My new PC

[Revival]

Well, my dad put in the order yesterday for a new PC, and my mom agreed with him to get a PC, no need in spending money on a Mac if I could get a PC for free [dammit! ]

Anyways.. here's my new computer that I am relectuantly taking:



Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.2GHz
120GB Ultra DMA
hp DVD+RW Drive (2.4x/8x/12x/10x/32x): 2.4x DVD (re-write), 8x DVD (read), 12x CD-R (write), 10x CD-RW (re-write) 32x CD(read)
speeds [:eek:]
nVidia GeForce2™ MX400 AGP graphics card [Have no clue if that's good or not]
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

There you have it.. I guess I'll take it.. but it's not exactly what I wanted.

[Bond]

Hey, if you don't want it I'll pay for shipping charges to mail it to me.

[Revival]

No, I'm keeping it, but I want a Mac more than anything. Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I get a scanner to that list.. I'm too lazy to edit..

[fingersman]

Well I'll trade mine for yours. I mean a computer with those specs?? who would want it?

[The_Dunadan]

hp's

pretty good specs though. geforce 2 isn't any good compared to the others, especially the geforce 4 ti4200, if it would ever come out

[gekko]

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.2GHz
120GB Ultra DMA
hp DVD+RW Drive (2.4x/8x/12x/10x/32x): 2.4x DVD (re-write), 8x DVD (read), 12x CD-R (write), 10x CD-RW (re-write) 32x CD(read)
speeds [:eek:]
nVidia GeForce2™ MX400 AGP graphics card [Have no clue if that's good or not]
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Decent processor, but Intel just released the new Pentium 4 2.53ghz models with the 533mhz FSB, which would make it much faster.

DVD-RW isn't bad, but it's a total waste of money. For the one or two times you may burn a DVD, granted you'll probably screw up burning a few, costing $5 a pop. You would be better off getting a DVD-ROM and CD-RW, both of which have speeds at least double what that drive has. On Macs the DVD burning is kinda nice, with iDVD and everything. On Windows, I woudn't get it.

GeForce 2 MX card absolutly sucks. That's beyond last generation. The best cards out right now are the GeForce 4 Ti 4600 cards. That's not a GeForce 2 Ultra, which were top-end cards 2 years ago. You aren't getting the GeForce 3 cards which will be required for games like Doom III, Unreal 2, and Quake 4. You don't even have the Geforce 4 MX, cheesy version of the GeForce 4 card. To top it all off, nVidia is releasing a new line of cards set to come out this August that will be more than twice as powerful as the current GF4 cards. ATI is also releasing a new card in September alongside the release of Direct X 9.0.

To sum that last paragraph up, you need a new graphics card, badly. The Geforce 2 will meet most of the current games minimum card in the "recommended" category. So it'll be able to handle the game, but it won't be played with flying colors. Two suggestions, if you plan on playing a lot of games with it, get a GeForce 4 Ti 4400 right now. It's about $100 cheaper than the GF4 Ti 4600, and since the next-generation of cards will come out at the end of summer, buying the top end right now isn't worth it.

All and all your computer is great for being free. But if you plan to play any new games over the summer, paying $300 for a new graphics card would be ideal. Then pay another $400-500 when the new ones come out. Remember, Doom III, Unreal II, and all those games are being developed with the programmable features found in the GeForce 3 cards and up (Radeon 8500 on the ATI side). So your computer may be brand new, but it won't be playing the games that will come out this fall.

You paid nothing for the computer, buy yourself a decent graphics cards and some games. And rememer you're using Windows, so remember to perform tons of maintenance work and always keep your drivers current.

[Cyrax9]

That's the new HP DVD+RW drive, the guy at "Best Buy" told m e about, which is $500 like all the others, but is 10,000 times better in terms of quality.

If you screw up a DVD, it's because you have multi8ple burners on a 9x kernel which you clearly don't, so their shouldn't be a problem.

Personally I think it'sa goo, for a PC, but the Graphcis card is cap, ditch it ASAP.

Of course, if you really want a Mac, pawn the system for an outrageous price, and buy yourself a Mac. That's what I'd do if I got a "new" WinXP PC with 0 Linux support, or any way to install and use Linux.

[Jason1]

your getting a 2.2 ghz computer for free. and its ''not exactly what you wanted'' just think of me on my 400mhz AMDk6 2 or whatever the hell they call it...

[Revival]

Well.. I found out that I'm getting a digital camera with it.. so I'm more than happy with it now

[fingersman]

Originally posted by Jason1
your getting a 2.2 ghz computer for free. and its ''not exactly what you wanted'' just think of me on my 400mhz AMDk6 2 or whatever the hell they call it...

