Noting some HD vibration I think it's time to contemplate what new PC's to purchase ;-)
My favorite local clone place has gone belly-up.
What are recommendations for a sturdy/speedy machine for Spice simulations?
(I note that Dell still offers XP as an OS :-) ...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at
formatting link
| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
I keep hearing all kinds of rumors about location of programs and data being forced on you by Win 7 ?? ...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
You can never be too prepared for the REPRESSION!
"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
The deal is that they've added another layer of indirection: Instead of having c:\\documents and settings\\jimbo\\My Documents, you now have a so-called "library" named "Documents". The simplest definition of that library might be, "Everything in c:\\documents and settings\\jimbo\\My Documents," but it can get much fancier. (By default the definition is "everything in jimbo\\My Docs and everything in All Users\\My Docs.") Fancier options are essentially just filters -- including or excluding files based on name, dates, whatever.
Since Microsoft was so proud of their new creation, they've made it so that you just don't see the actual paths to your files without additional effort (e.g., in XP, if I click on "My Documents" the address bar says, "My Documents" but then if I click on "Spice" the address bar changes to, "c:\\docs and settings\\Joel\\My Docs\\Spice" or whatever -- in Win7 you'd still just see "Documents\\Spice").
The idea is that your "Documents" library could include various physical directories on various machines and potentially on various networks or whatever, and that it's supposedly easier to find things if you don't have to kept track of the absolute paths yourself. Personally I see some value there if you're working in a good-sized company and have hundreds of file servers spread around campus, but for an individual user I think the improvement is pretty modest at best, and the fact that it's now more effort find out where a file really is can be a bit annoying.
I should point out it's not just "Documents" that's now a library, there are also libraries for Videos, Music, Pictures, Program Files, etc. -- and you can sit down and make new ones of your own design if you feel like it.
If you just sit down at a Windows 7 machine, you probably wouldn't have any problem getting your work done while remaining blissfully unaware of the whole "library" idea... except when you're using older software that requires you to know the actual physical path to your files.
Maybe read some SMART codes stored on your drive...
formatting link
Of course, if there's critical data on the drive, you have the data backed up, right?
Are you just looking for an excuse to buy a new machine? :D
What OS are you running? How large is the drive?
If you like I can clone your drive for you. My rates are on my webpage. Just add shipping both ways. Backup and wipe critical data if you like. Will do an NDA if you need...
Aha! Thanks! That's been the best explanation I've heard! ...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
You can never be too prepared for the REPRESSION!
-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at
formatting link
| 1962 | You can never be too prepared for the REPRESSION!
Opposite extreme: HP ProLiant (tower) server. Hot-plug RAID, redundant power supplies, redundant BIOS, redundant fans, ECC memory. About $3K each. I've bought about 15 so far. If my PC breaks - one did, my fault
- I grab a spare from down the hall, pop in my drives, and I'm back online in, literally, 5 minutes.
Hmm, the news server must have swallowed that post. For whatever reason.
Saw that as well in the last flyer that came in the mail yesterday. They must have their reasons and I am amazed that even Windows 7 comes with an XP "downgrade" option. Couldn't believe it.
I've been happy with Dell, total of three so far. The desktops are amazingly quiet during normal times. While simulating the fans begin to pick up but not to a level that would make the dog's ears perk up. The Durabook laptop on the other hand sound like someone down at the airpark started his jet engine. During SPICE you can't put any small notes next to it, would blow right off the table.
I paid a bit more for the last Dell but considering that it saved me a few hours of assembly and installation (hours that I didn't have back then) it was worth it.
Just make sure you get a mobo where the caps don't go kablouie :-)
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/
"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
I have 2 systems from TigerDirect. I buy their barebone kits. Kits vary but you usually get a case, MB, CPU, and memory. Some come with a HD or add a HD. None come with OS. They still sell XP pro and home. Prices range from $200 to over a grand for their top of the line gamer systems. 20 minutes you'll have it put together.
One of their $299 systems has: * MSI K9N6PGM2-V Motherboard * AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Processor * Corsair XMS2 PC6400 800MHz 2GB DDR2 Desktop Memory Upgrade * LG GH22NS50-AUAU DVD Writer * Seagate ST3750630AS Barracuda Hard Drive * MSI GeForce 9500 GT Video Card * PowerUp ATX Black Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB and Audio Ports and 450-Watt Power Supply
I don't know what the market is like in the US but here in the UK, the absolute worst time to buy new hardware is in the run up to Christmas, all the deals disappear and some prices actually go up. Think your machine will survive until the new year?
Take a look at the Dell Precision Workstations or for that matter, the HP Z series workstations. Both solid, both fast and neither are cheap but you can spec some serious desktop power if you have the wallet and inclination.
The research places I do work at swear by the Dells (probably because they get a decent price break), the games companies do 3D and development work on HP Z workstations. Our local TV company uses HP Z workstations for video editing and graphics rendering as well.
If you don't mind something intended for the consumer end of the market and so with "stylish" shiny black plastic case some of the Medion machines pack a high bang per buck at least in Europe. Certain models will also work as Hackintoshes if you know what you are doing.
Gaming machines that are well cooled and then not overclocked tend to be pretty robust too. If you know exactly what you want and avoid the power hungry 3D graphics card they can be a bargain with a heavyweight PSU.
These days you might want to consider a 64bit OS and lots of installed memory for running heavyweight simulations. SSD also worth considering if you have a lot of random read lookups to do. Avoid Vista if at all possible.
Hate that "idea". In those terms, what if you designed a controller for something in "mechanical devices" and needed to "borrow" that in "electronic stuff" for modification with results posted to "general use", because "electronic stuff" had all of the needed references. Would it actually be as "easy" as described or as messy as using the longwinded complete paths?
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.