lol Mal, that post has done my head in a bit.
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IT technology changes every minute and whatever you buy is going to be out of date within seconds - I find the best thing to do is buy then kick myself for not getting the new model that came out the day after then ignore PC specs untill I need a new one.Comment
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What model is the motherboard? Also more info on the memory, whats its PCXXXX number? to ascertain the speed.
My only real concern would be that buying a new system, I want a graphics card that is cutting edge(especially this year), so Id be looking to bag an Asus made Nvidia 768MB 8800GTX because it fully supports DX10. I dont think the model quoted does.
And life will be sad (for saddos like me
) if I dont have a nuclear powered DX10 graphics card when Crysis (50MB D/L) gets released later this year. I cant stop drooling over those high res DX10 demos...realtime depth of field, its enough to drive a nerd insane 
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Unfortunately we seem to be driven by techno desire rather than need, fuelled by the hardware manufacturers and Microsoft.
Office applications have hardly changed over the last few years and software bloat appears to be the norm. I think sometimes we need to step back and remember that a computer is just there to do a job of work, when doing so you realize that the computer you have already is probably performing that function just fine.
If you want to feed your desire then don't rush and buy, grit your teeth and hang in there for a while until you really can't do what you need to do without it.
If it's really just for play then don't take a view to replacing or upgrading, but rather think of the new computer as an additional toy. Worry about software compatibility later whilst in the meantime using the original computer for the mundane daily tasks that it already does so well.
Food for thought.Comment
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nowhere in the post is price mentioned.
we recently re-equipped the office with 10 x "dx5150" (hp machines) from Miscos
they were on "special offer" (still are) and came in at the glorious price of £199+vat - the specification was nearly as good as you mentioned, the only thing lacking is the memory (only comes with 512mb) but bought 2gb chips for £89 delivered (PC3200 DDr400 dual channel) - delivery was within 2 days.
the units are built like tanks, realy solid, but the best bit, for just £199 they come with XP-Pro thrown in (don't want vista, its a workhorse not a toy)
take that off, and you get a brilliant machine for just £100 or so.
Like I say, we were so impressed with the first one, I bought another nine.
I then had 19" monitors for each (again just £99) and youv'e got a damned
good work horse that does just about anything.
the hard disk isn't quite so high, but put your old disk in to a portable usb2 HD box and everything is ready to go.Comment
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i've had my brother phoning me asking for a new PC (fair enough the one he uses is very old)Originally posted by drounding
he asked for a PC capable of running Vista. i was ready to go through the phone line and shoot him. besides the bugs that vista is bound to have on the release and i do recommend to anyone wait till a service pack (possibly wait till the second) he only uses the PC for internet and some heavy program related to his work.
why oh why he needs Vista????
i build the spec for the box alone and it comes around £400 (not major) but he still would have a brilliant PC for £250.Comment
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George, Yup - for the money, its brilliant, and more than enough to be ready for vista should you ever want to. For me, I very happy with xp-pro and see no reason to upgrade just because M$ tell me that this one's even better.Originally posted by george
After 4-5 yrs, even my dad upgraded his machine to this one, and he's tight
but now happy
just a thought, I wonder if I coud get a code from misco that they could use to send me all my commision
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Hmmm, you could have had a wee look into that (being an affiliate for Misco) before you ordered the nine mate (lol).Originally posted by completerookieGeorge, Yup - for the money, its brilliant, and more than enough to be ready for vista should you ever want to. For me, I very happy with xp-pro and see no reason to upgrade just because M$ tell me that this one's even better.
After 4-5 yrs, even my dad upgraded his machine to this one, and he's tight but now happy
just a thought, I wonder if I coud get a code from misco that they could use to send me all my commision
Apart from that I'm sure most of us appreciate anyone who shares `tips` such as these. Apart from the ones in Viz that is.Comment
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Well i took the plunge today and finally ordered it. Final spec after some really good advice and help was:
- Intel Core Duo E6400 processor 2.13GHz
- ASUS motherboard
- 2GB DDR2 ram
- 160GB hard drive (SATA 300)
- 16x DVD re-writer incl. dual layer
- 512MB ATI Radeon x1600 PRO PCI-Ex graphics card
- 6 x USB
- keyboard and mouse
- 1 x AVIDAV 17" TFT monitor
- 1 x AVIDAV 19" TFT monitor
- Windows XP Pro
Total cost - £800 incl. vat
This system is to be permanently based as a workhorse in the office with Photoshop, Visual Studio 2005, Dreamweaver, Office 2003, Outlook Express and of course the forum.
