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Take a walk, smell the roses. Any topic is fine, save people bashing.

Don't EVER buy a computer- it will be years before they're useful and reliable enough !




PAINTING: "A visiting Bishop" --Can you spot the computer monitor, keyboard and mouse?

Dr. D.,

Computers, like audio systems need to be considered in overall terms of use -the software- the computer to run a spread sheet and type a letter is different from the video-editing, different from the gaming computer.

As it happens, I just replaced my 1998 Dell XPS Pentium 750 I use for MIDI and recording. Two weeks ago I received the first computer purchase for which I needed a special specification, this, to be able to run Hauptwerk 3, a virtual pipe organ programme with very large sample sets- 2 to 5GB and special effects such as blower sound and reverb that take a lot of computer power. The realism of the sound is impressive and watching the keys, stops, and pedals moving on the virtual console is fun. For those interested, there are many YouTube videos of organists using Hauptwerk. I learned organ on a 4-manual Aeolian Skinner then with 87 ranks- now 107- and was always a virtual organ skeptic- until recently. If you've heard organ sensation and certifiable nut case Cameron Carpenter, he's done a lot to expose himself and the delights of a big synthetic organ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQxyQktNFwc

Processors, 64- bit OS, and big RAM and HD's have allowed new wonders in soft synths. The need for my use was to have enough RAM to be able to contain the entire sample sets. This ended up being a refurbished HP Elite with an Intel Q6600 2.4 Ghz Quad Core processor and 8GB RAM, Lightscribe CD/DVD drive, 15 in 1 card reader, and Vista Home Premium 64-bit, 640 and 750GB HD's. This computer by the way cost $610 with CA sales tax and shipping.

The graphic card has 512MB, but in this application the video demands are not high- as they would be for gaming for example. I'll probably change the video card to one that accepts four monitors anyway to use touch screens to control the virtual console in Hauptwerk. I use an M-Audio 2594 sound card and Cakewalk Home Studio 2 XL (2004) recording software.

In my understanding, having more cores benefits computer use in which there is a lot of simultaneous processing going on. By contrast for shear processing of single tasks, like gaming, a faster single or dual core will work, along with more care about the video card.

I don't know your intended use, but if you're buying dual core- and multi-tasking with video editing for example, you may like to consider having the operating system be 64- bit. A 64-bit OS raises the amount of RAM that can be addressed from 3GB to I think 24GB. If I had had a larger budget in this purchase, I would have bought a computer with a motherboard that accommodates 16GB and there are new muticore processors coming out. There's always something new next week,..

That said, this was first exposure to Vista and it appears to be idiotically large and jam-packed with silly, resource hungry features- I stripped 1GB out of the HP before loading any programmes-, but Windows 7 is very near. If HP or Dell would sell a computer with 64-bit XP, I'd consider that.

As for Intel vs. AMD, I looked primarily at quad cores, and I read and heard many favourable comments about AMD, and they are a bit less expensive. Many programmes in the business and graphics world seem to be optimized for Intel, but again I wonder how noticeable this would be when typing a letter in Word. Gaming specification seems to be a speciality and if you're a heavy player of "Laura Crotch: Grand Theft Space Warrior Dungeon", running simultaneously with Adobe Photoshop and Excel- consult a 14-year old with thick glasses,..

Personally, I'd recommend as a system to last 4 years- as processor speed, RAM and HD's become larger, so are the programmes expanding in demands- a quad core with lots of RAM- at least 4GB and a 64- bit OS. If you have heavy rendering photo/video work and multiple programmes going, a serious video card with a GB of memory. And in that case you might also think about that possibility- and multi-monitor card for the future.

I might mention that this computer is my first HP after an IBM, three Dells and two home-brews, and I find the HP internal layout illogical and more difficult than my AutoCad computer (2004 Dell Dimension 8400 2.99Ghz Intel, 1.5GB RAM, 500 and 320GB HD's). Most fussing with the insides is over when first having the computer, but I like clean layouts in equipment that I need to alter regularily- which seems to be the case with audio/recording systems, and the HP is a bit a rat's nest.

Happy hunting!

Cheers,

Bambi B



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