Buying a new computer

[Asher]

My PC doubles as a PVR machine. I have tons of TV shows I record on here, as well as movies and a ton of games. They start to add up.

Grand Theft Auto: SA is ~5GB for example.

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
You are planning on storing a lot of porn, St Leo.

Not really, but it would be nice to replace my 7 GB worth of Futurama tv rips with DVD ones. 90GB is kinda tight.

[Asher]

Regarding the harddrive...

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA/150 200GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer (OEM) is $135CDN at CanadaComputers.

Similarly, Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA/150 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM) is $189.

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA/150 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM) is $236.

Seagate 200GB ST-3200826AS Barracuda 7200.8 SATA w/NCQ Hard Disk (non-OEM) is $142.

Seagate 250GB ST-3250823AS Barracuda 7200.8 SATA w/NCQ Hard Disk (non-OEM) is $169.

Seagate 300GB ST-3300831AS Barracuda 7200.8 SATA w/NCQ Hard Disk (non-OEM) is $227

Seagate 400GB ST-3400832AS Barracuda 7200.8 SATA w/NCQ Hard Disk (non-OEM) is $369.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProdList&cmd=pl&id=HD.96

I would get the Maxtor or Seagate 250GB at CanadaComputers over the 200GB at TigerDirect. More storage & faster for the same price.

CanadaComputers has their new store open at Bayview & Major Mac (by Dominion) also.

[St Leo]

Thanks for the pointer, Asher.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Lord Nuclear
What in the world do you do with all that space?

Gay porn

[MrFun]

That's true -- gay porn takes up more space, as it is of higher quality than mere straight porn.

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Gay porn

Matchbox-20 bootlegs in FLAC lossless WMA.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by MrFun
That's true -- gay porn takes up more space, as it is of higher quality than mere straight porn.

It's the quantity that matters. NTSC is still NTSC, no matter how you cut it

[MrFun]

You think you're so smart when you use the tongue smilie.

[:) Smiley]

Get a better mouse. I just got a Logitech MX-500 and it is sweet. Feels much better to use than the generic mouse since it's got a thumbrest and pgup-pgdown buttons. Bought mine in a store for around $40, there are probably cheaper deals online.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
It's the quantity that matters. NTSC is still NTSC, no matter how you cut it

What if my porn was hi-def?

5.1 surround, 720p...

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by St Leo
New plan taking into account your good advice.

... which was to look at Antec and Enermax for cases and power supplies...

Antec cases provide very silent solutions, and Enermax has a new PSU-series that has a fan that keeps on running for two minutes after shutdown to make sure the case and PSU are properly cooled down

[muxec]

It's better to take 2*512MB RAM. Cheaper and faster.
Maxtor Hard Disks are not reliable. It is better to take 160MB Seagate.
You can safely overclock AMD 64 2800 to AMD 64 3200 with BOX CPU-fan.
PCI-E GeForce 6600 supports all games you need. You do not need Radeon.
For 50$ you can buy case with built in extra fan.
Also I'd discard sound card and speakers and buy cheap headphones... Do you really feel the difference?
Do you really need floppy disk drive?

[Slaughtermeyer]

I'm also thinking about buying a new computer. Does anyone know the difference between DDR and DDR2 memory? I am considering an HP from WalMart that has 1024 MB of DDR2 memory, the complete specs for the system ($1048) are:

* Control your PC from across the room using the included full remote
* 3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 Processor 630 with HT Technology
* 1 GB PC3200 DDR2 SDRAM memory (2 x 512 MB for ultimate performance)
* Expandable to 4 GB
* 200 GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA hard drive
* CD-ROM drive (48x max. speed)
* LightScribe Double Layer 16x DVDR/RW drive with CD writer capabilities
* LightScribe feature produces neat, professional-looking disc labels; forget the Magic Marker!
* Front panel 9-in-1 memory card reader supports Smart Media, xD, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital (SD), Compact Flash I, Compact Flash II, Micro Drive, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro
* Purchase your choice of monitor separately

Warranty Length: 1-year hardware parts and labor from date of purchase. 90 day software technical toll-free phone assistance

Supplier Warranty: 1-year hardware parts and labor from date of purchase. 90 day software technical toll-free phone assistance

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3661683

I already have a Logitech optical mouse that is satisfactory to me.

[Urban Ranger]

I always recommend people to build their own or buy from their local computer shop. You can ask them lots and lots of questions and they tend to be more responsive when it comes to support.