|
Howard - Discusses his new Computer |
12/12/2005
16:22 @Ensign_H: I just bought HP m7259c which is multi-media, Athlon dual core, at 4200+ and so far and thoroughly pleased with it. Added Radion 7200 board for dual monitors and a cheap PCI card for 3rd monitor
16:22 Ticks: thanks Howard - bought that on the internet?
16:23 @Ensign_H: no, bought at Sam's club - $1350 for computer with 19 inch LCD
16:23 Ticks: wow great deal - will go today
16:23 @Ensign_H: The monitor is worth $320, the Personal Video Recorder card is worth $100 - so that basically leaves 930 for the computer - I wanted SPEED so I got the 4200
16:24 Ticks: right
16:24 @Ensign_H: I added the video cards - got the radion board for $100 after rebate - it is a PCI Express card and had old PCI video card that we put in from older computer for 3rd monitor
16:25 Ticks: digital monitors or analog?
16:25 @Ensign_H: The computer has Window Media center operating system which is cool for watching TV, doing FM radio, etc. The ATI board will do one DVI port and one analog port and includes a converter plug to change the DVI to analog if you use 2 analog monitors
16:26 Ticks: k - which did you get digital or analog monitors?
16:27 @Ensign_H: Our older LCD panels are analog input only - the 19 in with the computer is analog. I only have 1 19 in LCD that has a DVI port for digital and chances are it is mostly used via its analog port input
16:28 Ticks: I will tell Sam you sent me and get the special "Ensign Deal" ;-)
16:28 @Ensign_H: Sam might be sold out because of Christmas demand. I bought 2 - showed a friend, and he went right out and got himself one. I think I did my homework on getting a high performance machine
16:29 @Buffy2: Anyone who needs to get computer should be getting one before the new windows - Longhorn? - comes out and machines come with that on it.
16:29 @Ensign_H: You can get Pentium dual core or hyperthreaded machines, or Athlon CPUs. Most reviews for CPU performance give the edge to Athlon design. Also, the numbering of the Athlon is worthy of understanding. The Athlon runs at slower clock speads, the 4200 is at 2.4 GHz.
16:31 Ticks: hmmm that seems slow in todays puters...
16:31 @Ensign_H: now you might think getting a Pentium at 3.0 GHz gives you the performance edge...not so...
16:31 Ticks: ahhhh - did think that
16:31 TOC: H...when I was looking into processors, it seemed the edge went to Athlon for gaming and single use functions, but for multi-tasking math based needs, Intell seemed better ...especially where multimonitor needs are present
16:32 @Buffy2: that is the last I knew too toc
16:31 @Ensign_H: the test bet review sites show that the Athlon with its 64 bit bus instead of the Pentium 32 bit bus makes a big difference. The numbering on the Athlon is 4200, and what that means is that when compared to a Pentium
16:32 Ticks: But do we have software that uses 64 bit?
16:32 @Ensign_H: The Pentium would have to be running at 4.2 GHz to be equivalent performance and the test sites CONFIRM the numbering, and say the specs are conservative if anything and it is TRUE, and not just marketing hype for the numbering on Athlon go be 4200 - so go by the number, and not by the CPU Clock speed
16:33 Ticks: thanks Howard !
16:33 @Ensign_H: The dual core Pentiums are the 800 series like 820, 830, 840
16:33 @Ensign_H: The Hyperthread are the 600 series
16:33 @Ensign_H: One other gotcha on the Pentium - though they have some at 3.6 GHz, they say that when the CPU load increases, the temperature goes up and some models have forced clock slow down to reduce the heat
16:34 @Ensign_H: So while 3.6 is the Peak, when you do heavy processing the clock speed adjusts downward and you get less than you thought you were going to get
16:35 @Ensign_H: A good web site to educate yourself is PCWorld and their articles on How to Buy a Computer. If and when we have an Ensign compiled for 64, those with 64 will just be the beneficiaries. In the meantime our 32 bit compiles run beautifully on the 64 design.
16:36 Elroch: Can't be much 64 bit code out there
16:36 @Ensign_H: True, however you are ready for the future - also, not much using dual core either. However, with the operating system you can assign the task to a particular CPU if you want to and thus one heavy task can be assigne to run on core #1, and another on core #2.
16:37 Ticks: Larry P told a group that you are the Smartest person he has ever met -- and now I see a glimpse of what he meant...
16:37 TOC: I have been watching the prices on the dual core HT machines on the Dell web site...they are starting to come down
16:37 @Ensign_H: So far, I have left it up to the operating system to use either and on the task monitor I see the graphs for both CPUs stay pretty balanced
16:38 @Buffy2: Do you think esignal and Ensign will have to be on same core - like IB and ensign?
