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Hellcom

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Posts posted by Hellcom

    Recommed me a..... chair

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Perhaps the most vital item in your office/computer setup is the humble chair. My current chair has died, all that is left is the base seat as the back fell off due to EXTREME usage. Below are requirements for recommendations!!!!

    • Comfy
    • Spinny
    • Strudy
    • Not back breaking....y
    • Not too expensive... y

    GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    ~Printer~

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    May I personally recommend you ditch inkjets altogether and get a color laser printer? Even if it doesn't have photocopier and scanner capability, you'd be wasting a lot less money in the long run with laser toner as opposed to color ink ($50 a cartridge for ~250 sheets versus $70 a cartridge for ~2000 sheets).

    I have a network-capable HP Color LaserJet 2600n, went for about $400 at Fry's (plus an $80 5-year service contract) and the toner cartridges are $70 apiece. But the good news there is I bought it almost a year ago and I have yet to need to change the toner cartridges out. I figured two years before I spend ~$280 for new cartridges, which is basically just like getting a new inkjet printer, since that's about how long they last anyways (for me at least).

    Plus, if for whatever reason the prints get wet, laser toner doesn't bleed. :)

    Yeah, I know about the pros of laser over inkjet. However, it would be very hard to convince a large purchase like that (good lasers are always more expensive) with my family. Especially as they are not heavy users and may never see the benefits of the purchase. In addition the inkjet listed has some pretty good specs; 800 pages b/w text per cartridge and individually they are only £10 each.

    ~Printer~

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    If you have problems getting the wireless to work (you really shouldn't, it's super easy to set up), let me know. I know my way around this printer. Also, don't buy direct from HP. Search around for cheaper prices. Direct from HP is always more expensive.

    As far as ink goes, it uses two cartridges: tricolor, and black and white. There is an optional black/gray cartridge that you can use in place of the black one for more detail when it comes to printing photos, but I use normal black with the tricolor, and the picture is super nice and crisp. The detail is top-notch. It doesn't waste too much ink either.

    The printer supports both wireless b and wireless g, so that shouldn't be an issue.

    Thanks, I'll let you know if I have any problems. In the uk HP is selling it for £129, but I found it elsewhere at only £90. yay

    ~Printer~

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    This is the one I have (well, this is a newer model, I have the 6800):

    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/product_detail.do?storeName=storefronts&landing=&category=inkjets&orderflow=1&a1=Color+printing&v1=Color&a2=Networking&v2=Standard+%28built-in+wireless+802.11b%2Fg%29&product_code=C8972A%23B1H&catLevel=3

    I got it precisely because I can have it anywhere in the house and all laptops and pc's can print from it (3 computers at my place).

    It's only a printer, no scanner or anything else. But damn that built-in wireless is sweet. It certainly solved my space problem!

    That looks perfect! Thanks

    ~Printer~

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You can get a scanner at a thrift store for like $5. Whenever I go in there's at least like 10 scanners all piled in the back of the store. I've never tested a resold scanner, but they PROBABLY work, or at least a few in that pile :). I'd go with a single-function printer - less things can go wrong and they don't cost as much.

    It doesn't have to be wireless either. Your router has some ports on the back, right? The printer can still be used over a network as long as it has the CAT5 jack on the back.

    The actual research between different printer models can be done yourself. Check Consumer Reports or something.

    Problem is, the router is directly connected via cat5 to my desktop. So that solution will give me the same problems I have now among other things. Giant printer taking up all my desk space, family whining if I haven't turned on the computer/printer early enough or if I turn it off to early (they can get really angry and unreasonable), and my room becoming a traffic thoroughfare with printer orders.

    ~Printer~

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm looking to buy a new printer for my family. The current printer we have is a pile of crap. Yet, I'm having trouble finding something and I'm afraid what I am asking does not exist :P

    • Needs to be wireless (Most computers in the house are laptops and everyone would love a wireless printer in the center of the house)
    • Multifunction (Printer, scanner, photocopier)
    • Needs to be quick and ink efficient when printing text
    • Needs to be able to print images at a good quality
    • Would be a big bonus if it had some linux functionality

    The only thing I might be willing to give up on is the multifunction capabilities. If that isn't possible, well then I will need scanner :P

    Hi! I'm kinda lost already but so what!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Okay, I'll try to talk them into it... not sure they'll agree cos our bill is realy low... as for the broadband rates they're 10 times as expensize! Hmm... I could always bribe them, but I don't think that will work neither...

    I think you miss-read his post. It's definitely not "tens times as expensive", but ten times FASTER (Well ten times greater bandwidth, but whatever). Let's just consider the most basic packages you can get. For example:

    AT&T offers a "Basic Package" for just under $15 per month, at speeds of 768 Kbps(about x13 that of dial up), with no extra costs. Did I mention that connection is both stable and constant, unlike dial-up? This also includes a free dial-up account when travelling, and of course email accounts blah blah....

    Whereas, AT&T's "Yahoo dial-up" package costs under $10 per month. Now you may think, what's my point, broadband is still more expensive right? Wrong, because this price does not include the costs of the phone calls made when accessing the internet. This tends to cause the real costs to rise to either equal, or easily surpass that of Broadband costs. In addition, there is the inconvenience of taking up the phone line when accessing the internet, a problem that doesn't exist with broadband. The only way to get around this with dial-up is to install an extra line, which is an unwarranted extra cost when the option of broadband is available. You may also say you don't want to bother with the hassle of installation right? Well there is hardly any major installation to consider and most mainstream services will offer an installation service for you if you are still unsure and/or aren't "tech savy".

