That LG looks to be the best bang for the buck in the $200 bracket, at least according to NewEgg reviews.
Vista. How reliable?
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On that price range looks like a TN panel.
If you're into image processing get a SPVA or SIPS panel!
Photoshop > GIMP.
Just a fact of life.
Just a fact of life.
Well, er. You're not going to see all 4 processing cores in XP, or 4 gigs of ram. You're gonna have to go with Vista if you plan on using that setup.
And the iMac sucks... Better bang for your buck with the PC.
GIMP > any other free image editing software ever made.
I never said it was = or > Photoshop.
I'm cheap, not stupid.
XP x64 supports 128GB of memory. Regular XP supports 4GB max - it will give you 3.something GB the number depends on what PCI devices you have in your system and can regularly support up to 2GB for the application unless you use the /3GB switch and the application supports it.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/facts/top10.mspx
XP support is based on the no. of physical CPUs - hyperthreading or multicore does not count. XP Home supports 1 CPU and XP Pro supports 2 CPU. That means right now you can have 4 or 8 cores depending on the version of XP though most applications won't take advantage of them all yet.
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/highlights/multicore.mspx
I meant that with the utmost respect. Captain.
So I just tried rendering some HDR out of .raw in Photomatix on my GF's laptop (Intel Centrino something something with 1 gig of RAM). 
I'm honestly on the verge of going to the Apple store in the next 20 minutes.
I'm honestly on the verge of going to the Apple store in the next 20 minutes.
Don't compare a properly built desktop PC to a laptop.So I just tried rendering some HDR out of .raw in Photomatix on my GF's laptop (Intel Centrino something something with 1 gig of RAM).
I'm honestly on the verge of going to the Apple store in the next 20 minutes.
If you are making purchase decisions based on testing things out on a "something something" laptop, then how can you know your getting the right thing?
Good luck either way.
Go to best buy and get a powerhouse HP media center PC...
Right, it won't recognize all 4 gigs of RAM. That's what I was saying.
IIRC, Microsoft allows you to have a dual core processor using XP Pro, but when you go for a quad core processor, you need two lisences.
It doesn't really explain it well, but the fine print is kind of there;
Multicore Processor Summary Diagram
Customer B has a system with a single processor with two processor cores. As in the example with Customer A, only one server software license is required per processor.
Dual-Core Processor SystemCustomer C
Multicore Processor Summary Diagram
Customer C has a system with two processors, and each processor has two processor cores. One server software license would be required per processor.
You, uh, rendered a RAW file on a single core laptop PC and have used that as the basis for your decision to move to Apple? Genius!So I just tried rendering some HDR out of .raw in Photomatix on my GF's laptop (Intel Centrino something something with 1 gig of RAM).
I'm honestly on the verge of going to the Apple store in the next 20 minutes.
That's not correct. XP Pro supports two physical processors regardless of the number of cores. XP Home supports one physical processor, again, regardless of the number of cores. They're licensed per-installation. How do you think you'd even add another license to a copy of XP to support the extra cores? Buy another license and do... what with it?
I really can't remember. I just remember reading something about how XP Home can only support one core (or processor), and XP Pro can only support two cores (or processors).
Maybe they've patched it since I read that, but that's what I remember. Something about how task manager can only manage two processors (cores)...
Anyway, regardless, you're still not going to be able to see all the RAM you put into it.
Maybe they've patched it since I read that, but that's what I remember. Something about how task manager can only manage two processors (cores)...
Anyway, regardless, you're still not going to be able to see all the RAM you put into it.
A core is not the same as a processor. You can't use the two terms interchangeably.
I know.
What I am saying is; the two were used as the same term.
Meaning as a dual core processor, it would be recognized as two processors, two sockets, not one socket, two cores.
What I am saying is; the two were used as the same term.
Meaning as a dual core processor, it would be recognized as two processors, two sockets, not one socket, two cores.
My daughter is loving her mac mini. She's used kid pix to make pictures, turn them into a book, and learned to use it as a dvd player, and learned how to use the text to voice feature to help her check what she's typing.So I just tried rendering some HDR out of .raw in Photomatix on my GF's laptop (Intel Centrino something something with 1 gig of RAM).
