Thread: Post Your Computer

Welcome to the first topic of Tech Talk with a point (haha).

So basically, post your computer specs. I'll just do a little here.

iMac G5 Second Generation
20"
2.0 GHz
512 mb RAM (will upgrade one day....)
OS X 10.4.7
250 GB HDD
Apple Wireless Mouse+Keyboard
Terribly Buggy HP Printer
No iSight

Ok I'm done post yours.

this one is just a stock DELL thing

512 ram, 2.8 ghz, 128 generic video card, bah
its running UBUNTU because I'm too lazy to look for a stupid onboard ethernet driver for this thing

my other is like 1g ram, 3.2ghz processor, 128 generic video card with windows XP

intel celeron 533 mhz
256 ram
sapphire 128 vid dual out
seagate 120gig hd

Cruddy PC right now...

2.98 GHz Intel
256 MB RAM
80 GB HD
Integrated Intel Graphics (which BITES because it doesn't include a slot to upgrade it)

Add to that a horribly inefficient cooling system and a measly 250 W power supply and you've got a real junker.
Eventually I'll get off my arse and build myself a new computer.

AMD Athlon 64bit 3.4 GHz Processor (SSE3 3DNOW! All that good junk)
1600Mhz Bus Speed

Gigabyte K8M800 Motherboard with AC 97 Onboard Sound (Up to 7.1 Dolby Digital)
-3 PCI Slots
-1 AGP 8x
-Hyperthreading Support
-2 DIMM Slots with support for up to 4 Gb of 533mhz DDR SDRAM
-Onboard VIA RHINE 2 Ethernet Controller 10/100Mbit Ehternet
-2 SATA Raid Controllers
-2 IDE controllers
-1 Floppy Controller (Woo hOo! Old School)
-6 USB 2.0 Ports
-Dual BIOS System With Integrated System Backup Program and BIOS Flashing Utility

RADEON 9800 Pro (Second Series) 256bit
-256 Megs of DDR2 SDRAM
-DVI, CRT, SVIDEO outs
-Shader Model 3 Support
-All kinds of other goodies. http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/rad...ro/compare.html

Memorex DVD RW+-
Atapi 52x CD RW
60Gb Hard Disk
256MB ULTRA DDR SDRAM (I have more on the way the original stick sent to me via New Egg was bad, system will have 1 GiG when it comes in)

OS - Gentoo Linux, Kernel 2.6.17-r7

I also have a Dell Latitude D620 With 512MB DDR2 and a Centrino Dual Core 64bit processor and an Nvideo Quatro NVS 110M PCI Express Card Thanks to my School

OS: Windows XP (Home Edition).
The only operating system that allows you to run your sound card without typing in afget -a -l /home/etc/usd.config! Hooray for that!

Sony VAIO VGC
Intel 5 Series P4
RAM: 1024 MB
250 GB
nVidia GeForce FX 5700 Graphics Card
Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
20" LCD Widescreen
O.S. XP/home

It came with some third-party freeware PSP conversion software so I can transfer my photos, video, and music to my PSP. I like the transistion and intergration between the image convertor and the PSP. its Soooooo Smoooooth!! basically to the point where the system becomes a media server for my PSP My wife has a Vaio Laptop so when it comes to media streaming between the two... Forget about it. Soooo Sweeettt. I Love it.

I made this post a while back. If you wanna see my specs then read it here. Meh I'll copy paste it:
My main box:

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2
AS-ROCK 939 Dual SATA2
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
1 GB DDR400 PC3200 RAM
80GB Maxtor Diamond Max HDD SATA 300 Gbits/sec [It's a piece of crap... it's trying to fail I think]
Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256MB 256 bit PCI Express [aftermarket ATI silencer cooling]
Realtek AC'97 Onboard 7.1 Audio
NEC All-format DVD writer[including dual layer]/CD writer

intel 3.40 Ghz cpu
2 gb RAM
300 GB HDD
HP wireless keyboard/mouse
Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
Windows XP Media Centre (Vista ready)
Graphics 512MB GF7500LE

Originally Posted by megabenman

Welcome to the first topic of Tech Talk with a point (haha).

So basically, post your computer specs. I'll just do a little here.
...
[/b]

You fail for having a mac.
Oh and don't hold grudges against the first topic here.. WITHOUT a point. >:]
Anyways...

