What kind of computer do I get!?

[Techman]

here are hacks around the activation and authentication setup in WindowsXP, just as there are hacks around the activation features of MS Office and Adobe's applications.

Here we go with the HACKED versions. More nonsence. The first time that ripped off customer goes to get an XP update there goes his HACKED version. The work arounds simply do not last in the XP world. Yes I know about the hacked DLL's. M$ fixed that hack long ago. In fact, M$ fixes all the hacks as soon as they come out.

builder kept giving us a song and dance

The old urban legend about scamming a buyer into getting copied win 2K is so old that its got worms crawling thru it. I am shocked that someone as inteligent as you would let that happen.

 

[Flame]

Dude's..... we're getting off of the subject here. I'm sure everyone on here is intelligent, so quit HARPING ON EACH OTHER! IMO there are no absolutes in the computing world, so why try to push yours?

 

[Bobby H]

Here we go with the HACKED versions. More nonsence. The first time that ripped off customer goes to get an XP update there goes his HACKED version.

I take it you deny hacked copies of WinXP exist and are being sold?

The old urban legend about scamming a buyer into getting copied win 2K is so old that its got worms crawling thru it. I am shocked that someone as inteligent as you would let that happen.

Urban legend? Don't imply I'm lying. This situation really happened.

Further, I was not the person who ordered the POS machine. One of our sales guys made the deal with that shop and didn't "CYA" much less involve anyone else who knew computers into the loop. Thankfully, the machine was not a design workstation. The builder put Win2K on the machine and referred to WinXP as "Fisher Price Windows" (kinda funny joke really).

Dude's..... we're getting off of the subject here. I'm sure everyone on here is intelligent, so quit HARPING ON EACH OTHER!

Considering the original questions (how powerful a machine do I need) were answered, there probably isn't much point for this thread to continue. The brand name PCs versus custom builder PCs thing is obviously another never-ending controversy along the lines of Mac vs. PC, Intel vs. AMD, Linux vs. the rest of the world, etc.

 

[Rhinoz]

Only thing I can truly recommend is start off with semi basic system, then upgrade as you need to.

I agree with Bobby H, consider the original question, don't turn the thread into a "shoot down" session.

Go with your gut instinct.

 

[cinemasign.grafix]

I went through the same thing 3 months ago

I've been on mac from day one, had no experience on pc / windows. But i wanted to add another unit for mostly rip. Since the only rip that supports mac is flexi , I was sick of waiting a year for the mac upgrades after the pc
release. Since i was going to need good tech support , i went with a dell vs have one built. If you are fairly windows and computer experienced , you
can probably build a system and get more for your money. I got a dell
3Ghz - Dual core - Xp pro
Sata 160g 7200 HD
2 GB DDR2 667 Ram
Dvd/Cd + Burn
256 Graphics card
20" Hi res monitor
Wireless mouse & keyboard
Anti virus software etc.
Out the door - $1700.00
I've since added another SATA 160GB HD 7200 RAID 1
2 more GB DDR2 667 RAM - $300.00
For me dell has been great. There tech support is fantastic.
Just my experience on my move to pc. Maybe when i have more experience on the pc side i'd build the next one.

 

[Sabre]

I just wrote a big long reply quoting Bobby a whole bunch of times and pulling web urls for reference and making sure anyone who cared to read had all the information possible. Then I deleted it. Bobby's right on the point of dropping it and I'm sure each time we go back and forth attacking each others statements we just look more and more like a couple of jackasses.

As people can see, 2 very knowledgeable people have vastly different opinions on what a computer should be and where they should buy it. At this point we're not really helping, we're confusing. There's enough information in this thread to get going on a computer purchase and I offer assistance to anyone who asks me directly in this thread or via PM.

I'll try to contain myself from now on

 

[Flame]

I just wrote a big long reply quoting Bobby a whole bunch of times and pulling web urls for reference and making sure anyone who cared to read had all the information possible. Then I deleted it. Bobby's right on the point of dropping it and I'm sure each time we go back and forth attacking each others statements we just look more and more like a couple of jackasses.

As people can see, 2 very knowledgeable people have vastly different opinions on what a computer should be and where they should buy it. At this point we're not really helping, we're confusing. There's enough information in this thread to get going on a computer purchase and I offer assistance to anyone who asks me directly in this thread or via PM.

I'll try to contain myself from now on

lol. Thanks man. I'll be PMing you soon.

 

[Liquid GraphX]

Just built this one from Newegg.com there the best in world!!

