What is your set-up?

[Sarouk]

Here is my current machine:

Windows XP professional
Antec SX635 casing
Motherboard ASUS P4T-E
Intel Pentium 4 - 1.9Ghz
RAM - 512
Mitsumi Floppy - 1.4
Maxtor Hard DisK - 80Gb
Sony DVD ROM
Plextor CD-Burner 40X/12X/40X
Geforce 4 TI 4400 128Meg
US Robotics 56k (not using it much, I have DSL)
Soundblaster Live 5.1
Creative Labs 5300 Speakers 5.1
Keytronics - Eurotech 104-key
MS Intellimouse Optical
Viewsonic 17in
Hp Deskjet 960CSE
D-Link 604 Router

I have 2 older machines (one P1 120 with NT4.0, other PII 350 with Win2k) on the network. a 3rd one will be add. Will be a Linux machine

[Baajikiil]

@all: why do many of you lurkers have such high-end systems? Is it necessary?

Just remember, people answer threads like this for a reason. Internet polling rarely gives an accurate rating of such things, it only rates those that choose to answer the poll.

I bet many here are running d2 on fairly budget machines :)

[Kevin]

Well, I have several, the one I mostly use is the following:

OS: Windows XP Pro/Win98SE dual boot
MB: Asus A7M266 (AMD 760 chipset)
Proc: Athlon 'C' 1200 (133 FSB, effectively 266)
RAM: 512MB DDR 266
Vid: 128MB GeForce4 Ti4200-8X (AGP 8X capable)
Sound: Soundblaster Live! (soon to be swapped with the SB Audigy that was removed from my wifes machine)
Interface: Buslogic Flashpoint LT SCSI card (old SCSI card 20MB/s max transfer)
Removable Storage: Plextor 12X SCSI CD-ROM, Plextor 4/2/20 SCSI CD-RW, SCSI Zip 100, generic 1.44MB Floppy
Mass Storage: 2GB 7200 RPM Western Digital SCSI HDD, 4 GB 7200 RPM Seagate SCSI HDD, 30 GB 7200 RPM Maxtor UDMA66 HDD
Input: Logitech Cordless keyboard and cordless optical mouse
Output: 19'' Samsung Synchmaster 950 monitor, 15'' Compaq Presario SV monitor, HP 1200 Laser printer
Chasis: Antec SX1030 mid-tower w/ 400W PS.

The others are all lesser machines, and my wifes is only slightly different than that (take out the SCSI drives, 40 gig for HDD, and an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe, NForce2 chipset motherboard).

Some of those parts (all the SCSI stuff) are legacy from my old PPro 200 that I got in 97.

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Just remember, people answer threads like this for a reason.

I believe this would be the first TRUE Virtua-geek online pissing contest I've been witness to. I'm honored. Really. <_<

[Roland]

Had this question been asked (indeed, it has been, more times than I can count) about 2 years ago, or even 1 year ago, you would have seen at least a couple PII's and PIII's, ranging from 233 MHz, to 1.0 GHz.

The computer industry changes just about ever 6 months, with a huge leap forward. Normally, progress in such leaps and bounds is made over a number of years, not months, and as such other products (like cars) tend to be around for FAR longer. They do what we need them to do, and have almost all the "features" that newer products have, without being disadvantageous enough (or expensive enough) to force us into the next realm, the next generation. Computer products do not follow this mode. When the product practically doubles every 6 months, the shelf life of any given product will last a mere few years, rather than a decade or more. There will, of course, always be exceptions to this (intactibility notwithstanding), but those exceptions are far fewer, and farther inbetween, than in other markets.

