| Username |
Post |
| computer |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 10:29 AM
Guys,
need your suggestion in choosing one computer(pc)--
I am looking for
P4 --1.6-1.8 Ghz
256MB DDr,
20-40 Ghz hard drive
medium video card, and sound card(will be using to record --cakewalk)
--------
Shall I built myself or buy it from gateway, or dell?
---
Also what do you think of AMD vs Pentium???
Thank you...
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| Satya |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 11:03 AM
Computer,
If built-it-youself is cheaper than on-the-self one and you have time I suggest to assemble yourself.
I prefer Pentium but AMD is also acceptable. If you choose to assemble yourself then go for AMD which costs less. Any way, your PC will be obsolete witin couple of years. Why spend more than necessary?
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
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| czar |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 03:10 PM
If you build your own system, beware which motherboard you pick. Ensure that you have ATA 133 IDE built in, so you can use the latest high performance HD's. I'd go with 512 MB RAM if possible. Pick a video card with DDR.
Try the computer shows so you have an idea of what it costs to build a system. If its cheaper, build it. If not, buy Dell. Their tech support is first class, plus, all their tech support documents are available on their web site.
As a home user, it doesn't matter whether you use a P4 or AMD. As another user pointed out, the AMD costs less.
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| Y2002 |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 04:31 PM
As far as cpu speed is concerned I think anything higher than PIII 500 Mhz is plenty.
why spend more money to buy P4 and I heard RAM for P4 is also expensive.
I think it's memory that makes big difference. I suggest get a PIII and get 512 MB or more RAM.
BTW if you are building computer, make sure the parts are compatible.
good luck.
Sudin.
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| computer |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 04:43 PM
Thanks guys--
Now the thing is---
What parts would you buy if you were going to built a computer----
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| Hatterika |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 04:59 PM
Hatterika!
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| czar |
Posted
on 10-Sep-02 08:44 PM
What is your budget ? That is going to dictate the quality of parts bought. One can get a video card for $50 or $300.
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| Diva_Starz |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 04:17 AM
Computer:
For assembling, you need all the system components as motherboard, hard disk, floppy drive, CD-ROM drive, monitor and peripherals as key boards, mouse, and speakers …so on. But, as Czar mentioned your budget determines the quality (moreover brands) of the components you choose ;) I, however, suggest you to get components from reputed brands so that you can contact the manufacturer’s service centre if you need to inform damage or repair within warranty period.
You can get the latest AMD Athlon processor which I think cost less and perform as well as their Intel counterparts. If you are going budget, compare the prices and get the best speed for the best money.
For motherboards, there are too many models to choose from. Brands like Asus and Gigabyte provide good online support.
At least 256 Mb but 512 Mb RAM would be right. You can get DDR RAM. I suggest Kingston.
Harddisk, at least 80 Gb recommended. Seagate, IBM or Maxtor produces pretty good drives. But, you got to partition your drives, allowing at least one partition to store backup data.
Sound card, the Creative Audigy, or if on budget, get the live version ;)
For monitor, you can get flat screens. They are relatively cheap. Go for 17- 19 inches if you are into multimedia editing and are using CAD or authoring tools. You can get of any brand.
You can get CD-ROM according to your choice. A DVD-ROM drive is optional. I go for brands like Sony, Plextor and Iomega. Its up to you !!!:)
One important thing to consider is what is the use of the PC? If you want to assemble it as a gaming PC too ;)…I suggest spend more money on the video card, i.e. get a GeForce 3Ti or Geforce 4. Matrox cards have features that seem to lack the support from games, so I suggest a GeForce card instead.
For informations on the local PC/ peripherals scenes and prices:
www. hardwarezone.com
Happy assembling !!!!!!:)
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| Diva_Starz |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 04:21 AM
sorry...
www.hardwarezone.com
happy assembling !!!!:)
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| ABCD |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 07:30 AM
Very easy answer. Buy it from DELL or go to ebay or something. I am not hardware geek or something, but telling you this from my personal experience.
20-40 GB--you will never use more than 10 GB.
1.6 -1.8 GHz ---meaningless for Internet use if you don't have DSL at home, but program execution would be little faster. You really don't need that speed. If you have DSL at home, you really don't need that speed.
One thing...they usually sell their computers with Windows XP home edition. Get either Windows 2000 or XP Professional Ed.
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| czar |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 08:28 AM
Knowledgeable and excellent advice from Diva. Impressive stuff, lady.
A word about storage: the hard drives and the controller make up the storage subsystem. The quicker the better. The interface transfer rate and the rotational speed of the drive are both performance bottlenecks. When possible, choose ATA 133 instead of 100 (controller type), pick 7200 rpm instead of 5400 (rotational speed).
A slow hard drive/bus imposes performance penalty on the new CPUs. Clever design and features such as cache, speculative branch prediction and out of order execution keep things humming, still, quick storage subsystems make a noticeable difference.
Also, I see you plan to do sound editing. A one minute CD quality sound file is approx. 30 to 35 MB. The processor cache just can't store a file this large, so it must be retrieved from the HD and placed in system RAM everytime you work on it. Thats where the previous stuff about quick HD comes in handy.
RAM : I would go for RDRAM. The bandwidth is higher, however, the price premium may provide questionable returns for you at this point. Plus it requires a system board with a different chipset, hence additional cost.