If you think yours is bad you haven't seen mine yet....why do you think SC is the only game I play on my comp?? lol Well I can't commplain it gets me on the net and works well ( after a buying a few parts for it) but I doubt it is anythign compared to comps you guys have....but hey I look at it this way...I might not have one at all. So I'm happy

[sdtPikachu]

Originally posted by gekko

GeForce 2 MX card absolutly sucks. That's beyond last generation.

I guess you won't go a bundle on my TNT2 then....

And Cyrax, what are you on about "zero Linux support"? You can install Linux on any PC, or Mac for that matter. Mine came with "zero Linux support" - all I did was add the partitions (not that the Linux installer couldn;t have done it, but I wanted a weird configuration so I did it befrehand), boot from the install disc and bingo, there I was.
One thng though - if you do install Linux on most PC's you won't be able to access the internet via dialup (dunno about DSL) due to modems desingned to hog your processor to do what the modem should be doing. So make sure you buy a proper modem (not that all you lucky yanks are ever gonna need the buggers). I dunno how the Mac drivers work, so I'm at a loss as far as they're concerned.

I have vowed to never again buy a pre-made computer, but to hand craft it myself to my exact spec (I've not found a single supplier who does this for anything less than extortionate fees) which will also mean I don't have to use those crappy plastic cases (especially ones that small) ready made computers come with (thankfully Viglen are one of the few companies who still insist on metal PC cases) and those rubbish generic components everyone is so keen to use for their cheapness.

OEM's force you into the cycle of continual upgrading by making computers that are impossible to upgrade in the first place - fight back, god damn you!

You know, you gotta love this culture of "update everything all the time" culture that the world has foisted upon people. I get along just fine with my ****ty processor and ****ty graphics card by using a non-bloat OS. "Woo"
I am always at a continued loss as to why each successive Windows release requires a huge jump in spec, whilst doing comparitively little else in the way of functionality. Do I hear the words "built in redundancy"?

Oh well, you're getting it for free I guess. Personally I'd tear it to bits, throw half of it away and make a decent computer with the rest (plus a few extra bits obviously), but then I guess I'm just like that.

[Cyrax9]

I didn't realize that any PC or Mac can run Linux, than I have my Plan for my next PC, in a few years:

a "Barebones" box with hardly anythign in it.

An internet conection for Linux.

Most of the parts "ripped out" and replaced.

New Stuff added.


M$ spits out a new OS every yera, and theri ain't nothign specal about the "Changes" unless you're jumping from Windows 95 to Win2K, which is a big change bvecause you've waited, but if you're going from WinME to WinXP, you might as wel just give up, this is how M$ gets a Monopoly.

[Revival]

Cyrax, if you hate Microsoft so much and don't want them to get your money, why do you buy their OSes and Programs? Seems to me that if you wanted them to loose a customer, you'd stop buying their products, not continue to.

Might just me me

[Cyrax9]

Ok, I didn't "buy" Windows ME, I freeloaded it off of my dad, because I knew I'd be "buying" a Mc with my own money, I never paid for one of their OS's, nor do I like them, I'm not buying any new MS machines, I'll either buy a Bare-bones Box and Instal Linux, or I'll buy a Mac. I'm using Office XP, not because I wanted it, but because I'm on home instrucion form the high-school and thery "Demanded" it for classes, again I didn't pay for it, my dad did. M$ has me in theri database, but in a few years, M$ will be a distant memory for me, and it was only after WinXP was released that I truly started to hate M$ as much as I currently do.

I'll buy their stuff that's "Compatible" with my system and is not a new OS or part of an OS, but when it's time for a new Comp, it's either a Linux Box, or a Mac, I've got an Aunt in the IT buiseness, and she's building a Linux Box, if I could find a way to put the system together with Zero M$ hardware and only Linux Stuff, I'd do that, the worst-case sencario is having to install WinXP jusat to wipe it out, then I'll throw the disks away after installing Linux. M$ has gone too far, and I haven't bought any M$ specific programs in ages, I've gotten new Hardware replaced under warrenty, but I haven't bought any "PC Specific" hardware, I bought a USB Huub and a USB amePad, they're Mac-Compatible, and aren't made by M$.

[gekko]

You guys need to learn how to buy MS products. Student discount is where it's at. Using my sister's discount, I'm buying Office XP and FrontPage 2002 for $35, the Office XP upgrade for $25, and Visual Studio .NET Professional ($950 :eek, for $30

Building a PC is more complicated, because Linux supports certain hardware, but not others. Windows also has compatability issues, as you noticed with your DVD.

Get a Mac. It's built with a UNIX backbone, but still has a GUI that's easy to use, and a lot of the more common programs to Windows users. Linux is great, but it's a lot more complicated to figure out. And even after I figured it out, I still would never switch completely. Let's put it this way, Linux ain't for beginners by any means. And you might want to get a new drive and install Linux to see if it's what you really want. From my experiences, I can easily say it's not something most people would want to use daily.