Well, I had two sticks of ram go poof, and the tech hasn't called to come install new ones.......I can't put them in cause I have a service contract with Dell and it would negate it. So I'm using hubby's computer with is slow as dried gum.......but a ray of sunshine has come to me, since we are refinancing the house I have the opportunity to upgrade, possibly, what do you guys think of this setup for my new comp; P4 (660) Hyperthreaded 3.6ghz (800mhz frontside bus) 500 gb RAID 0 Hd 4 gb DDR2SD 533 RAM 128mb NVIDIA GeForce GTO video card Should I spend the cash for it?

you want FOUR GIGS of ram? I have 256 megs...i feel so...so...inadequate... My setup: P3 800mhz 10Gb Seagate Barracuda 40Gb Western Digital 256mb of some sort of RAM 32mb Nvidia Riva TNT2 video card

I would. I'm probably a few months behind you in situation. You spend a decent amount of time on the puter, you have a good portion of your art there. No senes in prolonging the inevitable. Go for it!!

Everything looks good but the Video Card, get one with at least 256MB or more. Heck might as well get one with 512MB.

zhann, yes. definetely! if you can afford an extra plus on the graphics card, you should get that too. and then put it online and use it as a renderfarm for the rest of us :D

Speaking of Render farm. I'll gladly render anything that is going to take a long time for anyone who wants it. At a minimum I have 4 PC's to render with and Have the capability to add more soon.

Zhann, WinXP pro won't allocate more than 1.7-2 Gb per application unless you use the /3GB switch at boot (not suggested to run multiple apps when you do this). This forces windows to cut itself back a bit to allow more address space for the app.
Sounds good. What are you intending to run on it?
P4 2.8 Ghz/1 Gb RDRAM/Nvidia FX5900 XT

Message edited on: 03/21/2005 18:47

Message edited on: 03/21/2005 18:50

I think Jan's probably planning to launch a mission to Mars with her new machine......I'll warn the immigration people!

Will he accept Passengers on that trip? ;)

Analog: Jan is a Lady! ;-0

Yeah I thought that was a weird number for the graphics card, but they say it's the best, I'll pin them down on that one before I spend the dough...it's the hyperthreading I don't quite get yet, suppose to be lightning fast response with graphics intensive apps....any thoughts?

Attached Link: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20021227/

Decent explanation here.

To combat the physicall barrier of Copper in current P4's next generation of Processors will be 2 P4's Sandiched in one Package. So its dual Processing on the Processor level.

Sorry Havent been here long enough to know who's male or female :)

Yep.... Rod is wise. Tomshardware always has good information. 8)

Got it, wondering about software upgrades to get.....hmmmmm

Better Video Card 256-512mb Half the Ram Go AMD instead of p4 Dual Processor...Bryce5.5 Takes advantage of Dual Processor... A proven fact that AMD is Faster then P4 when it comes to 3D Programs useing 3d Studio Max...

hmm..you're lucky in a way, Zhann, they just shipped me memory for my Dell and said 'have at you'..;) Good luck.

I heard there video cards that is made specil for graph art and not for gamers. the cards works faster with the graph [art] card for what you are doing

Yep There are Video cards that are $1000 or better...

The Nvidia GeForce 6800 GTO, I found out is 512mb, and OEM only....they keep touting Doom something or other on the Nvidia site, but it's only $698 so it's not too bad. I asked for the top of the line for 3d modeling and intensive graphics and that's what they came up with, (supposedly for game designers)......Because I'm making exchanges on some things in the box, the new P4 it has to be....

Message edited on: 03/21/2005 23:05

My Dell wants to have your Dells babies!!! :)

you use photoshop or other apps that see and can use more than 1 cpu? do a lot of multitasking then .. get a dual xeon hyperthreaded machine.

I would cut back on the ram and harddrive enough to afford Vue Infinite lol.

p4 is the best. i heard amds were heating up too much. also check the ati cards good value for money.

Vue5 Infinite is on this list already...I hid it in with the gravel and cement for landscaping....=) I thought I'd also go 'blonde' for the summer, since my hair color has been everything but blonde, here's the conversation in the car me: I think I'll have have hair bleached blonde for the summer months, what do you think??? todd: you want me to look after your site and the forum while you're gone??? I couldn't stop laughing....=D

Message edited on: 03/22/2005 00:09

lol Todd is very subtle.