Take someone who had that old 250 MHz PII clunker. Hell, let's go a bit further. A PII 450 MHz. Up until a year or two ago, that system would have handled just about anything on the market. It might not have run everything so smoothly, but with enough RAM and a good video card (which can be bought in small increments, as opposed to the hefty investment of a complete system overhaul / replacement), it would get you by quite nicely. Now look at what's on the market today: most products (in terms of games, since that is the market being discussed in this thread: gaming and its corresponding machines) run at a bare minimum of around 800 MHz or so. Some still quote as low as 500 MHz (Morrowind, for example), but most tend to be within the 600 - 800 range. Very high compared to our old clunker of a computer, but what about compared to the hardware available on the market? It seems like only yesterday we had breeched the MHz / GHz line, and now just a ways back we were already talking about hitting 3.0 GHz and up. Compared to what's available on the market, the system reqs for computer gaming has actually, percentage-wise, DECREASED in comparison to the previous generation. Rapidly ever-increasing hardware power is actually outrunning the increasing need for said power, and thus the need for high-end systems gets set down a notch. Now, that is actually in direct contrast to the point I am making, and in direct line with your questioning, so I will address that.

Those people with the old 450 MHz clunker have been able to get by with it, without much suffering (if any at all) up until just a year or two ago. By that point, though, the need for an upgrade took a step up, into the realm of pushing the consumer to purchase. Since the need always preceeds, and in greater amount, the fulfillment of that need, this combined with the fast-paced climb in hardware performance makes it increasingly LESS expensive to make that upgrade. Thus what once was, and would only have been, a jump from 450 MHz to 800 MHz or so, is now a jump from 450 MHz to 1.5 GHz, for the same money (or even less), and because it's actually HARDER to get anything less, and the cost / reward ratio is not high enough to be beneficial over the higher-end hardware. In other words, what it once cost you to double in power a year or two ago, it now costs the same (or less) to triple, or even quadruple your power. Therefore, it's not so much a NEED for that high of a power (truly, we CAN do with less, even if performance does suffer slightly; we CAN get by with the minimal graphical detail, and play games quite well on low-end systems, even though we generally prefer the fancier graphics available to us on higher-end systems), but that it is so ABUNDANT, so massively CHEAP, that when it comes time to make that jump, the leap is that much greater. The HARDWARE industry moves so fast that upgrades are becoming (again, percentage-wise in terms of gain) ever greater, wider, and less costly.

To sum it up: 1.5+ GHz may sound like a lot. Indeed, it IS alot compared to the stated "need" on the games we play (we won't go into the "actual" need, as the "stated" need is more often than not closer to the truth than what we claim; despite how it usually does fall just a little short). But compared to what is on the market now? Compared to the cost / reward ratio of what is available, and furthermore, what is coming out in the near future? It is actually QUITE small. One quick scan of this thread will show you that most people have systems with over 2 GHz worth of power. Two years ago, that was barely on the horizon, let alone part of the mass-market. I, myself, am only running a 1.6 GHz machine, and even I feel inadequate compared to others. It runs all my games just fine, but then, so did my PIII 850 before I got this one (it has some minor trouble with the new games, but only when I tried to push its limits; I can run every single game that I own on that machine, without question nor incident). And yet, look at my machine compared to others here. A year ago, this was in the low-end of the top machines on the market. Breeching the 1.5 GHz mark was pushing you into the higher realms of hardware. And now? It's barely a memory! I will undoubtedly keep this machine, as my main machine, for several more years, simply because it will take that long before the need to upgrade outweighs the cost of doing so. But when I finally do so? What will I end up getting? Probably something in the 3.0+ GHz range. Why so much? Why such a HUGE leap? Because anything less is just too cheap, and too hard to find, not to go for the extra power. Why spend $500 on a 2.0 GHz, when I can spend $800 on a 3.0 GHz with twice as much RAM, HD space, and video processing power? For just over half the cost, extra, I virtually double my gains, and inveritable triple or even quadruple the lasting power of my machine. And all it cost me was, what, an extra two days pay? A few hours of overtime here and there?

See my point? :) Long-winded, but if you really stop to actually THINK about it, there's a great deal of just "why". Who would have thought that such such a small, simple word could invoke the largest, most in-depth discussion, on any given topic. Isn't language grand? ;)

Oh, and for the record:

