Tell us about your computer

[action9000]

I'm starting this little topic just for fun, to see what the Gang of Five is using to get to our Internet paradise. B)

What kind of computer do you have?  What are its specifications?  Did you build it yourself from parts?  Get it prebuilt from a major manufacturer?  What do you use it for?  Did you do any funky modding?  Anything you can come up with, talk about your computer and what you use it for here!

I own 4 working computers at the moment, though one of them is not at my house.  My computers are as follows:

My main computer:
Computer type (desktop/laptop): Desktop
Primary reason for purchase: I need a high-end computer for digital music production.
Other purposes: digital audio/graphics work, as well as gaming, some programming and general use.
Manufacturer: I purchased the parts individually and had them assembled by the store I purchased the parts from.
Specs:
Processor: Intel Core2Duo E3850 (@3.00Ghz x2)
Memory: 8GB Patriot 800 DDR2 RAM
Hard drives:
3x500GB 7200RPM Seagate
1x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Video card: Sapphire Radeon x1950 Pro (512MB) - PCIe
Sound cards:
Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum (PCI) (hope to upgrade eventually)
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS (PCI)
Optical drive: DVD/RW with lightscribe
Operating System: Windows XP x64 edition (64-bit)
Monitors: 22" Samsung Widescreen LCD (primary), 17" Daewoo LCD (secondary)

My second computer:
System type: Desktop
Main Purpose: LAN gaming, music/software downloading, data backup
Other purposes: Used to be my primary audio workstation.  Now it has limited use aside from that mentioned above.
Manufacturer: Purchased second-hand from a friend.  System was built from invididual parts.  I have upgraded it significantly since I have owned it.
Specs:
Processor: Pentium 4 (3.00GHz)
Memory: 3GB Micron 3200 DDR1 RAM
Hard drives:
1x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
1x250GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Video Card: ATi Radeon 9550 Pro (256 MB) (AGP)
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy
Optical Drives: CD/RW
Operating System: Windows XP Pro
Monitor: 19" NEC (CRT)

My Laptop
System Type: Laptop (duh )
Main Purpose: LAN Gaming.  Saves hauling my main computer around.
Other Purposes: I used to use it at school for schoolwork before I graduated.  Now, I use it when I just feel like lying in bed quietly, doing something simple like talking on MSN or posting on a forum.  I used to program once in awhile on it but I haven't done that for quite awhile.  It's also useful for backing up vital files on yet another hard drive.
Manufacturer: HP
Specs:
Processor: AMD Turion x2 (@1.88GHz x 2)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM
Hard drive: 120GB 5400RPM
Video card: NVidia GeForce 6150 Go
Sound card: Soundmax internal, Sound Blaster Live 24-bit external
Optical Drive: DVD/RW with Lightscribe
Operating system: Windows XP, Media Center edition
Monitor size: 15.4"

My Third system, which is at my friend's house:
System Type:Desktop
Main Purpose: A few friends and I set up Stepmania (A Dance Dance Revolution clone for PC, freely downloadable) in a basement and this computer is running Stepmania nonstop down there.
Other Purposes: None.  This computer is not even connected to the Internet.  It has two things installed on it: Windows and Stepmania.  I suppose you could argue that it's a backup of my Stepmania songs.
Manufacturer: I bought this barebones system a few years ago dirt-cheap and added some parts to it to make it useful.
Specs:
Processor: AMD Sempron 2400+ (1.6GHz, I believe)
Memory: 512MB Micron 2700 DDR1 RAM
Hard drive: 20GB 7200 RPM Maxtor
Video card: ATi Radeon 9550 Pro (256 MB) (AGP)
Sound card: Sound Blaster Live!
Optical Drive: DVD/RW (installed this for copying large quantities of game songs to the computer)
Operating System: Windows XP Pro
Monitors: 15" LCD (for setup if needed),
27" CRT TV (for actual gameplay) via S-Video.

[landbeforetimelover]

I use my computer for everything up there except gaming.  Listing all of my computer specifications would be a total waste of time, but here is my master:

4tb total hard drive space (4 1tb drives)

8gb ddr2 ram

4.66ghz processor (more than one processor obviously.  I think it's a combo of a 3ghz and a 1.6ghz.  I could get it up higher, but I see no reason to.  I don't even need 2ghz to get my work done, since I've been using my laptop to so almost everything now.)