AMD Athlon 64 3500+
2.2 GHz
1024 MB DDR RAM (will be 2GB soon)
Windows XP Home
1x 150GB Internal Hard Drives, 1x 200GB External, 1x 500 GB external; making a total of 850GB hard disk space
Logitech G15 Keyboard
Logitech Mediamouse
HP Photosmart 7450 Photoprinter.
2x USB2.0 Hub, 8 ports ea.
GeForce 7800GTX (proud of that)
Neon Lights
Dolby 5.1 Surround system.
17" HP Pavilion (f1703).

Originally Posted by TweaK

You fail for having a mac.
Oh and don't hold grudges against the first topic here.. WITHOUT a point. >:]
Anyways...

AMD Athlon 64 3500+
2.2 GHz
1024 MB DDR RAM (will be 2GB soon)
Windows XP Home
1x 150GB Internal Hard Drives, 1x 200GB External, 1x 500 GB external; making a total of 850GB hard disk space
Logitech G15 Keyboard
Logitech Mediamouse
HP Photosmart 7450 Photoprinter.
2x USB2.0 Hub, 8 ports ea.
GeForce 7800GTX (proud of that)
Neon Lights
Dolby 5.1 Surround system.
17" HP Pavilion (f1703).

[/b]

Did you build that or buy it pre-built? If you built it or added the GPU later how much did that 7800GTX set you back? I paid just under 200 for my x850xt and now like 5 months later it's down to $124. Oh well that's the way the PC world goes eh. Also I too am thinking about adding another gig of ram to my box. Most ram I've ever actually managed to use was like 1030MB which is 6 more MB than I've got. That was while playing F.E.A.R multiplayer with max setting @ 1024x768, 4x antialiasing 8x anisotropic filtering. Around 40FPS except when I'd turn a corner and it'd have to go to the page file for a texture it'd drop to like 8FPS for a couple seconds which sucked. My RAM is fast but my hard drive isn't.

Originally Posted by Leixor

Did you build that or buy it pre-built? If you built it or added the GPU later how much did that 7800GTX set you back? I paid just under 200 for my x850xt and now like 5 months later it's down to $124. Oh well that's the way the PC world goes eh. [/b]

I built in some additional stuff, replaced the Graphics card (the original one was a GeForce 6200SE. That card is worse than the 3800), bought external hard disks, the printer, the hubs, etc.
What was already in?
The processor, the RAM, the OS (I insta formatted it as soon as I had it in my place though. It had Norton and other system resource hogging apps preinstalled), 2x 150 GB (though one got permanent hardware failures and I had to remove it), and the Neon Lights.

The 7800GTX cost me about €500,-.. Which comes down to a $635ish. By now, it's only like €200. >__>
Still, I don't really care. It plays the latest games on the highest graphical intense settings without framerate loss.

Indeed, that is how the PC world goes around. I don't mind, it's for all the better. Now, 1Gig of RAM in one chip is only €35 here. 1-2 years ago when I wanted another Gig of RAM (DDR) in one chip (so 1x 1024 rather than 2x 512) it was going to cost me over €300. I decided not to get that additional gig, and I didn't. One of these days, I'm going to get it for only 10% of the price it was back then.

Originally Posted by TweaK

I fail for not having a mac.
[/b]

Fixed.

MacBook Pro
15.4" Screen w/ 22" Monitor
2.16 Ghz
2 MB Ram
OS 10.4.7/10.5
100GB HDD
Apple Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
Built-in iSight

Originally Posted by cmr924

Fixed.

MacBook Pro
15.4" Screen w/ 22" Monitor
2.16 Ghz
2 MB Ram
OS 10.4.7/10.5
100GB HDD
Apple Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
Built-in iSight
[/b]

So tell me, what's so great about Mac that tops off Windows?
The massive amount of virusses that are on Windows and not on Mac? That's what antivirus applications are for.
The massive amount of games and applications that do not support Mac? Oh wait, that's a big plus for windows there!

Please convince me.

Originally Posted by TweaK

So tell me, what's so great about Mac that tops off Windows?
The massive amount of virusses that are on Windows and not on Mac? That's what antivirus applications are for.
The massive amount of games and applications that do not support Mac? Oh wait, that's a big plus for windows there!