• P4 1.6 GHz
  Windows 2000
  45 GB Maxtor (I think; came with the comp, and I forget exactly what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's a Maxtor; bleh) HD
  120 GB Western Digital HD
  GeForce 4 4200 64 MB 4x AGP video card
  Creative Sound Blaster PCI 128 audio card (stolen from my old PIII 850 machine, since some hardware upgrades caused massive issues with my on-board sound; one of the wires was causing huge interference, and due to the positing of the sound output on the motherboard, there was no way around it)
  15" Proview monitor (a relic from when my old Packard Bell monitor, from my first REAL computer {yes, it was a Packard Bell}, lost first the red, and then the green color guns; this monitor is on its way out, too, as it's come down with a bad case of flickerings every so often)
  A defunct Panasonic DVD drive, ripped from my 850 (gonna need to replace this, too :/)
  48 / 12 / 40 Memorex CD-RW<>
  [st]
  Indeed, a veritable conglomeration of hardware, spanning several generations (not to mention over half a decade) of computers. :) I'm a regular mutt when it comes to computer hardware. ;)

[Jedi Knight]

Motherboard : Gigabyte 7VAXP
Processor : Athlon XP 2000+ (1.667 GHz)
RAM : 256 MB DDR 333 (upgrading to 512 MB soon)
Hard Drive : 60 GB Western Digital @ 7200 RPM
Video Card : GeForce II Ti
Sound Card : Onboard AC97
OS : Windows XP Pro with DirectX 9.0
Other : - LITEON DVD-ROM
- Good old HP 4/4/24 CD-RW
- ATI TV Tuner
- Slow DSL Internet (16k down, 8k up)

I'm moving with my girlfriend next month, and we'll get a faster DSL :)

[Meshuggah]

When I upgraded, 2.4GHz was most bang for the buck.
I work with music on this machine, so I need some power for it to run smooth. Tho I gotta say that 512MB RAM is enough by far for me, even tho I work with music. If I upgrade to a Canterwood or Springdale mobo, I might buy another 512MB for dual DDR.

As of now, I don't play any games that demand a hot GFX-card, so I'm sticking with this MX440, as it overclocks well, and is enough for all games I play. When Half-Life 2 comes out, I'll look into a new card. Probably some Ati Radeon 9X00 Pro.

[Albion Child]

XP

Pent III 1.2 ghz
GeForce 2
Cable at home...T1 at school

40x CD/DVD/Burner (Hell if I know how fast the DVD is.)

[Rhydderch Hael]

Makes me give pause as to whether or not to revive the "Post Your Desktops" thread in the new format, as pissing contest indeed. There would be a mass of 1.2 MB jpgs at 300 dpi resolution posted by people who, with their vaunted 24" plasma monitor running on ther $2500 state-of-the-art rig, are somehow incapable of opening up Photoshop and shrinking their desktop picture down to a reasonable 800x600 100 KB jpg. :huh:

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Possession of a "uber-1337" (chokes on the word) computer set-up never does guarantee they have a bloody clue how to run it, much less a simple application for dealing with imagery.

"X.X gigahURTZ B1G scr33n 528MB DDR blahdyblahblahblah...".
"What can you do with it?"
"I can get on the Internet!"
"What else can you do with it?"
"I can play cool games?"
"Which games?"
"I dunno... I haven't bought them yet. The computer was too expensive."
"Right. Plays Solitare really fast, I see."

To quote a recently met chicken-friend moron: "What's "Paint"?".

.... yeeeeeeah... :blink:

[Fragbait]

Edit: "Excellent! This is just what I had in mind..." - Peppin the Healer, Diablo B)

Hail Roland, nice to 'meet' you again.

Thanks for giving me such a detailed answer. I do think I agree with you on almost every point.
Nevertheless I think the real high-end pc with each and every of its components being the best you can virtually buy, does in fact cost a fair amount more than the little weaker mid-high-end pc.
For example:
......................750$ for - 2,4 GHz, 256 MB Ram, NVidia GeForce 4 Ti 4200 (64MB), 80 GB Hard Drive, Windows XP.

....................1500$ for - 3,06 GHz, 512 MB Ram, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (128MB), 120 GB Hard Drive, Windows XP+Microsoft Office.

Quite an expensive step. I'd rather buy the 'middle class' of computing and save some money.
As to what concerns the rest of your post: Yup - you're right.

PS: I didn't compare monitors, because I think one really can use the old monitor of the old pc, and often does so.
......It was a pleasure to read your post. Thank you very well.