I'm honestly on the verge of going to the Apple store in the next 20 minutes.
She is six.
Oohhhh no no no, I was just implying I was going to go make an impulse purchase because of the slowness of this machineYou, uh, rendered a RAW file on a single core laptop PC and have used that as the basis for your decision to move to Apple? Genius!
I installed Windows 3.0 when I was five. Too bad that didn't carry over to later on in life.
The Mini would interest me if it weren't for the painfully slow and small hard drives they spec with them.
Aaanyway...So I went down to the Apple store, half thinking I'd buy an iMac because I was pissy and feeling impulsey. Having not played with the latest gen I jumped on one and started screwing with Photoshop in an attempt to make it bog down and die (This was a 2.4ghz 2gb RAM machine). I did it, quite successfully. It started having issues when I tried to photomerge 4 different 800kish pictures, and following that had trouble searching for files when I was opening them in PS. Needless to say I was fairly underwhelmed. Not to mention the Apple store people were pretty clueless when I started talking about batch processing.
So XP does not use 4 gigs in apps and can't utilize a Core 2 Quad CPU?
This is the monitor I'm considering:On that price range looks like a TN panel.
If you're into image processing get a SPVA or SIPS panel!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005096
Display
Screen Size 20"
Widescreen Yes
Maximum Resolution 1680 x 1050
Recommended Resolution 1680 x 1050
Viewing Angle 170°(H) / 170°(V)
Pixel Pitch 0.294mm
Display Colors 16.2 Million
Brightness 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio 3000:1
Response Time 2ms
Display Type WSXGA+
Reviews say it actually comes with 5000:1 contrast instead of 3000...
All right...more and more thinking has led me to this: The processor in the iMac I can afford is just too damned slow. Hence, I shall be going with a PC, as soon as the 8800GT is released onto the market.
Specs:
-COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
-Rosewill RP550V2-S-SL 550W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 Power Supply - Retail
- LG L206WTY-BF Black 20" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor W/ f-Engine and Tilt Adjustment - Retail
- GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
- A-DATA 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail
- Logitech 967557-0403 Silver/Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Slim Cordless Desktop S 510 Mouse Included - Retail
And a DVD burner, WD 76gb Raptor, Seagate 250gb SATA 7200.
Aaaand, when it comes out, an nVidia GeForce 8800GT. All in the ~$1250 range. Not bad.
So...4gb of cRAMmage...yay or nay?
I've selected all the parts with both performance and OS X compatibility in mind. It looks like this could be a Hackintosh. Once I get it going under XP, it will be the first thing on my "to-do" list. If OS X fails, then I will be installing Ubuntu in a dual-boot setup.
Is it me or is hardware super-cheap right now? Storage costs next to nothing...This is a complete machine (sans OS)with monitor that can tear the limbs off of 90% of everything out there for under $1300. WTF mate?
Specs:
-COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
-Rosewill RP550V2-S-SL 550W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 Power Supply - Retail
- LG L206WTY-BF Black 20" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor W/ f-Engine and Tilt Adjustment - Retail
- GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
- A-DATA 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail
- Logitech 967557-0403 Silver/Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Slim Cordless Desktop S 510 Mouse Included - Retail
And a DVD burner, WD 76gb Raptor, Seagate 250gb SATA 7200.
Aaaand, when it comes out, an nVidia GeForce 8800GT. All in the ~$1250 range. Not bad.
So...4gb of cRAMmage...yay or nay?
I've selected all the parts with both performance and OS X compatibility in mind. It looks like this could be a Hackintosh. Once I get it going under XP, it will be the first thing on my "to-do" list. If OS X fails, then I will be installing Ubuntu in a dual-boot setup.
Is it me or is hardware super-cheap right now? Storage costs next to nothing...This is a complete machine (sans OS)with monitor that can tear the limbs off of 90% of everything out there for under $1300. WTF mate?
