My new compu is now working like a dream. :) After fetching it yesterday we went to fetch two nightstands (one of those thingies for beside the bed) to put our computers in. So beside the cables being cleaned up and the software installed I'm all done now. :)

Yalahii.

My computer:

 
Motherboard:   Asus A7N8X-X Deluxe
CPU:           AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Aero 9 cooling)
Memory:        1GB Crucial (probably the 

wrong speed for the motherboard)
Harddisk:      Maxtor 120GB - though I'd be
 really tempted by a 320GB SATA Raid combination, 
if I had more than 20GB of data :)
Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB
Case:          Antec Something. In Black, 

but not the Sonata case :(
CD-rewriter:   Lite-on Rewrit 52x32x52 IDE Ret
DVD:           Something cheap.
Mouse:         Microsoft cordless (rubbish) with an Intellimouse Explorer for backup
Keyboard:      Microsoft cordless
Floppydisk:    Not included :) -USB flash memory is where it is at, with another 

computer sitting nearby to be cannabilised in an emergency.
OS:            MS Windows XP Pro
Monitor:       Hitachi CW175(random extra
 figures) in Black - 17 inch TFT with 16ms
 refresh - this is where the money went.

Admittedly I overpaid for all the components, and I could do with a black DVD rewriter to match the rest of the chassis, but it is cute.

(weird formatting because CODE blocks do strange things in UBB)

[ January 20, 2004: Message edited by: footle ]

That's always the smart thing to do, Sahi. Buying good midrange components will give you a good price/lifetime ratio and you'll have a decent system for a while.

And indeed, I didn't have a look around the neighbourhood so far. I assume this is your new neighbourhood home?

Current Computer Specs:

Athlon XP2500+ (Barton, 1.8GHz, FSB333) @FSB380/~2.1GHz
Asus A7N8X Deluxe V2.0 (nForce 2 400 Ultra)
2x256MB Kingston Value RAM DDR266 CL 2, @DDR380 CL2.5

Asus GeForce 4 Ti4200, 128MB
Maxtor HDD 80GB 5400RPM
Maxtor HDD 120GB 7200RPM

Toshiba SDM1502 (ok, I'm not 100% sure about the model number...) DVD drive
Pioneer DVR-A05 DVD-RW drive
Floppy drive (Mitsumi, the last I'll have to use, or so I hope)

Chieftech Dragon DA-01 beige, full tower
Enermax 300W power supply

21" Sony F500 CRT screen


I recently upgraded the system, which is why the memory isn't exactly ideal. It does a surprisingly good job at keeping up though (and running *way* out of spec ;) ).

I got a 5.1 surround sound system in April, and was using it with my SB Live for a while, which is only 4.0 capable. Since the surround system is built around a surround receiver and home cinema speakers (actually hi-fi shelf speakers...), it is not capable of deriving the subwoofer signal from the 4 satellite signals. Thus I kept using stereo sound (which the receiver can handle, subwoofer and all...).

For christmas I got a Audigy 2, which is 5.1 capable and tried to set up the system. With no success whatsoever. The subwoofer channel would only work in the THX setup console, but not even in the speaker settings using the test function.

Great.
Just Great.

Turns out to be a driver bug that hasn't been fixed since the SB Live 5.1 days. I returned the soundcard and bought an nForce based mainboard instead, which isn't that much more expensive then the sound card... (~€70 => €110). As an added bonus, the new board supports Barton CPU's, so I replaced my aging Athlon XP2000 with an 2500 (for ~30€), which has quite a bit of overclocking headroom (the XP2000 had none, still being the 0.18µ version).

So now I have a ~30% faster system for ~130€ and finally working 5.1 surround sound... The Dolby Digital output of the nForce APU is by far the easiest solution if you have a home cinema receiver.

Of course I'll have the same problem again, when it's time to move on to a new platform. The CPU upgrade should definitly make this computer last till the end of the year though, so there's hope that decent sound cards will be available by then.... or so I hope :(

*tries to imagine Chaven at a computer*

:)

Wolfshade wrote:

*tries to imagine Chaven at a computer*

:)

Try imagining him inventing that computer. :)

Yalahii

yay. technobable. i like.

i noticed you guys tend to use athlon instead of intel. any reason?

I, myself, have an imac 1gig g4 with 1 gig ram and a 17" screen as my primary 'puter and an old Dell P3 700 running XP pro with 512 ram as my backup/secondary computer. for those times when the mac can't do what i need it to do. Seeing as how i don't ever use the computer for games, that is rare.

Heh, Anita, my last compu was bought over SEVEN years ago. :) So it was about time I stopped drooling.

Yalahii.

I run through a computer about every two years.  I'm sure I'll pick up a laptop for my next installment (in about 18 months, when I go to grad school).  I'll probably upgrade the ol' desktop a year after that.  I don't have any really heavy demands on my comp, but I have them well-distributed over a wide range of things, so I can get away with a midrange system - but I can't let it get too far out of date.  :(

*winces at fangler*  Son, here's a nickel.  Go buy yourself a better computer. :)

In actuality, I'm sure your decision to buy an iMac over a PowerMac (G4 or G5, depending on the time) was based on cost.  G5s are hideously expensive.  But... an iMac?  At least you get that nifty monitor.  When I need to use a Mac, I avoid anything with an i as a prefix like the plague.  Powerbooks for me, thank you very much... or one of those little supercomputers they call the G5.  ;)

Shall we take up a collection?  The "help fangler get a real computer, even if he wants a Mac" fund.

Ender

[ January 21, 2004: Message edited by: wiggin ]

Had to use an imac for work once upon a time *shudders*. Used a Mac PowerPC too at one point. Didn't seem to be *that* much of an improvement. Heh. But the G4 Powerbooks are gorgeous indeed. Played with one at a shop doing a demo. Way beyond what I'm willing to pay, though :( so will probably just upgrade both my desktop and notebook at some point this year. The notebook first because it's older.

You do have your own computer? ;)

*is starting to loathe javascript*

Yalahii.