Oh, dang, I had missed this thread (well actually I had read it had no time to reply and forgot to reply later).
Nice computer. I'll comment on its major components based on my experience and knowledge:
- AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Processor
Good choice. It's more cost effective than Intel's Pentium 4, which means it's faster for the same price or cheaper for the same speed.
- Microsoft? Windows? XP Home Edition
I'd recommend Windows 2000, it's the same core, only faster and without shiz. Saves your RAM and CPU cycles.
- ASUS A7N8X nForce2 Deluxe Mainboard
I personally like MSI (MicroStar) much better, but since you won't be assembling it, you don't need to care much for this.
- 512MB DDR 333 RAM (PC2700) Memory
Good for the future. The most important part is that it's DDR RAM: the RAM speed is usually one of the main bottlenecks of today's PCs, and cheaper PCs use SDR RAM which is slower. (Note: actually, both SDR and DDR are equally fast, but DDR recovers/stores two words in every cycle, making it effectively 2x faster, hence Double Data Rate.)
- 120GB 7200rpm Ultra DMA-133 HDD with 8MB Buffer
That's how I like them. No matter how large your HD is, you'll eventually need more. But this one should last a lot.
- 128MB nVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 - Personal Cinema
Haven't read of the latest GeForces, I guess this should be good.
- 15"TFT Flat Panel Multimedia Monitor
I'd suggest getting a 17" CRT instead (cheaper, larger, looks better, versatile sync), but I don't know if you can or want to change it.
- SONY DVD Multi Burner* + 16x DVD-ROM Drive
I suppose these are two different drives, at least that's what I can see in the picture. This is good, because you don't want to wear your expensive DVD burner watching Matrix. That's what I don't like of combo drives, you should always have two separate drives, one for reading, and another for recording, this way you can replace the cheaper one once its life ends, and still keep the more expensive burner which has been used less.
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio with Soundstorm technology
Make sure the satellites aren't too small.
- Creative Inspire 6700 6.1 - (FREE upgrade from 5.1)
Good if you're into 5.1 (or 6.1) sound; I'd use the motherboards built-in otherwise.
- Internet Ready V.92 56Kbps data/fax/voice modem
This is probably on board. You won't need it because you have broadband, but it comes with the motherboard.
- Network Ready integrated 10/100 Ethernet Adaptor
You'll need Ethernet for your broadband service (unless it uses USB, but even if it does, I'd recommend Ethernet), and you can have a LAN to connect the computers in your home.
- Gamepad + Joystick + X-treme-2 Games Bundle
I don't know which games nor have sene the gamepad. Out of all the gamepads I've seen, I liked Logitech's WingMan RumblePad best; it's not ergonomical, but it's good for PSX emulation since it has a lot of buttons.
- Creative Labs Web-Cam
So we'll be able to see you while posting?
- FREE Microsoft Works 7.0
Enough if you don't need an office suit; get OpenOffice (free) or MS Office ($$) if you do though.
- FREE Pinnacle Studio 8 SE Video Editing Software
Now you can edit your pr0n vids [img]smile.gif[/img] .
- FREE 3 Year On-Site Warranty (UK Mainland only)
You'll be getting a new computer by the time the warranty expires, so it's good.
- Midi Tower Case/6 USBs + Additional Features
Frontal USB ports are useful for stuff you don't want to keep connected all the time like digital cameras. However, whether you can use them or not it depends on the motherboard. I'm sure you can, since it's a full system you're buying and they chose the parts for it.
Summarizing, I think it's pretty good; the main things I like of it are the processor and RAM; the things I'd change is the OS and the monitor, but I guess you can't change much stuff in complete PCs (I get the parts and build PCs myself so I always get what I want, but you need to know a few things to do it and to study the components you'll be using to see if there's a problem etc., so it's usually safer to buy PCs like this unless you're really into it).
----
Two - With this computer coming, we're hoping it will replace my TV. I've heard mention of a VGA box or something that will play TV via scart on a computer monitor. What can you tell me about this?
Well there are three ways you can watch TV in your computer monitor:
- Using a TV card (careful with them though, not all of them are high quality and stereo)
- With a computer monitor that has built-in TV tuner
- With a RF to VGA, AV to VGA, or SCART to VGA converter.
I suppose you mean the last one. There are many of them but they are hard to find. Depending on what kind of TV system you have you'll need one or another. For example, if you have a digital or analog TV system (cable or satellite) or digital air TV, chances are that a SCART to VGA box is what you need. But if you want to see analog air TV (i.e. as with a conventional antenna), you'll need a RF to VGA. Videocameras usually need AV, and consoles need a special VGA box each.
If you're getting a standalone television though, I recommend a Philips CRT (unless you don't have much space and don't mind spending more money on a TFT TV). Currently, Philips CRTs are the best of the market, better than Sony's (contrary to popular belief); I have verified this personally. Note that not only Philips TVs have Philips CRTs, there are other makes (like the now closing Grundig) which use these tubes. As for the features, I'll comment on what I would care:
- 16:9 (widescreen): Good for movies, not necessary for gaming. It's more expensive and takes more space; it's up to your needs.
- Planar CRT: Important. In case you're getting a CRT, being planar is a plus, but cylindrical (i.e. curved horizontally but not vertically) which aren't too curved look nearly as good.
- Black CRT (if you're getting a CRT): Very important. Improves contrast and image quality.
- 100 Hz: Important to very important. Protects your eyes, doesn't hurt when you have a headache, and is much more stable and nice.
- 3 speakers and/or Virtual Dolby Surround/TruSurround/similar: I recommend it, but only big TVs have this
- Teletext: Not important, unless you're into it.
- Inputs: Fairly important: It's nice to have two SCART inputs in case you want to have a console and a VCR for example, and frontal A/V inputs for most videocameras and other stuff.
If you want more details on computer hardware, TVs, or CRT technologies, just ask.
Bookmarks