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View Full Version : A few general questions, I'm upgrading soon...


stromprophet
03-09-2008, 03:48 PM
I have a few questions....

1) Why are retailers not selling any PCs with DDR3 memory? (Also, how much better is DDR3 really at this point?)

2) Why are no retailers selling HPs with Blu-ray drives? And whose bright idea was it at HP to back HD-DVD drives as the standard, really, promote a combo drive if they were that scared. (Any HP I have seen at retail only offers an HD drive, I know you can get a blu-ray burner drive from HP directly, but you figure it might cut costs if it was in a PC bundle, right?)

3) Another thing is very few retailers are offering PCs with blu drives at all. I find that surprising given Best Buy decided to back Blu-ray exclusively a few weeks ago. What? Were their buyers not given instructions to start making purchases of PCs with blu-ray drives?

I've thought about building my own PC many a time, but a few things have always concerned me. It seems hard to keep costs down, financing is a joke (0% financing is beautiful), and warranties are limited, I know you get a manufacturers warranty, but this is only 1-year right?

Here's what I'm liking...

Intel Core Duo Quad 2.66 GHZ (The AMD quads are fine, but I question the ability of their company on all levels, from technical to customer support, and they may go bankrupt as well)

Nvidia 8800 GT 512mb (I know the 9000 are out, but I was thinking this is the best card for the price)

Blu-ray writer/player drive (do they offer upconversion on any of these? you know for DVDs?)

3 GB of DDR3 Ram

And an HDTV tuner. I'm very interested in recording HD off the TV and storing it on the PC. Especially for burning HD material (like HD sports would be great to burn and send to other people...)

Of course a widescreen, something affordable, I've heard 24" is optimal, but from my understanding of HD, on a screen that small HD is HD. So long as the refresh frequencies are the same I wouldn't think size would make any difference.

And all the usually stuff, card readers, flash ports, some nice 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers.

On a hard drive it doesn't really matter to me, but 1TB would be about right.

Ajmukon
03-09-2008, 04:01 PM
I have a few questions....

1) Why are retailers not selling any PCs with DDR3 memory? (Also, how much better is DDR3 really at this point?) its very expensive and not quite ready yet...

2) Why are no retailers selling HPs with Blu-ray drives? And whose bright idea was it at HP to back HD-DVD drives as the standard, really, promote a combo drive if they were that scared. (Any HP I have seen at retail only offers an HD drive, I know you can get a blu-ray burner drive from HP directly, but you figure it might cut costs if it was in a PC bundle, right?)No idea

3) Another thing is very few retailers are offering PCs with blu drives at all. I find that surprising given Best Buy decided to back Blu-ray exclusively a few weeks ago. What? Were their buyers not given instructions to start making purchases of PCs with blu-ray drives? HD-DVD will be fading very quickly right now...

I've thought about building my own PC many a time, but a few things have always concerned me. It seems hard to keep costs down, financing is a joke (0% financing is beautiful), and warranties are limited, I know you get a manufacturers warranty, but this is only 1-year right?motherbaord's warranties are usually 3 years., and for higher end, its cheaper to build it yourself...

Here's what I'm liking...

Intel Core Duo Quad 2.66 GHZ (The AMD quads are fine, but I question the ability of their company on all levels, from technical to customer support, and they may go bankrupt as well)good

Nvidia 8800 GT 512mb (I know the 9000 are out, but I was thinking this is the best card for the price) not the best, but good for mid level gaming, if you want HDTV, get a 3870X2(ATI)- it supports FULL HDMI out, unlike the Nvidia cards...

Blu-ray writer/player drive (do they offer upconversion on any of these? you know for DVDs?)why?.. get a cheaper Blueray reader and get a DVD burner

3 GB of DDR3 Ram not yet ready, DDR2 is much more cost effective

And an HDTV tuner. I'm very interested in recording HD off the TV and storing it on the PC. Especially for burning HD material (like HD sports would be great to burn and send to other people...)ATI tv tuners are good,... i have heard complaints about Haupaug

Of course a widescreen, something affordable, I've heard 24" is optimal, but from my understanding of HD, on a screen that small HD is HD. So long as the refresh frequencies are the same I wouldn't think size would make any difference. Personal preference

And all the usually stuff, card readers, flash ports, some nice 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers. for surround sound, get a X-FI sound card

On a hard drive it doesn't really matter to me, but 1TB would be about right.
Personal Preference

stromprophet
03-09-2008, 04:52 PM
why?.. get a cheaper Blueray reader and get a DVD burner

Because I want to burn HD content onto discs. Especially regular TV series and Sports, I want to record the HD content onto my PC while I'm watching it on my TV and be able to burn them onto blu-ray discs later.

not the best, but good for mid level gaming, if you want HDTV, get a 3870X2(ATI)- it supports FULL HDMI out, unlike the Nvidia cards...

I watch HD on my TV, I just want to be able to burn the HD content, I'm not really intending to use my PC as my HD viewer.

I know HDMI allows for the least amount of loss for audio and video, but does that help in gaming for HD? Just curious.

My preference is Nvidia, mostly because I think AMD is going under and since they acquired ATI that could turn into a cluster you know what. If the product is good and can be supported in the long run I don't have an issue.

Thanks for the help. How much is the ATI card?

stromprophet
03-09-2008, 05:26 PM
Oh, if I was going to build it myself, I would be looking for a power supply, motherboard, and a HD Tuner recommendation. All the Tuners I was looking at on newegg are not rated very well.

Hmmmm.

Any suggestions?

Ajmukon
03-09-2008, 09:27 PM
Because I want to burn HD content onto discs. Especially regular TV series and Sports, I want to record the HD content onto my PC while I'm watching it on my TV and be able to burn them onto blu-ray discs later. Right, then get a blue-ray burner.



I watch HD on my TV, I just want to be able to burn the HD content, I'm not really intending to use my PC as my HD viewer.

I know HDMI allows for the least amount of loss for audio and video, but does that help in gaming for HD? Just curious. Why not? Why buy a monitor when you have a perfectily good TV that will produce a much better picture? (and yes, TV can act as computer monitors)

My preference is Nvidia, mostly because I think AMD is going under and since they acquired ATI that could turn into a cluster you know what. If the product is good and can be supported in the long run I don't have an issue.

Thanks for the help. How much is the ATI card? the 3870X2 is expensive, but not all that pricey .... ~449 US. As for AMD, they will not go under anytime soon, They support FULL HDMI OUT. meaning true Hi-depth gaming- ATI's cards SHINE at the higher resolutions (with AA AS turuned off, but for those resolutions, you do not need it)

Oh, if I was going to build it myself, I would be looking for a power supply, motherboard, and a HD Tuner recommendation. All the Tuners I was looking at on newegg are not rated very well.

Hmmmm.

Any suggestions?
PSU: anything higher than 700W will do, (700W for breathing room).. you could make do with a 600W
Thermaltake, Zantec, Antec, OCZ are all good companies.

Mobo: a P35 or X38 would be best....

Tuner: i have had great reception from my Analog ATI tuner... and i have heard horror stories from haupaug(sp?)