Next game box

[johns]

My last system is working perfectly. It's a few
years old, but really fast and quiet. Runs cool.

Dual boots XP Pro - Win7 / 64

Intel Core2 Duo .. early so not a failed quad
Gigabyte mobo .. solid state caps
Truepower 750 watts
Nvidia gtx 275
4 gigs ram
2 hard drives 500 gig each .. hitachi
sata dvd
Antec 900 case
Asus lcd 24 inch wide .. nice


No problem in any games .. Crysis is fast.

Reason I'm starting a new box is ?? Damned
if I know. I'm trying to figure out what is new
and what I would like to try to optimize next.
I don't really see anything in a new technology
at all. I'm playing with wireless, but my laptop
does that without a hitch. I can make free
phone calls all over the world ( gmail ), but
again the laptop is doing it. Any ideas ?

johns

 

[John Doe]

My last system is working perfectly. It's a few
years old, but really fast and quiet. Runs cool.

Dual boots XP Pro - Win7 / 64

Intel Core2 Duo .. early so not a failed quad
Gigabyte mobo .. solid state caps
Truepower 750 watts
Nvidia gtx 275
4 gigs ram
2 hard drives 500 gig each .. hitachi
sata dvd
Antec 900 case
Asus lcd 24 inch wide .. nice


No problem in any games .. Crysis is fast.

Reason I'm starting a new box is ?? Damned if I know. I'm trying
to figure out what is new and what I would like to try to
optimize next. I don't really see anything in a new technology
at all. I'm playing with wireless, but my laptop does that
without a hitch. I can make free phone calls all over the world
( gmail ), but again the laptop is doing it. Any ideas ?

Hey.

At the moment, I am experimenting with a mobile hotspot and 3
Mbps DSL. The wireless is actually faster, but they won't tolerate
as much usage. That is where I'm headed, if I can afford it,
wireless for speed plus low-end DSL for the heavy lifting.

If you have some spare time, you could learn how to backup your
Windows drive (assuming you don't already, but I guess you do).
It's a whole new world of personal computing.

By the way... Most systems use much less power than you might
think. The popular conception of needing a high wattage power
supply is probably mostly marketing hype. I don't understand why
so-called technically inclined users/reviewers don't understand
that, but oh well.

Good luck and have fun.
--

 

[Flasherly]

My last system is working perfectly. It's a few
years old, but really fast and quiet. Runs cool.

Dual boots XP Pro - Win7 / 64

Intel Core2 Duo .. early so not a failed quad
Gigabyte mobo .. solid state caps
Truepower 750 watts
Nvidia gtx 275
4 gigs ram
2 hard drives 500 gig each .. hitachi
sata dvd
Antec 900 case
Asus lcd 24 inch wide .. nice

No problem in any games .. Crysis is fast.

Reason I'm starting a new box is ?? Damned
if I know. I'm trying to figure out what is new
and what I would like to try to optimize next.
I don't really see anything in a new technology
at all. I'm playing with wireless, but my laptop
does that without a hitch. I can make free
phone calls all over the world ( gmail ), but
again the laptop is doing it. Any ideas ?

johns

Newegg's this morning is selling a foxcon 11x11x3" Intel ATOM dual
core 1.8Ghz. Case/CPU/150W PS. $75 (takes a checkout code). You put
in the HD & DDR2 533/800. I can see gluing a 400W PS unit on the
outside with a tube of silicon. Red glue of course.

 

[johns]

Amazon tag-along companies are dumping products all over
the place. They pick up a few pretty good items, and then
cut the prices to the dirt to build their business. I just got
an Antec 902 case for $85, and an Antec Truepower 750 B
for $79 .. included shipping. Staples is doing the same thing.
They bring in a good product, and then dump it if it doesn't
sell right away. I got a bunch of 120 mm cooling fans .. with
speed switching for half price.

I'm looking at the ASUS mobos, but NewEgg reports are
tearing them up bigtime. They say the ASUS mobos go dead
in 2 - 3 weeks brand new. I'll go Gigabyte again as usual ..
probably the bundle from Mwave.

johns

 

[johns]

By the way... Most systems use much less power than you might

think. The popular conception of needing a high wattage power
supply is probably mostly marketing hype. I don't understand why
so-called technically inclined users/reviewers don't understand
that, but oh well.

