We haven't done this in a while... PC1 (surf and chat PC) -------------- P2-400 786 megs of ram Internal Zip CD-ROM 10 Gig HD 8meg Video Card (generic) WIN 98se 17' Flat Screen Monitor PC 2 (main PC, entertainment, CD Burning) -------------- P3-866 256 megs of ram Plextor 16X CDRW 8X DVD ROM 50 GIG HD (20 + 30) 15" Flat Panel Monitor Logitech Webcam Linksys Wireless Router DSL Modem WIN98se 4 port USB Hub Laptop (mobile surfing) -------------- P3-700 128 megs of ram 8X DVD, CD-ROM, Zip drive, A: Drive (4 seperate replaceable bay drives) 20 GIG HD Linksys Wireless PC Card WIN98se
I have 3 PCs and 3 Laptops but I'll detail my best machine: Xi Workstation ----------------------- Dual Athlon MP 1800+ w/ Tyan MB 2 GB RAM 440 GB Drives total: - Adaptec RAID w/ 4 60 GB drives set to RAID 0 - 2 additional 100 MB hard drives DVD Seagate 40 GB tape backup External Zip CD burner External Zip Peerless External Zip 250 MB External 30 GB firewire drive 64 MB GeForce 3 video Sony 18" LCD XP Pro Linksys router External Voice/Fax modem etc. How's that for the geek meter, DoD?
Did somebody say geek? Desktop: Power Mac G4/400 ("Sawtooth") 1132 MB RAM Internal Zip Internal DVD-ROM External CD-RW 2 Internal HDs, 8 GB and 20 GB 16 MB ATI Radeon AGP video card Mac OS X 10.1.5 17" Apple Studio Display CRT monitor MS 5-button mouse, silver Wacom Graphire tablet Generic 3rd-party Mac keyboard, graphite Laptop: Dell Inspiron 8100, P3m/1000 256 MB RAM Internal CD-RW Internal 20 GB HD 16 MB nVidia GeForce2Go AGP video card Hot-swappable 3.5" drive Windows XP Home, OEM version MS 5-button mouse, beige MS Natural Keyboard Elite 14" built-in LCD monitor Used with both: Gravis Gamepad Pro (10-button digital) Logitech WingMan Action (9-button digital + analog + throttle) SMC Barricade switch for cable modem Epson Stylus Color 740 inkjet printer Palm III docking station Sony Cybershot, 1.3 Mpx Rio 500 MP3 player, 64 MB Belkin 4-port USB hub Unplugged desktop sitting in the kitchen: Power Mac 7200/75 (PowerPC 601, "G1" chip) 128 MB RAM Internal Zip Internal CD-ROM Internal 500 MB HD 1 MB generic video card Mac OS 8.5 or so 15" Apple monitor, red and green guns are kaput -- everyone looks like Holden Of course, Cohen squashes my setup like a grape, but I'm happy with it (until I get seriously back into FPSes).
<u>Computer No.1 -> Gaming PC:</u> <i>I use this computer for gaming and surfing the Web. This is my no.1 PC. I just replaced the motherboard last week, and I re-installed Windows XP. I spent almost all day installing every game I have, and I still have 30 Gigs left on my Windows partition!</i> 465W Enlight Power Supply AMD Athlon 1800 Thermalright AX-7 HSF MSI KT3 Ultra Motherboard 764 MB Micron PC 2100 RAM Geforce 2 overclocked to 470/230 Linksys NIC Soundblaster Audigy Lite-On 40-20-48 CDRW Creative Labs DVD Drive Floppy Western Digital Special Edition (8 MB Buffer) 120 Gig HD - 7200 RPM Seagate 80 Gig HD - 7200 RPM Partitions: 60 Gig Windows XP 60 Gig Extra Storage 60 Gig Extra Storage 20 Gig Linux and Linux Swap <u>Computer No. 2 -> CD Burning PC</u> <i>This computer has only one purpose - to hold my Live Concert CD image files and burn them. I save them all with CloneCD ripped at top quality. Then when I need to burn a CD, I already have it on the HD. Saves a LOT of time, plus keeps my collection safe)</i> AMD Athlon Slot 750 Asus K7V motherboard Riva TNT 2 PCI Graphics card Linksys NIC 256 Meg Crucial PC 133 RAM Floppy Yamaha (24-12-32) 3200EZ CDRW (rip and burn) Yamaha 8-4-24 CDRW (I use this only to rip, not to burn) Maxtor 15 Gig HD (All this does is hold Windows XP and CloneCD, nothing else) Seagate 80Gig 7200 RPM HD I'm adding more HD to this soon, as I'll need about 150 Gigs to hold everything I have right now. <u>Computer No. 3 -> Entertainment Computer</u> <i>This PC is especially cool. It hooks up to my TV via a built-in S-Video connector, and into my Stereo with the Hercules Gametheater XP Soundcard. But the coolest part is this -- the PC is almost 100% silent. The SV24s were originally very loud. Well, I wanted it to be so quiet I couldn't hear it, so I found a distributor for some silent fans, replaced the case fan and the power supply fan, then got a processor that doesn't need a fan, and Voila! You can't hear it. I have a wireless keyboard/mouse that I can use on it, and I store Seinfeld Episodes, Family Guy Episodes, Concert videos, etc. on it. I also use this for web browsing sometimes</i> Shuttle SV24 Via C3 933 Mhz Processor Lite-On 32-12-40 CDRW Seagate 60 Gig HD 256 Megs Crucial PC133 RAM Hercules Gametheater XP Soundcard Floppy
Damn, I gotta agree with the geek comments. Here's my measly workhorse. Custom Computer from 1998 (Office, Gaming, Chat, everything) AMD Athlon K6 156 MB RAM Trident Video Card Lite-On 40-20-48 CDRW (added it on this year) Floppy 8 GB HD 400 MHz
I got this in January for $1400. AMD 1900+ XP Processor 80gb 7200 Hard Drive DVD Drive 16x CDRW Drive Plextor 24/10/40 512 Mb Ram Audigy Platinum sound card GeForce 3 Ti 200 Optical mouse Virtually Indestructable Keyboard Preobaly leaving something out, but I got a great deal on this computer.