Please convince me.
[/b]

These days, I can run both Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously, or if I want to I can even boot directly into Windows. If I want to play games, I can.

Overall, I rarely use the Windows operating system. I have come to love UNIX for its ease of use, its security, and its stability.

I definitely wasn't a big Macintosh fan back in the days of pre-Mac OS X, but things have changed.

Antivirus applications are great. So is constantly downloading Microsoft security patches. In fact, it is so great that I hate not even worrying about viruses altogether.

Often times, these Mac vs. Windows arguments can get heated but I hope that we can remain as civil as we have been thus far.

Thanks,
Chris

The massive amount of virusses that are on Windows and not on Mac? That's what antivirus applications are for.[/b]

Mmm... there AREN'T alot of viruses for windows. And plus, as long as you're not Warezing and crap, you're not likely to get anything.

Originally Posted by Artie

These days, I can run both Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously, or if I want to I can even boot directly into Windows. If I want to play games, I can.
[/b]

You're kidding, right?

Originally Posted by TweaK

So tell me, what's so great about Mac that tops off Windows?
The massive amount of virusses that are on Windows and not on Mac? That's what antivirus applications are for.
The massive amount of games and applications that do not support Mac?
Please convince me.
[/b]

Wow, that's rather a large chip on your shoulder. I've never really quite understood why Macintosh users are so frequently accosted for using something that works well for them for whatever reason.

Are Macs running MacOS (remember, they can run Linux or BSD quite well, and the Intel-based ones can run Windows, as well) better than PCs running Windows in some grand, overreaching, cosmic, good-versus-evil sense? I don't think I'm qualified to answer that, but I'd like to think they are. I do know that they make a better working environment for me, and I don't consider myself to be a stereotypical (or even typical) Mac user.

I came to using the Macintosh by means of SGI workstations (running IRIX, a truly user-friendly Unix). When it became apparent that SGI was getting out of that market just about the time I needed a workstation upgrade around five years ago, I switched from an Octane running IRIX 6.5 to a Macintosh running OS X 10.1. You see, I write software for Unix and Windows computers and do IT contracting work predominantly for Windows and IBM minicomputer shops.

That's right. I write Windows software and do Windows system administration on a Macintosh (a PowerPC Macintosh, no less). Of course, the final builds and the tests for the Windows-specific portions (user interface, COM+ components, etc.) of any code I write have to happen on a PC running Visual Studio, but a very large portion of the code I write runs just fine and gets unit-tested on Solaris or MacOS. The bits that run as web applications are portable by default.

So why would I go through so many hoops to get my job done? The Mac makes me more productive, and here's how:

• The Windows user interface monotonically approaches a perfectly passive-aggressive interaction environment with each passing upgrade. Whether it's second guessing me ("You asked to do something. Are you sure you want to something?"), pestering me ("I just loaded some updates! Want to reboot?" "How about now?" "Doesn't a reboot sound really nice right about now?" "Hey, how about that reboot?"), interrupting me for no good reason at all (maybe I don't care that there are "unused" icons on my desktop) or treating me like a child with silly animations or stupid speech bubbles coddling me, Windows is forever getting in my way. In creative work (programming, HTML layout, graphics work), an interruption consumes far more time than the interruption itself; it takes a not insignificant amount of time to "context switch" back to the previous task.
• Speaking of getting in my way, my typical uses for the computer involve typing code, typing documentation, typing HTML, and typing correspondence. It's safe to say that if I'm at the keyboard, I'm using the keyboard. I cannot recall how many times some Windows application running in the background has popped-up a system-wide dialog box, stolen focus from whatever I was typing in, caught a space or some other character as a button shortcut, and did something I didn't want just because I had the nerve to think I should be providing input to my computer. The Mac way (bouncing the Dock icon in 10.x, or flashing the application menu in older versions) is distracting and irritating, but not destructive.
  