Doesn't matter how it was used. The OS distinguishes between an extra socket and an extra core. Microsoft's documentation reflects that.
Blue; XP 32-bit will not recognize all of that RAM. It tops off at just under 3.5gb. Just FYI - you need the 64-bit version or Vista for that much memory.
Also, I highly doubt you actually need 550w worth of power supply. If you picked something up closer to 400w you'll end up running it much more efficiently. Just a thought, the 550w will run fine though. One more idea: I'm now very enamored of the idea that my computer doesn't have to be a noisy wind tunnel. Lots of quiet components out there. Especially if the computer exists somewhere that you live in a lot, you could have a virtually silent PC for ~$50-100 more (swapped PSU, big heatsink and a quiet fan).
E.g. this power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151033
This heat sink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185038
And this fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185004
Total $142.97, minus $59.99 on that other PSU and you've got $82.98 and an extremely quiet PC, yet a heatsink/fan that will cool a pretty decent overclock. A fan swap and it'd cool any overclock you like.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151033
This heat sink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185038
And this fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185004
Total $142.97, minus $59.99 on that other PSU and you've got $82.98 and an extremely quiet PC, yet a heatsink/fan that will cool a pretty decent overclock. A fan swap and it'd cool any overclock you like.
think EIP engine
I actually added 2 120mm fans but didn't list them...One will replace the blue neon sh!t at the front of the case, and I was going to place another on the side. Thinking hard about a CPU cooler...I will OC it at some point, I guess these chips love to be brutalized? 90$ for a 400w PSU...I dunno...How quiet is quiet? Is it just 'cause of the 120mm fan? There's a Fotron for 30$ less...
I will be surgically extracting the "COOLER MASTAR" logo off the front of the case as soon as UPS drops it off, btw.
More editing:
64-bit Windows is as bad to run as Vista, yeah? Leeehm. Maybe I'll just pop in three gigs and if I need it, get a fourth stick. I assume OSX and Ubuntu can use it all...but I won't be using Ubuntu for anything RAM-heavy (GIMP, ohh you guys crack me up
)Ooooh! Do the rod bearings need to be replaced every month?!?!
That PSU is one of the most highly rated, efficient and ultra quiet power supplies on the marketI actually added 2 120mm fans but didn't list them...One will replace the blue neon sh!t at the front of the case, and I was going to place another on the side. Thinking hard about a CPU cooler...I will OC it at some point, I guess these chips love to be brutalized? That PSU is $93, btw
Also, that CPU cooler is excellent and is among the top one or two coolers available now. That allows you to both make it quiet, or make it super cooling. The stock cooler is going to be noisy.
Damn you, ninja quoter...It's early, I thought you were saying it's all 80something bucks
Um. What?blue said:
As long as you have 64 bit drivers for everything, it'll be fine, and since you're putting together a new computer I don't see why there wouldn't be new 64 bit drivers for it all.
Given that the power supply is about the only component in your case where failure can lead to complete destruction of the rest of your hardware... I never have a problem spending an extra $30 on it. Which is all you're doing here, especially considering the efficiency and wattage ratings on the Seasonic are very accurate, vs. the exaggerated ratings and inefficiency of a lot of others (I don't know about that particular Rosewill, just in general) so you're likely not getting a full 550w out of it anyway.
You should stick with 2 sticks of RAM, regardless of how much you put in there. It will run in dual channel mode which will be a ton faster.
Rosewill 550W, last place in roundup (edit: not the same version blue selected but still):
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/atx-psu7_28.html#sect0
This Antec case has a decent PSU if blue doesn't want to spend extra...
Moooof...okay, I've got the PSU you recommended. I will be running a $25 MSI 7300GS until the 8800GT is released en masse.
I just gave Newegg a grand. Bastards. I will patiently await its arrival on my door step Thursday/Friday
I just gave Newegg a grand. Bastards. I will patiently await its arrival on my door step Thursday/Friday
TN-film panel. I recomend you find one and give it a go before you actualy buy.
As for OS, binary has said it all 4Gb Ram -> Vista 64bit.