Building a Better PC

[kweaver]

It's nice to dream sometimes ...

 

[mgonitzke]

Now that I'm out of school and have a job I can finally quit dreaming about building a computer

What website are those prices from? That top HD is $10 cheaper than newegg...

 

[kadams]

I'm still doing well with the machine I built in the beginning of 2008, but I also spent three times as much on it. I'll probably start thinking seriously about upgrading it only when I want its guts for my HD capable media center PC that lives under the television in the family room, but that is probably at least a year away.

But anyone can always use more storage space, right? I could see dropping a few of those hard drives in my NAS server.

 

[kweaver]

1T

2T

You have to watch the RPM speed and the buffer size. That last one is slow.

I put a new HOT Gigabit board in this PC a few months ago but I'm not liking it but I think the bad part is all the old board drivers still on the HD.

 

[glippert]

Hey Matt - I was just wondering the other day where you're at now - I see you landed in Witchita. Hope you're enjoying it. Do you have room for any of your Cubs there?

 

[kweaver]

1T even cheaper

 

[mgonitzke]

Greg-

Nope, I'm in an apartment for the foreseeable future. I'm going to need something else, i.e. a computer, to keep me entertained for awhile.

 

[kweaver]

<table border=1><tr><td><font size="-1">Matt - I could think of something softer and more cuddly but hey that's just me ...</font></td></tr></table>

Well I broke down and took the plunge on the "Dream Build" and ordered the MOBO and CPU since it takes 1-3 weeks to get it. The CPU is AMD's latest or next to latest release. They are suppose to be releasing another one soon if not already so I've either ordered the latest or 2nd latest that's why the wait for shipping.

This one "Socket FM1" has the graphics built into the processor that's suppose to be better than any other on board graphics.

I may end up putting it in the house as my HTPC board and using the now HTPC board out here in da shack as it'll be more than I need out here but so is the current HTPC board.

I need a 32" LED HDMI monitor out here in place of this 19" wide screen...

 

[mgonitzke]

Ken-

Yeah, someday...

Mine's gonna be a bit higher-end...Intel i7, GTX560 graphics, 2 23" monitors...having a second monitor is the biggest time-saver ever. I don't know how I ever got along with one. I'll also be dual-booting Windows 7 and Ubuntu.

I'm also going to have to build a desk to put all of this on...this cheesy little thing my laptop is on isn't going to cut it. I think those two monitors are wider than this desk when placed side by side.

 

[kweaver]

Matt - You know what happens when you have multiple monitors ?

 

[kweaver]

Matt - I really need dual monitors but I don't have the width I would need or the height for one over one. It would sure keep me from having to figure out which program to "restore" when they get all minimized and stacked up on the bottom of the screen.

I'm trying to get back into doing animations and movie editing to keep me occupied.

Here's a 5ms 1080p 24"

You guys that showed interest in the 1T HD --

A 1T or larger HD doesn't like short writing sessions , they are better at storage than a full system drive. That is why I want the Solid State Drive for the OS then I'll take some of my other HDs and copy them to the 1T then reformat one of the 320gig drives for the working drive. I have 9 HDs so I could free up some smaller (up to 500gig) drives that way.

 

[mgonitzke]

Ken-

Yeah, it really makes it easier when there's a ton of things open all at once. I had a 17" monitor connected to my laptop that I used for the my last 3 years of college. I always had to have a word doc, PDF, and excel spreadsheet open at the same time. A friend of mine suggested I get 23" monitors instead of 24", as that extra inch costs about $50. I'm going to get a 2TB drive for data, and two 500GB drives, one each for Windows and Ubuntu since they need to be formatted differently. Plus if one craps out I still have functionality. Someday I'd like to get SSDs for the OS's, but they're still rather expensive.

 

[kweaver]

I just looked back when I bought this 19" wide screen and I paid $229 for it 5 years ago !

I bought an LED tv for the kitchen last fall that was made for Radio Shack that has HDMI input and I wanted to get a couple more as monitors but they quit making them. I think it was on sale for $129. It's an Avio or something like that. 19" HD wide screen. Everybody complained about the speakers so that might be why they dropped it. They are real tinny. It has USB on it for "updates" but I figured since it was USB why not try something ... I took a pair of old USB powered speakers and plugged it in and plugged up the line cord and the sound is perfect !

 

[kadams]

Coincidentally, my old 19" 4:3 LCD just died about a month ago. I bought the thing used/B-grade off of eBay in 2004 for $165 shipped. I never did find the "blemish" it supposedly had, and not a single pixel ever acted up.

I was actually kind of bummed when it just wouldn't turn on, but that faded quickly when I replaced it with a new $230 Samsung 24" LED widescreen from Wal-Mart, of all places. (They were local and open at 1:00 AM.) I used to think that getting a headache from staring at an LCD monitor for a while was normal, but I can use the new Samsung for hours at a time without a hint of a headache. I should have ditched the old one long ago.

 

[aschumacher]

Well, there are two things missing from Matts computer center. 2 printers...one the regular kind (<font size="-2">print-scan-copy</font>) and the other one of those new ones. Ya know the type that will take a graphic concept and make a physical object out of it. That would be super cool !

 

[mgonitzke]

Allen-

I have a printer (ancient Dell 926 3-in-1) that I'll have to replace, as it doesn't get along with x64 operating systems. I can't afford a 3D printer, as much fun as that would be to have

Anybody have a suggestion for a good 3-in-1 printer?

 

[kweaver]

KCA - My first flat screen was a 17" Samsung ordered online from Wally. I used it a few years out here then when I got my HTPC built I put it in the wall for the HTPC ... then 2 years later it died. Now I've got a give-me 15" off brand in the wall. I might get a bigger one out here and put this 19" Hanns-G in the wall. It's good but it does have 2 dead pixels.

I wanted another Samsung when I bought this one but they were more $$ than I had at the time. I'd like to have bought a Samsung for the flat screen in the living room but then again ... $$$. I think they have good picture.

That Radio Shack kitchen tv/monitor is an Auvio. Anybody find a good one let me know ... I wanted to get one to hook up to my underwater fishing camera on the boat so I could see in the dark around the banks at night with infra-red leds.

The Wall

Parts Placement

This is what stores the disc (x2) behind the wall feeding through the wall

100 disc per unit x 2 ... now I need 8 more units!

 

[kweaver]

Matt - Find something CHEAP on ink !
I've had 3 Lexmarks and they eat me up if I use them alot.
I got a $50 rebate offer on one of the depth finders I bought last month. I needed ink cartridges ... with tax it was going to be $49.76 so I lost that $50 rebate !!

 

[mgonitzke]

Ken-

I will never buy a Lexmark. My roommate in college had one, and he could print less than 20 pages on an ink cartridge. My current one gets 150-200ish, and the cartridges are cheap. I'll probably miss it after I replace it.

 

[kweaver]

I was thinking maybe Kodak or HP. Not checked into them enough yet. I need one this time with FAX.

I miss using the old Tandy ribbon that I could use continuous paper in , made it real handy when I'd make my own cut out sign stencils. (still got it though)