• When I got my first PowerBook (a G3 "Pismo"), I was amazed that I could actually put it to sleep just by closing the lid, and wake it just by opening the lid--reliably. This has really only gotten somewhat universal in Windows XP SP2; before then, it was anyone's guess what would happen. Would the laptop turn off? Would it stay awake and overheat and then turn off permanently? Would it go to sleep like you told it to in the power control panel? The suspense was thrilling! I had fun terrifying the people around me using Windows ME and Windows 2000 by closing my laptop in the middle of something ("You can't do that! It'll burn up!"). My neighbor's Dell laptop running XP SP2 still doesn't do what he wants in that regard. Whereas, my Mac has Just Worked, whether I was plugging my Canon camera (which needs drivers under XP), a V-Cast wireless broadband card (which needs drivers and a dialer program under XP), a USB serial adapter (which needs drivers under XP), or a USB MIDI interface (which needs drivers under XP). Plug and play, every time, because the OS and hardware were made for each other. You can't get that level of smooth integration in the every-varying sea of PC peripherals, their myriad drivers, and the relatively stagnant Windows codebase. I see it on IBM systems running AIX, Sun servers running Solaris, and SGIs running IRIX: when the hardware and software teams can talk to each other, the end user spends a lot less time fighting with both.
• I can write and test software written for Unix in one window and use Microsoft Office in another window, without rebooting between Windows and BSD (or Linux). This is a less of an issue now that VMware Server is free, but having both hosted in the same OS is a much more elegant solution.
  
• I don't know how I worked with multiple applications on the Macintosh before Exposé in 10.4. I don't know how I'd work efficiently without it now. I tend to have a lot of windows open: editing windows, preview windows, debuggers, documentation, email, etc. That feature alone was worth the last upgrade.
  
• "Print to PDF" means I can share documents (bids, contracts, statements) with clients in such a way that they're not editable, and I don't have to pay Abode as much money as I paid for my last OS upgrade.
• The Registry, component registration, BHOs, and all that other nonsense on Windows are abominations. Most of my really serious consulting calls involve hand-hacking the Windows Registry either because some malware hitched a ride through IE or some COM+ registration went awry and left the shell in some sort of confused state (I'm not immune from this--do a Google-groups search for: eudora "unhappy shell"). Fixing these sorts of problems is far removed from the skill set of the typical computer user, as well it should be, since these things should be robust enough and transparent enough as to not cause problems!

In light of all that, having to break my workflow apart into portable and non-portable pieces is little effort. It also has the added bonus of a more robust finished product, which earns me repeat business.

You see, as I see it, just because Windows works better for my customers doesn't mean that it will work well for me or that I have to be less productive at my workstation by using it. Windows apparently works well for some people, and, yeah, I've run a whole lot of it since the late eighties, but it's a lot further from an optimal working environment than I'd like, so I keep that to a minimum these days. I'm much happier in MacOS or Unix because I feel like I'm driving the computer, not along for the ride: unexpected things very rarely happen, my computer doesn't find reasons to interrupt me, and it does what it is told without whining about automatic updates, unused desktop icons, or whatever else might not even be tangentally-related to what I'm trying to do.

I do have to admit, though, my Mac customers don't call me over nearly as often as my Windows customers do, so I suppose Windows is useful for me in an entirely unintentional sort of way.

As far as application availability goes, quality is more important to me than quantity. There is nothing I'd like to do on my Mac that is impossible for lack of software. I have all the software I need to get my work done and piddle around with fun stuff, and everything but Photoshop and Office either came with the OS or was available for free. On the other hand, there's a lot of software for Windows that I don't need on my Macintosh (antivirus software, anti-spyware software, third-party firewall, registry cleaner, decent web browser). I guess if I used my computer to play video games, I'd probably spend more time on my PC, but I don't have time for that sort of thing these days.

As far as antivirus software goes, viruses are only half the problem with malware on Windows. The fun part about running the platform for which everyone develops is that everyone develops for it, even the bad guys and the incompetent. Today I had the joy of working on a Windows XP system with anti-virus software installed and running with up-to-date definitions that a customer handed me because it was being "weird". Between the constant popups, the unkillable processes (programs run as services marked as too critical to stop), the background spyware programs that guarded their Registry keys from manipulation, and the fake "virus alert" widgets running in the system tray, the machine was completely unusuable. None of these programs was technically a virus--they were all properly-registered in the Registry, properly bound to the shell and Internet Explorer, and otherwise operating completely within the rules for that platform. Most-likely they came onboard when the hapless user downloaded some piece of shareware and didn't read every letter of the license agreement to know he was getting more than he wanted.

