Help me select my new computer

You definitely want to focus on getting a QUAD processor. Having 4 CPUs makes a huge difference. (Lots of RAM helps too.) I'm truly amazed by how much waiting I had to tolerate in the past that is totally non-existent now... even while rendering HD video in the background! I often play video while working too... without any noticeable interruption. It's pretty amazing.

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The other thing to consider is extra RAM.

32 bit windows only supports 3gigs, anything over that is ignored. So you may want to consider moving to 64 bit windows. Although I have heard rumours of issues concerning hardware driver support.

Everybody moans about Vista but I have found it reliable - media centre is a washout though. The reason Vista springs to mind is that I believe it allows the connection of flash memory to the system and Vista can boot from that.

Cheers
Warwick

 

HPdc7800 business
XP downgrade from Vista
Quad core Q9300 Intel CPU
4G of RAM
(2) 500G SATA HDD
NVidea 8400GS Graphics Adapter
DVD/CD
Upgraded "plus" power supply
Intel Pro 1000PT Gig ethernet adapter
Restore CD
Three year on-site warranty

The rest of it is up to you...

I suggest the CA Internet Security Suite as it is less overhead than Symantec, and Dell has good pricing on Backup Exec System Restore Desktop Edition version 8, coupled with an external USB hard drive for a little over two hundred bucks.......

Then add your version of Microsoft Office and you should be ready to go.

XP and Vista will utilize all 4G of ram. With Vista SP1 all the ram does show up (unlike un-service packed versions). The Intel on board graphics suck so use the above board card. By using the Intel ethernet adapter you also offload the motherboard.

All this stuff isn't cheap but you said you wanted fast... You can buy faster but not typically "off the shelf" from a name brand manufacturer...

The Backup Exec System Restore version 8 creates a complete image, like Norton Ghost or the consumer version (Norton Save and restore). However it will restore to dis-similiar hardware which is a huge advantage in the event of a catastrophic failure. It backs up in the background as often as you want and the restoration process is as simple as booting from the CD and it will re-image the entire drive into bootable and fully functional condition. Plus if you migrate to Vista you can still use the product.

If you select the two piece ram package, should you ever decide to move to a 64 bit version you can add two more sticks without having to replace what you already have installed.

BTW: Middle of June is the end of XP for retail in the USA.....

 

I'm not sure why this post is in this forum, but hey, I'll take an experienced stab at it.

All modern computers calculate faster than an eye blink, and have done so for years.

Again all modern computers can work with more than one complicated program at a time

I don't want to have to say again...All modern computers...

Simultaneously, Yes, Lightning fast, No and probably never.

Operating systems are not built with simple straight line calculations in order to make something work. Example: Let's say your computer is slow to boot on a newly installed pristine copy of the OS. So mistakenly you think, computers are slow and this one sucks. Not so fast though. If we could look deeper into the issue, you'd find the computer was trying to get it's IP address from your flaky router, which is the real cause of your computer booting slow, it's waiting on a complete response from your router. Also the OS programmers set timers on various program calls in order to work with peripherals and other interconnected devices. Without these timers, communication would be spotty at best. Any way you look at it, a 5 second timer is still 5 seconds regardless if the computer is from the 24th Century or is from 1989.

Your work is easily accounted for. Your music files and video downloads probably not. If you have the money buy a couple 1TB internal drives.

I can take any computer with correctly functioning hardware and make it boot in 30 seconds or less, and so can you.
Put your computer to sleep or use the Hybernation feature.
Simple as that.

This will cost you some good money. You really need that many pages a minute? I don't know of any small business that kicks out 45ppm, well, maybe Kinkos. Try an online search for the product you deem best.

And as for Quad-Core, the performance on a Dual-Core is comparable or even exceeds it. Intel did a dumb thing and limited the Quad-Core memory to 800mhz which will definitely limit processing ability. In fact, I just built 3 high end servers with a 3.0GHZ Dual2Core with 4GB of 1333mhz memory, and she screams, except during bootup and shutdown due to the server software and exchange server. Bottom line, you get nothing from a Quad-Core unless your program is specifically built to use it.

Oh, and the reason your computer is slow could be due to a failing internal harddrive issues (which you won't be able to tell
until it's examined by an expert), defective system memory and/or gobs of spyware and internet crap programs installed.

I'd say head to some computer related forums, see what they tell ya.

ZC1

 

Something that is often forgotten in performance is Hard Drive rotation speed. No matter how much memory you have there will still be paging to the HD. My laptop has a 5400 RPM HD and in some ways is slower than the Desktop with a 7200 RPM HD. I believe there are 10,000 RPM drives but I doubt they are cheap.

Let us know what you end up with.

Bob

 

Good point.
I've always ripped out my 5400rpm drive and installed a 7200rpm laptop drive in my laptops.

Shameless plug:
In fact, if anyone is interested, I can sell you a unopened 160GB 7200rpm SATA II laptop drive with G-Force protection, (it's an accelerometer that parks the heads when the harddrive (read:laptop) starts to drop. I have 23 in stock.
I can format/partition it any way you want and move all your data over for free. Send a PM.

ZC1

 

Our school district buys only Lenovo PC desktops based on price comparisons, maintenance, etc.

