Time to Buy a New Computer. Want fast and reliable.

[julesa]

Computer is done. Been using it for a while now. Bought everything from Microcenter. Guy at Microcenter was knowledgeable. We walked around and put all the parts in a shopping cart. Putting it together was a good lesson in computers. Giant case has a bunch of fans and is very quiet.

This stupid thing has daemons in it. It has been nothing but trouble. I have a feeling that all the problems are caused by Windows 7. When I look at Microsoft website for help I see that I need to contact the manufacturer. Because I am the manufacturer, I have spent months talking to my self. When all my JPG pictures changed to a little icon with mountains and water, I called the Microsoft guy in India. After 3 phone calls, 2 guys and about 6 hours of my time wasted, all they could tell me was reinstall windows. (again!) Microsoft was kind enough to not charge me for the time they spent trying to fix there defective software. With some prayer and SP1, Windows 7 seems to be working for now. Windows XP was the best.

In my experience, Windows 7 has been very stable. It's been a while since I put a box together myself, because troubleshooting can be very difficult since the assortment of parts you put together will be relatively unique, and it's not the most economical way to go these days anyway. (like I said about year ago... ...sorry, couldn't resist). Buying a prebuilt Dell or HP is the best way to go.

If the weird random problems come back, some things to try:

* Look on the various components manufacturers web sites if you can, especially the motherboard, for configuration/troubleshooting tips
* Turn down the CPU cycles in the BIOS if you can, might improve stability
* Needless to say, make sure all the fans are actually working
* Try swapping out the video card for another one if you can
* Search the net for other people having the same problems you're having, especially people that have the same video card or motherboard.
* Upgrade your CPU fan/heatsink, especially if turning the CPU cycles down helps. Watch a youtube video on how to apply thermal paste - a very thin coat (almost invisible) is best, and if you ever lift the heatsink, you need to carefully clean off the old stuff and apply fresh thermal paste
* If there are components you can remove, try taking them out to see if that helps. For example, you pull out half your RAM and the problem goes away, then you put that half back in and take the other half out and the problem comes back, you might have some bad RAM, though that's probably not the most likely cause of your problems.

 

[dodjob]

did you try to run an ubuntu on it? I did it two years ago and never went back to the shitty M$ "products"
You can download a live cd on ubuntu.com and try it directly without installing it (just boot on the cd and here you go)
That's the best way I have found to have a REAL fast PC
Gruß,
H.

 

[julesa]

did you try to run an ubuntu on it? I did it two years ago and never went back to the shitty M$ "products"
You can download a live cd on ubuntu.com and try it directly without installing it (just boot on the cd and here you go)
That's the best way I have found to have a REAL fast PC
Gruß,
H.

Look at the stuff he bought. He can run almost any software available for Ubuntu just fine on a computer that costs less than his video card. The man wants to play Windows games, I'm guessing. I love Ubuntu, but games aren't exactly its strong suit right now, I wish they were. Someday, maybe.

 

[dodjob]

yop, I've just read the thread again. mmm hey there is Urban Terror ehich is running quite well on Linux

 

[Matt Gruber]

Maybe not the fast half of "fast and reliable" like the thread title says, but I broke down and bought an aspire nettop for $200 and seems to work well. Comes fairly well equipped for the money, 1gb ram, 1.6ghz atom, hdmi, xp home, etc. Like a Honda Fit or similar compact, very efficient, cheap, SMALL, and gets the job done. I'll mess with it some more tonight, but so far I like it. Another option for you guys looking for a new computer, oh and it uses only 65W max!

where did u buy it? i need something low price too. is it the R1600-u910H? part# PT.SCL05.004?
Thanks!

 

[Arlo1]

This is a good thread i need a new laptop for home and desktop for my buisness!

 

[marty]

I GIVE UP
Today the big home made computer will not connect to the internet.
The Diagnostics Policy Service is not running
Tried searching for solutions on Google and Microsoft web site. Tried System Restore, Restore from mirror backup, Repair install (no go) Not going to reinstall windows 7 again!

I am typing on the old reliable Windows XP laptop. Also got a little Net Book running Ubuntu in case this computer breaks.

Every one says "Buy a Dell" Does DELL really stand for Defective Equipment for Lame Losers? All you are looking at a computer screen. What would you all recommend for a fast and reliable desktop computer. Just the box. Think the monitor, keyboard and mouse are OK?