To do all of the above, i think it will be a good spec.
Many thanks for all of your time and help and advice.Comment
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Well after 6 hours of adding software and settings and files and more of each of those, i am finally back up and running, except for Visual Studio which i just cannot be arsed to do.
I have to say that this sytem is incredibly quick, im actually astonished. From switch on to being able to use the system is 12 seconds, a long way better than the minute my existing system takes.
Before i installed anything and it was just a clean windows install, it was up and ready to roll in 6 seconds - i nearly fell off my chair, im used to making toast and tea while they boot up.
Photoshop used to take just under a minute, it is now ready to roll in just 6 seconds, that to me is akin to the dial up versus broadband we all experienced.
2GB ram and a dual core processor is a stunning combo for anyone contemplating an upgrade, i'd recommend to all. Intel are back with a bang. Im used to letting my system do one thing at a time, you genuinely can do a number of things, with no lag or delay whilst other things are active.
One minor problem experienced with regards to setting up 2 tft's. there is only one com port on the motherboard and im not quite sure how to connect another. There seems to be some other type of connection on the motherboard as well as on the tft, heaven knows what its called, anyone offer any advice on how they have done this?
Cheers for help
LeeComment
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Monitors will be either a 15 pin HD (the old type) or the more modern DVI type.
On my setup the graphics card has two DVI ouputs, both my monitors are 15pin HD type so I need a converter on each, basically you just either plug monitors directly in, or via a HD to DVI converter if necessary.
Some cards have 1 HD type and 1 DVI type, whichever is the case, if DVI is used and it sounds like it might be, you would expect there to be a dongle in the box as well to convert from 15pin HD to DVI
DVI is top left on this page - http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_adapt.html
15pin HD is top left on this page - http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/connecters.htmlComment
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Hi A
Thanks for your help, i think im with it, if you dont mind can you just confirm if im correct. This is the setup:
My main tft (19") has both types of plugs possible.
The secondary tft (17") has only the 15 pin hd type connection.
Both monitors came with a lead with a 15 pin hd included, there was no other connectors.
On the motherboard/graphics card (whichever it is) there is 2 connectors, one is the 15 pin HD (which i currently have the 19" plugged into) and the other is one of those dvi type.
to plug in the second monitor i would need a converter from 15 pin hd to the dvi connector. OR i could connect the 17" via the 15 pin hd and then get a dvi cable for the 19".
What would be best?
Incidentally there is another 15 pin hd connector further up on the pc, located by the usb and keyboard points etc. I did try and plug it into this however it would not recognise. I am presuming that the monitors have to plug into the motherboard or the graphics card, whichever one it is.
Thanks for your help.
LeeComment
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Im not sure of the difference, technically, between the performance of HD and DVI, so im not sure which would be best as such, but both scenarios you describe will suffice.Originally posted by leehack
I would probably ask the shop for either a DVI cable or a HD > DVI converter and just go with whichever they were willing to give you.
What model number is the motherboard?Incidentally there is another 15 pin hd connector further up on the pc, located by the usb and keyboard points etc. I did try and plug it into this however it would not recognise. I am presuming that the monitors have to plug into the motherboard or the graphics card, whichever one it is.
The motherboard will most likely have an on-board graphics chip and if that was being used the monitor would have to be plugged into the slot on the motherboard. Also on that note, its strange why the company who built it would use such a motherboard when they are going to stick a graphics card in it. It isnt a problem, it will make little difference to the overall system, and maybe its just me being a bit anal in this department, but they could have selected a more appropriate motherboard that didnt have on baord graphics, and in the process either reduce the cost slighlty, or improve the motherboard slightly because the one they use doesnt have on board graphics and therefore has other features, but for the same price.Comment
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Hi
It seems sensible to me that a dvi cable would be better as there is no conversion involved then, but maybe thats just my thinking and it makes no difference.
The motherboard is a P5L-MX X-series.
I must admit you have lost me a little in your last paragraph.
Im presuming that monitors connect to the graphics card. In my case the graphice card has a 15 pin hd and a dvi connection. For most people with one monitor this would be perfect as it covers both bases. There is only confusion in my situation as i have 2 monitors and they are both 15 pin hd at the moment, although one of them has the option to be dvi.
Are you saying that the other 15 pin hd connector need not be there on the motherboard as the graphics card caters for the monitors? I have always classes those 15 pin connectors as com ports, for joysticks and some old type mouse etc. is this why it is there?
The spare 15 pin hd slot i have cannot take a monitor and i am presuming this is the motherboard, whats the point of it being there?
CheersComment
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