Suggestions about new comp (3 Viewers)

[Casmira]

*gripping chair just that little bit harder*

Please read the thread carefully before you reply 4 pages later with lots of big changes, casmira. Lainee as she has pointed out, is not an expert at computers, and justification of your hardware choices would greatly assist the decisions she has to make.

No.

A 200gb will suit her well? The original hard drive was 80gb, and that was seen as sufficient by a friend who quoted her for the specs. 200gb is a little overkill, for what it's going to be used for. SATA works with her hardware, and if for some reason it dies, which is fairly unlikely, mind you, it becomes the computer store's problem to retrieve the data, and I'm sure they know very well that they need to stock IDE and SATA complient motherboards to plug hard drives into.

IN MY OPINION (hence not reality) SATA is not worth it

Eh? 1gb is essential? If it's essential, why does almost every single computer shipped as an out-of-the-box setup come with 256 or 512mb ? If it was essential, all computers would ship with 1gb. It is by far essential. 512mb is fine for what she will be using the computer for.

9800 Pro's are essential too gamers (example), yet it took dell ages for it too come out on their 'gaming' computers ... Don't compare large companies stats with what people currently buy as whats seen as "good"

An example, lets say at the time 256mb is seen as top notch for a computer, Dell goes makes 1,000,000 machines with that RAM, by the time thats made, distributed, priced, tested, installed software and any other processes Im not aware of, 256mb doubles too 512mb

They are always one small step behind

Now Im suggesting 1GB because each ram chip is ~$100 maybe less, and for that extra $100 (since she seemed so keen to spend $3.2k) can make the computer better in alot of circumstances, its just my opinion, i thrash out my computer so maybe its just not right for her

... I'm not sure if that was even worth saying? "Don't get a good video card because you may be tempted to run out and buy games for it". I don't like having to be blunt, but that's outright stupid. That's close enough to me saying, "I have a draw full of steak knives in my kitchen, therefore I might be tempted to go and murder people".

It was only a suggestion, stop providing retarded and immature responses

Because something drops in price, doesn't mean you should run out and buy it. Lots of expensive things drop in price, that doesn't mean you run out and get one straight away just because it's lower in price. Do you have anything else to justify why she should get an LCD ? Or was it a baseless fact that didn't need to further complicate the post?

But when something drops in price, its an indication too go buy it, technology always drops in price, but recently LCD's have taken the dive, you can buy 17" LCDs for way under $500, Im saying that now LCD's have gone cheap to BUY one, why get CRT when you can get LCD

LCD is lighter
smaller
less energy
less "radiation"
Clearer
easier on the eyes
nicer looking

PLEASE justify why you want to change all these components when we've finally started to narrow down the choices. Don't reinflate the balloon once we've started to let the air out without providing at least a reason why you should buy something, other than it has dropped in price. It works better for everyone that way.

I hope I've done what you have asked

 

[jm1234567890]

17' LCD 14ms 450:1 for $350, lol

damn, to think i spent $600 on one 6 months ago

 

[velox]

Its your choice on the pirated operating system, however if it were me buying a new computer i would purchase an original copy (as they are quite cheap, the academic upgrade versions) And for the upgrade you only need an old windows cd to prove your upgrading.

SP2 is Windows Service Pack 2. It is a semi-upgrade of the operating system to fix bugs etc. It can be downloaded off the internet free of charge. Its for Windows XP.

S939 is socket 939. It's like the 775 thingo you were talking about. Its the chip name. Its an AMD processor. You're looking for an intel as you have stated, but have you considered AMD ?

The processor you're considering buying is a 32bit processor, AMD have released a 64 Bit processor which is faster than the Intels. A site that may help is http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/64-32-bit-processors.html

If its not stated that its a SATA drive it isn't. SATA is a newer technology that enable data to travel faster from the hard drive. It uses much smaller cable than the old PATA drives (which the model you stated is) which is better for airflow.

Longhorn is the next operating system that Microsoft is working on. A good site for an explanation is http://www.microsoft.com/windows/longhorn/default.mspx

HTH

EDIT: Looks like i didnt refresh

Casmira piss off, your suggestions are outrageous and not needed at all.

Guys try to keep the thread a little simple.....Its going pretty off topic-ish

I find 512mb adequate. I dont see why 1gb of ram is essential for a end user like Lainee.

 

[Lainee]

*clears throat* Please don't borrow my thread as a platform to debate issues that really don't concern my personal circumstance. May I suggest starting a thread titled "Unrelated opinions welcomed".

On the other hand, I really have to thank everyone for all the helpful advice.

