What are your current computer's specs?

[Captain Ice]

Tonight I purchased a new computer to replace my slowly dying 9 year old desktop and I find myself curious to see what the rest of you are using to get to the BBS.

My current (old) PC:

P4 2.4 GHz processor
1.8 GB PC 2700 DDR Ram
150 GB hard drive
256 meg ATI Radeon AGP graphics card
52x CDRW drive
28x CD-rom drive


My new PC:

I7 2.0 GHz processor
6 GB DDR3 Ram
750 GB hard drive
Blue-ray player and super-multi-DVD burner
2 USB 2.0 ports
2 USB 3.0 ports
HDMI port
17.3" 1600x900 HD display


As this is my first laptop, I was also wondering:

Should I buy a travel case for it?
Is there anything I should be leery of/careful with?
As it is a desktop replacement, should I look into getting a docking station for it? If so, how much do these run?
Should I get a cooling pad for it?

Also, what type of PCs/Macs do you currently use and what are the specs?

 

[Amaris]

...

As this is my first laptop, I was also wondering:

Should I buy a travel case for it?

I recommend it. It makes traveling and using the laptop much easier.

Is there anything I should be leery of/careful with?

Don't drop it, and make sure there's plenty of ventilation on the bottom.

As it is a desktop replacement, should I look into getting a docking station for it? If so, how much do these run?

Docking stations are nice. I do recommend them when you're using the laptop as a desktop replacement.

Should I get a cooling pad for it?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. The built in cooling system is woefully inadequate in most laptops. 9 out of 10 laptops I repaired when I worked at Dell were damaged due to overheating.

A good cooling pad will help extend the life of your hardware. I recommend XPad, which require no power source, as they are passive cooling systems. They do work, I swear by them.

Also, what type of PCs/Macs do you currently use and what are the specs?

I have an HP Pavilion a6803w. My system specs are:

AMD Athlon X2 2.53 Ghz Processor
3 GB DDR2 800 RAM
500 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
ATi Radeon HD4670 1 GB PCIe Graphics Card
HP SuperMultiDrive (DVD Burner/CD Burner/Lightscribe)
6 USB 2.0 Ports
15 in 1 Multimedia Reader (SD card/MMC/Pro Duo, etc)
20" HP 2009m LCD Flat Panel @1600x900

 

[ITL]

I think it's time to replace the creaky old relic I laughingly call a computer before it crumbles into dust and deprives me of my internets. Quick! Someone give me some money!

 

[think]

two dual core AMD Opteron Processor 275
2.21 GHz 3gig ram

linux box lap
and a xp box lap

these are all archaic things I have dual monitor outs in the main thing 2 24 in flats...

the cores are 64 bitters so it is like 4 sixty for bit processors. but even still rendering movies is like pulling teeth sometimes..this is like a three or four year old machine that I have been using for that long. I have decided not to get into machine coding with it because the machine architecture as been reworked into... something different..

it is really annoying cause the processors bit structure will not run some 32 bit compiled fractal programs so rather then redesign a whole new fractal program at machine level I have decided to ,,, wait for something to change to make it easier like the conceptnet5 going on..

 

[ares93]

Smarthome mainframe (Occasional gaming rig):
Phenom 2 X6@4.1GHz, 16GB DDR3 1600mhz, Crossfire ATI Radeon HD6970, Corsair F120, 2TB 7200rpm, Win 7 Ultimate x64 EDIT: Triple screen setup

Portable desktop:
Asus X72JR, I5-520m, 8GB DDR3, MR HD5470 1gb, Intel SSD, 500GB 7200rpm, Win 7 Home Premium x64

Laptop/Work machine:
Toughbook CF-29, 1526mb DDR2, Corsair F120 SSD, DVD-RW, Ublox 6 GPS, Emissive Keyboard, WWAN, XP SP3

 

[Cutter John]

I'm strictl a desktop user, so lets see,

2.8 GHz Athlon processor
4 Gb 5300 DDR2 Ram
Sound Blaster X-Fi soundcard
180 and 250 GB hard drives (450 GB external drive for backups)
Nvidia 9800GT graphics card
19 inch LG LCD monitor
DVDRW combo drive
Win 7 64 bit OS

I keep thinking I should update the thing. Maybe more Ram, larger monitor, or a faster processor. But you know, for a machine thats over five years old, it still performs really well.

