buying another computer need specs advice.
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Posted on Feb 26, 2008 08:32 am
Dematrix
http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member Since: Nov 27, 2007
bout Nov. last year i had big problem with a laptop i purchased, basicly it was a lemon, so finally after 4 months of piss farting around with rip off merchants (Acer) i got me a refund. that's right, it can be done after all.
Anyway...i can finally buy me a new computer, i seriously dont want any problems this time, so im thiking a Mac.
opinions would be nice, like i said im thinking a mac, i also was thinking maybe a desk top. so i need some help with specs etc. what would be best?
I know Macs have a faster drive speed which is good but can you get a similar drive speed in a desk top? and is that the only thing i should be concerned with apart from ram?
cheers.
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Feb 26, 2008 09:19 am Mac and PC can both do the job equally well, don't let anyone tell you otherwise...
The spec is easy, as big and as fast as you can afford...if you go the PC route, it means you get Vista, this means you get at least 2 GB of Ram, 3+ preferably. Then learn to trim down the OS.
As far as Mac goes I can't comment, I don't have one and won't in the foreseeable future.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Feb 26, 2008 12:17 pm Yeah, if you feel like building hop on newegg. I built a ridiculous (imaginary cause I can't afford it) PC with quad core, 4GB ram, 1TB of hard for 1200. 250 of that was just the case because I chose a rackmount server case. You can easily build for under 1K and then you can still buy XP.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Feb 27, 2008 06:15 am was having a look at some computers and ended up on the apple site.
Man they got an 8 core!! what the??
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Feb 27, 2008 07:37 am well... something I think we all learned recently ... if you go mac... then for the love of GOD do not use a USB sound card. :)
8 core is just a dual processor with quad cores. ibm and sun can make them much much bigger...
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Feb 27, 2008 08:14 am when you say usb sound card, do you mean an interface?
Why what's the go there?
another thing, could someone explain to me what does dual core or quad core mean, why do they have them, their usage etc.
Feb 27, 2008 08:17 am sound card/audio interface are used interchangeably.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Feb 27, 2008 12:36 pm The dual and quad core are exactly that. They have 2 to 4 processors on one chip and can share the task load across them. My bro has a quad and we were doing so many things at once it was quite amazing (burn DVD, watching video, copying pictures from his camera etc). Some applications (I use audition and it does support it) are actually programmed to utilize the extra cores and it can really speed things along.
While most games do not benefit much, things like audio\video processing benefit greatly. I would want to double check, but if VST plugins are spread across the cores I could see this being one of the biggest uses for me personally. Processing more crap before I have to start locking things down or upping my buffers.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Feb 27, 2008 12:41 pm Thinking back to my tractor-pull watching days,
imagine a tractor with 2 engines on it, this is dual core
now, imagine one with 4 engines on it, this is quad core.
All the engines are on one chassis, but there's 2 or 4 processors (engines) to push the data.
Conversely, you can have dual processors, which is like having 2 tractors, each with however many engines on each one. 1, 2, or 4.
4, in the case of the mac 8core.
Some of the dell servers i used to work with had dual processors, and 4 processors. Each was a single core, but still, the motherboard had 4 slots on it for processors.
Actually, i have a dual 500mhz dell server in the basement. It acts as my linux web development server. Cool little box, loud as heck though.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Feb 27, 2008 12:47 pm I almost picked one up of ebay recently, not a 500mhz but something similar :)
Thing is, back in the day that server was probably ridiculous amounts of money.
The Q6600 which is a quad core at 2.6Ghz is around $250 which makes me smile. If I went with onboard video and used some extra parts I could probably get away with a $500-600 build and have a much more powerfull machine. Too bad I don't have 5-600 extra lying around :)
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Feb 27, 2008 07:01 pm the beauty of my situation is i already got a 19' lcd monitor so i guess i can pick up someding good for the money i get back from my lapy and maybe have a bit left ova for something else unknow?
