and servers. All are easy to configure and select models come bundled with the software growing organizations need. As a result, CDW and Compaq are offering small and medium-sized businesses more value for their money than ever before. "Due to CDW's operating efficiencies and our direct business model, CDW is uniquely positioned to offer this new, lower cost Prosignia line to customers," said Paul Kozak, CDW's vice president of purchasing. "We are one of the only companies that has the efficiencies, infrastructure and relationships in place to bring value-priced products like this to our customers, achieving a win for CDW, a win for Compaq and most importantly, a win for our customers." CDW's community of more than 600 dedicated account managers have received comprehensive product training from CDW and Compaq representatives on the Prosignia product line's features and benefits, enabling them to customize the appropriate solutions for their customers. For more information on CDW's product offering or the Compaq Prosignia line, contact a CDW Compaq specialist at 1-800-240-4239 or visit CDW's special Compaq Web site at www.cdw.com/compaq. About CDW CDW® (NASDAQ: CDWC), a Fortune 1000 company, is the country's leading direct solutions provider, offering complete, customized computing solutions for businesses and consumers nationwide. With competitive prices on a selection of thousands of brand name computer products, CDW is the No. 1 authorized direct source of Compaq, Computer Associates, IBM, Microsoft, Toshiba and other top name brands. Founded in 1984 as a one-man, home-based business, CDW today employs more than 1,400 coworkers whose efforts generated net sales of $1.6 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 1998. CDW's pioneering direct model offers personalized expertise through one-on-one relationships with highly-trained, knowledgeable account managers; telephone and online purchasing; custom configured solutions; next day shipping; and lifetime phone and online technical support, with close to 60 factory-trained and A+ certified technicians on staff. More information About CDW is available on the company's award-winning e-commerce Web site at www.cdw.com or by calling 888-CDW-7040.