heres my sole machine: athlon 1.3ghz cpu 40gb 7200 hd dvd drive 16x cdrw - yamaha 16.10.40 512 mb ram geforce 3 mx400 zip drive klipsh THX 2.1 speakers 21" sony trinitron monitor
my computer: AMD Athlon XP 2100+ 768mb pc 2100 ram asus geforce 3 ti200 WD 80gb 7200rpm 8 mb cache epox 8kha+ motherboard 10x pioneer dvd 16/10/48 cd-rw soundblaster live platinum USR 56k modem netgear NIC sony g400 19"monitor klipsh promedia thx 4.1 speakers
Geeks, geeks, we're all geeks Custom built by yours truly for $375: AMD Athalon 750 mhz 256mb SDRAM WD 30GB Hard Drive 7200 RPM Phillips 52X CD Rom (Hardcore gamers aside, why the hell do you need a DVD on your PC??) HP 10x4x32 CDRW Sound Blaster Live! Digital 512V 16 mb Nvidia GForce Phillips Speakers w/Sub Logitech Mouseman Wheel HP 15" Monitor (yeah I know it sucks) HP 1 touch keyboard
I can compete in some of those categories... Pentium 266MMX 128 MB SDRAM(I think) 40 GB Maxtor HD 7200 RPM w/ATI 100?? Matrox 8 MB video card Funai 8x CD-Rom(I should probably lose this one) Yamaha 8x6x2(I think) CDR floppy Soundblaster AWE 64 NIC card for cable modem Optical Mouse(don't remember what kind) Altec Lansing 3-pc speakers Sony Trinitron 15in monitor
My main PC: Used for gaming and surfing Pentium 4 2.4 Northwood 1GB RDRAM 80 GB 7200rpm IBM HDD Gainward geforce 4 4600-vid card (oc'ed of course) Soundblaster Audigy x-gamer-sound card 16X Pioneer DVD 24xTDK -CD-RW generic floppy Klipsch promedia 5.1 speakers Logitech silver/black cordless keyboard and cordless optical mouse IBM p260 21in black monitor Custom black Modded Alienware Case w/400watt P/S NIC card Second PC: Used for surfing and my son playing games Pentium 4 1.6A (overclocked to 2ghz) 512 MB DDR 40GB IBM 20GB maxtor MSI Geforce 3 ti 200 (128mb version) Turtle beach santa cruz-sound card lite on 16x DVD generic floppy Logitech z-560 speakers Logitech Internet keyboard Old Microsoft Sidewinder joystick Microsoft Intellieye Explorer mouse Philips 21in monitor (custom painted metallic blue) Chieftec metallic blue case w/Antec 350W P/S NIC Card
I've been using these PCs for a couple of years now...don't know when I'll move into the "cool" group (P4) Doesn't matter...I guess I'm a geek now anyway... Desktop: Compaq Professional Workstation SP750 Dual Pentium III Xeon 1000MHz 1024 MB Rambus PC800 Pioneer DVR-A04 CD-R/RW DVD-R/RW Drive Plextor 16/10/40A CD-R/RW Drive 3 Internal HDs, 18.1G Seagate Ultra3 SCSI 10K 32 MB ATI All In Wonder Radeon AGP Windows XP Professional SP1 Build 1060 Sony SDX-500C 50/100G AIT-2 Internal Tape HP ScanJet 4470c Flatbed Scanner Dazzle DVC-II MPEG-2 Capture 18.1" Comapq TFT8000 LCD monitor Logitech Wireless Keyboard Logitech Marble Mouse USB Desktop #2, Desktop #3 Identical; used for FTP, file, game server, and DC Compaq Deskpro EN Small Form Factor Pentium III 667 MHz 512 MB PC 133 Western Digital 60GB 7200 RPM LG CD-8080B 8x4x32 CD-R/RW Laptop #1 Compaq Armada M700 512 MB RAM Multibay 8x DVD-ROM Multibay 8x8x24x CD-R/RW Multibay LS-120/Floppy Drive Internal 20 GB HD ATI 8MB ATI Mobility Pro Windows XP Professional Compaq WL110 802.11b Wireless 14.1" LCD Monitor 5.8 lbs. Laptop #2 Compaq Armada M300 Pentium III 600 MHz 256 MB RAM Internal 10GB HD Multibay 24x CD-ROM (in MEU) Windows XP Professional 12.1 LCD Monitor 8MB ATI Rage Mobility 128 Graphics Compaq WL110 802.11b Wireless 3.5 lbs. Laptop #3 (Used for testing) Compaq Armada 1700 Pentium II 333 MHz 512 MB RAM Internal DVD-ROM Internal 10 GB HD Redhat Linux 7.2 14.1" LCD Monitor 100 lbs. (feels like ) Other: Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless AP/Router Linksys EPSX3 10/100 Print Server 3 Port HP LaserJet 1100 HP DeskJet 940c iPAQ docking station Sony CyberShot DSC-S70 3.3 MP Cyberpower 1500AVR UPS
