attn: computer saavy strutters
DJ_Phillie
199 Posts
I am looking into buying a new desktop computer, however I have a few questions. 1) DVD-RW optical drives. I am interested in getting a dual drive. One with lightscribe technology. Question being, how fast would an audio cd burn at 16x compared to 48x? I have seen both of these. I know I have a cd burner that I think is 6x or 8x and it takes approximately 15 minutes to burn a cd. I imagine the 16x would take 8 minutes or so? and the 48x like 3 minutes? If I'm going to be burning cds of my own music, the quicker, the more quantity I can get out of my time. (No more having to send my cd out to get a company to make duplicates for me) 2) Monitors. What is the difference between an analog flat screen and a digital flat screen? What are some specs to look for? I plan on doing graphic design and a little bit of video editing, so color and image quality is important to me. I'd probably want a 19" screen. 3) Printer. Inkjet or Laser? I believe laser printers are much more expensive, right? I would use my printer for printing schoolwork, spreadsheets, lists, etc. as well as graphics, photos and even iron-on t-shirt transfers. I'm assuming laser printers are for businesses, churning out hundreds of pages a day at lightning speeds. is a high-end inkjet printer my best bet? what about ink costs between the two? 4) Processor. Single core or dual-core?? Dual-core is more technologically advanced but my question is how would a 1.6 GHz dual-core compare to a 2.8 single core?? would the 1.6 dual-core be like a 3.2 in reality? this has confused me while shopping. 5) RAM. I do a lot of audio recording and editing, and lots of multi-tasking (several browser windows open, AIM, music programs, mp3 players, etc) so ram is important. Is 2 GB too much? or can i get by with 1 GB and save money? 6) flatbed scanner...i want to start a music blog up, and have lots of records. i would like to be able to scan images from the record sleeves onto my computer. are there any scanners that can scan a 12" x 12" record sleeve? what specs should i look for as far as color depth and resolution? 7) Video graphics card. I DO NOT do gaming on my computer, but I do appreciate good quality color, and video capabilities. Like mentioned before, I do graphic design with Adobe Photoshop and would like to do basic video editing (with my digital camera's video capabilities) is a 256 MB satisfactory to my needs? what other specs are important? Here is a general idea of what I'm looking for: + 2 Optical drives...at least 1 DVD-RW w/ lightscribe technology. At least 16x + Floppy Drive + At least 200 GB hard drive (7200 rpm) + 19" or larger monitor + wireless mouse + high end inkjet printer or low-end laser + 2.8+ GHz processor, (depends on the dual/single core comparisons) + Soundcard (decent enough for music...soundblaster audigy 2 maybe?) + Quality speakers w/ subwoofer and dolby surround sound also, should i go the "build it yourself" route? I don't know how confident I'd be in putting it together myself or how much available time I'd have. Would it be cheaper to buy the hardware seperately and pay a professional to build it for me, or get someone I know w/ computer knowledge to help me build it? room for expansion would be nice, which you usually don't get buying a pc from a manufacturer. I've also been told to prepare for Microsoft VISTA and that RAM and a good graphics card are really important...i need some 
Comments
Here's an example (I am in no way affiliated with the seller of this item):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentium-D-2-8GHz-Dua...1QQcmdZViewItem
Just pay attention to what kind of motherboard is being offered. The example above offers 3 PCI slots, which would probably be enough for you (nicer sound card, wireless card, etc.). It's nice to have room for extra hard drives too (I prefer the faster serial ATA over IDE), because no matter how much space you have, you'll eventually be wanting more. A good power supply and cooling system are necessary if you're going to be adding a lot of componants.
This method will allow you to customize your computer without having to undertake the daunting task of building one from the ground up. Putting in drives, memory, plug-and-play cards, etc. is fairly easy. All items should come with detailed instructions.
Bottom line, do your research and read everything carefully. If you don't understand something, ask someone or look it up. I could have avoided some buying mistakes with my last comp (I sank about a grand into a machine that was obsolete in less than six months) if I'd been a little more patient.
I just built a new box.
As far as chips go. I'd say go the new Core 2 Duo. I got myself the E6400 and it's pretty damn fast. You can pick one up now for around 260 bucks and it will be faster than the high end Pentium D chips while being way more energy-efficient (Around 30-40%). Plus, if ur into overclocking. It will do some great things for the money.
If you'd like to spend more money on the chip. Get that E6600. SHit will be blazingggggg 4 MB cache!!
I'd really also look into doing some digging into a good motherboard.
I always seem to really put in the work researching motherboards/cpu/ram and then looking lightly into everything else.