Well you know me....get a mac of course! :-D Ability to adress 8GB of RAM, 64 bit processors, and it's fastttttt. Here's a cinebench test: The dual 2.5Ghz G5 beat everything but the dual 2.6 Ghz opterons, and the opterons run upwards of $5500 with idential config options and in bryce.... it beats everything. This test page is very true, and they use identical setups in terms of RAM, hard drives, and graphics cards: http://www.barefeats.com/macvpc.html Even if you don't buy a mac, it still has some great PC vs. PC charts.

Yep, cut the RAM in half. Processor, possibly an AMD 64. video ... that GTO is apparently an OEM version of 6800GT. You don't need a 6800 card, cause the programs will barely use it. Buy a 6600 GT, which is, I believe cheaper and will fulfill the 3D needs completely.

Attached Link: http://www.boxxtech.com/index.asp

Check here to do some comparison shopping.

Zhann, speak to the Dell people about the best video card they can possibly offer you. Ive spoken to them in the past and they assure me that the components they offer have been put through the tech compatibility mill before they decide what to offer peripheral wise with any given system. They do this to cut back on customer component compatibility tech problems and not tie up their tech service department, saving customer aggravation and money for Dell. So, whatever they offer with that particular system, has been tested for compatibility by them. This of course doesnt mean that anything else wont work but you would be taking your chances. Of course, every other manufacturer will swear on their products compatibility for the sake of sales. Then again, unless youre extremely impressed and feel comfortable with Dell, there are other system setups out there. Good luck and hope to see you back online soon blondie.

not sure about XP, but I know 4 gig is the limit that some OS's can address..depends on what you're running, I suppose

Please DO NOT buy a Dell or ComPaq or anything else that is a Big Company,Unless everything can be upgraded without having to get a new case,Have them build it with a regular tower that is NOT Priotary to them...You want to be able to Swap out Ram and the Board at anytime,If you get a Dell or Compaq that is almost impossible to do unless you want to go to a Specified Dealer of that certain system...if you buy a Dell or Compaq Then most likely within 2-3 years you will have to buy a new machine if you plan on keeping up with technology Build it yourself or have a Computer shop that specializes in Highend Gaming/Graphics Computers... I got lucky there is a Great shop on 6th ave in Tacoma thats been there 15 years and I had them build my first 2 computers...Then I finally had them Hire me to help out...I still work there when they get slammed...

I would go with a mac. One of my friends has a mac with a gig fo ram, G5 processor, and 2 hd's in raid 0 totalling 500 gb. It is extremely fast. Plus, if you like music it can output independent signals to 3 separate speaker systems. If I could afford a nice mac I would get one in a heartbeat.

I've had no problems with Dell and have three systems all Dell, when I need extra harddrives, usb ports, net cards extra ram, new video cards or other little stuff the local comp tech guy installs those or I buy them and install them myself... Plus anything major, Dell sends out a tech to my house to fix it.... The comp that went down, the guy was here today and replaced the motherboard, all four sticks of ram, and the video card, so basically it's a brand new box....Dell believes in overkill thankfully, and rather than send a tech out several times they believe in fixing everything that 'could' go bad all at once, so they've done alright by me.....=)

Great!! There's nothing but lovely camping in your future!

LOL WTG Jan! BTW my son hates DELL.....! Stuffed if I know why.

Yeah, he was on the fence about replacing the motherboard, but I said 'hey, I'll just call you out later this week, go ahead and do it now and save yourself a trip'...=)

Attached Link: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=3301

Zhann, theres nothing wrong with Dell, I also, as have many other Dell customers have had nothing but good experiences with Dell. I had started to post before about Dells proprietary practices and how they were only incorporating hard drives with swapped color code cabling, then I remembered how it was with the power packs. So I withdrew my posting until making sure. Dell is the largest computer marketer because they have a proven formula despite all the flap. Yes, they have turned proprietary over the years whereas they werent when they first came into the market. Now they are one of the largest resellers across the world and have the money to explore their market and the above statement from Dell is how their engineers account for it whether or not anyone chooses to believe it or not:

Each to his or Her own I guess...Me I will never own a Dell or Compaq...My first real computer after my first Comp(Tandy1000 given to me in 98,still works)was a Compaq and I had to upgrade the whole thing to be able to run Bryce3D and TruespaceSE,It would have cost me Triple to upgrade the Compaq then it did with a new Comp...So I was spoiled I guess I really have only used a AMD since and I build my own now...So like I said Each to his/her own and yes having a Tsch come out and fix things is great....

Message edited on: 03/22/2005 22:42