 

If you do lots of complex calculations, I would suggest you buy the QuadCore 2 with the highest clock rate (as high as your budget allows) and install Linux with lots of DRAM (as much as your budget allows).
High rev SCSI hard drive for high capacity disk accessing.
However, if you want to install Linux (dual boot, still co-exist with Windows), make sure that you have graphic cards, not integrated graphic since most Linux today still have problem supporting integrated graphics. Buy a $20 graphic cards if you must.

I do EDA (electronic design automation) software (that helps people design complex IC chips). I deal with zillions of objects in computation. In my world, everyone uses Linux (some use Solaris, but not Windows, nor Macs).

If the programs you use allow multi-threading, your QuadCore will enable you to run 4 threads nearly up to 4X speed up (if programmed right). Most math libraries today allow threading. However, I usually write my own to be sure if not too much trouble.

 

One more point. AMD CPU typically run fasters in math (floating point) benchmarks than Intel's. (clock rates being equal)
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If you can get the software you need, I'd definitely go with Linux over Windows. I chose Mac for user-friendliness, and because it can do everything I need (mostly open-source software, though I did pay for a chess program). With Windows, you're already giving half your computer's resources over to the security software that you need any time you connect Bill-ware to the internet.

 

first pick the software you are planing to use and read what the requirements for it are... OSx 10, Windows, Linux.

Now that you know that... it gets $$$ from here... I would build it from parts you get... not the canned ones (dell, Lenovo,HP, Sony, etc)...

OK, not MAC: first go with a Intel Core 2 4x Q9450 (the older 4x will not run as good as dual).

Now find a "Very Good" mother board that has the FSB and horse power you will need for this hungry beast, and must do 8GB of mem.

Now get some "Fast" memory, 2 4GB kits from the same Mfg. Mother board Mfg might have thoughts as to what to go with. remember you want FAST

Drives: SATA 3.0Gbs, or if you have the $$$ go with SCSI Ultra 320, 300GB 15k RPM drives... get 7 of them.. that is 2.1TB RAID 0.. SCSI Dual... then you can have even more drives... and a very very warm room

Now get good Video with at least 512MB mem...

Get the 1000+ watt Power Supply.

Nice Big Full Case you can add lots of fans or have room for the Water Cooler system

OS.. not Mac... you have to choices... Linux or Vista Ultimate 64.. I would say away from XP 64, driver base is not as deep.

Now AMD will be cheaper.. but a little slower in the over all speeds.. but YES faster in the number crunching area and heat...

I am sure I left something out but the others here will point out my failings ..
Good luck..

 

SCSI is far more costly per GB and offers little advantage for the majority of workstation loads. Very few desktop applications need SCSI, and the OP hasn't given any evidence that his is one of the exceptions. Servers are an entirely different matter, where the HDAs used with SCSI drives are built to sustain the duty cycles that servers require, while (with a couple of exceptions) SATA/PATA drives are not.

We can afford to spec ANY system for our S/W developers (equipment costs are insignificant against the $300k fully loaded annual cost of a senior developer) and we stopped specifying SCSI in favor of SATA a few years ago.

 

The fastest machine to run windows on is a Mac...
so why not a mac ?

 

Let me add.....

I have been doing this stuff for twenty years. The people here are mostly right in their opinions.

I put together a hp package because I assumed you wanted to buy a solution instead of build one.

In my opinion, the "right" way to do what you are asking for is to assess your needs, select your software, match your applications and communication needs to the operating system appropriate to your usage, and then add the appropriate hardware.

You can certainly save some money and go faster of you build it yourself.

As far as a Mac, I have been getting real tired lately fixing adobe issues and Safari issues and trying to explain to Mac users how they have become infested with spyware when they are not "supposed" to have any spyware because they are using a Mac....

 

John: You probably could go to a local computer builder and just say: I want the fastest and biggest of everything. The fastest, highest-capacity motherboard with all the memory it can hold, and the biggest, fastest HD there is.

Of course, it will be obsolete in 6 months. I usually feel that one-year-old technology is a good price: performance compromise. But I don't have heavy-duty applications. And I ended up ordering this iMac the day after the model was announced, but I got one that was one or two models below the high-end one.

 

As a Mac user, I'd very much like it if you would tell me how spyware gets installed on a Mac. I have to give an admin user name and password to install anything. Is this only happening to people who are operating routinely as admin? Is there a simple way to check for spyware?

Thanks for any information you care to provide.

 

Can you recommend any sites for mac users to have their machines checked out?

 

Years back I had a Mac dealership.

I use CA SCM for macs as well as other platforms. It seems to work quite well. CA Small & Medium Business Store | CA Secure Content Manager r8 + 1 Year Value Maintenance

Or: CA Small & Medium Business Store | CA Anti-Virus r8.1 + 1 Year Value Maintenance (Simple anti-virus as included with SCM but packaged separately.

For the more daring... I have a few friends with Mac products that go here (spyware specific): MacScan 2.5.2 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker

Also this is another utility you may want to check out... (Little Snitch): Objective Development


Spyware takes many forms, not all of which are the stereotypical browser home page switch or perpetual popups... Any information which provides another company or individual information about your personal computer usage is technically spyware. Although there are guidelines for cookie life and so on, companies that want information or are based offshore often do not play by the rules. Trojans are as often spyware as they are a virus.

Most of the Macs I see are running on a corporate network with a Wndows, Netware, or Unix based server... Security updates are obtained through a secure server logon instead of an oline service.