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Nobody likes a show off.
My machine is more than adequate for my purposes. It is/was a Dell Dimension 2015 which at the time was top of the line. Now that I've replaced the original crappy Samsung hard disk with with a Seagate (300 GB) of more than double the original memory, it is even better. yes I know more memory doesn't mean more speed, but I haven't noticed any reduction.
More HD memory wont, but more phyiscal ram usually does speed up as windows spends less time accessing the drive (and give a Linux machine enough RAM and it'll cache it's entire /bin and /lib directories, then shut the disc off, the resulting speed is terrifying).
My winbox is such high spec primarily because of Microsoft Train Sim, which although 6 years old, STILL batters the new machine at times.
The Linux box, which does everything BUT games for me (mail, web, p2p, office, tv, video, dvd, music, the whole lot). is an UNDERCLOCKED (to keep it cool) athlon2800+ with 1GB of RAM and a GeForce 5200. It does however have well over 1 TB of storage spread accross 4 IDE and 1 SATA drive.
TIP: 2GB of RAM or more? then go into your system properties (right click Bill's Computer, or go to start>run and type "control sysdm.cpl") and set your swapfile to the smallest allowed size. Result: windows will no longer fanny around swapping things into the pagefile for NO reason. You may get the "windows needs more virtual memory" message while sitting doing nothing on the dekstop.....which proves the point that it's doing it for no reason, as long as this is the only time you get the warning, nothing is wrong.
PS: to qualify the above, the advice on swapfiles being 2xRAM is ANCIENT and really refers to windows98 with 16MB of RAM.
Xoq wrote: my new machine scores a 5.9 in the vista experience score !!
put 4 250 GB in a raid0 config for 1 TB. all single platter WD RE series for greater MTBF. SATA 2 with 16 MB cache per drive. my sustained write speed is 180 MB per sec.
i use an esata 500 GB drive for my backup's. all of that space is new order MP3's video/concert rips etc.. (well not all new order)
if you care i can tell you the steppings in my CPU.
Puff! 
Doctor? wrote: Well since we're having a pissing contest......
Asus M2N32WS-Pro (full SLI16x support) Athlon 5600+ (2x2.8GHz, but clocked to 3.2) 2GB Geil ultralow latency (4 4 4 2T) RAM GeForce 8800GTS (clocked at same speed as 8800Ultra) Single Hitachi Deskstar 320MB Sata-II, soon to add 2x500Gb of same type in RAID0 array, the 320 will then become the local backup drive (main backups are obviously held on HAL9000, my trusty Gentoo Linux box) M-Audio Delta and Ozone+onboard soundmax M-Audio Midiman 2x2 Liteon external Burner (shared twixed all machines) Samsung internal burner Saitek R440 FF steering wheel...OK, OK, getting carried away.
Fac9000 and Hal9000 (windows and linux respectively) share a single 22" widescreen belinea monitor via a KVM switch.
132000 in aquamark3 a shade under 10K in 3dmark 06 (do not remember 05 score)
Motherboard supports 14 internal Hard Discs, 10 SATA+4IDE PLUS at least one E-Sata port.
still doesnt make fukin toast though eh
old lead foot wrote:
still doesnt make fukin toast though eh
Wanna bet?
Take the processor cooler off (or the industrial air conditioner fitted to the video card) and you have more than adequate toasting temperature.
So there
And for the Penguinista, we have this....
Snorrimon wrote: Jemma, what have you started?
Snorri xxx
Light blue touch paper and fook off, typical Missy.
Doctor? wrote: Well since we're having a pissing contest......
Asus M2N32WS-Pro (full SLI16x support) Athlon 5600+ (2x2.8GHz, but clocked to 3.2) 2GB Geil ultralow latency (4 4 4 2T) RAM GeForce 8800GTS (clocked at same speed as 8800Ultra) Single Hitachi Deskstar 320MB Sata-II, soon to add 2x500Gb of same type in RAID0 array, the 320 will then become the local backup drive (main backups are obviously held on HAL9000, my trusty Gentoo Linux box) M-Audio Delta and Ozone+onboard soundmax M-Audio Midiman 2x2 Liteon external Burner (shared twixed all machines) Samsung internal burner Saitek R440 FF steering wheel...OK, OK, getting carried away.
Fac9000 and Hal9000 (windows and linux respectively) share a single 22" widescreen belinea monitor via a KVM switch.
132000 in aquamark3 a shade under 10K in 3dmark 06 (do not remember 05 score)
Motherboard supports 14 internal Hard Discs, 10 SATA+4IDE PLUS at least one E-Sata port.
I was thinking of getting a TFT, now that prices have come down dramatically. I was wondering though, (a) Is it worth getting a 22" widescreen rather than a 20" normal ratio, are you actually getting more screen real-estate in 22:20 proportion or does it work out less of an increase because the aspect ratio is different, and does the gfx card or any games one might care to run (if one were into such trivial things) actually support it, and (b) Are TFT monitors OK at displaying things in non-native resolution now - surely there would be issues if you use a resolution thats not a simple multiple of the native one, or is that all fixed now?
PS overclocked eh? How many fans does your case have? Does it sound like a helicopter taking off?
Doctor? wrote: PS: Mice are for old women and kids with learning diffs.