I always understood the extra power acts like a smoothing
filter. The supply only puts out what the system calls for, so
if it only needs 300 watts, I have a 450 watt overhead and
heavy components that don't overheat from the surges.
Also, the new low power components .. power down .. thus
saving energy on the average. They still need to handle
the surges and use high power for short periods .. so the
potential needs to be there ... I think !!!!

I just got an Antec 902 case .. a HUGE improvement over
the early 900s. I can run all of the ps-wires behind the mobo
for an extremely clean build. That's a good start. And I'm going
to 8 gig ram for Win7 / 64 .. finally see Gothic 3 not stutter
Fat chance, but what the heck.

johns

 

[John Doe]

I always understood the extra power acts like a smoothing
filter.

I use a voltage regulator. It includes surge suppression and is
almost comparable in price to a good surge suppressor. Unlike an
uninterruptible power supply, there is no battery to mess with.
The regulator protects against momentary voltage sags/overages.
The vast majority of users could get by with that instead of
messing with a UPS. Running my system on a battery is cool, but I
have never been in a situation when it was necessary. But that was
man-made and it didn't destroy anything. Early editions of Windows
trained me well, and blackouts are rare.

The supply only puts out what the system calls for, so
if it only needs 300 watts, I have a 450 watt overhead and heavy
components that don't overheat from the surges. Also, the new
low power components .. power down .. thus saving energy on the
average. They still need to handle the surges and use high power
for short periods .. so the potential needs to be there ... I
think !!!!

If you're going to spend $100 on a power supply, spend a measly
$20 for a "Kill A Watt" (or similar) power meter. You will be
surprised at how little power your system actually uses, even at
the wall. Power supply sales appears to be a con game. You can use
the meter to measure other stuff around the house too. Like to see
how much devices use when they are turned off. After that, you
might want to pass it on to somebody else. (That's generic advice,
don't take it personally.)
--

 

[Flasherly]

I'm looking at the ASUS mobos, but NewEgg reports are
tearing them up bigtime. They say the ASUS mobos go dead
in 2 - 3 weeks brand new. I'll go Gigabyte again as usual ..
probably the bundle from Mwave.

I go less on the reviews, although some are informative, than where
people are leaning into various models -- categorically, most popular
being most reviewed, selectively, for heavier volumes on sales. Easy
to figure from Newegg, much less so with Amazon, which can be a
cumbersome process. I'd as soon go to Amazon with the decision
already made for pulling up the product. Worth a quick look, anyway.
Scored $10 off Newegg's price for an Asus Xonar soundboard a couple
weeks ago on Amazon. Peachy keen performance, so the $7 fiber optic
cable I needed was basically free on that deal. I've been settling
for the lower end PS units - Antec's Earth Green or something, low-end
being 450-550ish watts in today's bigger-draw systems. Same with
their cases, either a 300 series or clone thereof, anywhere from $19-
$30 possibly rebated. That's around $100, tops $150, on a system
build (before graphics or storage) for an entry-level or used CPU. I
don't mind Gigabyte, Asus, MSI . . .hell, might even be game for a
Foxcon or Biostar. This crap* was deader than hell, though, when I
put it together. Cost me almost $10 shipping (to me, they paid back)
for a "fling" with Newegg crap it seems they'd have tested first
before selling it for "certified" redux. When I as much as said that
to the guy -- hey, it's crap -- he asked - 'How's this. . .You want to
keep it for $25, then?" "Nope,' I replied. Still had a bad taste in
my mouth after a few hours of hair-pulling, using parts variously from
three computers to re-verify re-certified crap. Cheap thrills, I
guess, I guess for junkies w/ a builder jones. Like I've said before,
though Newegg likes to play those games, if it were somebody else,
rather, I just wouldn't play with their nasty stuff -- they'd try and
stick me with for no refund, outrageous restocking fees, &etc. Bought
some Geeks.com stuff, too. . .which might borderline edgy for bottom-
feeder types, in my humble estimation. Luckily it came, a P4-E 3Ghz
800fsb, as advertised and in working order for $7. Yeppers, peachy
nift-o keen when winning me some and not losing.