Selling the big custom $$$$ computer on eBay. 12GB of ram. Bidding starts at $1.00

 

[julesa]

A $300 basic Dell or HP desktop will do 95% of what anyone needs a computer to do, and will do it perfectly. You seem to want to spend more -- what's your goal? Game performance? Spending more to get a computer that will "last longer" is silly. Buy whatever computer meets today's needs. Every computer made ten years ago is obsolete, whether it was the bargain model or the elite $5000 system at the time. The difference between them is miniscule by today's standards. Sometimes spending extra money is worth it, if you have a specific need you're trying to meet. Other times not.

I think HPs are, in general, better than Dells, and Dells are still usually better than a lot of other vendors. Both will give you a decent value, but lately I've seen few reasons to buy from anyone but HP for business computers. I haven't shopped around for "home computers" lately, so I can't really tell you much about the computers anyone is targeting at that market. My home computer is a made-for-business HP, with Nvidia Quadro CUDA video, mostly because I wanted to play with SolidWorks. No idea how well it would work for whatever job you want it to do though. The business computers are usually a step above the home computers in general quality. The computers targeted at the home market will usually be cheaper but may have better multimedia/video/gaming performance.

Stay away from made-for-gaming machines like Alienware. Way overpriced for what you get, if you ask me. Both the Dell and HP web sites will let you upgrade individual components before ordering if you really need something the base model won't do well. I wouldn't bother shopping for new keyboard or other accessories, the ones you have are probably fine.

 

[REdiculous]

I wouldn't get a tower unless you really need it - just get a badass laptop.

 

[Arlo1]

Yup I just got a new hp laptop and its awesome~!

 

[unsane]

Just replaced my regular hard drive with one of the new SSD (Solid State Drive) on the weekend.
The time between BIOS loading and Windows 7 being ready to use is only about 4-5 seconds - I have never seen SCSI or a 10,000rpm raptor load this fast its just unbelievable!
It used to take between 20-30 seconds to load a level in Crysis2... now you can't even see the progress bar move its just that quick!

If you want fast and reliable I would highly recommend these drives!
But they are a bit expensive compared to a regular drive!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_state_drive

 

[REdiculous]

I recently upgraded from an old 1.2ghz G4 12" iBook to a used 2.16ghz Core2Duo 15" MacBook Pro. The MBP is definitely a badass laptop. 8)

 

[marty]

Computer is done. Been using it for a while now. Bought everything from Microcenter. Guy at Microcenter was knowledgeable. We walked around and put all the parts in a shopping cart. Putting it together was a good lesson in computers. Giant case has a bunch of fans and is very quiet.

This stupid thing has daemons in it. It has been nothing but trouble. I have a feeling that all the problems are caused by Windows 7. When I look at Microsoft website for help I see that I need to contact the manufacturer. Because I am the manufacturer, I have spent months talking to my self. When all my JPG pictures changed to a little icon with mountains and water, I called the Microsoft guy in India. After 3 phone calls, 2 guys and about 6 hours of my time wasted, all they could tell me was reinstall windows. (again!) Microsoft was kind enough to not charge me for the time they spent trying to fix there defective software. With some prayer and SP1, Windows 7 seems to be working for now. Windows XP was the best.

In my experience, Windows 7 has been very stable. It's been a while since I put a box together myself, because troubleshooting can be very difficult since the assortment of parts you put together will be relatively unique, and it's not the most economical way to go these days anyway. (like I said about year ago... ...sorry, couldn't resist). Buying a prebuilt Dell or HP is the best way to go.

If the weird random problems come back, some things to try:

* Look on the various components manufacturers web sites if you can, especially the motherboard, for configuration/troubleshooting tips
* Turn down the CPU cycles in the BIOS if you can, might improve stability
* Needless to say, make sure all the fans are actually working
* Try swapping out the video card for another one if you can
* Search the net for other people having the same problems you're having, especially people that have the same video card or motherboard.
* Upgrade your CPU fan/heatsink, especially if turning the CPU cycles down helps. Watch a youtube video on how to apply thermal paste - a very thin coat (almost invisible) is best, and if you ever lift the heatsink, you need to carefully clean off the old stuff and apply fresh thermal paste
* If there are components you can remove, try taking them out to see if that helps. For example, you pull out half your RAM and the problem goes away, then you put that half back in and take the other half out and the problem comes back, you might have some bad RAM, though that's probably not the most likely cause of your problems.

I have not changed any BIOS settings. BOIS is how ever the default is? Will remove the sides of the computer and see if all the fans are spinning. I am not going to replace the video card or any hardware parts because every time I do a clean install of windows, problems are gone for a few weeks till the demons start acting up again and a new problem happens.

 

[marty]

Here we go again. The reason I want a fast computer is for SolidWorks and a bunch of other 3D CAD programs that I want to learn how to use. Also want a fast computer for the same reason i want a car that goes 100 miles per hour even though I only drive 50 miles per hour. Hopefully 10 years from now my fast computer will still be fast.

