Computers Anybody?

[Owens]

Stick in the mud? Maybe.
I still keep a 486 running MS-DOS 6.22 around. Works great and for some things, better than any windows platform.
I still use some database and spreadsheet apps and a few radio logging and comm apps that I like better than the windows stuff, and it runs better on the DOS machine than on a windows machine.

All that and I just can't make myself throw out good stuff.

 

[ronc0011]

Hi everyone Just found the forum and joined tonight. I’m in the IT field. Have 3 computers on my network at the moment plus 2 laptops. I just took down 2 other machines that were just taking up too much space. The machine I work on is running a Core 2 extreme on an Intel Bad AX or D975XBX motherboard. It’s running 4 GB of DDR2 RAM and a GeForce 6800 XT video card and two 19” monitors. Also running the Windows 2003 Server OS.

I’ve been doing network and systems support for the last 4 or 5 years but am presently studying c# and ASP.

Something else some may find interesting is that I am running my own web server from my home machine ( the one I just described ) I’m using dynamic DNS through Zoneedit and regular cable residential service from Comcast. Also my own mail server, a free program called hMailserver. A very nice mail server software.

Here is my website ( please excuse the unfinished state of the site as I am working on it in between 100 other things.

http://www.babblepfish.com

 

[Leper]

P3 733 win98se. WooHoo!!!

jk, that was the first rig I built though.

If anyone needs a Vapochill that I used to run on a Tbird, I would sell it cheap.


Yes, I have a few at the house. Except the laptops I built everything here. I set up the Garage for LANs a few years back. Dedicated ceiling outlets with their own breakers for it. Cat5 and a internet cable port in the ceiling also. The neighbors would ask alot of questions when 10-24 people would start unloading gear into the garage. lol They would stay away when we fired up, no headsets and lots of speakers.

I miss the TFC days.

 

[pvtsnowball82]

My affliction

I've been building PCs since about 2002. Here's my current rig:

Antec 900 case
eVGA nForce 780i SLI mobo
3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (factory cooling)
4 GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 1066
2x eVGA GeForce 8800GTS (640 MB VRAM - each!)
320 GB WD Caviar SATA 3.0 GB/s

I mainly use it for playing videogames and staring wistfully at mini-14s and custom ARs...Hmmm...maybe if I hadn't spent so much freakin' money on this thing, I might own an AR...

 

[Cyfer]

Wow, this is an old thread, but I'll post up anways...

Workstations
Dell Optiplex 960
Intel Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q9650 (3.0GHz, 12M, 1333MHz FSB)
6GB RAM Corsair DOMINATOR
512MB Nvidia 8800GT
1TB WD Raptor (Raid0)
DVDRW w/ LightScribe
6x BluRay Burner

Dell Optiplex 755
Fully Loaded similar to above

Laptops
Dell Latitude E6500
I bought it with like EVERYTHING you could possibly get on it
Webcam, Backlit keyboard, FIPS Certified Biometrics, DVDRW, highest res lcd panel, highest core 2 mobile processor, 4GB RAM, 512MB Nvidia, BT, 802.11n, Verizon WAN, etc... etc...

Dell XPS M1330
Fully Loaded

Dell Latitude D830
Fully Loaded

Dell Latitude D620
Fully Loaded


Sorry, got lazy. Too much to post on the specs. Overall, I got all the new Dell business class systems with fully loaded specs.

 

[stockFD3S]

System Builder Marathon: $625 Gaming PC : More CPU, Please - Review Tom's Hardware

Great guide put out every month regarding getting bang for buck. Great build for $650 in case anyone is looking at purchasing a "gaming" rig.

 

[lonewolf23c]

I have 4.

2 Desktop PC's. One is for the family one is for my own use, since I do a lot of higher end software use I have a faster machine.

2 Laptops. One for gaming and one that I use for work and field use.

 

[thehemi]

1 tower that's my server running CentOS.
2 laptops; one runs XP the other Ubuntu.
(XP will go away when it's time to rebuild.)

 

[Eli]

I have way too many, most running Ubuntu or Debian. I despise M$, you will too when you see how much better everything else is...

Eli

 

[smschulz]

Anybody in here build or work on their own PCs?

I've built a few hundred over the last 5 years. I always have "extras" around. Some as orphaned projects, some that I build and sell, etc. My home network of PCs is ridiculous. I'm forever upgrading or building my personal machines... Everybody in the house has one or two of their own or a laptop.

Am I the only one?

No, I am a computer consultant, Intel System Builder, Microsoft Certified Engineer catering to SMB and have built several dozen myself. I prefer to build Servers as it is more challenging and more profitable.

 

[lonewolf23c]

Stick in the mud? Maybe.
I still keep a 486 running MS-DOS 6.22 around. Works great and for some things, better than any windows platform.
I still use some database and spreadsheet apps and a few radio logging and comm apps that I like better than the windows stuff, and it runs better on the DOS machine than on a windows machine.

