Got the ram, what about the rest of the machine? [Archive]

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flat rock stan

05-08-2007, 02:51 AM

The guys from Pacific Coast set up my XC 540 today and I love it but we are using an older HP machine that I generally run video editing programs on. I went to Fry’s electronics last Saturday to buy a new computer that I plan to use Flexi, Photoshop and Illustrator to design wraps and send to the new printer to be done in a timely manner. From my last post I was sure I needed 4 gig ram and after that I just figured something “fast”! The salesman totally confused me and himself giving me a headache by talking loud about a lot of stuff I did not understand. I had been working all day and was worn out so I left with no computer and a not very clear idea on what I needed. Soooooo to expand on my last post, just what should I be looking for and staying away from? I have already decided to replace vista on any machine I decide on. Some of the rebuilt machines at Fry’s had XP but I don’t know if they suite my needs. Here is a link to Fry’s and some of the desktops. http://shop2.outpost.com/search?cat=-59324&pType=pDisplay (http://shop2.outpost.com/search?cat=-59324&pType=pDisplay)
I was kind of looking at a couple of Fry brand machines towards the bottom of the list.
What you think?
Thanks
Stan

cinemasign.grafix

05-08-2007, 03:52 AM

flat rock stan

05-08-2007, 11:47 AM

Wow! Nice machine....... Did you add some of the stuff for gaming or is it all for work? I have been thinking about Dell. Bought my mom one last year.
Stan

Pro Signs & Graphix

05-08-2007, 01:34 PM

Can you assemble a machine?

flat rock stan

05-08-2007, 06:33 PM

Not personally but my son in-law can………….. hmmmmm

cinemasign.grafix

05-09-2007, 03:30 AM

That was on the Dell outlet site last night. You might want to keep an eye out there for a deal. You have to check all the time , the good one's go fast.

player

05-10-2007, 03:51 AM

I just bought a new pc. Actually I bought 2 the same. I find this really helps when problems arise. A complete set of parts...

So here is what I got for $620 canadian, about $480 usd:

HP Media PC
XP Media version included
intel core 2 duo 6300
2 gigs ram
320 gig hard drive (will add 2nd drive)
250 meg on board graphics (will change this to dual head)
card reader 13 types
light scribe dvd burner
remote control for media stuff
video inputs, cable, dvi, etc
hard disk video recording
modem, network card
etc

they are referbished, but I am a risk taker. I have a buddy that works at hp and he said the referbs are fine.

Is this a deal?

Player

Craig Sjoquist

05-10-2007, 10:55 AM

forget vista for atleast a year ....dual or quad core is the leading edge lots of hard drive with back up hard drive oh yes 4 gig of ram is a bonus, couple of monitors 3 if ya can....
freedom is not free

Spud

05-10-2007, 11:37 AM

If you can assemble it (or find someone) then go that route.

Here you go. =)

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5059912&WishListTitle=decent+build

Oh and forget vista. You can upgrade ALOT of stuff I put but for the price and THAT pc.. it should pretty much do whatever you want..

Oh and I forgot... you'll need a LGA 775 Cooling fan, get this one..

and some case fans.. small stuff..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003

cdiesel

05-11-2007, 11:46 PM

Just had a new machine built and delivered on Weds.. I haven't had a huge amount of time to play with it, but I opened a few different PSD files.. one was 293mb and the other 514mb. The 293mb file was open IMMEDIATELY. Literally NO delay. The 514mb file took about three seconds. I don't have all the exact specs in front of me, but here's a little about it:

Core2 Xtreme 2.93Ghz
4gb ram
SAS running raid 0 (3 drives with a hot spare, total 4 drives)
SAS running raid 0 (2 drives) setup as a swap file for windows and scratch disk for PS

We have another Core2 Xtreme 2.93Ghz machine on an older motherboard, but without the fancy drives.. Nowhere near as close as this one. The drive setup was spendy, and probably a little overboard, but I definitely believe that drive speed is crucial, and was the weak link on our other machine.

Pro Signs & Graphix

05-11-2007, 11:50 PM

Congrats Chris. SAS is sweet!

cdiesel

05-12-2007, 12:51 AM

Thanks! I noticed you had it, and that's what sparked the conversation between my computer guy and I about the importance of the drives. It was expensive, but I think we'll probably end up putting a different drive array in the old machine too.

flat rock stan

05-13-2007, 05:27 AM

I ended up having a machine built here in town by CTL. The latest greatest Intel duel core processor with 4 gig ram, two 500 gig hard drives, one 26 inch monitor and one 32 inch with lots of neat goodies thrown in! My son who was legally blind for several years will be working on the machine so I went over board on the monitors. We just got our Roland XC 540 this week so we can’t wait to get the new computer.

Valley_Impressions

05-13-2007, 11:53 AM

XPS 710
(System Identifier: DD97L1VH)

XPS 710 Tower: Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB) Black Chassis
Genuine Windows XP Media Center 2005
System Price : $2,159.00

Operating System
Genuine Windows XP Media Center 2005
Memory
2 GB DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
Hard Disk Drive
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (10K RPM)
Video
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
Sound Card
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic, w/Dolby Digital 5.1
Scratch & Dent
Scratch & Dent
Base
XPS 710 Tower: Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB) Black Chassis
Media Bay
48X CD RW/DVD Combo Drive
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Software Upgrade
Microsoft Works 8.5
Hardware Upgrade
USB Keyboard
Hardware is Microsoft Vista Capable
ATI Theater 650 PRO Combo Analog/Digital TV Tuner with Remote Control
Dell Optical USB 2-button Mouse

That one looks expensive just for being an XPS, 6 months ago i bougth a Dimension with the same specs but with a 250GB hard drive and 20" screen and printer for $1,500 including shipping and tax.
And then i bang my head to the wall when i found this site www.cyberpowerpc.com you can build your own custom pc with great specs and for 2/3 of the cost or less if you now what you are doing.

Browner

05-13-2007, 02:42 PM

So here is what I got for $620 canadian, about $480 usd:

You haven't been to the bank lately, have you?

johnnysigns

06-03-2007, 09:54 PM

any recommendations for additional HD's and Scratch disks on my setup?

dell e520
2.13ghz
2gb ram @667mhz
500gb 7200 serial ata drive

Chad.

06-03-2007, 10:17 PM

You could buy my computer. Its ready to go and more than enough to do the task.

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17580

Trimtint

06-03-2007, 10:59 PM

Were droppin in a new one also

M2N-E Asus board
ATHLON 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ (3.0GHz) SOCKET AM2
8 gigs KINGSTON_DDR2 667 4- 2 gig sticks
Seagate Barracuda 320 GB harddrive
ASUS 256meg video
Thermaltake Soprano case
Thermaltake TR2 500W Power Supply
Lite on DVD+RW optical recorder
Windows XP pro
Microsoft Mouse and keyboard
$1350.00

I can help with CPU's dem things is easy to work on

Snapper

Trimtint

06-03-2007, 11:03 PM

Remember dont buy into vista. MILLIONS of companys just finally did away with 2000. there is no way that MS can drop support for atleast another 5-7 years. There would be to many "big biz's" that just would not do it. 2000 was supported for 7 1/2 years. Somethin to think about.

Snapper

cdiesel

06-07-2007, 03:23 AM

XP doesn't do anything with more than 3gb or ram, so you're wasting money installing the 8gb, unless you're planning on upgrading to vista, which I wouldn't do quite yet.
I cannot stress enough that hd speed is important. When you're running at 3Ghz processor speed with enough ram, the drives become the weak link.