Called Dell. Got a quote. Emailed Dell guy and asked for a bigger discount. He lowered price $500. Emailed again and asked to remove some software, keyboard, and mouse. Dell guy lowered price some more. Called the Dell guy and asked if he could get rid of some extended warranty stuff. Told him that I would be happy if machine don't smoke when I plug it in. He lowered price some more. Asked if he could remove the power cord. He said no. I got a big box of power cords if any one needs one?

$2,447.00 plus tax. Free shipping. Do you all like this list of parts and pieces?

224-8671
1 Dell Precision T3500,CMT,Standard Power Supply,C2

317-4243
1 Quad Core Intel Xeon W3530 2.80GHz,8M L3,4.8GT/s,Dell Precision T3500

317-2670
1 12GB, DDR3 ECC SDRAM Memory, 1333MHz, 6X2GB Dell Precision T3500

310-0042
1 No Keyboard Option,Factory Install

320-3316
1 Monitor Option-None

320-1845
1 1GB nVIDIA Quadro 600,Dual Monitor,1DP and 1DVI,Dell Precision

342-1290
1 256GB Solid State Drive,2.5,Fixed Precision TX500

342-2925
1 C30 SSD Boot + SATA drive, Non-Raid, 2 drive total configuration, T5500/T3500

341-5255
1 No Floppy Drive, Dell Precision

421-5607
1 Windows 7 Professional,SP1,No Media, 64-bit,Fixed Precision, English

330-6228
1 Windows 7 Label, Optiplex, Fixed Precision, Vostro Desktop

310-1247
1 No Mouse for Workstation Model

313-7460
1 Dell Data/Fax PCI Modem

311-7463
1 Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration, Dell Precision T1500 and T3500

313-7457
1 16X DVD+/-RW Data Only Dell Precision TX500

421-4370
1 Cyberlink Power DVD 9.5,No Media, Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation

421-4539
1 Roxio Creator Starter,No Media,Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation

313-2663
1 No Speaker option

330-3156
1 Documentation,English,Dell Precision

330-3157
1 Power Cord,125V,2M,C13,Dell Precision

341-9001
1 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s, 7200RPM Additional HardDrive with 32MBDataBurst Cache,Dell PrecisionT3500

341-9289
1 Integrated Intel chipset SATA 3.0Gb/s controller,Dell Precision T3500 and T5500

330-3201
1 Energy Smart Not Selected Precision T3500

330-4024
1 No Resource CD for Dell Precision T3500

330-4020
1 Quick Reference Guide,English Dell Precision T3500

330-3209
1 Shipping Material for System Dell Precision T3500

421-3872
1 No Productivity Software,Dell OptiPlex,Precision and Latitude

993-3020
1 Basic Support: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response Initial Year

993-9097
1 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Extended Year(s)

988-7347
1 No Warranty beyond 1 year
* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPL

Dell Precision T3500 Tower Workstation

 

[REdiculous]

Do you all like this list of parts and pieces?

"224-8671" and such is important info, for sure, so thanks for that.

No Floppy Drive

They still have those as options? :lol:

It comes out a little cheaper than the base Mac Pro and has more ram and a SSD. The DVD burner is a little slower but that hardly matters. I don't know how the Quadro 600 compares to the Radeon HD 5770...the Radeon can run 3 monitors I think. Looks like a decent system for a good price...not the fastest but no slouch either.

I'd spend more and get a Mac but I'm so biased it hurts...the 12 core Mac Pro (only $5k! :lol is my dream machine and the option of running all 3 major operating systems at once is pretty sick.

 

[julesa]

/wow/. That's gonna be nice.

 

[morph999]

I'll build you one !! lol. Those AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPUs are very fast.

I always go AMD Athlon these days....those things are cheap and fast. They rival Intel now on speed I think. I could have built you an AMD Athlon with same stuff probably for half the price.

 

[julesa]

I'll build you one !! lol. Those AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPUs are very fast.

I always go AMD Athlon these days....those things are cheap and fast. They rival Intel now on speed I think. I could have built you an AMD Athlon with same stuff probably for half the price.