    In reality, the only reason why you shouldn't get broadband is if you live literally in the middle of nowhere so broadband isn't even possible.

    Show this to your parents if you want to try to persuade them. Also, I do not endorse AT&T as I don't live in the US, and thus I am unaware of it's reputation or other competitors. Well I can advise one thing about providers no matter the country, avoid AOL.

    Looking for a new workstation, need advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm actually just not good at putting it together. I've tried before, I needed to ask a friend for help last time I did (he is no longer in the area). Again, there's also the *general* support issue - if you DO have a problem and you can't troubleshoot it yourself, you have to rely on strangers on the internet as opposed to a help desk.

    You have to ask yourself if general support is really worth it. How many times have you ever needed to call them? For me this was very rarely.

    You can get support for you products with DIY. As long as you buy all "retail" as opposed to "OEM" (costs a tiny fraction more) you will get support and warranty for each individual product. Of course this isn't as good as general, but it should be enough as any problems you have tend to be limited to one product rather than spanning the entire machine.

    Are you sure there is no one at your uni or around were you live who is a bit hardware savy? Even a tech support company might do the job :P However, if you decide to build you should really give it a go yourself. Just read some guides about system building like the one I post a little while earlier.

    Looking for a new workstation, need advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    SPCR has a nice quiet customized system you might want to look into:

    http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=spcr_quiet_core2.html

    That looks overpriced and very inflexible regarding customisation. :(

    It doesn't even offer even the most basic requirements Zircon has asked for, and the closest thing it has to my build is in the $2500 range.

    You're right, in that building a computer isn't hard. It's knowing the compatibility between your parts that's tough though. When it's factory built, they are stringent with compatibility, and all the parts have been tested likewise.

    Yep, but it's not too hard to get advice. Just go onto a hardware forum or the retailer forum (if they have an established community) and ask if everything is compatible.

    Looking for a new workstation, need advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Yeah, I'm really happy with my DS3. Great overclocker...running my E6300 at 3.15GHz right now on stock voltage.

    Lian Li does make amazing cases (it's what I wanted originally), but I couldn't justify spending an extra $100 or so on it. Ended up going with a Cooler Master Centurion instead (had a rebate ;) ), and it works just fine.

    Zircon might want to consider the E6300 and E6400 as they are both excellent CPUs with amazing overclocking potential, but with a slimmer price tag. Also, good choice with the cooler master, not as good as Li-Lian of course, but still good nonetheless.

    Looking for a new workstation, need advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I guess what I'm getting at is, is there a place that DOESN'T mark up by $1000, but still offers customizability?

    No

    Building a PC isn't that hard, it's like lego blocks these days. You said that you have installed a sound card right? Well then you are more than qualified :P

    Also, as the others suggested on my spec, tone down the graphics card as long as you are not intending to go for Aero or intensive gaming. The case I listed is one of the best cases for looks, wieght, material, space, and airflow allowing great longivgetiy and overclocking. However, it's not nessary to spurlge on that if you don't want to and there are plenty of other high quality cases at more affordable price ranges.

    Edit:

    Also the motherboard I listed, Gigbyte DS3, has plenty of USB ports, ten in total.

    Internal I/O Connectors

    1. 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector

    2. 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector

    3. 1 x floppy connector

    4. 1 x IDE connector

    5. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors

    6. 1 x CPU fan connector

    7. 1 x system fan connector

    8. 1 x front panel connector

    9. 1 x front audio connector

    10. 1 x CD In connector

    11. 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 connectors for additional 6 ports by cables

    12. 1 x SPDIF In connector

    13. 1 x COM port connector

    14. 1 x power LED connector

    15. 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector

    Rear Panel I/O

    1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port

    2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port

    3. 1 x SPDIF Out connection (coaxial+optical)

    4. 1 x parallel port

    5. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports

    6. 1 x VGA port

    7. 1 x RJ-45 port

    8. 6 x audio jacks (Line In / Line Out / MIC In/Surround Speaker Out (Rear Speaker Out)/Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out)

    Edit again part 2: I have also found an (old-ish) guide to building a PC, and it even features the case (slighty older model) I listed!!

    http://tools.corsairmemory.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=12472

    Edit again part 3: Isn't there someone at your uni who you could pay something like $100 to build your PC with the parts you have collected if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself?

    Looking for a new workstation, need advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I made a build based on what's I'm buying soon with some adjustments while browsing through newegg. In no particularly order:

    LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower $199.99 (One of the best cases around)

    GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 LGA 775 Intel G965 Express ATX Intel $134.99 (Great motherboard, but it only has 3 PCI slots, which is quite a lot on newer mobo sadly)

    Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail $69.99 (Solid power supply for case)

    Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model $317.00 (We already know it's the best CPU right now for value for money)

    GeIL Ultra 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GX22GB6400UDC - Retail

    $219.99 (Meh, I don't think anything more than 2GB is worth it atm)

    SAPPHIRE 100109L-BL Radeon X800 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $165.99

    Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 $159.99 (As ordered)

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $169.99 (As ordered)

    SCEPTRE x22wg-Gamer Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen HDMI LCD Monitor $349.99 (meh, not much choice on newegg, but has HDMI making future proof for a while. It's also really really CHEAP)

    $349.99

    Subtotal: $1,824.99

    No sound card as I don't really feel I could recommend one. It's also likely you could lower the price down to 1500-1600 as I have a habit on splurging on unnecessary things. Lastly, I don't know the stores for buying stuff in the US, but I believe newegg has a good rep (am I right?)

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