16:38 @Ensign_H: That I do not know yet buffy and will have to do a staged test to force esignal and Ensign to be assigned different cores. I suspect that they will run fine on different cores because we are connecting to basically an address to establish the pipeline
16:40 Elroch: Glad to see you still like buying a new PC, Howard. Always fun!
16:41 Ticks: Thanks Howard -- I am trying to call Sam's Club now... My local Costco does not have anything like it and I am not a Sam's member but will join if they have your setup
16:42 @Ensign_H: The agony of getting a new computer it is takes us about a month to convert all activities to the new computer, so we upgrade the office on a rare basis. It has be 4 years since we last did so and the old computers are 1 Gig machines and so we really notice the speed boost
16:42 Ticks: so you have 2 gig ram in new ones?
16:43 @Ensign_H: the computer I bought has 1 Gig ram, and 250 Gig hard disk and PVR board for video input/conversion - DVD player - and DVD/CD +- RW burner too : and the 8 memory type slots for external
16:44 Elroch: Handy for copying
16:44 @Ensign_H: true elroch
16:44 Ticks: wow that was a great deal with the 19 inch monitor included
16:44 @Ensign_H: Prices have come down considerably as the 19 in monitor used to be 750. Now can get them for 230 on web and 280 to 320 in the stores
16:45 Ticks: yup
16:45 Ticks: digital are about $100 more and wonder if it is worth it
http://www.charts.dacharts.com/2005-12-10/TOC3.png
6:46 @Ensign_H: my FSB is 2 GigHz, which is one reason for the higher performance of 4200. I think it is a better deal. Doubt you need 500G hard disk. 250 G is huge - my older machines had 30G disks
16:47 Ticks: what about RAID
16:47 @Ensign_H: Doubt need more than 1 G ram - older machines had 256 K ram
16:47 Ticks: Is it good to have for speed and autobackup?
16:47 dblue2: TOC needs mega HD to store all his chART
16:48 @Ensign_H: The drives are the same raid 7200 RPM
16:48 TOC: I dont think I have seen any Intel processors with more than 800 FSB
16:48 @Ensign_H: that is correct TOC
16:48 @Ensign_H: Intell is stuck at 800 FSB - Athlon uses 2 Meg FSB and it is 64 bit bus instead of 32 bit bus
16:48 Ticks: FSB means ???
16:49 @Ensign_H: Front Side Bus
16:49 TOC: But I noticed a HUGE difference going from 1G to 2G ram...bought Corsair 1G strips
16:49 @Ensign_H: TOC you are special case - you are a power user extreme
16:49 dblue2: lol... got that right H
16:49 @Ensign_H: and it is to Ensign's credit that we can keep up with the demands you place on the program and the computer
16:49 TOC: Howard...that intell processor is a 32bit?
16:50 @Ensign_H: yes all pentiums are 32 bit
16:50 TOC: ah...i see....well, a 64 bit athlon SHOULD smoke an intel 32 bit
16:50 @Ensign_H: The pentium dual core at 3.2 GHz is the 830 model I believe, though not stated in the specs - that is the purpose of the rating, so you can compare athlons with pentiums. The 4200 is equivalent to the Pentium at 4.2 GHz, and this machine posted is a 3.2 GHz machine - so in general, you get more with the 4200 Athlon running at 2.4 GHz. which also runs cooler temp
16:52 @Ensign_H: Let me go see sams on web - also can buy from HP
16:52 @Ensign_H: 1 moment
16:52 Ticks: thanks - will look as well - but the Sam's deal should be better than HP
16:52 @Ensign_H: yes'
www.samsclub.com/
then go to desktop computers
16:54 Ticks: thanks Howard...
16:54 @Ensign_H: it is the 1350 one,
16:54 Ticks: great - thanks for your help....
16:55 @Ensign_H: Anyway, in summary, I have had machine for 3 weeks now, and not had single reason for any displeasure
16:55 Ticks: that is good enuf for me...
16:55 @Ensign_H: I think it is a great computer, and my primary interest was in speed, so I went with the 4200 model instead of other athlons at lower performance, or with any of the Pentium choices.
16:56 @Ensign_H: I have added an ATI Radeon 700 Pro video card for $100 after rebates to give dual monitor capability.
16:56 Ticks: if they don't have I will order on the phone - buy the card on the web or also at Sam?
16:57 @Ensign_H: Kimball for his machine has moved old PCI video card into his machine in addition to the Radeon card to give himself 3 montor capability.... old PCI card is a $20 card.
16:58 @Ensign_H: Bought the ATI video at Best Buy for $199 with $100 mail in rebate.... thus $100 net. Putting in the video myself was super simple to do.
16:59 @Ensign_H: You edit the boot up process to disable the mother board video and have it use the ATI card instead. Process was not difficult.
16:59 @Buffy2: glad they made it easier to do that
16:59 @Ensign_H: ok, bye, you all have a great day.
16:59 Ticks: Will the cheap card for 3rd monitor be a problem for all equal performance from the monitors?
17:00 Ticks: Thanks Howard
17:00 @Buffy2: bye Howard thanks for sharing your knowledge on this
17:00 Ticks: really value your assistance - very helpful - needed that
17:00 @Ensign_H: The older PCI board does show some slight color banding in areas of solid color, so we do see a slight difference between boards, however, it is trivial and not something we will notice 99% of the time when the 3rd monitor is used for mostly white background forms.
17:01 Ticks: good
17:01 @Ensign_H: The ATI is a PCI Express slot card - that is important detail to write down
17:01 Ticks: thanks -- needed to know that to buy it
17:01 @Ensign_H: There is an AGI [AGP - editor] version, but you want the PCI Express version as that is higher performance or you can get nVidea GForce 6600 boards for $169 that are supposed to be even better, but I am not into gaming and the ATI boards are perfectly fit my my purposes
17:02 Ticks: wow I will be styling soon
17:02 @Buffy2: hardest part of getting a computer is deciding what to get
17:03 Ticks: k
17:04 @Ensign_H: good luck
17:04 @Buffy2: bye :-)
17:04 Ticks: will send a check for your consulting service...
17:04 @Ensign_H: let me know if you get the HP m7259c
17:04 Ticks: going to for sure
17:04 @Ensign_H: no check needed, just helping is sufficient pleasure for me
17:05 Ticks: thanks - you always very helpful
17:05 @Ensign_H: are you into cameras and video too??
17:05 Ticks: yes - but amatuer - very new to it
17:05 @Ensign_H: digital video with firewire?
17:05 Ticks: got junk camera - only have usb now - no firewire
17:06 @Ensign_H: computer has firewire too
17:06 Ticks: oh nice - can't wait - will tell my wife you ordered me to get it -- so I can trade better :-)
17:06 @Ensign_H: my older video is analog, and the PVR board lets me input its video and audio. The new video camera is firewire, which is even easier and faster (as it should be)
17:07 Ticks: if you had the time you could make some killer training videos
17:07 @Ensign_H: yes, if I had some time...need to check out something simple like web streaming video as I teach the class - possibly it would work and camera could show teacher occasionally and computer screen frequently
17:11 @Ensign_H: bye
17:11 Ticks: bye - thanks - was totally confused as to what to get
17:12 Ticks: but need to get UPS too
-----------------
Ticks did purchase the computer and this is what he had to say:
5:53 @Ensign_HA: Did Ticks buy a computer Saturday?
15:53 @Buffy2: We haven't seen him so he might be setting it up - I know he left to go get it from Sam's.
15:54 Ticks: Howard -- Yes got the computer.. using it now...love it. Thanks for your excellent recomendation...Sam had one for me :-)
15:55 Ticks: Thanks again Howard...
15:57 @Ensign_HA: excellent ticks......lots faster then before, isn't it
15:57 @Buffy2: do you have multimonitor on it ticks?
15:58 Ticks: putting the card in today -- getting it from Best Buy as HA suggested.... right now one monitor.....very fast
15:58 @Ensign_HA: was was old computer clock speed, memory and CPU type?
15:59 Ticks: old one - had Intel chip - about 5 years old
15:59 @Buffy2: bet you are really seeing a big difference then
15:59 Ticks: yes big big diference - Will still keep it on network for email etc.
16:02 Ticks: Can't believe how much faster this one is and the monitor is killer
16:04 Ticks: Told my wife that I was ordered by Howard to buy one so my trading would improve... ;-)
16:05 Ticks: Now she want's a new car -- so her driving will improve ?
16:08 Ticks: tell her what Howard said, "Computers are for making money" cars just burn up money...
16:09 Ticks: Her answer, "Well I will charge you to ride in it"
16:14 Ticks: The sku number for it is 996721 - had to get that to call around to find it
16:14 Ticks: As Howard said the monitor is worth at least $300 and the other goodies make it a super bargain -- Thanks again for the help Howard.
16:16 Ticks: Sam's provides an unbelievable guarantee as well.