One interesting thing: some audio editing software are stable under Win 2 K, but I dont yet know of performance issues under XP. If anyone does know about it, lets hear about it please.
Again, lets have a dollar figure to work with here. Then we can pick brands/models etc.
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| czar |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 08:36 AM
A very important item: An anti-static wrist strap is a must ! It costs about six bucks and is available in compusa. Once the temperature drops below 65 degrees and humidity below 70%, static builds up and can be lethal for computer components.
Tools: avoid using magnetic tools, The convenience is tempting, but keep magnetised tools away from motherboards/video cards etc.
If all else fails, Diva here can be consultant. All its going to take is round trip first class airfare, a suite at the Hilton and a chauffeurred Rolls. The work, she'll do for free.
D'accord ?
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| ShikharTop |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 09:27 AM
Go to UBID they have SONY VAIOs. You can set your bid butler for the max amount you would buy it for. The SONY VAIOs also have a $100 rebate and no sales tax in some states. So you could end up buying a good P4 2.0GHz, 512MB, 60/80GB Hard Drive with all the movie, music and picutre editing softwares included for as little as $600. I just got 2 a few days ago for around $700 and $750. I think for that quality computer and the SONY name, that price is a steal.
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| computer |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 10:29 AM
Good response so far...
The price range is $600--$650(including shipping plus tax)
Now you know the price range
Lets come up with parts detail--
i)Motherboard
ii)RAM
iii)Hard Drive
iv)Sound and Video card
v)CDR
vi)Tower
vii)Modem
viii)Processor
ix)No monitor
x)Network Card
You can add extra....
Thanks again...
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| czar |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 10:45 AM
Check out this article on Build vs Buy
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,7062,00.asp
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| Diva_Starz |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 03:17 PM
Czar:
High priorty return tickets, une suite à hilton, Royce de Rouleaux avec le Chauffeur……
Wooo hoooo!!!!!! Distant dreams though :)
Nous pouvons aller comme loin comme nos rêves peuvent prendre ;)…Please bear with my French and my dream of wearing golden tassle !!!
My dim lit self is unaware regardin’ performance of audio editing softwares under XP except for MP3 encoding programs breaking with XP earlier and MS advocating firewire not so loOooong time back… but, we have been ‘bestowed’ with the remedies and everything’s working fine with update.
If I miss the train I’m …………500 miles…does it ring bells? :))
Cheerio!
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| computer |
Posted
on 11-Sep-02 04:13 PM
Here is my pick---
CPU--
Motherboard combo---around $140
ECS K7SEM 200/266FSB Socket A. Built-in 64Mb Video, 3D Sound, 10/100 Base T NIC with cpu - ATHLON XP 1900+,1.6GHZ 266MHz, AX1900DMT3C w/ Heatsink & Fan, complete combo assembly set
Memory--pc2100 512mb DDr--$90-$95
hard drive--samsung--7200rpm--40-60gigs--around $75
dvd combo--16x--$78
haven't decided on case, and small fans,floppy drive---but those are my main parts selection
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| !!!! |
Posted
on 18-Sep-02 02:58 AM
Hello,
I have just enrolled for the computer studies. So I have little idea regarding these. One of my friend was saying a 500 mhz G4 Mac is way faster then 1 G.hertz AMD Athlon.
Is it true ? Any ideas?
Thanks
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| czar |
Posted
on 18-Sep-02 09:31 AM
This is for !!!
Performance benchmarks can come up all kinds of interesting figures and any number of variables can be introduced that can change/distort performance. What matters is the user experience.
If you are comfortable with Apple's go for it. If you prefer not to be tied down to a proprietary product, then its the Intel / AMD route. Also, if you are one of those people who love to tinker with things, then Apple is a definite no no.
Given that you are doing computer studies, you may want to give consideration AMD/INTEL products. The range of software available for the Intel/AMD platform, along with other hardware peripherals, far exceeds whats out there for Apple.
Cost might be an issue too, given that Apple's products tend to be a lot pricier, even though this has come down considerably.
If you would clarify just what kind of computer studies you are contemplating, it would allow me to be more specific in my recommendations.
Good luck.
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| help me |
Posted
on 19-Sep-02 03:18 PM
Guys,
I got a problem with my laptop. I accidently erased the Opersting system (windows 98) and formatted the harddrive. Now I have no OS in it. I can't reinstall windows cuz the CD-ROM is not working. Can you guys give me some ideas about what I should do with it? czar, divu..... help me pls.
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| DHUMBASSE (DUMBASS) |
Posted
on 19-Sep-02 03:45 PM
FInd a Cd of the Windows 98 SE ( Second Edition) and put that in your Cd rom drive and select boot from the Cd-rom.
Another option, Just get windows 2000 Professional or , even better , Xp professional, not the home edition, put the cd in the cd rom drive and install the operating system. You might have to make a slight change in your Cmos, which is the first thing the machine goes through, i do not wanna go in detail here, but to get in there you either hit the DEL key on your keyboard or the F1 key, but before the machine makes a beep when you turn it on. In this manner get into the Boot section of what you see on the screen and select the Cd to be the first in the boot sequence by highlighting it and clicking Shift key yntil it is at the top.Now restart the laptop with the Cd inside the Cdrom.
If anything I said above is vague to you take the machine to someone who knows ( i am just kidding), Post again and i will describe in detail. Right I just want you to not to worry and get the cds I mentioned. Ok
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