Windows xp professional 64X (I hate vista with a passion, and with vienna coming out next year, it'd be stupid to upgrade even though I got a free vista upgrade with each of my 1tb drives.)

No clue what my graphics card is, I just know it was $120.  It's not the best thing in the world obviously

I don't know anything about my sound card either, aside from the fact that it was $80.  

2 dual layer printable dvd burners (soon to be blu ray players, but not for a while.)

22 usb ports (just added 4 more to my existing 18)

4 firewire ports

one of those camera card readers.  I don't like it because I lost the space for one of my hard drives and one of them is just loose in there now.

Another sound card for the front.  It's not too good.

Now this computer is freaking heavy!!!  I think it's about 30 pounds now, which is pretty heavy for a modern computer to say the least.



My laptop:


2.2ghz processor (P4)

2.5gb ram (ddr2)

200gb hard disk

windows xp professional

DVD writer



My secondary computer:

3.0ghz

4gb ram

500gb hard drive

windows xp professional




Most of my other computers have around these specs:

1.8-2.6ghz processors

1-2gb ram

500gb hard drives

All with windows xp pro (except the macs)



Most of my computers have tons more power than I need.  I think I could survive with as little as:


1.6ghz

512mb ram

I couldn't sacrifice hard drive space.  I need all that I have.


Most people can live with computers less than 1ghz so long as they know how to maintain it. I notice no speed difference between my master computer and my slow 1ghz computers while doing normal activities so don't be ashamed if you've got a slow computer.

[Petrie.]

Sick Austin.  Surely you're out of bandwith after 10 usb ports.

I use mine for about everything...school reports, music (listening and amateur editing), video watching, some internet games, IM chats every now and then, research.

What I have:

Dell Inspiron E1505 (laptop)

2 ghz Intel Core Duo
2 gb DDR RAM
Windows XP (depending on what program you call up, some say Media Center Edition, some say Professional)
ATI 256 mb graphics card
Creative Audigy internal soundcard (supposedly that's whats in there--it sucks)
Creative Live 24-bit external soundcard
80gb internal harddrive
250 gb external harddrive by SimpleTech
Sony DVD R/RW disk drive
a whopping 7 usb ports  (3 @ 2.0, 4 @ powered 1.1)
HP Deskjet 840C

Bought refurbished from Dell last November, now out of warranty and it can't be renewed so I pray nothing breaks. :angry:

[action9000]

Creative Audigy internal soundcard (supposedly that's whats in there--it sucks)

An internal Audigy card on a laptop...that seems a little odd.  Never heard of that before.  Also the fact that you say it sucks surprises me - the Audigy cards have done nothing but good things for me until I get into the really high-end stuff (and need working ASIO drivers, which the audigy series doesn't have at a 44.1kHz sampling rate).

a whopping 7 usb ports (3 @ 2.0, 4 @ powered 1.1)

Holy crap! My laptop has 4.  All 2.0 though.

[lbt/cty_lover]

My computer is just part of my daily life. I use it for forums, Facebook, homework, and music.

My stats

80 GB hard drive

1 GB RAM

2.0 GHz

Mac OS X Leopard

This is a MacBook Pro. First model. With the Intel Core Duo chip.

The computer I want is the Mac Pro.

[Petrie.]

The 4 @ powered 1.1 is a hub. ^^  Sorry for the confusion.  The audigy was in the specs when it was bought but I highly doubt that is what is in there....there's a ton of evident hiss (probably from all the internal components).  I don't feel like trying to open it and break something when out of warranty.

[lbt/cty_lover]

The Mac Pro is awesome. It can have up to 4 TB of hard drive added on. And 32 GB of RAM.

[action9000]

The Mac Pro is awesome. It can have up to 4 TB of hard drive added on. And 32 GB of RAM.

I thought about going Mac Pro as opposed to my high-end PC but for what I'd have to spend in hardware/software I can't justify it at this point...as much as I'd love 32GB of RAM!

(My PC is maxed out at 8GB...I'd have to get a new computer to add any more).