Not a good idea at all, piracy is illegal, and morally wrong *slight tapping of the nose*.

Damn... but so tempting!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that my original list called for 1GB RAM? If so, then why are people still debating the necessity of this since it was in there to begin with anyway? If not, then how should I change it?

As someone mentioned - I don't do video editing. Maybe image editing on the odd occasion. And I haven't discovered games yet, I might, but I understand that I could upgrade RAM in the future?

Moreover... didn't my original list mention an LCD screen?

When I think about it I don't even need 80GB harddrive. At the moment, I've only filled about 20 of 40GB and that's after many years. It's just that my purposes are really different from most of the people who replied - I'm not a guy (thus I will not fill up 10GB with porn), I'm not a gamer (so I don't need massive space nor RAM) and even if technologies change substantially in the near future it won't really affect me because I'm not someone who must keep their computer right on the edge of cutting technology. I'm impatient (programs must load quickly), I need trustworthiness (which means good customer service because I can't open things up and fix it myself, as well as reliable and tested bits and pieces), and I need some added 'extras' just in case I discover games and/or develop a passion for video editing.

Linux on the other hand, is very kind. I think if we're arguing about how an operating system can't handle resources, then we might as well introduce an operating system that can. Linux. It's a time-sharing environment (unlike Windows) so it a little more free to multi-task. But since you're not very computer literate, as you've stated. I'll give an idea that lots of people will hate as equally as they do when it comes to Linux:

Get an Apple computer. They're time-sharing, being based on a BSD, and you can do your uni work on them. Also, if you find you need Windows, Virtual PC is possible. It allows you to use windows on your mac (as a mac application).

Hope this helps.

In layman's terms, how does Linux differ from Windows? From your post I understand that in terms of multi-tasking, it's much more efficient. But... it looks different? What about expense-wise?

Apple computers look nice. That's the extent of my knowledge about them. What would be an example of a situation where I need to use Windows and thus need Virtual PC?


EDIT: Guess I needed to refresh too, wrx. I'll take a look at the websites. Thanks for 'keeping it simple'. How much extra cost are we saying for AMD processor (erm... the 64-bit thing you were talking about)?

 

[Casmira]

I wouldnt get pirated if I was you, there are all these tricks you have too know to get around microsofts way of locking you out

service packs for example ...

Also from what I hear, its a good idea not too send out those "send error reports" with a pir8 version, then again i could be wrong

 

[jm1234567890]

I wouldnt get pirated if I was you, there are all these tricks you have too know to get around microsofts way of locking you out

service packs for example ...

Also from what I hear, its a good idea not too send out those "send error reports" with a pir8 version, then again i could be wrong

your wrong...

they wont hunt you down and kill you....

it is ok to use windows update, and if you don't the viruses will hunt you down and kill you.

 

[Casmira]

your wrong...

they wont hunt you down and kill you....

it is ok to use windows update, and if you don't the viruses will hunt you down and kill you.

Service Pack 1 locks out those 2 known CD keys

 

[jm1234567890]

Service Pack 1 locks out those 2 known CD keys

so? it hasn't stoped people from using it has it?

 

[velox]

64 Bit computing is generally quite 'cheap' compared to intel. It can be as cheap as the current cpu and motherboard you have. Don't worry about Linux at all. Sorry i forgot that you asked for 1gb ram. Nevertheless RAM can be upgraded very easily. And virtual pc is sooo sssssllllllooooowwwwwwwww......

 

[Lainee]

wrx - I had a look at the sites you linked. Say I go for 64-bit... what would I write down as model number (and such)? Would changing the processor mean having to change the motherboard?

 

[jonathan109]

then again i could be wrong

No actually you're "always" wrong.

 

[jonathan109]

Service Pack 1 locks out those 2 known CD keys

The term is Blacklisted, n00b. And there is no technical jist to combating the blacklisting of infamous keys, you can obtain a lot generated corp keys, which we won't discuss here.

 

[velox]

wrx - I had a look at the sites you linked. Say I go for 64-bit... what would I write down as model number (and such)? Would changing the processor mean having to change the motherboard?

Yes, you would have to change the motherboard. Socket 939 is a good AMD 64 chipset. Forget socket 754 as its old and the upgrade path will be very limited.

 

[jonathan109]

wrx - I had a look at the sites you linked. Say I go for 64-bit... what would I write down as model number (and such)? Would changing the processor mean having to change the motherboard?

Depends the clock speed you get, we have 2800, 3000, 3200, 3500, 3800, 4000, part of the 64 Bit family, getting this type of CPU from AMD, requires to change a different motherboard, a mothrboard that supports this CPU, you can get this CPU in two socket varietys, 754 or 939, don't get confused with pins, you don't need to know about it, to be on the safe side go with 939, it's pretty new and recent.