*Estimated delivery 10/03/2011
Recertified: MSI 848P Neo2-V LGA 775 Intel 848P ATX Intel
Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813130607
Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$24.99

Recertified: Intel Pentium 4 650 Prescott 3.4GHz LGA 775 84W
Single-Core Desktop Processor P4650-R
Item #: N82E16819116404
$24.99
Standard Return Policy

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I use a voltage regulator. It includes surge suppression and is
almost comparable in price to a good surge suppressor. Unlike an
uninterruptible power supply, there is no battery to mess with.
The regulator protects against momentary voltage sags/overages.
The vast majority of users could get by with that instead of
messing with a UPS. Running my system on a battery is cool, but I
have never been in a situation when it was necessary. But that was
man-made and it didn't destroy anything. Early editions of Windows
trained me well, and blackouts are rare.

How long does the power tend to go out where you are? Here I'm used
to very short outages--blink the lights, reboot the PC type.

$20 for a "Kill A Watt" (or similar) power meter. You will be
surprised at how little power your system actually uses, even at
the wall. Power supply sales appears to be a con game. You can use
the meter to measure other stuff around the house too. Like to see
how much devices use when they are turned off. After that, you
might want to pass it on to somebody else. (That's generic advice,
don't take it personally.)

Pass it on?? I use ours every so often.

 

[John Doe]

How long does the power tend to go out where you are? Here I'm
used to very short outages--blink the lights, reboot the PC
type.

That is the type of outage that my voltage regulator has handled
perfectly. The lights can blink and the speaker system can pop but
the computer shows no sign of being effected. Back then, I was
suffering from spontaneous reboots. I do not recall how important
the effort to eliminate spontaneous rebooting was when I bought
the voltage regulator, but it did permanently eliminate those
reboots. Since then, my house electricity has been overhauled, but
the regulator still does its clicky stuff when a nearby room air
conditioner turns on. My PC power supply would probably handle
that very short voltage drop, but at least I know what the
electrical system is doing.

I bought a 1200 VA (or whatever you would call it) regulator, that
might be overkill, but it might include larger capacitors that are
more useful for spanning very short outages. Capacitors probably
do that work. Would be nice to see some marketing hype about the
capacitors, but I didn't see it. Your mileage may vary. User
experiences would be good reading. I suppose there is more such
discussion in reviews on the web. I seem to recall praise, but
maybe not much about the details.

I think the corrected voltage drop time will be long enough to
make your PC stay off if the voltage drop is long enough to remove
power from your PC through the regulator. In other words... I
suspect that your PC cannot spontaneously reboot due to power
fluctuations because the regulator guarantees that the outage will
be long enough to keep your PC off if your PC is affected. That
might not be law, but it has worked that way here.

 

[Mark]

I always understood the extra power acts like a smoothing
filter.

Any decent PSU will do this. You don't need to overspec it too much.
A good quality PSU is worth the price. Some cheap PSUs are not
actually capable of providing their stated power at all voltages.

The supply only puts out what the system calls for, so
if it only needs 300 watts, I have a 450 watt overhead and
heavy components that don't overheat from the surges.

"The energy efficiency of power supplies drops significantly at low
loads. Efficiency generally peaks at about 50–75% load."
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) Due to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking some articles
posted from there. If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.

 

[ting]

My last system is working perfectly. It's a few
years old, but really fast and quiet. Runs cool.

Dual boots XP Pro - Win7 / 64

Intel Core2 Duo .. early so not a failed quad
Gigabyte mobo .. solid state caps
Truepower 750 watts
Nvidia gtx 275
4 gigs ram
2 hard drives 500 gig each .. hitachi
sata dvd
Antec 900 case
Asus lcd 24 inch wide .. nice

No problem in any games .. Crysis is fast.

Reason I'm starting a new box is ?? Damned
if I know. I'm trying to figure out what is new
and what I would like to try to optimize next.
I don't really see anything in a new technology
at all. I'm playing with wireless, but my laptop
does that without a hitch. I can make free
phone calls all over the world ( gmail ), but
again the laptop is doing it. Any ideas ?

johns

Considering your current gear, I'd say that your best upgrades are, in
order...