 

[ThankQ]

My computer wears contacts.

 

[TheBrew]

Couldn't spring for the laser surgery?

 

[Sector 7]

Don't laugh (at least not too loud ):

Dell Dimension 2350 desktop
Intel Pentium 4 1.80 GHz
2.00 GB RAM (upgraded from 500 MB by me)
30 GB HDD
320 GB HDD (added by me)
CD ROM drive
Samsung DVD burner (added by me)

Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3

A couple years ago our home was burglarized. They got big screen TVs, computers, laptops, printers... even the cable box. None of it was insured. My godson got a new computer that Christmas and sent me his old one. Gotta love him.

After replacing the power supply, it has been very dependable. The upgrades I made have helped performance considerably. It needs a better graphics card. (I was told the one I have is as bad as not having one, but not sure what kind to get.)

J. Allen, I e-mailed my godson the link for the XPad. We have been looking for something for his laptop. Thanks!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I replaced my aging P4 system with this:

AMD Athlon II X4 @ 2.8GHz
4GB RAM
720GB hard drive
DVD/CD writer
AMD HD4200 graphics (which I replaced recently with the only-slightly-better nVidia GeForce GT 520)

Good system, although someday I will go for a real video card which means springing for a heavier power supply. Just putting that off.

I also had an old ASUS netbook which was on its last legs. I replaced it with:

AMD E-350 CPU
3GB RAM
320GB hard drive
DVD/CD burner
15.6" screen
Radeon HD 6310 graphics

I am a total cheapskate. I paid $350 for the desktop last summer, and $350 for this laptop about a month ago. Both were refurbished units (with warranty, though.)

 

[ares93]

Don't laugh (at least not too loud ):

Dell Dimension 2350 desktop
Intel Pentium 4 1.80 GHz
2.00 GB RAM (upgraded from 500 MB by me)
30 GB HDD
320 GB HDD (added by me)
CD ROM drive
Samsung DVD burner (added by me)

Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3

A couple years ago our home was burglarized. They got big screen TVs, computers, laptops, printers... even the cable box. None of it was insured. My godson got a new computer that Christmas and sent me his old one. Gotta love him.

After replacing the power supply, it has been very dependable. The upgrades I made have helped performance considerably. It needs a better graphics card. (I was told the one I have is as bad as not having one, but not sure what kind to get.)

J. Allen, I e-mailed my godson the link for the XPad. We have been looking for something for his laptop. Thanks!

You're going to laugh now. Look at my computers in my post above and I'll tell you a secret.

Spoiler: Secret

I have an identical machine (although upgraded) and its the most used computer in the household. That is if you don't count the SH-Mainframe. But considering the mainframe more or less acts as a server, it doesn't count.

 

[Sector 7]

Don't laugh (at least not too loud ):

Dell Dimension 2350 desktop
Intel Pentium 4 1.80 GHz
2.00 GB RAM (upgraded from 500 MB by me)
30 GB HDD
320 GB HDD (added by me)
CD ROM drive
Samsung DVD burner (added by me)

Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3

A couple years ago our home was burglarized. They got big screen TVs, computers, laptops, printers... even the cable box. None of it was insured. My godson got a new computer that Christmas and sent me his old one. Gotta love him.

After replacing the power supply, it has been very dependable. The upgrades I made have helped performance considerably. It needs a better graphics card. (I was told the one I have is as bad as not having one, but not sure what kind to get.)

J. Allen, I e-mailed my godson the link for the XPad. We have been looking for something for his laptop. Thanks!

You're going to laugh now. Look at my computers in my post above and I'll tell you a secret.

Spoiler: Secret

I have an identical machine (although upgraded) and its the most used computer in the household. That is if you don't count the SH-Mainframe. But considering the mainframe more or less acts as a server, it doesn't count.

Aside from the video card issue, I love this old computer! The price was perfect and it was a gift of love from my godson.

 

[ares93]

Aside from the video card issue, I love this old computer! The price was perfect and it was a gift of love from my godson.

You need an AGP graphics card for that machine. I have a Radeon HD3450 in mine which works splendidly. Of course, a little overclocking doesnt hurt either. But bottom line is, anything with an AGP port will work. I think the fastest card that uses an AGP port is the HD4650, or possibly the HD4670.

