The TBroom Mega Computer Thread

[rummy]

It sure is slow. I put Vista on my other Thinkpad T42 with a gig of ram, and it was sloooooooooooooooooooow. And, I didn't like the interface, and it took me forever to find things I used to find easy in XP. Needless to say, fdisk & format. It's running XP again.

[ranjaman]

Then why's ranja pushing me towards 4?

Because having 4Gb is cool.

And in my experience, having the same sticks of ram benefits stability, even on different channels.
Since you seem to be leaning towards dual-widescreens and you mentioned CS3, you can never have too much RAM, especially on Vista.

[Thunderbroom]

Thunder, you're making this more difficult than it needs to be.

 

 

I don't disagree with you. If I were up on this stuff, I wouldn't be asking here and thus making more if it than is necessary. There was a time in the past when I built my own machines and what not but I have no desire to do that now. I just want the machine to do what I want/need it to do.

[Jazz Ad]

 

There are generally no standalone apps (of any large substance) anymore on PCs.

Oh actually there are many more than you'd think.

Many apps only use a "facade" install to get file associations, shortcut menus and avoid freaking out people with a program Windows doesn't see. They don't write keys in the registry.

The best I can think of out of my head is Steam, Valve's distribution system. With the game data inside it can be rather large (mine is 21 gb !) but it doesn't install for real. You can copy and paste the Steam directory onto another computer, run the exe and all your games will work just fine.

[Thunderbroom]

Maybe I'll pony up the cash.

I'll be using the computer as a business write-off so maybe the more the merrier!

[t3ch]

I don't disagree with you. If I were up on this stuff, I wouldn't be asking here and thus making more if it than is necessary. There was a time in the past when I built my own machines and what not but I have no desire to do that now. I just want the machine to do what I want/need it to do.

 

 

Yeah a lot of the techy guys I know are like that. I'm still in the "I want to build everything!" phase I guess. They're just like "meh, it works, sweet."

[Jazz Ad]

In most cases, if you have install keys you shall be able to download the app from the editor's site.

As a sidenote, I have yet to fill my 2 gb memory, even with extreme combinations of apps. Virtual memory is turned off on my comp and no program begged for it yet.

[Captain Fathead]

What's the point of having dual widescreen monitors

 

Not trying to bust anyone's chops, but it seems kind of unnecessary. I'm working on dual monitors as we speak (video editing donchaknow), but if I had a widescreen, I wouldn't need them.

[bholder]

What's the point of having dual widescreen monitors Not trying to bust anyone's chops, but it seems kind of unnecessary. I'm working on dual monitors as we speak (video editing donchaknow), but if I had a widescreen, I wouldn't need them.

More is always better? I'd use then if I had them - can never get enough screen real estate.

[Captain Fathead]

More is always better? I'd use then if I had them - can never get enough screen real estate.

 

 

I guess... but i've only got so much space on my desk! If there's a big ol' desk, then rock them bad chickens!

[Thunderbroom]

I guess... but i've only got so much space on my desk! If there's a big ol' desk, then rock them bad chickens!

 

 

I've been using dual 19" CRT's for a couple of years. I don't know that I "need" them but do use them regularly. The widescreen format would just give me a little more real estate. What I like about dual-screen is having two program up, one on each monitor, and cutting/pasting between the two.

[fretless]

so what was the question again I can tell you once you go dual monitor it will be hard going back to one , nothing like dragging things out of the way .





:poke:

[t3ch]

 

In most cases, if you have install keys you shall be able to download the app from the editor's site. As a sidenote, I have yet to fill my 2 gb memory, even with extreme combinations of apps. Virtual memory is turned off on my comp and no program begged for it yet.

 

 

+1

 

I always have firefox (which always has about 20 tabs open), mIRC, pidgin, NOD AV, steam, last.fm, uTorrent, Peer Guardian, and foobar open... I've gamed on top of all this with 2gb on vista, with no problems.

 

As far as it being a 'resource hog', it's really not. You can turn off all the fancy graphics if you have an older video card or a slow cpu. With my year old system (which was far from top end at the time) I ran it perfectly.

 

My only complaint was file transfers among drives took longer to prepare itself than in XP due to the indexing system (which can also be disabled).

[Mudbass]

+1 As far as it being a 'resource hog', it's really not. You can turn off all the fancy graphics if you have an older video card or a slow cpu. With my year old system (which was far from top end at the time) I ran it perfectly. My only complaint was file transfers among drives took longer to prepare itself than in XP due to the indexing system (which can also be disabled).

 

 

 

So what you're saying is, Vista runs fine so long as you turn everything off.

Not exactly a strong sellng point is it.