Btw, 2800, 3200, etc these are the names of the actual CPU model number, they do not reflect the true value of how much clock cycles the CPU can run at, they named it this, to say that, a 3500 CPU for example running at 2.21 GHz, is in fact equivalent to a Pentium 4 3.5 Ghz CPU.

Nowadays, CPU clock speeds do not mean much the value is really useless, just looks good, it depends on numerous factors, cache levels. If you don't believe me, there has been tests done even on laptop CPUs, Centrino based CPUs running at clock speeds of 1.5 Ghz performs better than a Pentium 4 running 2ghz +.

 

[poloktim]

*clears throat* Please don't borrow my thread as a platform to debate issues that really don't concern my personal circumstance. May I suggest starting a thread titled "Unrelated opinions welcomed".

"Unrelated opinions welcomed... and the horse you rode in on"

In layman's terms, how does Linux differ from Windows? From your post I understand that in terms of multi-tasking, it's much more efficient. But... it looks different? What about expense-wise?

Apple computers look nice. That's the extent of my knowledge about them. What would be an example of a situation where I need to use Windows and thus need Virtual PC?

You don't want Linux. However, it is free (and very legal).
The only thing I can think of where Virtual PC comes to mind is games that don't run natively on Mac OS X.

*Nix based systems use time-sharing to make multi-tasking much more efficient. With all computers, the processor can only do one thing at a time (regardless of how fast it appears to be doing n things). Time-sharing forces each process (or program) to use the processor for only a short period of time. Thus more things get processed in a second, which makes it seem like *nix is seamlessly multi-tasking.

MacOS X uses this system, and yeah, they're powerful computers. I wasn't an Apple fan. But they really struck gold with MacOS X. If I had the money, I'd buy myself an ibook or a powerbook.

 

[withoutaface]

I'm not a guy (thus I will not fill up 10GB with porn)

Any guy who only has 10gb of porn should be ashamed of himself.

 

[velox]

Depends the clock speed you get, we have 2800, 3000, 3200, 3500, 3800, 4000, part of the 64 Bit family, getting this type of CPU from AMD, requires to change a different motherboard, a mothrboard that supports this CPU, you can get this CPU in two socket varietys, 754 or 939, don't get confused with pins, you don't need to know about it, to be on the safe side go with 939, it's pretty new and recent.

Btw, 2800, 3200, etc these are the names of the actual CPU model number, they do not reflect the true value of how much clock cycles the CPU can run at, they named it this, to say that, a 3500 CPU for example running at 2.21 GHz, is in fact equivalent to a Pentium 4 3.5 Ghz CPU.

Nowadays, CPU clock speeds do not mean much the value is really useless, just looks good, it depends on numerous factors, cache levels. If you don't believe me, there has been tests done even on laptop CPUs, Centrino based CPUs running at clock speeds of 1.5 Ghz performs better than a Pentium 4 running 2ghz +.

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid

 

[...]

OKOKOK

time out



this whole bullshit bout 1gb ram to 10gb of porn is pretty pointless unless we all know precisely what the computer will be used for


some questions needed to be answer

name the applications you will most likely to use on this comp?
and also how many of them do you run at the same time?
are you a gamer?
what will be the main reason for this new computer? uni? games?

 

[withoutaface]

She's just taking the high road and pretending she doesn't like porn, when in fact it has been conclusively proven that everyone loves porn.

 

[Lainee]

name the applications you will most likely to use on this comp?

Applications... erm... Word, Excel, Photoshop, some file-sharing programs, telnet, MSN, windows media player for watching dvds... At least that's what I think applications mean anyway.

and also how many of them do you run at the same time?

Hmm... let's see. I'm listening to music, downloading music, burning a CD, on MSN playing minesweeper and answering questions from 'Torts' in Word. With about 20 tabs open in Firefox.

are you a gamer?

No. But as I said before, I might be in the future. Depends on who'll lend me games.

what will be the main reason for this new computer? uni? games?

Main reason why I'm getting a new computer is that my sister is needing the computer to herself more often and thus she is getting the one I'm using now. It'll be used for uni purposes, social purposes (MSN, emailing), some photo editing, internet obviously, listening to music and watching downloaded movies. Yep. That's right. No porn.

She's just taking the high road and pretending she doesn't like porn, when in fact it has been conclusively proven that everyone loves porn.

Didn't say anything about not liking it. Just will not download it to computer - I've got younger siblings to think about. :uhhuh: