a couple computer type questions

[King Crimson]

i prolly ought to wait til Monday but wth?

1. if one were to buy a machine that came with Vista, how important is 36 bit to 64 bit these days? to be honest, i'll probably run Ubuntu on it but i'll give Vista a shot and also have a couple XP installers....of need be. have been fooling around with Ubuntu on the laptop and really like it.

i have Vista on my office computer but i also don't pay for it to be serviced....so, i'm OK with it in that scenario.

2. when is it time to buy a new machine? my Dell desktop has been a stalwart for 7 years but it's getting quirky, 80 g is not a lot, and needs more RAM and when i use my 6 month old laptop i dang near pop a woodie it runs so fast. can't say that about the old boy sometimes. it runs real slow on the university teaching Blackboard software. and that's a pain in the a$$.

[bluedogok]

We run 64-bit XP Pro and Vista at work, that is on Xeon Quad-Cores or Dual Xeon Quad-Cores, our "basic" computer at work is a $6,500 Dell (hopefully BOXX Technologies soon) that comes with the 64-bit OS preloaded. That is to take advantage of the faster render processing capability of the 64-bit version of 3DSMax, other than Photoshop or Premiere, we have no other 64-bit programs. There is a conflict running iTunes on 64-bit XP but not on 64-bit Vista. I have 3 64-bit capable computers at home but all are running 32-bit XP Pro or Vista, I am planning on building a new one to do 3DSMax/Revit on so it will be a 64-bit OS on that one, probably Vista.

Most programs are still 32-bit, unless you have a specific need to run a 64-bit version, I would still run 32-bit. I recently had to reload everything on my laptop due to memory and hard drive problems, went to a 32-bit Vista on it because I knew it wasn't capable of running 3DSMax very well and it is really my main "general use" computer. I use it for Revit some but my desktop is better for that.

You can get a new, basic computer so cheap nowadays that it is hard to struggle with one that is that old and being a bit balky. In some cases depending upon the type of RAM upgrading it may be about half the cost of a new one with much more of everything. I will have a use for older computers soon (renderfarm) but in the past I used to clean them off, reload Windows and give them to someone who could use it.

[King Crimson]

You can get a new, basic computer so cheap nowadays that it is hard to struggle with one that is that old and being a bit balky. In some cases depending upon the type of RAM upgrading it may be about half the cost of a new one with much more of everything. I will have a use for older computers soon (renderfarm) but in the past I used to clean them off, reload Windows and give them to someone who could use it.


see, that's what i'm thinking...insofar as i make the RAM upgrade and then i need *yet another* external drive (i have a lot of music and video). reason i ask about the 32 bit/64 is that i have some credit with Dell and i can get a decent workable desktop from them for 500$ with 250g harddrive which is 170g more than the current machine. so, that's "kinda" like a 2-fer, more storage instead of buying another external drive. but, Dell doesn't do 64 bit like HP or even Gateway on similar priced machines.

i'm going to have to buy a new machine, someday. i'm in a pretty good spot $$-wise right now.

[Jerk]

i prolly ought to wait til Monday but wth?

1. if one were to buy a machine that came with Vista, how important is 36 bit to 64 bit these days? to be honest, i'll probably run Ubuntu on it but i'll give Vista a shot and also have a couple XP installers....of need be. have been fooling around with Ubuntu on the laptop and really like it.

i have Vista on my office computer but i also don't pay for it to be serviced....so, i'm OK with it in that scenario.

2. when is it time to buy a new machine? my Dell desktop has been a stalwart for 7 years but it's getting quirky, 80 g is not a lot, and needs more RAM and when i use my 6 month old laptop i dang near pop a woodie it runs so fast. can't say that about the old boy sometimes. it runs real slow on the university teaching Blackboard software. and that's a pain in the a$$.

What subject do you teach? Are you in liberal arts? Find a math nerd who can't hack your study material and bribe him with a good grade if he builds you a computer from parts on newegg with a budget of about $500 (this wouldn't include monitor.) Tell him, you want a dual core processor, 2mb of RAM, a 500 mb harddrive, and a 250mb graphics card. You're not a gamer, so you don't need to go nuts.

[King Crimson]

What subject do you teach?

do you really want to know?

[Jerk]

do you really want to know?

Marxism 101?:D Look, you're a university professor. I'm a fkn truck driver. I don't think you need to be ashamed of whatever it is.

edit - Not that you are ashamed.

[King Crimson]

Marxism 101?:D Look, you're a university professor. I'm a fkn truck driver. I don't think you need to be ashamed of whatever it is.

i'm not ashamed, i just think you'll find it funny.


media studies.

and i'm not actually a pay grade professor, i'm adjunct faculty at CU and the U of Denver. I'm not a tenure type, i make too many enemies. I'm an air conditioned gypsy. looking to take a job overseas while i'm still young enough to do it and such once my contract at CU runs out in a year.

[bluedogok]

I feel that you only want 64-bit if you really need it, right now there is very little 64-bit software out there that it is really only useful for the highly CPU intensive applications. There is a possibility of conflicts between 32-bit programs and a 64-bit OS, probably not like it was when 64-bit systems first came out, but it is still a slight possibility.

I will continue to run a 32-bit OS in all my general computing stuff (I have 4 32-bit CPU based computers, 3 64-bit CPU computers and a 32-bit server) but new, dedicated rendering computers will be 64-bit.

I build my own like Jerk, the one that he spec'd would be a good system, I also understand though how some just want to buy a box and have some support. I don't build boxes for my mother, I have for my sister but I usually find an HP computer in an ad for my mother and say "buy that one".

Do you want a desktop or laptop? In my former office we had pretty good luck buying computers from the Dell Outlet (http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&dgc=IR&cid=11343&lid=312680). For a basic computer with some level of support it is kind of hard to beat a Dell for the price.

[Jerk]

media studies.


Cool. You think I wouldn't want to know? I have a degree in liberal arts. Yes, jerk has a degree...in liberal arts. I'm still not sure what one can do with a degree in liberal arts. Can anyone tell me?

I'm still trying to figure that out.

In the mean time I drive a truck :D

[Vaevictis]

I'm still not sure what one can do with a degree in liberal arts. Can anyone tell me?

I'm still trying to figure that out.

In the mean time I drive a truck :D

Apparently, one can drive a truck with a degree in liberal arts.

Albiet I imagine that it's not the liberal arts degree that qualifies you ;)

[Vaevictis]

If you won't need more than 4GB of RAM over the life of the computer, and you aren't using any apps that can benefit from 64-Bit -- these are usually mathematical, scientific, graphical or apps with LARGE data sets -- then you don't need 64-bit.

Additionally, lots of drivers and software isn't "clean" for 64-bit, and so if you aren't going to need 64-bit, it's probably not worth risking the headache.

[Jerk]

Apparently, one can drive a truck with a degree in liberal arts.

Albiet I imagine that it's not the liberal arts degree that qualifies you ;)

Yep. I've come across guys with Phd's, but then you are more likely to meet a driver who can't spell his own name. There are some really smart guys on the road, and some really dumb ones, too. There's no bell curve - it's more like a camel's back.

[King Crimson]

Cool. You think I wouldn't want to know? I have a degree in liberal arts. Yes, jerk has a degree...in liberal arts. I'm still not sure what one can do with a degree in liberal arts. Can anyone tell me?

I'm still trying to figure that out.

In the mean time I drive a truck :D


naw, i just mean that the media is "so liberal" and i hate the media more than anyone. that's why i went in to this instead of law school.

as long as your mind is free, doesn't matter what you do.

[soonerboomer93]

32 bit

get vista ultimate if you can so you can run 4gb of ram

check the dell outlet

(i got a great deal on a quad core for my parents through the outlet)

[OUWxGuesser]

a 500 mb harddrive

That will cover one NSFW movie...

[Cam]

Screw Vista, stick with XP and 32 bit.

[GottaHavePride]

That will cover one NSFW movie...

I think he meant 500 GB.

[Jerk]

I think he meant 500 GB.

I did. My bad.

[StoopTroup]

How many inches is 500 gb?

[Cam]

Buy.com had a 1TB external eSATA/USB connection for I think $200 the other day. It had a Western Digital HDD in the enclosure. Almost picked it up even though I don't need it. That was a steal.