1. A big screen lcd tv as your main monitor. One of the best upgrades
you can make, and it will outlast your computer. Just make sure you
find one with vga or dvi input for the clearest signal. Gaming on the
big screen is awesome. Reuse your little 24" lcd as your secondary
monitor.

2. If you are unwilling to go with a big screen lcd tv, get another
24" (or larger) sized lcd monitor. A second screen is the best single
upgrade you can make, bar none.

3. A nice keyboard. Most people spend a lot of time and effort to get
a good gaming mouse, but are still using the crappy $15 keyboard that
came with their computer. A nice mechanical keyboard with cherry
switches is a huge step up. Black or red cherry switches tend to be
best for gaming, while the brown switches tend to be best for typing
or work.

4. A dd-wrt compatible router; dd-wrt will turn your $100 router into
a $1000 router. It's a very noticeable upgrade.

5. A good sound system. Preferably a satellite surround sound system
with a good subwoofer punching out hundreds of watts. But if you have
to use headphones, due to family considerations, get really good ones,
something a DJ would want to wear.

6. A good usb microphone from Blue or Samson on a heavy desk stand.
Something that looks like what a radio announcer would use. Something
that's sensitive enough to pick up quiet conversation from across the
room.

7. A solid state drive for your OS and installed applications. It will
cut down boot times and application load times to a third or less.

All the upgrades above will out last your current system by years.

 

[John Doe]

johns <johns... moscow.com> wrote:

Considering your current gear, I'd say that your best upgrades
are, in order...

1. A big screen lcd tv as your main monitor. One of the best
upgrades you can make, and it will outlast your computer. Just
make sure you find one with vga or dvi input for the clearest
signal. Gaming on the big screen is awesome. Reuse your little
24" lcd as your secondary monitor.

2. If you are unwilling to go with a big screen lcd tv, get
another 24" (or larger) sized lcd monitor. A second screen is
the best single upgrade you can make, bar none.

Or... "Thing discovers the secondary monitor".

I've used different combinations of secondary monitors, for many
years. Yeah, it's cool to have two or more monitors. But, there is
no way that a secondary monitor is generally the single best
upgrade a user can make. There are lots of circumstances where
that's obviously not true.

3. A nice keyboard. Most people spend a lot of time and effort
to get a good gaming mouse, but are still using the crappy $15
keyboard that came with their computer. A nice mechanical
keyboard with cherry switches is a huge step up. Black or red
cherry switches tend to be best for gaming, while the brown
switches tend to be best for typing or work.

But seriously, Thing... I use a keyboard that was shipped all the
way from China for a grand total of $20 (it came with a mouse, but
I use a fancy laser mouse and keep the cheap mouse as a backup).
It's the ideal keyboard for my setup. I hardly use a keyboard
anymore. I use speech for writing, automating my computer tasks,
and for gaming.

In other words... It's not that simple.
--

 

[ting]

But, there is
no way that a secondary monitor is generally the single best
upgrade a user can make. There are lots of circumstances where
that's obviously not true.

Oh really? Why don't you name a few? The guy already has plenty of ram
for his system and he already has a decent graphics card. Once those
two basics are out of the way, what's a better upgrade than a big
screen tv as a primary monitor?

The big tv will outlast any computer part, by years, and he'll enjoy
playing his games on the big screen more than any other upgrade. The
secondary monitor is just a bonus, because all he's doing is reusing
his current monitor as his secondary. But once he has two monitors,
he'll never want to go back to just one.

I use speech for writing, automating my computer tasks,
and for gaming.

I bet it must be awesome playing a first person shooter, like Crysis,
via speech recognition.

 

[John Doe]

John Doe <j... usenetlove.invalid> wrote:

Oh really?

Yes, really, Thing.

Why don't you name a few? The guy already has plenty of ram for
his system

You were speaking generally, Thing, the stuff you snipped.

and he already has a decent graphics card. Once those two basics
are out of the way, what's a better upgrade than a big screen tv
as a primary monitor?

Thing has a big screen TV as a primary monitor, therefore (in his
not-quite-grown-up opinion) that is the best upgrade for everybody
else.

The big tv will outlast any computer part, by years,

That bullshit is a good example of how ignorant Thing really is.

I bet it must be awesome playing a first person shooter, like
Crysis, via speech recognition.

"Fire, run, fire, run run run..."
--