General Computer Chat

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I definitely know the performance increase from a SSD. I work as a tech in the local computer store (Vermont Computing, Inc., if you're interested, lol), and I got to play with one this spring when I was putting into a customer computer. I about crapped myself when I noticed how fast it booted and that it maxed out the score in Windows 7. I remember that it was a 256GB OCZ SSD, but I don't quite remember the model. At the moment I have a 150GB Western Digital Velociraptor for my primary drive. It's still limited though, even if it does spin at 10,000RPM's. I can't wait for tax returns, because they'll definitely be going into upgrades for the computer. Getting the 16GB of RAM will only be a perk to the upgrades. I know that it's kind of pointless, other than it giving me warm fuzzies. lol
 
linkinpark187 said:
I definitely know the performance increase from a SSD. I work as a tech in the local computer store (Vermont Computing, Inc., if you're interested, lol), and I got to play with one this spring when I was putting into a customer computer. I about crapped myself when I noticed how fast it booted and that it maxed out the score in Windows 7. I remember that it was a 256GB OCZ SSD, but I don't quite remember the model. At the moment I have a 150GB Western Digital Velociraptor for my primary drive. It's still limited though, even if it does spin at 10,000RPM's. I can't wait for tax returns, because they'll definitely be going into upgrades for the computer. Getting the 16GB of RAM will only be a perk to the upgrades. I know that it's kind of pointless, other than it giving me warm fuzzies. lol
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One you get used to it, it's not the boot time that's impressive (that's a perk) it's the response time for applications. Even though the read/write speeds might be 3-5 times a normal HDD, it's the seek times that do it. Photoshop Elements and Fireworks CS5 open in 2-3 seconds from icon click to ready to go.

If you're a gamer, then you'll know how painfully slow Steam can be doing anything. It's a whole new program on a SSD. No more 1 min lockout on loading certain games.

The dual-drive thing is a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it. That said, if you're coming from a first generation Raptor, then the noise difference will be huge.
 
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I hate Black Friday. I bought a tablet several weeks ago, for $328 (USD) and Bestbuy will be selling it for $145 T_T (Acer Icona a100 (7in tab) tablet is awesome btw. )Totally sucks that I had to pay all my bills and that I am broke until December. I am going to miss all the good deals. I guess I am just going to have to make it up this tax season.

I am getting so tired of this keyboard on my laptop. I really, really dislike it. The keys feel loose. After three years of beating on them I guess they are just wore out. Any electronics that you have that are still kicking (figuratively speaking) that you are just tired of using?
 
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Woot, I read the fine print on Walmart's Christmas Price Guarantee and found out that I could get a gift card for the difference of the price. The advertised price for Best Buy was $189, so I got a gift card for $149. Spent some of the money on a new keyboard that I will use until I replace the laptop next year. I am a happy camper. :3
 
My keyboard is brand new and it is wireless! I like how I can just pick it up and take it over to my couch and just type on a comfortable area.:)
 
I'm just hoping they come out with the Raspberry Pi minicomputer by Christmas. I really want to make it into a streaming HTPC, and for $35? YES.
 
TheAppleFreak said:
I'm just hoping they come out with the Raspberry Pi minicomputer by Christmas. I really want to make it into a streaming HTPC, and for $35? YES.
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I've never heard of that. That's pretty neat, but at only 700MHz, will it be enough to process large files like 1080p? If nothing else, its a really neat idea. I kind of want to buy a Dell Zino HD. I like laptops, but I don't think we will be using them much longer. (tablets) I am very excited to see what Windows 8 will do in terms of mobile computing. But for now I need a very small desktop computer. I though about the Mac min, then I could get some experiences with a mac, but I am not sure if I want to make that jump. Any thoughts?
 
quilzel said:
I've never heard of that. That's pretty neat, but at only 700MHz, will it be enough to process large files like 1080p? If nothing else, its a really neat idea. I kind of want to buy a Dell Zino HD. I like laptops, but I don't think we will be using them much longer. (tablets) I am very excited to see what Windows 8 will do in terms of mobile computing. But for now I need a very small desktop computer. I though about the Mac min, then I could get some experiences with a mac, but I am not sure if I want to make that jump. Any thoughts?
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According to their wiki, the Raspberry Pi is 1080p30 H.264 compliant, so I don't think it'll be a problem. I'm not expecting it to be able to decode a Blu-ray disk, though, so what I'm gonna do is store any movies that I want to watch from the device on my gaming PC (which is more than powerful enough to transcode and stream video in real time) and then stream it over my LAN to the Pi on the only non-connected TV in the house.

I've tried out the Windows 8 beta, and when I could get it to work in VMware on my Mac (it lags horribly) it seems like it could legitimately change how we interact with our computers in the mobile space. In the desktop space, though, I'm sticking with the classic shell for life. I can imagine working the tile interface on a tablet, or even with a trackpad, but with a standard KBM it's incredibly awkward.

And a very small desktop computer, eh? Well, the Mac Mini is a nice computer, but it's relatively expensive and if you don't like OS X it might not be the best choice. How much power are you looking for in such a machine? How much are you willing to spend? And finally, how big do you you want the computer to be? I can help you there.
 
[SIZE="a"]For Christmas I really want a laptop. I want to play games like tf2 and minecraft but i want one that i could do homework on as well. So what kind of laptop should i get?[/SIZE]
 
I bought a Playstation 2 from Amazon.com and it just arrived, but the electricity in my country works better for a PAL version. What can I do to make the PS2 work? Don't know if this is the right place, but a game console is a computer right?
 
Dratizard said:
Yeah... there was one in the package :)
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I mean one that converts the stuff from the outlet to something the power cable to your PS2 can handle and is rated for. Not only can it fry your system, it's a fire hazard. As in, converting it from the 250 volts most outlets in Europe provide to the 125 volts that US devices and power cords are rated for.
 
I'm starting to save towards my next rig, which will definitely be a gaming rig. Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Crysis - everything Steam has to offer will be played at the highest quality possible.

ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3, $185
Intel Core i5-2500K, $234
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212+, $20
EVGA GeForce GTX580, $500
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W, $90
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4), $64
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB, $120
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM, $100
NZXT Phantom Black, $140
Razer Blackwidow, $80
Razer Deathadder, $40
SteelSeries QcK, $18
Logitech S120, $10
Razer Carcharias, $80
ASUS VS248H-P, $210
Approx. cost, $1891

A rating would be nice. :) I've been swapping parts for the past few months, updating it to make sure it'll be worth it. :3
 
donavannj said:
I mean one that converts the stuff from the outlet to something the power cable to your PS2 can handle and is rated for. Not only can it fry your system, it's a fire hazard. As in, converting it from the 250 volts most outlets in Europe provide to the 125 volts that US devices and power cords are rated for.
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Well, there was something in the package that said Input 60-250 v and I used it and it worked.
 
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