[t3ch]

So what you're saying is, Vista runs fine so long as you turn everything off. Not exactly a strong sellng point is it.

 

Hardly. I ran with full settings. Having said that, it IS an operating system built around making use of a decent computer. I'm saying you CAN make it run faster if you're on an older system and want some of the new features. If it's not your thing for now then hey, that's cool. I'm just saying the argument makes no sense. Don't tell me you don't do *anything* to your XP installs.

 

What you're complaining about is the exact same thing people complained about when XP came out, and refused to run the interface in Win2k mode.

[jannda]

Out of the 8 or so people I know that have or had vista I think 2 still use it everyone else went back to XP and your programs almost gay ron teed won't work on vista even stuff made for vista won't work on vista.

[Thunderbroom]

I've got a Netgear WGT624 V2 wireless router in my basement for my home network. I'm in the process of ordering a new computer and will be giving my current desktop (Sony VAIO PCV-RX860 which has a 2.4Gz P4 & 1.5GB of RAM).

I currently use the wired network card but when I move it want to put in a wireless card so that I don't have to run a cable to her bedroom. Also, the new computer that I'm going to order will have Windows Vista installed.

A couple of questions:

[rummy]

It should work with Vista.

Are you looking for a USB type or a PC Card type?

 

USB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833150021

 

PC Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122144

[Thunderbroom]

It should work with Vista. Are you looking for a USB type or a PC Card type? USB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833150021 PC Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122144

 

 

It's a desktop. The latter's not gonna work for me.

 

USB or PCI.

 

Don't care which. I just want it to work.

[t3ch]

Routers are separate entities from your computer, so you don't have to worry about incompatabilities. The packets being sent is the same whether from xp or 2k or 98 or SuSE or redhat or mac.

 

I don't buy anything except for linksys anymore, even though I was a devoted netgear fan for a few years. All of my netgears were really quarky though and I grew tired of the hassle. Having said that, it's always easiest to just use the same brand/series of cards, however if you don't mind taking 30 seconds to set it up properly rather than using the company's bundled auto-setup, any card will suffice. I am currently using an expensive linksys card in my computer, and a $10 no-name off newegg one in another. Both work fine.

 

From what I've experienced thus far, the networking people are slow in releasing vista drivers. I know with my linksys card I am using drivers released directly from the chipset manufacturer. Google whatever model card you're looking at with vista somewhere in there, and see what results pop up.

 

If you need anything else specific, I'll be here at work refreshing every other 5 minutes, so...

[t3ch]

It's a desktop. The latter's not gonna work for me. USB or PCI. Don't care which. I just want it to work.

 

 

Go for PCI if you can help it.

[Derek5272]

1. Nothing works with Vista.

2. Wireless networks suck, IME. Stop being lazy, and buy a long ethernet cable and run it to her room :-P

 

I had a wireless card in my PC for the first 4 or 5 months I had it, and it was really crappy. Thought it might just be the card, but the hardware nuts my dad works with said that pretty much all network cards for PCs have some issues. So we ran a 100' cable through the walls to the basement, then back up the cold air return to my bedroom.

[t3ch]

1. Nothing works with Vista. 2. Wireless networks suck, IME. Stop being lazy, and buy a long ethernet cable and run it to her room :-P I had a wireless card in my PC for the first 4 or 5 months I had it, and it was really crappy. Thought it might just be the card, but the hardware nuts my dad works with said that pretty much all network cards for PCs have some issues. So we ran a 100' cable through the walls to the basement, then back up the cold air return to my bedroom.

 

I'm 'ing so hard right now that I can see my brain.

[Thunderbroom]

1. Nothing works with Vista. 2. Wireless networks suck, IME. Stop being lazy, and buy a long ethernet cable and run it to her room :-P I had a wireless card in my PC for the first 4 or 5 months I had it, and it was really crappy. Thought it might just be the card, but the hardware nuts my dad works with said that pretty much all network cards for PCs have some issues. So we ran a 100' cable through the walls to the basement, then back up the cold air return to my bedroom.

 

 

I've been running a wireless network in my home for years with three laptops and two desktops (with the latter being hardwired).

 

As far as your two points:

 

1. Sounds like you're a hater. I'm looking for fact, not opinion.

2. See #1.

[rummy]

It's a desktop. The latter's not gonna work for me. USB or PCI. Don't care which. I just want it to work.

 

 

Oh, oops. Yeah, you could get a PCI type, and stick it in your computer. But, I don't really see any advantage of that over getting a USB one.

 

I have the Netgear I posted, and it's been working for over a year so far. It has decent range, and comes with an USB extension cord if you're farther from the router.