It pretty tough right now, cause prices seem to be dropping so fast with new stuff always coming out. Quicker than ever. I keep holding out on a new monitor because of this. It's like... New 19" widescreen displays for around 200 bucks??? Crazy!
Graphics cards. If ur not gaming or doing some big video editing. I would blow much money on this.
i'm at work right now, so I can't really get into things, but I'll post up the what I just built to give you an idea.
Sounds like the Laptop search hasn't panned out yet. I just ran into Deal upon Deals on laptops at a local laptop spot here in town, that I might copp for myself. Dell 2.8 ghz, 512 mem, 80 gig hd for about $478. Hurts so good.
Some Computer questions? Cool, I got this.
1) You're about right in your estimate of about 16x at 8 minutes to 48x at 3 minutes. I recommend Plextor drives, quick, quiet and proficient.
2) Analog flat screen - Traditional large CRT screen with non rounded glass.
Digital flat screen - Thin LCD comparable to Plasma television.
What are some specs to look for?
Viewable Screen Size.
Max Resolution (anything over 1024x768)
Contrast Ratio - Just like a TV these are usually made up or not accounted for, but sometimes can be important if it's a low number.
https://www.westinghousedigital.com/pc-24-2-19-lcd-tv.aspx
Personally, I'd recommend the monitor that I use Westinghouse LTV-19w3. It's a monitor I picked up at Best Buy last christmas for $250. Not only is it an LCD it's also a TV so you can picture n picture while you surf the web. It's max resolution is 1440 x 900, and it's also HD ready.
3) Laser's are def more expensive. According to the need you posted I would personally go for a cheap inkjet from HP for schoolwork spreadsheets, lists, graphics and photos. Maybe test it out for doing iron on transers. You'd be surprised how sufficient they are. The printer I bought uses the cheapest Ink on the shelf. That's super important to me.
4) Yeah, this question confuses a lot of folks so let me break it down.
Single core processor = 1 chip 1 core and 1 speed.
Single processor with dual-core = 1 chip 2 cores = 1 speed sharing the work. The downside is most software doesn't take full advantage of this technology yet, plus it's expensive technology.
Dual processor = 2 single core processors.
Well, if you have a lot of money and you really feel like spending it. Multi-core processors are going to be the future. You won't have software that will be compatible with it yet, but it will be there soon. Your question about a 1.6 dual core vs. a 2.8 single core becomes harder to answer. Will it be like a 3.2? No. It will act like a slightly faster 1.6 ghz processor should act, but certain applications can take advantage of the dual processing and they will work extremely better than how a normal 1.6 ghz would act.
Now the most cost effective solution for right now is to buy 2 single processors, and a motherboard that can support dual processing. You will definitely feel the speed difference, and it is way less expensive then a dual core.
Don't believe me check out this article.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/07/single/
5) Personally whenever building a computer I would splurge in 2 areas: Motherboard, and Memory. You can get by on 1 Gig definitely, but 2 Gig is a noticeable difference in speed. Make sure your Motherboard is capable of many future upgrades.
6) To be honest I hardly ever use scanners, from my knowledge. There's not too many tabloid size scanners that do good resolution for cheap. I think I saw one from Microtek that's like 12"; x 17"; size, 3200x6400 resolution and 3,200 dpi. That shit was like 2 g's though. Specs you should look for size, resolution and dpi. Good luck on that search man.
7) Video Card's are essential for anything you do on your computer. If you're not looking to do any gaming I say go for a lower end flavor of the month card. Like a Geforce 6600. The reason is you can usually find these for cheaper then some of the worst cards (like the Geforce MX series).
^ I just built this above system for a client for about 650 bucks. *beat that DELL* How? Speakers Logitech from Ebay. Parts from Frye's and Pricewatch.com took about 2 weeks of ordering. 1 day to build.
Don't pay a professional, get a computer savvy friend (not a know it all) to help you figure out how to piece it together. You'll save a lot of money in the end.
Yknow that's just fodder from any non specific nerd.. Dj's say always buy Technics, and Microwave means you don't got records.. blah blah blah
- spidey
thanks for any
Not so much. Really, as far as I know you can't really home-build a laptop. It's not really the same as a regular system because you can't just buy a case and add in components you build. Laptops are more complicated because of things like the monitor being attached to the case so the monitor has to be connected to the motherboard. As far as I know there's not really standard connectors for laptop monitors and I doubt you can even really buy laptop monitors by themselves since they kind of have to be designed to fit the case.
Basically, this is all to say no, you can't really build your own laptop. I guess you could buy a used laptop and then swap out all the user-replaceable parts with other stuff but that's limited to things like hard drives, RAM and peripherals like CD burners. Things like audio and video are often onboard the motherboard and you can't change 'em for the most part.
Fuck me dude, you know your shit.