As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 1, 2001 Registration No. 333-___________ ________________________________________________________________________________ SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 PC CONNECTION, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 02-0513618 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification Number) Route 101A, 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) 1997 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (Full title of the plan) Patricia Gallup Chairman of the Board PC Connection, Inc. Route 101A 730 Milford Road Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 (Name and address of agent for service) (603) 423-2000 (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service) ________________________________________________________________________________ CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE Title of securities to Amount to be Proposed maximum Proposed maximum Amount of be registered registered offering price per aggregate offering registration share (1) price (1) fee - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stock, 600,000 $13.85 $8,310,000 $2,078 $0.01 par value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, and based upon the average of the high and low prices of the Common Stock on Nasdaq National Market on July 31, 2001 in accordance with Rules 457(c) and 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933. ________________________________________________________________________________

PART I INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS Item 1. Plan Information. The information required by Item 1 is included in documents sent or given to participants in the plan covered by this registration statement pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information. The written statement required by Item 2 is included in documents sent or given to participants in the plan covered by this registration statement pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act. PART II INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference. The registrant is subject to the informational and reporting requirements of Sections 13(a), 14, and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). The following documents, which are on file with the Commission, are incorporated in this registration statement by reference: (a) The registrant's latest annual report filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or the latest prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act that contains audited financial statements for the registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed. (b) All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the document referred to in (a) above. (c) The description of the securities contained in the registrant's registration statement on Form 8-A and filed under the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. All documents subsequently filed by the registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post- effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for the purposes of this registration statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any -1-

statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this registration statement. Item 4. Description of Securities. Not applicable. Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel. Hale and Dorr LLP has opined as to the legality of the securities being offered by this registration statement. Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers. Article SEVENTH of the registrant's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended provides that, except to the extent that the General Corporation Law of Delaware prohibits the elimination or limitation of liability of directors for breaches of fiduciary duty, no director of the registrant shall be personally liable to the registrant of its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, notwithstanding any provision of law imposing such liability. Article EIGHTH of the registrant's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended provides that the registrant shall indemnify each person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the registrant), by reason of his or her position (an "Indemnitee"), or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken or omitted in such capacity, against all expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her or on his or her behalf in connection with such action, suit or proceeding and any appeal therefrom, if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the registrant, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. Article EIGHTH of the registrant's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended provides that the registrant shall indemnify any Indemnitee who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the registrant to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of Indemnitee's position or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken or omitted in such capacity, against all expenses and, to the extent permitted by law amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her on his or her behalf in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, and any appeal therefrom, if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the registrant. Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the request of the corporation in related capacities against amounts paid -2-

and expenses incurred in connection with an action or proceeding to which he is or is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person shall have acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal proceeding, if such person had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful; provided that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the adjudicating court determines that such indemnification is proper under the circumstances. The registrant maintains a general liability insurance policy which covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of the registrant arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers. Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed. Not applicable. Item 8. Exhibits. The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits is incorporated herein by reference. Item 9. Undertakings. 1. Item 512(a) of Regulation S-K. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes: (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act; (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post- effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration statement; and (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; -3-

provided, however, that paragraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement. (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. 2. Item 512(b) of Regulation S-K. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. 3. Item 512(h) of Regulation S-K. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. -4-

SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Merrimack, New Hampshire, on the 31st day of July, 2001. PC CONNECTION, INC. By: /s/ Patricia Gallup -------------------------------- Patricia Gallup Chairman of the Board POWER OF ATTORNEY We, the undersigned officers and directors of PC Connection, Inc. hereby severally constitute Patricia Gallup and Wayne L. Wilson, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, the Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed herewith and any and all subsequent amendments to said Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and behalf in our capacities as officers and directors to enable PC Connection, Inc. to comply with all requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming our signatures as they may be signed by said attorneys, or any of them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated. -5-

Signature Title Date --------- ----- ---- /s/ Patricia Gallup Chairman of the Board July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- Patricia Gallup /s/ Kenneth Koppel Chief Executive Officer July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- (principal executive officer) Kenneth Koppel /s/ Wayne L. Wilson President and Chief Operating Officer July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- (principal operating officer) Wayne L. Wilson /s/ Mark A. Gavin Chief Financial Officer (principal July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- financial and accounting officer) Mark A. Gavin /s/ David Hall Vice Chairman of the Board July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- David Hall /s/ David Beffa-Negrini Director July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- David Beffa-Negrini /s/ Martin C. Murrer Director July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- Martin C. Murrer /s/ Peter J. Baxter Director July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- Peter J. Baxter /s/ Joseph Baute Director July 31, 2001 - -------------------------- Joseph Baute -6-

Exhibit Index ------------- Exhibit Number Description - ------ ----------- 4.1(1) Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the registrant, as amended, as currently in effect. 4.2(2) By-Laws of the registrant 5.1 Opinion of Hale and Dorr LLP 15 Letter on unaudited interim financial information 23.1 Consent of Hale and Dorr LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1) 23.2 Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP 24 Power of Attorney (included in the signature page of this Registration Statement) _______________________ (1) Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-63272). (2) Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to the registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-41171).

EXHIBIT 5.1 HALE AND DORR LLP Counsellors At Law 60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 617-526-6000 * FAX 617-526-5000 August 1, 2001 PC Connection, Inc. Route 101A 730 Milford Road Merrimack, NH 03054 Re: 1997 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan, as amended ---------------------------------------------------------- Ladies and Gentlemen: We have assisted in the preparation of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the "Registration Statement") to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), relating to an aggregate of 600,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the "Shares"), of PC Connection, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), issuable under the Company's 1997 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the "Plan"). We have examined the Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws of the Company, each as amended and restated to date, and originals, or copies certified to our satisfaction, of all pertinent records of the meetings of the directors and stockholders of the Company, the Registration Statement and such other documents relating to the Company as we have deemed material for the purposes of this opinion. In our examination of the foregoing documents, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified, photostatic or other copies, the authenticity of the originals of any such documents and the legal competence of all signatories to such documents. We assume that the appropriate action will be taken, prior the offer and sale of the shares in accordance with the Plan, to register and qualify the shares for sale under all applicable state securities or "blue sky" laws. We express no opinion herein as to the laws of any state or jurisdiction other than the state laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the federal laws of the United States of America.

It is understood that this opinion is to be used only in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares while the Registration Statement is in effect. Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. Based on the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized for issuance and, when the Shares are issued and paid for in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Plan, the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Registration Statement in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act. In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission. Very truly yours, /s/ Hale and Dorr LLP HALE AND DORR LLP -2-

Exhibit 15 July 31, 2001 PC Connection Inc. and Subsidiaries Merrimack, New Hampshire We have made a review, in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, of the unaudited interim financial information of PC Connection, Inc. and Subsidiaries for the periods ended March 31, 2001 and 2000, as indicated in our report dated April 18, 2001; because we did not perform an audit, we expressed no opinion on that information. We are aware that our report referred to above, which was included in your Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, is being used in this Registration Statement. We also are aware that the aforementioned report, pursuant to Rule 436(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, is not considered a part of the Registration Statement prepared or certified by an accountant or a report prepared or certified by an accountant within the meaning of Sections 7 and 11 of that Act. /s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP Boston, Massachusetts

EXHIBIT 23.2 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of PC Connection, Inc. (the "Company") on Form S-8 of our report dated January 25, 2001 on the financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2000, appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of PC Connection, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2000. /s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP Boston, Massachusetts July 31, 2001