[lbt/cty_lover]

For all of the best features that I want, I would have to pay about $25,000 for it. I would have to tune down what I want. I got it down o about $4,000 by removing anything unnecessary.

[landbeforetimelover]

(My PC is maxed out at 8GB...I'd have to get a new computer to add any more).

Me too.  I could just replace the motherboard, but it's got ATA hard drives in it, which modern motherboards won't accept.  I'd have to get all new hard drives too. -_-

[action9000]

landbeforetimelover, I still don't understand how a computer nerd such as yourself doesn't know so many of the components in his main computer(s).

For all of the best features that I want, I would have to pay about $25,000 for it. I would have to tune down what I want. I got it down o about $4,000 by removing anything unnecessary.

My main PC added up to about $2000 at its current state...a lot of night shifts to pay for that one! :

I'll just be happy once 64-bit applications start becoming more prominent...though the existance of 32-bit releases of Vista are further slowing down that process.  In all honestly at this point, nobody except multimedia producers and large company database servers need 64-bit and its >4GB of RAM advantage.

Problem: I fall into the multimedia producer category.  I need my RAM! You wouldn't believe how fast I can burn through 4GB of RAM until you see it happen(...thinks of making a video of crashing my 8GB computer with an "out of memory" error in a legitimate situation)!

My complaint right now is that I cannot actually use more than about 3.2GB or so in my audio applications right now.  I simply cannot.  This is due to some vital limitations:
1) my sound card doesn't have working 64-bit drivers (they don't exist) so the card don't appear in 64-bit audio applications.

2) my virtual instruments are not yet 64-bit.  This means that no matter what application I plug them into, they run as 32-bit apps as a separate process from the 64-bit host program...with a maximum of 4GB on that separate process.  

A 64-bit version of my virtual instruments will be released in March or so (estimated) so I'm looking forward to that upgrade...I still need to counter the soud card issue though.

In reality, the majority of people won't see any gains from 64-bit.  So you can access more than 4GB of RAM...big whoop. Most people don't need 4GB of RAM. :

[landbeforetimelover]

landbeforetimelover, I still don't understand how a computer nerd such as yourself doesn't know so many of the components in his main computer(s).

Oh, I know a lot more that I posted.  I just posted the nuts and bolts.  I don't spend money on anything but the board ($189 off ebay), ram (I don't even wanna say.  You'll all hate me for how much I spent for 2 of those 4gb sticks.  Let's just say it was about half the price of Actions whole computer when I bought them.), and the processors.  One of the processors in my computer is an AMD 64 processor and the other is a P4.  I believe the board can handle up to 2 3.66ghz processors, but there's no way I'm going to install that much.  I barely use what I already have.

Sick Austin. Surely you're out of bandwith after 10 usb ports.

I've plugged in a flash drive into each port and they all worked.  I think.....  At least they all recognized.



You have to understand that this isn't easy for me Action.  I see literally about a thousand computers a month and probably exchange 10 of my computers every month.  To keep all my computer specs in memory is just about impossible.  I built this thing about a year ago and I've only opened it once since to upgrade my 4gb of ram to 8gb.  Unlike some computers, I never have to check the specs to see if my master can handle something.  I know it can.  As for the inside, it's quite unremarkable.  Just the standard stuff you'd see.  My computer costs so much because as soon as something new comes out, I buy it right away.  I don't have the best graphics or sound card and I don't have anything really specialized because I really don't need it.  most of my computers have on board video and I'm fine with it since I don't do any graphics stuff aside from watching movies (although those really old graphics card that went into the PCI slots made the movie all choppy cuz they were so old.  I had to replace those )


I'll have to open my master again soon because it's making a lot of noise and I think one of the CPU fans might be dusty and/or dying.  After all, I've got 5 fans in there I believe.  One for each processor, one in the PSU, one on the outside of the case to blow hot air out, and one underneath the hard drive.  Also unfortunately, my master computer is such a pain to take apart cuz I have to plug everything back in blind.  The stupid VGA cord is so short, I can't even pull the computer out without unplugging it.  I'm just so busy all the time that I really can't even think anymore.  School is becoming harder as I'm trying to get into college early and the computer workload is increasing. -_-  I don't have much time to screw around with computers anymore besides working on them now.