Greetings, Fragbait

[ithil]

If you really want high-end, go SCSI. That'll be sure to drain your wallet. ;)

[Walkiry]

You'd see people like this:

http://stl.caltech.edu/computer.shtml

[ithil]

The frightening thing is I almost linked him when I mentioned SCSI. :->

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Personal note to "Reason":

1.) Go outside; that's the place beyond the door to your dorm room. I know it's scary, but you can do it. Pick up some SPF 45 while you're out there. Note for future reference: your skin is supposed to have a healthy pink tint to it, perhaps even a bit of tan... not be transparent and blotchy white.

2.) Get a girlfriend. That doesn't mean ogling your anime yet again. When approaching a member of the opposite sex, you'll be looking for different versions of attractiveness other than interior lighting, transparent outer shells and "big heatsinks".

3.) Take some of that plethora of cashola you seem to have and attend a play. See a movie. Visit a museum. Try a different culture's food. Buy a friend a beer. Get a car. Learn to ski. Learn to ride. Join a gym. SOMETHING.

Jebus. They're actually people like this out there. :(

*gets scared as the X-files theme comes up* :blink:

[Jeunemaitre]

TO DO:
Cathode fan grill for blowhole
Neon wiring in MS Natural Keyboard... that should look sweet

Dude?!?
It sounds like you and this guy have something in common. Is all of your work on display somewhere, or is it (as my computer is) sitting under the desk at home?

[Roland]

Nevertheless I think the real high-end pc with each and every of its components being the best you can virtually buy, does in fact cost a fair amount more than the little weaker mid-high-end pc.
For example:
......................750$ for - 2,4 GHz, 256 MB Ram, NVidia GeForce 4 Ti 4200 (64MB), 80 GB Hard Drive, Windows XP.

....................1500$ for - 3,06 GHz, 512 MB Ram, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (128MB), 120 GB Hard Drive, Windows XP+Microsoft Office.

Maybe I'm losing my mind, but wasn't that exactly my point? That it's extremely cheap to upgrade to the low-end of the spectrum now, but that overall it's CONSIDERABLY more powerful than we need?

Look through this thread and find me ONE machine that has broken the 3.0 GHz mark. I didn't see any. I wasn't addressing that, as your post was about why there were so many high-end machines (which is true, in a sense, but overall they're actually quite outdated, and will be even moreso in 6 months; hence my entire point with that lengthy post; what SEEMS so powerful up front is actually very UNDERpowered in the grand scheme of things).

Maybe I didn't form one of my points clearly enough, but that was exactly what I was saying. When it comes time to upgrade, it's much cheaper to go with a middle-of-the-line high-end (high-end being somewhere in the 2.0+ GHz range, as 1.0+ GHz is actually the LOW end these days; scary, huh?) machine than to go with something far less. I didn't address choosing a middle-of-the-line machine over a top-of-the-line machine because, as you stated, it's FAR more cost efficient to get something about a half-generation back. But that wasn't a point I was addressing in my original post. ;)

Give it another year, and you'll be seeing 3.0 GHz machines being posted on this forum, as if they were commonplace. And, in fact, they will be. ;)

[Walkiry]

The frightening thing is I almost linked him when I mentioned SCSI. :->

Are you a Megatokyo citizen perhaps?

[Kartoffelsalat]

I use an etch-a-sketch.

[CowInvader]

A couple of things,

First, 1500 for that setup is a little low, you must be lacking on quality when it comes to ram, PSU, HD, case, mobo and the other #$%&(edit: stuff, i hate censorship...) that isn't specified brands and etc. either that or you aren't including optical medium drives, or a monitor in there.

Second, #$%& SCSI, go SATA...

And lastly, I like case mods, in a world where money drives the best system, those inexpensive case upgrades can make you stand out even when you don't have the best new stuff. The rounding of the cables that I did makes my system look much much nicer (think ugly gray ribbons -> red wrapped cables) and cost me all of 1.29 for a roll of red electrical tape. The drive stealthing? Made my two existing drives match the color of the case at the cost of a $2 roll of double sided tape...

EDIT: Don't forget the elmers glue and vaccuum cleaner filters to keep that pesky dust off of your components.