Getting a new computer for Christmas

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:49 pm

CompKronos wrote:
DrXThirst wrote:
CompKronos wrote:don't get the laptop, run BSD on a calculator watch that should work
I'm assuming you're saying that the laptop is horrible?
no i saying buying into dell for the cheap laptop isn't worth it, even the calculator watch which would be God-awful would be better so you could get a non-dell, the laptop actually seems pretty quality except i would get it without OS so you could install Ubuntu later and not pay service charges on OS install however you probably can't change laptop specs because it is bundled.

Haha, I don't see why you guys are hating on dell so hard. I really like them. Also, no, I can't change it. It can either have Windows XP or Ubuntu, which is what I have installed on there. I don't know what that is, is it any good?

CompKronos · Post by **CompKronos** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:26 pm

DrXThirst wrote:
CompKronos wrote:
DrXThirst wrote:
CompKronos wrote:don't get the laptop, run BSD on a calculator watch that should work
I'm assuming you're saying that the laptop is horrible?
no i saying buying into dell for the cheap laptop isn't worth it, even the calculator watch which would be God-awful would be better so you could get a non-dell, the laptop actually seems pretty quality except i would get it without OS so you could install Ubuntu later and not pay service charges on OS install however you probably can't change laptop specs because it is bundled.
Haha, I don't see why you guys are hating on dell so hard. I really like them. Also, no, I can't change it. It can either have Windows XP or Ubuntu, which is what I have installed on there. I don't know what that is, is it any good?

Ubuntu is a linux distro, one of my faves easy to use and still i get a kick out of sudo apt-get install

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:22 pm

So, will it run good on 1GB of RAM and an "Intel Atom 1.6ghz Processor" ?

CompKronos · Post by **CompKronos** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:49 am

DrXThirst wrote:So, will it run good on 1GB of RAM and an "Intel Atom 1.6ghz Processor" ?

easily, all linux distro's are very flexible and those are great specs to run linux. Also you could actually find a way to run linux on a calculator watch. Hell i can put linux on my ipod so that should say something

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:07 am

Oh, wow. I've heard of people putting Linux on their Xbox's and Xbox 360's, but never 'Calculater Watches' and 'iPods', lol. Ok, so that sounds really good. Hopefully it will work well for me at school. Thanks for the information!

TomClancey · Post by **TomClancey** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:05 pm

Good choice on the Mini 9, I'm considering getting one myself soon.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:31 pm

I'll let you know how it turns out.

TomClancey · Post by **TomClancey** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:43 pm

Oh, and Dell just recently released the new XPS gaming desktops. (Comes with the LGA1366 and Core i7's, might want to look into that!)

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:54 pm

Oh, I'm definitely looking. I saw it at school today. Also, what's i7? The one I saw wasn't a quad-core, so is it still good? Or did I just miss the dual/quad core part?

TomClancey · Post by **TomClancey** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:52 pm

i7 is Intel's new Quad-Core Architecture. The highest end (Core i7 985 Extreme is a quad-core, same as the 940 2.66GHz).

In retrospect, I would just get the 940 @ 2.66ghz or 2.89ghz? As it's the most cost effective. The 985 is another $1100 anyway.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:11 pm

Well, I think I've made my final decision. I have to get this laptop for school, and that's the only reason I'm getting it. I need a cheap, small computer to use.

So, here's my last configuration... I hope.

Desktop wrote: Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9550 (12MB L2, 2.83GHz, 1333FSB)
RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4DIMMs
HDD: 1TB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB supporting HDMI
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Speakers: Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer
Monitor: Dell S2409W 24" Full HD Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition SP1, 64-Bit
Accessories: 8GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive

Total Price (After all rebates/instant savings/daily deals/etc.): $1,919.00

However, it also comes with the "Inspiron Mini 9" that have the specs listed below.

Inspiron Mini 9 wrote: Processor:Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
RAM: 1GB DDR2 at 533MHz
HDD: 16GB Solid State Drive
Graphics Card:
Operating System: Ubuntu Linux version 8.04.1
System Color: Obsidian Black

Total Price: $199.00

TOTAL OVERALL PRICE: $2,143.00

EDIT: I think I'll have to upgrade the Graphics Card later on.

CompKronos · Post by **CompKronos** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:28 pm

DrXThirst wrote: EDIT: I think I'll have to upgrade the Graphics Card later on.

or throw in a second/third for some crossfire (never understood if you need at least three for crossfire)

sounds very nice, and props on the sig-atar very nice.

Cryticfarm · Post by **Cryticfarm** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:32 pm

lololol, 256 MB gfx card.
Also, 8GB ram is completely overkill. Seriously. You don't need ultimate, your video card will be really slow with that monitor. Your ram is a bit slow. Processor is way ahead of your video card. That sound card is unnecessary when you only have 2 speakers.
Done

.

shadowkhas · Post by **shadowkhas** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:36 pm

Cryticfarm wrote:lololol, 256 MB gfx card.

He only needs it for school.

TomClancey · Post by **TomClancey** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:37 pm

shadowkhas wrote:He only needs it for school.

The laptop for school, desktop for personal use.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:52 pm

Cryticfarm wrote:lololol, 256 MB gfx card.
Also, 8GB ram is completely overkill. Seriously. You don't need ultimate, your video card will be really slow with that monitor. Your ram is a bit slow. Processor is way ahead of your video card. That sound card is unnecessary when you only have 2 speakers.
Done .

You don't know what I do with my computer. :/
Also, I seriously doubt that it will be slow with the monitor.
The sound card boosts the sound for any type of speakers.

shadowkhas · Post by **shadowkhas** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:58 pm

The laptop for school, desktop for personal use.

D'oh.

The sound card is good, but I doubt you'll hear better with it with those speakers than you would with onboard. If you plan to upgrade to a better system, then keep it, because EAX and higher sample rates in some games is always fun.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:28 pm

Ok, thanks. Do you guys think the laptop will be good for NOTHING but school?

shadowkhas · Post by **shadowkhas** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:01 pm

Not especially, no. It has a tiny, single-core CPU, and a pretty basic hard drive. Probably quite good for taking notes and internet browsing.

guysullavin · Post by **guysullavin** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:06 pm

shadowkhas wrote:Not especially, no. It has a tiny, single-core CPU, and a pretty basic hard drive. Probably quite good for taking notes and internet browsing.

not even internet browsing, flash actually requires quite a bit, i remember my mac was so bad that it couldn't play a 30 fps flash game/movie without massive lag