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Locked on 03/05/2005 12:05:45 PM PST by Jim Robinson, reason:
Continued on new thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1356747/posts |
Posted on 01/27/2005 9:59:05 AM PST by ecurbh
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Oh, yeah - go for one with plenty of USB slots. These days everything seems to be USB connected. And forget the floppy drive, just get a USB portable memory stick drive.
cain't tell from the Dell stockroom page how many USB ports are on 'em...
I see alotta DVI cards... is this a good option?...
How's this?
$474.00
OptiPlex GX280 P4-2800
Windows® XP Home
40 G (I) 7200RPM
512 Ram
CDRW
DVI (Digital) Adapter Card
Small Mini Tower
How's this?
$474.00
OptiPlex GX280 P4-2800
Windows® XP Home
40 G (I) 7200RPM
512 Ram
CDRW
DVI (Digital) Adapter Card
Small Mini Tower
Check your freepmail.
If your're serious about "games fer thekidz", the video card is critical. You may need a larger, tower-type just so you can install high-end video cards for the latest games.
A higher-end Dell usually comes with some brand name known for hot video, like Nvidia.
Yah... and its been a long time coming. Glad to see it finally. [whew]. Yah know... in the PC flame threads I generally stick up for winders and MS and PC clones but this was something that Apple figgered out in the early 80's: Serial bus rules. Parallel drools.
Neato thing about USB is that now its showing up everywhere. Just went thru the drill of getting dad set up with a new 'puter. Got him a Dell with a shuweet LCD DVI 19' display.
I'm setting it up and here's this USB cable I'm supposed to connect to the display, in addition to the digital video cable... and I'm scratching my head trying to figger out why... would... this... be...
Duh... I hate it when I get outta touch with things. The display has a built-in USB hub. Gives four USB ports right on the display. Shuweet. (OK... so I don't set up computers fer a livin' any more...)
I'd go for something larger than the small mini tower, just so if the cards go bad you don't have trouble getting replacements.
DVI is Digital Video, and it only matters if you have a monitor with a DVI connector. It is a better cleaner and faster video signal.
I another year you won't be able to buy a computer or monitor that is anything else.
Are you replacing the monitor too?
Yeah, the most exasperating thing about my laptop is that it only has two USB ports, and they're on the back. USB on the LCD sounds like a great combination...
Man, I want a 19inch LCD...
On USB ports... don't get too hung up on that. Little USB hubs are cheap ($15) and can instantly expand how many devices you can plug in.
That's a really nice house! Looks real comfortable!
Ours is staying put, nicely covering drive, yard and vehicles. Got a nice fire burning in the fireplace.
Mine only has two USB ports but I bought a hub.... got internet, camera, printer, extra printer.... all hooked up through there....
Thanks! I like it and The Cat seems to like it.
No fire here....just the palantir and The Cat.
That is an awful lot of computer for less than $500.
The Optiplex line is generally intended for business, rather than home use, but in reality there isn't a whole lot of difference. I'd bump up the RAM, but maybe that's just me.
yeah, but there's no monitor... love to get a flat screen, but thats an extra $260...
so DVI card ain't bad... even if'n I use an old monitor?...
The DVI capability is good... *if* you're going to one day replace your monitor. It will not be useful if you have a monitor that doesn't have a DVI input. If your monitor is a couple of years old or more, then it don't.
That said... reading on an LCD is simply a whole lot more pleasant than on a CRT monitor. It's not just that the thin thing looks good on the the desk. LCD has no flicker and is really noticably easier on the eye. But... while they're way less expensive than they used to be, it's still spendy.
At this point it is probably a good idea to get a computer that can do DVI, to leave open the possibility that you might get a new monitor later, even if you don't do it now.
Sigh. I need to get my W2s so I can figure out if I'm getting money back or not. If I am, I'll get a nice LCD for the new system. I finally got one at work (hehehe; we gave the new guy the CRT) and it's heavenly. Even sitting under florescent lights, I don't get those dreadful headaches any more.
Everyone who manages to find our office comments on our nice equipment. It's part of the perks of being in charge of handing out hardware ;-)
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