Asus A8N 32 SLI Deluxe
AMD Athalon 4800 dual core
4 gigs Mushkin PC 533 Ram
Twin 150 WD Raptors 10,000RPM
BFG Tech Nvidia 7900 GTX 512mb
Plextor PX-755SA DVD/CD Burner
All Slammed in a Thermaltake Tai-Chi case with Liquid Cooling!

Stay away from Dell and Best Buy! Go find a local PC guy in your area and have him build you a system! Keep your dollars local who knows maybe you could make him a sign for trade!!?

 

[Geary]

Get a Mac.

 

[2NinerNiner2]

I'm with ya on that one, Geary I'm an old Mac-a-holic from Day One (1985 - Mac 512 with external 400K floppy! ). I get my "fix" these days on my 14" G4 iBook but the new Core Duo 20" iMac is what I want next! ...oh yeah, and I'll need a copy of WinXP to put on it too!!

 

[Geary]

Oh, no 2Niner....let's not get started now...... oh, what the hell.....let's. I had the exact same 512....did lots of "drawing" with MacDraw and MacPaint. However, I have seriously been with Mr. Job's machines since Illustrator88. Remember during that time when Steve Jobs had tried to develop that "NeXT" cube thing he got from the Hewlett Packard folks (I think that's right)? And when he asked Microsoft to develop software for it....Bill Gates was quoted, "Develop it, no, but I'll piss on it!" Seems like a hundred years ago.

~gear

 

[iSign]

yep...I started out with macdraw & illustrator 88 too. I was just an employee & don't recall the model numbers, but when I got my first mac, I think it was an SE.

I got a 20" G5 Imac from Costco a while back for $1500 with a 3 year Apple Care support plan, but I set it up next to one of my Sony Vaio machines & honestly, I just don't fall for the hype anymore. It's an excellent machine, but is it "better" ? Not really for me. My computers are all capable of so much more then I demand from them, it seems silly to claim superiority of one over the other when you only scratch the surface of what either is capable of. I took it back for a refund last wekend.

 

[Geary]

Hey Doug,

I hear ya. And to be honest, I like the newer Windows machines with XP just fine. It's just that in the past....I couldn't get nearly as much done in the day due to all the crashes and freezes on the Win 95, 98, 2000, NT (worst one of all) and ME. Yikes!

My Macs just have never had the problems, including those dreaded virus attacks, that we all have experienced. I worked in two shops not too long ago where they lost the ENTIRE jobs files in the main server due to the "Melissa" and "I Love You" worms that crawled in through Outlook. One company figured they lost about $70,000 in the wake. What a nightmare that was! Calling up dozens of clients every day for a couple of months trying to get them to send files back to us that we had done for them over the years, not getting anywhere on some because the "cut files" were different than the "proposal files" sometimes, and the worst of all.....the customers who refused to send us anything because they thought we were the culprits of giving THEM the same viruses, etc, etc., Makes me a bit ill just thinking about it.....sort of like remembering the '89 quake while living in San Francisco at the time.

Glad things are different now!

~gear

 

[signage]

That is why you should back up everything at a minimum. I know this is like preaching but the more you here of people having these problems the more one should look into how they backup there work/client files. JM2c

 

[iSign]

yeah, I remeber how casmate used to crash almost everyday. My PC's were not that sketchy... but they weren't as convenient as XP either. I've been running between 2 & 5 machines everyday for the last 10 years, & fortunantly, I've never been hit by any virus. I just received my $400 corporate 5-seat Norton internet security renewal for my server & 4 workstations... My nightly auto back-up is keeping my off-site back-up tapes up to the minute with data files from all 4 workstations... and my external network drive is mapped for everyones easy access to the last several quarterly archives of data files removed off the main mapped data drive on the server. This external network drive is sync'd every quarter with another external drive also stored off site. I'll knock on wood about the virus thing... but I don't really fear them too much.

 

[Sabre]

Just wanted to pop a quick update into this thread in case anyone searches back to it and uses it as a reference. Intel has recently released their Core 2 Duo processor which nullifies many of my statements about the (then) current Dual core processor options. If within budget, this processor is very much worth a look. I may even switch out to one myself, I understand it does amazing things in the video editing software I play with at home.

 

[skyhigh]

I understand it does amazing things in the video editing software I play with at home.

Sabre, have you ever checked into a RAID system for your video editing? I understand that is the way to go.

 

[Sabre]

Got one. I was expecting more from it, but it is a nice little boost for sure.