Computer terminology has never been my strong point.  I swear to god, there are NO computer people where I live so I never get to talk about them except to clients who just want a straight answer and don't want all the "techno garble".  I just know stuff like:  "Yeah, that card fits one of those screwed up looking brown slots".  You could say I'm an idiot at sound and video.  I know just about nothing about them aside from the standard is all I need.  I know what slots you can put a video card in in the computer and what all the plugs on the video card are used for, but other than that....... as for audio, just count me out.  Yeah, plug the speakers into one of those plug thingys and it'll work.   16-bit, 32-bit, whatever. : I don't know the difference when it comes to either sound or video cards.  I am however becoming accustomed to the type of video card required to use vista to its full potential.



I'm actually considering selling my master computer because I just don't need it, but I just am too lazy to put an ad on craigslist and I doubt anyone would want to pay a decent price for it, so I guess I'll just keep it. Right now, my master is down cuz I don't want that CPU fan to die and it's replaced by this computer:

2.4ghz  (It's an athlon 64)

2gb DDR2 ram

500gb and 200gb internal hard drives

windows xp pro 32 bit

Everything is working great and I can't even come close to maxing out this computer. Honestly, building my master was not a smart thing to do since I didn't really need it. :  If I got 4 of those 1tb drives in here, I wouldn't need anything else.  Actually, I don't even need a lot of storage on my computers, but I just don't like storing everything on my server.

[action9000]

Honestly, building my master was not a smart thing to do since I didn't really need it.

I'll take it off your hands!
My shipping address is...

I don't spend money on anything but the board ($189 off ebay

4.66ghz processor (more than one processor obviously. I think it's a combo of a 3ghz and a 1.6ghz. I could get it up higher, but I see no reason to. I don't even need 2ghz to get my work done, since I've been using my laptop to so almost everything now.)

You have 2 processors...of completely different speeds...in a $189 motherboard?  I didn't even know you could get multi-CPU motherboards under about $400.  That's why I didn't even think of going there - the boards and CPUs were too expensive.
Here's a multi-CPU motherboard for $420, the cheapest I could find.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX19051(ME).aspx

Do you have server processors (Xeon/Opteron) or desktop processors (Core2Duo, AthlonX2)?  Are you sure you have two physical CPUs or do you have One dual core CPU?  The fact that your CPU cores are of completely different speeds suggests that you have 2 physical single-core CPUs of a similar FSB speed (I assume at least 1066, if not 1333).  Mixing FSB speeds would break all sorts of things, especially performance and stability.
Your whole setup is a bit confusing to me.

[landbeforetimelover]

First off, the key word is ebay.  I won it in an auction.  It's actually a very expensive board, but I won it for $189.  I was sure I was going to be outbid, but I came through.  One of the processors is an athlon processor and the other one is an older P4.  I have a really cool computer that has 2 processors I just got from a client.  It has one 600mhz celeron processor, and one P3 at 700mhz.  It is possible.  My 1.6ghz processor I just took out of another computer.  My computer originally only came with the 3ghz with the 2 slots for processors.  I consulted the manual that came with it and it said I could put a P4 into it so I did and it worked really well.  I don't want to put any more into it though because one, I'm afraid of it over heating and two because I don't need any more than my 4.6ghz.

I'll take it off your hands!

Very funny.  

[Littlefoot]

These are my computer specs. I use my pc to play games, test games and programming.

Computer:
      Computer Type                                    ACPI x86-based PC
      Operating System                                Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
      OS Service Pack                                  Service Pack 1, v.668
      Internet Explorer                                 7.0.6001.17052
      DirectX                                               DirectX 10.0
      Computer Name                                  X-NAVIGATOR64
      User Name                                          Littlefoot
      Logon Domain                                     X-Navigator64
      Date / Time                                        2008-02-12 / 22:00

Motherboard:
CPU Type                 DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 3025 MHz (15 x 200) 6000+
     
Motherboard Name    Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5  (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x8, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
     