That's not to say Windows isn't better at some things than Mac OS is. For example, I like Windows Explorer (with all the candy and interference turned off) for file-management a lot better than I like the Finder, even taking Finder's spring-loaded folders into account. However, in terms of raw speed of being able to move and sort files by name, I'm still faster at the command-line on either OS.

Anyhow, back to the topic of this thread, my desktop computer is:
<blockquote>Power Macintosh G4 "QuickSilver"
Two 1GHz PowerPC 7455 "G4" processors
1.25GB memory
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card
Superdrive
SIIG SATA controller
160GB WD ATA hard drive
300GB WD SATA hard drive
Apple Pro Keyboard
Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical
Wacom Graphire4 tablet
Two Dell UltraSharp 2001FP displays
OS X 10.4.8 / 9.2.2</blockquote>
My laptop is:
<blockquote>17-inch PowerBook "Dual Layer"
1.67GHz PowerPC 7447A "G4" processor
2GB memory
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
Dual-layer Superdrive
120GB hard drive
OS X 10.4.8 / 9.2.2</blockquote>
Sorry about the sermon, but, to turn the tables, why do you use Windows, and why is it better than a Macintosh running MacOS? More to the point, why does it matter which is better, so long as the user is happy?

Originally Posted by celestrion

[*] The Windows user interface monotonically approaches a perfectly passive-aggressive interaction environment with each passing upgrade. Whether it&#39;s second guessing me ("You asked to do something. Are you sure you want to something?"), pestering me ("I just loaded some updates&#33; Want to reboot?" "How about now?" "Doesn&#39;t a reboot sound really nice right about now?" "Hey, how about that reboot?"), interrupting me for no good reason at all (maybe I don&#39;t care that there are "unused" icons on my desktop) or treating me like a child with silly animations or stupid speech bubbles coddling me, Windows is forever getting in my way.[*] Speaking of getting in my way, my typical uses for the computer involve typing code, typing documentation, typing HTML, and typing correspondence. It&#39;s safe to say that if I&#39;m at the keyboard, I&#39;m using the keyboard. I cannot recall how many times some Windows application running in the background has popped-up a system-wide dialog box, stolen focus from whatever I was typing in, caught a space or some other character as a button shortcut, and did something I didn&#39;t want just because I had the nerve to think I should be providing input to my computer. [/b]

Cracking up That is Hilarious&#33;


Awesome Celestrion, now this is Tech Talk at it&#39;s finest. You are the MAN.

Kanaiz do you have a general feeling of Satisfaction? Because I&#39;m gonna tell you something when I read things like what Celestrion just posted it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside Hell, I&#39;m not gonna lie I loved it, I almost got hard-on.

***excuses himself to enjoy the pleasure of a cigarette***

Originally Posted by celestrion

More to the point, why does it matter which is better, so long as the user is happy?
[/b]

Exactly.
I&#39;m happy with Windows.
You&#39;re happy with Mac.
Some dudes are happy with Unix.

CAN&#39;T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?&#33;

I like Tech Talk

I dislike spam.

Hp notebook dv6000z
Windows XP Home ed
AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile
1.61ghz
1 gig ram
false 80 gig HD (more like 70)
15.4" screen
Nvidia 7600

UNIX for its ease of use[/b]

Please be joking. Please be joking, you meat popsicle.

Originally Posted by Kaniaz

Please be joking. Please be joking, you meat popsicle.
[/b]

No, I am not joking. I would easily use Mac OS X or Linux before I would think of going back to Windows. Are you trying to tell me that Windows actually runs better? I knew your kind existed, I just thought that none of them were literate. Just kidding.

Originally Posted by Kaniaz

* Have you seen how Apple pimps out "flashback", the apparently new ability to restore files from any time you like? I mean it&#39;s great how the crowd goes wild despite the fact we&#39;ve had Volume Shadow Copy on Windows since what might as well be the dawn of time. That Steve Jobs really knows how to work a crowd.
[/b]

I will pretend you haven&#39;t noticed how much Windows Vista steals from Mac OS X.

- Toaster
- dual bread slots
- 5 darkness settings
- power cord