PC1: 1800+ Athlon Asustek VT333 Mobo build in Raid(0/1), Firewire, ATA133 support 256 megs of Samsung PC3200 DDR GeForce4 TI-4200 32x16x4 Burner 19" Princeton Monitor PC2: 600 Athlon Unknown Mobo 128 PC100 Voodoo3 Brokeass DVD Rom 15" Princeton Monitor
NICE monitor!!! Which one do you have? I have the 520. Got it off of ubid for $500. one of the top 10 purchases I've ever made!! I think 320kbps is for MP3s -- I don't rip to MP3s, but to Wavs through CloneCD image files. It's kindof like making a bit by bit copy of a CD. But it has to still rip the wav files --> The new CloneCD 4 has a special setting for Audio CDs, and it can read it at 4 different rates. I have it read at the lowest speed, thus the highest quality. I'm thinking about moving over to Exact Audio Copy though. The problem is that it may not be as simple to catalogue things as CloneCD. CloneCD saves the Disc as a single image file. Not an iso exactly, but pretty much the same kindof thing. The problem is that CloneCD doesn't get QUITE as nice of a rip as Exact Audio Copy. EAC is 99.99% perfect. I'd say CloneCD is about 99.00% perfect. Better than Nero or Adaptec, but if I can still do better than CloneCD, I have to look into it.
you don't want to get me started on uBid... yes, i purchased my monitor off of uBid as well. It arrived with a sizeable crack in the front bezzle. I paid $200 for it, plus the $100 shipping (their shipping prices are ridiculous by the way!) anyways, i contacted uBid about the crack, they said they would replace it but that the price had gone up to $600. I almost died of laughter. I told the Cust. Serv. Rep. that this was an auction site and how the HELL does the price go up when i am currently looking at your site and the same monitor is going for $225??? If it arrived broken, should I not get a replacement for the same price? She said no, then continued to explain that I WOULD HAVE TO PAY to ship it back to them, then again pay shipping to have the new one sent to me! That's an extra $200!!!! needless to say I decided to keep the monitor they originally sent me... i don't notice the crack anymore, and if anyone asks, i tell them i got it for $300 w/ shipping and they don't laugh after that! i now officially hate uBid... it is really their loss b/c I have spent thousands of dollars on their site over the past 2 years. i told all of my friends and coworkers about the site. but after my incident with them, i told everyone i know to boycott the site b/c of their lousy customer service. it feels good to know i have cost them quite a bit of business over the past 6 months... sure it doesn't put much of a dent in their bottom line to lose ~30 customers (even though we are all compu-geeks and spend hundreds of dollars a month on electronics!)... but i feel much better now!
I can't stand uBid anymore either. I remember when they first started, you used to be able to find some ridiculously good deals on there. I once bought a Bay Networks 24-port 10 Mbit/sec router from them for about $99. The lowest price I could find on the 'Net at the time was about $700+. Needless to say I turned around and sold it for nice little profit. It's too hard to get good deals on there anymore. Now every bozo and their mother bids the price of the merchandise above and beyond what you can go to some online retailer and buy it for. I'm guessing these people think "hey, that's cheaper than I saw it at Comp USA (or Best Buy, or Circuit City, etc.)" so up goes the price. I've seen stuff you can get for $300 online go for $450+ on there. Oh yeah, and their shipping prices can be silly.