Motherboard Chipset                               nVIDIA nForce 590 SLI, AMD Hammer
      System Memory                            2048 MB  (DDR2-800/EPP DDR2 SDRAM)
      Supported Memory                                 16 GB + Total
      BIOS Type                                         Award Modular (05/21/07)
      Communication Port                                Communications Port (COM1)
      Communication Port                                Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
      Video Adapter                                     NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT  (256 MB)
      Video Adapter                                     NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT  (256 MB)
      3D Accelerator                                    nVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
      Monitor                        ViewSonic VX2235wm  [22" LCD]  (QA5063101291)

Multimedia:
      Audio Adapter  SigmaTel STAC9721/23 @ Creative Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350 Sound Card

    Storage:
      IDE Controller                                    NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      IDE Controller                                    NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      IDE Controller                                    NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      IDE Controller                                    Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller
      IDE Controller                                    Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
      Storage Controller                                Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
      Storage Controller                                SCSI/RAID Host Controller
      Disk Drive                                        JetFlash TS8GJFV10 USB Device  (7 GB, USB)
      Disk Drive                                        WDC WD25 00JS-55NCB1 SCSI Disk Device  (232 GB)
      Optical Drive                                     LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165H6S ATA Device  (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
      Optical Drive                                     SONY CD-RW  CRX230E ATA Device  (52x/32x/52x CD-RW)
      SMART Hard Disks Status                           Activated

    Partitions:
      C: (NTFS)                                         238471 MB (193345 MB free)
      Total Size                                        232.9 GB (188.8 GB free)

I'm considering to get 4 more GB of ram soon because Im going to start using my 3D landscape program again .

[Kor]

wow, looks like a fancy system.

[landbeforetimelover]

To Littlefoot:  I buy these like you wouldn't believe.  They're a cheap upgrade for clients computers.  Although for myself I don't usually buy ram under 800mhz, these are a great deal:


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...75&sku=P56-3946


These are a much smarter buy though if you want to replace all your ram:


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...93&Sku=P33-5042


I recommend anyone who has a computer that will accept DDR2 memory buy the memory from the link above.  It makes your computer scream like mad!  I just bought 2 of these sets and upgraded some minor computers I had and they're so much faster!

[action9000]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...93&Sku=P33-5042


I recommend anyone who has a computer that will accept DDR2 memory buy the memory from the link above. It makes your computer scream like mad!  I just bought 2 of these sets and upgraded some minor computers I had and they're so much faster! 

I approve!
That's is EXACTLY the same RAM I'm using in my main computer and it's absolutely amazing.  I have 2 sets of these for a total of 8GB of Patriot DDR2.  Fantastic memory!

[landbeforetimelover]

I really do envy you Action.  I only have 2 slots for ram, so it was VERY expensive to upgrade my machine to 8gb. -_-

[Littlefoot]

To Littlefoot:  I buy these like you wouldn't believe.  They're a cheap upgrade for clients computers.  Although for myself I don't usually buy ram under 800mhz, these are a great deal:


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...75&sku=P56-3946


These are a much smarter buy though if you want to replace all your ram:


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...93&Sku=P33-5042


I recommend anyone who has a computer that will accept DDR2 memory buy the memory from the link above.  It makes your computer scream like mad!   I just bought 2 of these sets and upgraded some minor computers I had and they're so much faster!

The price (PNY – For Unforgettable Performance! PNY 2048MB Dual Channel PC4200 DDR2 533MHz) is fair enough and cheap for this type of ram. Good price and no doubt the ram works without a problem.

In the second link (Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel
PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB), I tested some of these with good and bad results, all depends the type of motherboard I used. They were just minimal errors that can be easily fixed just by adjusting the system and also this ram has good latency.

I use this ram in my pc

Brand A-DATA  
Series Extreme Edition  
Model ADQVD1A16K  
Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM  
Tech Spec
Capacity 2GB (2 x 1GB)  
Speed DDR2 800+ (PC2 6400)  
Cas Latency 4  
Timing 4-4-4-12-2T  
Voltage 2.0V - 2.1V  
Heat Spreader Yes  
Features EEP Ready  
Recommend Use High Performance or Gaming Memory  

I just love them. I can get full performance. They work like a charm. They are not expensive and are perfect for gaming and applications. They are fully compatible with my system. I fully trust in my rams XD. I need performace to work in my pc and with these rams I have all I need and as a gamer I am very happy.