 

[Sector 7]

Aside from the video card issue, I love this old computer! The price was perfect and it was a gift of love from my godson.

You need an AGP graphics card for that machine. I have a Radeon HD3450 in mine which works splendidly. Of course, a little overclocking doesnt hurt either. But bottom line is, anything with an AGP port will work. I think the fastest card that uses an AGP port is the HD4650, or possibly the HD4670.

Thanks, ares93, I'll look for one now.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I only upgraded my desktop PC before xmas.

I3 core (SB) 3.10ghz.
GTX 560 SC
8 gig 1333 DDR3
500gig WD HDD
Sony DVD rom
28in Hanns-G monitor

Windows 7 Home 64 bit

 

[Mr. B]

I last upgraded in July of 2010, but I'm still content with my setup: full description with pictures

Antec P180 Case
Seasonic S12-500 500 watt Power Supply
EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
with Scythe Mugen 2 CPU cooler

EVGA GeForce GTX260 Core 216 896MB DDR3 Graphics Card 896-P3-1255-AR
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 SDRAM

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM hard drive
Two (2) Samsung EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB hard drives (for RAID1 media storage)
ASUS DRW-24B1ST SATA DVD Burner
Scythe Kaze Master 5.25'' Bay Fan Controller
Three (3) YATE LOON 120mm Case Fans (D12SL-12)

Two (2) Dell 2209WA 22'' LCD
E-MU 0404 USB, Audioengine A5 speakers

 

[StolenThunder]

My iMac is just starting to creak a little bit, I think.

24" screen, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM. It's a mid-2007.

Still does just fine but I notice a little tattiness around the edges. I'll upgrade in the next two or three years, I suppose. I was thinking of perhaps buying a MacBook Air, maybe a Pro, to go with it.

 

[FordSVT]

two dual core AMD Opteron Processor 275
2.21 GHz 3gig ram

linux box lap
and a xp box lap

these are all archaic things I have dual monitor outs in the main thing 2 24 in flats...

the cores are 64 bitters so it is like 4 sixty for bit processors. but even still rendering movies is like pulling teeth sometimes..this is like a three or four year old machine that I have been using for that long. I have decided not to get into machine coding with it because the machine architecture as been reworked into... something different..

it is really annoying cause the processors bit structure will not run some 32 bit compiled fractal programs so rather then redesign a whole new fractal program at machine level I have decided to ,,, wait for something to change to make it easier like the conceptnet5 going on..

My God, even when the topic is straight forward you're incomprehensible.

My computer was a quad core Q6660 Intel with 3 GB of DDR2 ram and a GTS 9600 video card. Unfortunately, it died last Thursday. Power supply went, caused a chain reaction that took out the motherboard and processor. It was four years old, time to get something new...

I'm currently researching a new build and have decided on:

Intel i5 2500 (i7 is more expensive and not really worth it for me).
8GB DDR3
GTX 560ti video card
1TB hard drive
120GB SATA SSD

 

[ares93]

two dual core AMD Opteron Processor 275
2.21 GHz 3gig ram

linux box lap
and a xp box lap

these are all archaic things I have dual monitor outs in the main thing 2 24 in flats...

the cores are 64 bitters so it is like 4 sixty for bit processors. but even still rendering movies is like pulling teeth sometimes..this is like a three or four year old machine that I have been using for that long. I have decided not to get into machine coding with it because the machine architecture as been reworked into... something different..

it is really annoying cause the processors bit structure will not run some 32 bit compiled fractal programs so rather then redesign a whole new fractal program at machine level I have decided to ,,, wait for something to change to make it easier like the conceptnet5 going on..

My God, even when the topic is straight forward you're incomprehensible.

I'm having problems understanding it, and bloody hell, I do this for a living.

The way I figure, we have there options. Either both of us have gone temporarily dyslectic, think is in serious need of the spell-check plugin or he's drunk.

EDIT: Seems I need the spell check plugin as well. Or perhaps smaller fingers or a bigger mobile.

 

[FordSVT]

Naw, the post is typical, he usually doesn't make a lick of sense to anyone. I'll drop it though, don't want to get too personal and get a warning for it.