All that and I just can't make myself throw out good stuff.

I don't ever remember DOS crashing either. LOL. No blue screen of death, etc.

Wonder if I could find an old 486 machine somewhere, I'd kind of like to get my hands on one again for a few of my old games that won't run on these new computers, emulators are a waste of my time and most don't work like they're supposed to.

I also have a few programs on 5-1/4" diskettes, I also still have some blank diskettes, and tons of 3-1/2" diskette software. I might actually still have Windows 95 on 3-1/2" diskette. I have Windows 3.11 and also MS Word 2.0 on 3.5" diskette.

 

[Jeff-Tex]

I have an old dos machine that I use for old dos games. I actually play duke3d over 56k modem with it. I had to find old hardware, like the awe32 sound card and the us robotics modem, in order to get the games to run right. But ya, I got autoexec.bat and my config.sys all hooked up. If you forget how to set those up, you can google all the dos commands. Fun stuff.

Anyone for some Wolf 3D or ROTT?

 

[Wolfwood]

i was a computer nut before i was a gun nut. ive currently got 4 pcs all dual booting winxp and various linux distros.
and ofcourse networked. im the goto guy for my friends and family whenever somoen needs tech support. hah.

 

[308nato]

OK guys I have a question as I'am looking for a good and not real expensive computer.
1 what is the best type of prosessor to look for .
2 how much memory should I get (games etc.)

This one is so slow to boot up and I have DSL .

Thanks for any help you can give in laymans terms.
Dennis

 

[SIG_Fiend]

OK guys I have a question as I'am looking for a good and not real expensive computer.
1 what is the best type of prosessor to look for .
2 how much memory should I get (games etc.)

This one is so slow to boot up and I have DSL .

Thanks for any help you can give in laymans terms.
Dennis

If you are going to be playing games, get something with AT LEAST 2gb of ram. 4gb would be nice, but just make sure it's at least 2gb of ram. As far as the memory goes, memory speed is also very important. I would try to get something with at least 667mhz ram, preferably 800+mhz if possible. Don't get fooled because sometimes you might see stuff with like 4gb of ram that seems like a good deal, then you'll find out it's only 400mhz ram, which is substantially slower than 800mhz obviously. lol

Also, for most newer video games, you really need a video card with no less than 256mb of ram. Preferably you want a video card with more like 512mb of ram (if you find something with 1gb, that's good too but 512mb would be fine). AMD processors are cheaper, though AMD has fallen behind and is no longer on top of their game. I would personally go Intel as I just do not see AMD catching up again considering the current condition of the company (this is coming from a lifelong AMD guy).

 

[DCortez]

+1 on 2g of ram or more

Intel > AMD for a lot of online games

Nvidia > ATI for video cards for a lot of online games


NewEgg has lots of video cards to choose from. Use PCI express, get as much video ram as you can, more stream processors is generally better. Higher numbers are generally better 6600 isn't as good as 7600, 8600, 9600, etc. There are some ins and outs, but I leave that to the more knowledgeable techs.

 

[308nato]

SIG Fiend,DCortez
Thanks for the help,It makes it so much easier when you know what to look for.
Thanks again Dennis

 

[cdcurrin]

oh man Wolf3d and RoTT were great. I remember when rise of the triad, if you made the screen smaller to prevent lag it would tell you to go buy a 486! Still remember my first 486DX, then my first p1 200Mhz "mmx" lol

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Man, I actually want to build a "state of the art old computer" now. There are so many older games out there from 10+ years ago that are so much fun, and much of the time they don't run too well (if they run at all) on newer computers. Some of those games had ten times the replay value that many newer ones have. I remember some of those games wasted countless months of my life at a time, instead of just a few hours like with many newer games.

Actually, DOS could crash. It wasn't uncommon but, occasionally certain programs could cause it to lock up, to the point where the only thing you could do is press the restart button. It's happened to me before. At least it's not quite like Windows, where restarting while the OS is running can sometimes result in lost/corrupt data, and worst case it can damage the system files and require a reinstall of Windows.

 

[deadeye1964]

Anybody in here build or work on their own PCs?

I've built a few hundred over the last 5 years. I always have "extras" around. Some as orphaned projects, some that I build and sell, etc. My home network of PCs is ridiculous. I'm forever upgrading or building my personal machines... Everybody in the house has one or two of their own or a laptop.

Am I the only one?

I have a technical question you could probably help me with. I just bought my wife a new computer and I want to donate her old computer to the less fortunate. Everything works great on the old computer, just a little outdated. I want to format or erase all my information off the computer, not just delete it. I do however want to keep the Windows XP operating system on there so it can be functional for the new owner. What is the best way to do this?

Thanks for any suggestions.