WHO YOU CALLING AN OLD LADY!!!
First to fans and noise....
I built it in a fairly standard case and the temps were fine and it was very quiet indeed (ASUS Qfan drops all motherboard controllable fans to basically idle, and spins them up only if needed), but I got to thinking...."what happens when I stick another 4 hard drives in, and a second videocard?" (the answer being, "it's going to either melt, or stress the fans until you lose the will to live cos of them wobbling and whining".
I then built a machine for a cow-orker using this........
3x120mm fans
1x200mm fan!!! (like you said, a helicopter)
So I got one too, my temps are now stupidly low (CPU, which is the legendarily hot Athlon variety, barely hits 40 degrees under load), and with the fans on the lowest of their 3 settings (except "blue thunder" up top, which is on full blatter) it's unnervingly quiet, though certainly louder than the 24/7 linux box, which I've beaten to a near mute. Going to get a fan controller for it, so I have full range from off to concorde takeoff. Glad I built the machine for that guy cos I would have never bought a "gamer case".
As for TFT's, well, yes there are still some issues with sub native resolutions, but if you remember to hit the "auto" config button after you switch most of them vanish. It's also worth knowing that they tend to have a higher dot pitch or lower dpi, whatever way you want to look at it, so for the fine digital artist they are a bad idea (unless you have a big chequebook). The payback for the downrezing bugs is that you can fool the buggers into almost any res if you try hard enough. My linux X server refuses to let me step through the modes on it....cos it doesn't actually report any to the computer, although it maybe due to there being a KVM in the way (a KVM more over which does not support so high a res). Mine does 1680x1050,which sounds high, but it's really only stretched 1280x1024. Getting one that goes higher than that is pricey. Physically it is (screenwise) a bit less than an inch taller and a heck of a lot wider than a 17".
TFT's do have their other quirks, their "switching time" from black to white to black is somehow crapper than CRTs though I know not why, so sometimes fast motion can look a bit blurred.
Some games do support widescreen res, mostly more modern ones obviously. Those that don't behave like a widescreen TV and use streched pixels to fit a 4:3 res onto a 16:9 16:10 14:9 whatever screen, some people hate this, I love it, it looks great in racing games. You can force it not to do that easily on ATi cards and with some thought on NV ones.
If you can get one for fuck all like I did (200 knicker, thhangyoooverrrymooch), go for it.
***NOTE**** to ANYONE thinking of getting a screen to share between a computer and TV duties, do *NO*T* buy a tv with a computer input, TV's even so called "HD" ones have appallingly low resolution compared to even basic PC monitors. If you want the one screen that fits all, buy a big monitor and a TVcard for the PC (if you have SKY or a VCR, you will want one with an analogue input, if not, you can just get a pure digital one, shove an aerial up it's hole and enjoy freeview (and the ability to dump the raw mpg to disc....errrrm in linux anyway, good luck with that in winders)
EdelBrock wrote:
Doctor? wrote: PS: Mice are for old women and kids with learning diffs.
WHO YOU CALLING AN OLD LADY!!!
You're in the field, the ops centre calls you to say there is incoming shellfire.....
which is better
A. Open the orders menu, scroll down to "manouvres", select "defensive", in the resulting page tick "incomming fire" and don't forget to tick "retreat to last position". Now select "issue", then click "all" and "yesssss I am FUCKING SURE". B. Type "incomming --run --likefuck"
Doctor? wrote:
EdelBrock wrote:
Doctor? wrote: PS: Mice are for old women and kids with learning diffs.
WHO YOU CALLING AN OLD LADY!!!
You're in the field, the ops centre calls you to say there is incoming shellfire.....
which is better
A. Open the orders menu, scroll down to "manouvres", select "defensive", in the resulting page tick "incomming fire" and don't forget to tick "retreat to last position". Now select "issue", then click "all" and "yesssss I am FUCKING SURE". B. Type "incomming --run --likefuck"
If incoming is dropping in, screw the computer...I just go running screaming like a little girl
Snorrimon wrote:
NOOLigan wrote: I need more Scotch again.
I need a lie down...
Snorri xxx
Not as bad as I do, tomorrow my 2x500GB drives arrive. I am setting them up as RAID-0 so instead of appearing as 2x 300Gb/s drives they will appear and behave as a single 1Terrabyte 600Gb/s drive (the RAID controller achieves this by writing to both at once, in reality it will not quote manage 600 as there is always some overhead loss).
My problems only begin then, I HAVE to rationalise my messy hard drives, and get all my free space tidied into contiguous blocks. I can barely picture how everything is laid out now never mind what I need to do to sort it all out.
My linux machine has nearly 30 local partitions spread accross five drives, 7 of which are NTFS which Linux cannot write to (MS do not publish standards and it's too mental to reverse engineer).
I may go insane before I am done. But if I survive I will have 2 very well appointed computers.
Thanks for the info.
(Last time I looked at TFTs it was £200 for a 19", now it seems to be £160 for a 20 or even 22". Hmmm, maybe if I wait a bit they'll pay me to take one)
Edit - I like that case. Maplin do one where the entire side of the thing is one huge fan, but I don't think it has a filter - the entire machine will fill up with dust within a month I'd have thought.