:lol: :lol: :lol: Hi Morph. There was a lot of talk about home-built boxes earlier in the thread, but thanks for the suggestion. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[dodjob]

Hi there,
3D CAD programs doesn't use that much of ressources. Oh well, actually they can request it, but for this you have to work on very big assemblies with a lot of parts inside or very (VERY) big pattern of functions...
If you are planning to learn to use such softwares you certainly don't need a big setup.
Meshing and structure/fluid analysis are another thing. They do use a lot of ressources but again, in a learning phase you can mesh not so precisely and it will be way faster and fair enough to let you do amazing things.
I'm remaining absolutely sure that in every thing we do, aim or create trying to not hit the top of the list help us to hit the best performance/price ratio. A quadcore i7 and 8 Gig of ram are already a extremly powerfull setup that you can hit for less than 1000$
I'm using a laptop studio with a "simple" dual core 2.6ghz and 4 gigs of ram. I Never had any problems with my Proe WF4. And I use it nearly every days
PS: concerning dell system. I have for experience noticed that the best rate we can get at Dell are the "special offer" they lauch every month. This is something that even a very attentionate "dell guy" won't reach
Gruß,
H.

 

[TylerDurden]

Ja... It's usually the raytracing & rendering that hammers the CPUs/GPUs. You mostly need big performance for fast pretty pictures.

 

[marty]

x
* Needless to say, make sure all the fans are actually working
x

Removed the sides from the big home made computer. All the fans are spinning. CPU fan, big intake fan on the front, exhaust fan on the rear, 2 big exhaust fans on top, power supply has it's own fan. There are fine mesh filters that slide out on the front, bottom, and under the power supply. All these filters are full of DUST! There is not much dust inside the case. Do you think that intake filters clogged with dust could be causing all my problems? I have not used this computer during any hot weather. Temperature is about 66 Fahrenheit. All problems have been solved with a clean install of windows. Today is the first time I went looking for dust.

Edit: Found another intake filter. Small one bottom front.

 

[stanz]

I build/rebuild all my own PCs, except for my one laptop. I hate laptops but they are handy. Every laptop has it's own specific hardware ... $$$$. You can plug and play with towers. My wife uses my old Intel dual core Gateway, nice machine but I needed more than the 17" monitor. My "new" AMD quad core has a 21.5" 1680 X 1050 monitor AND HDMI to connect to our HDTV. That comes in handy to watch TV shows from the Internet.

I wouldn't buy anything less than a 2.6Ghz dual core for Windows 7 or Mac OSX, they eat one CPUs worth of power to run antivirus and firewall protection.

My quad idles 98% of the time. I can compile/burn a DVD, watch an HD program and surf with ease. I have kids so burning DVDs of videos for their grandmother happens frequently.

A quad is overkill for nearly everyone but the prices are much more affordable. Our associate pastor just had a friend build her a six core PC for less than $600. Why? Well a six core AMD is only $160! Does she need six cores? No, but she's set for a few years.

If you can't build your own or you don't have a friend who can do it I'd shop the Dell off-lease outlet store. A dual core 2.6Ghz. starts at $186, quads start at $481.

http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/

When our associate pastor's Dell laptop display died we purchased a replacement there for less than the cost to fix her old one.

 

[julesa]

x
* Needless to say, make sure all the fans are actually working
x

All these filters are full of DUST! There is not much dust inside the case. Do you think that intake filters clogged with dust could be causing all my problems?

Well.... unlikely unless they're really CLOGGED. Especially if reinstalling Windows really fixes the problem.

You said you've done that before, and it seems to fix the problem for a while... exactly how long has it gone, after a fresh Windows install, before you start seeing problems again?

Have you noticed anything that happens every time problems come up?

Maybe your disk is slowly getting corrupted over time. Do you always shut the system down using the Start menu? Do you get a lot of power outages or brownouts?

 

[stanz]

x
* Needless to say, make sure all the fans are actually working
x

Removed the sides from the big home made computer. All the fans are spinning. CPU fan, big intake fan on the front, exhaust fan on the rear, 2 big exhaust fans on top, power supply has it's own fan. There are fine mesh filters that slide out on the front, bottom, and under the power supply. All these filters are full of DUST! There is not much dust inside the case. Do you think that intake filters clogged with dust could be causing all my problems?

The number one PC hardware killer today is heat. Today's CPUs put out loads of heat, especially AMD CPUs. I have a server that was crashing every couple of days, my one Windows 2008 server. (The rest are linux.) This was a tough one to figure out because I'd reboot it and it would run again for a couple days. The issue was that Windows is brain dead and slowly consumes more and more CPU as it runs longer. One of my CPU fans was not cooling properly but you only saw it under heavy load. I replaced the fan and all is well.

By installing a fresh copy of Windows you may have eliminated add-ons, plugins, and whatnot that were loading your CPU... they'll be back. Clean your filters every few months, or as required.

 

[julesa]

There are a lot of great diagnostic tools included in this free download:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/index.html

Download it, burn it to a CD, then boot your computer from the CD. Memtest, disk tests, CPU stress tests, more tools than you'll know what to do with.