RootsChat.Com
General => Technical Help => Topic started by: Arquebus on Thursday 06 July 06 23:55 BST (UK)
-
I need to buy a new PC.....Have you ever tried to satisfy yourself what you have chosen is correct for what you want?
It is driving me up the wall.........I ain't a ficko when it comes to PCs but it really does annoy me when the potential supplier leaves it up to me to choose all the options....they are supposed to be the specialists.....how in God's name am I supposed to know what supports what?
After all, if I went to buy a new car, would the supplier expect me to specify brass or titanium 'hydraulic valve lifters'?.....all I want is a performance car that will keep running and stay on the road.....so how should I know that a 4200 AMD dual core processor has a 0.512Mb cache but a 4400 has a 1.0Mb cache and an Intel Pentium D 960 has 4.0Mbcache (2x2Mb!)?
Plus, the specialists ask me to choose what I need to make it handle my files, even though I have explained to them what it needs to do......If they don't know, how are we all expected to know.
All I want is a fast reliable, efficient, good looking PC that doesn't overheat!....which doesn't come with all the usual rubbish on it.
You start out out with a budget in mind of say, £500 and you end up needing to spend £2000........and the best part of that is for stuff we will never need or use (well, not unless the best part of the UK population is stuck in front of their PC all day long playing 'Zoom death by carrot in a suitcase' or some daft game or another.
Having seen enough PC specifications to give Mr Dell an orgasm, I have considered building my own.......until some bright spark sows the seed in my head that two components might be compatible in one PC but not the next, so give the manufacturer the risk......but then we are back to us/me choosing the options.
I am seriously thinking I should go back to string and an abacus.
Anyone got a sensible suggestion?
Al.
-
It comes down to a few simple things....
The basic computer will have a modern processor and mother board. Fine. Just specify a minimum of 1GB of RAM (2 would be better) and that's the main bit.
You will need an optical drive to read and burn DVDs. You will need a reasonable sound card to let you play music/movies. And a respectable video card to drive whatever screen you want.
For storage, the smallest hard drive is about 80GB today, which is quite adequate - just be sure to specify SATA (serial ATA) so that you get a modern hard drive, not something being remaindered off.
Keyboard and mouse - go for wireless...less tangle on the desk!
What else do you need? :-)
Paul
-
Hi Paul,
Firstly I need 2G Ram (big files) to prevent the paging process from taking place.....Paging looks for all the other processes running when not enough Ram available.....unfortunately it looks first at the programs and files I am trying to run......so ultimately I can go and make a cup of tea and have a sandwich while the files are opening.
I then need a dual core processor, because I have several apps running at once.....so I know I am into the possibility of heat (but I ain't going to water cool my PC....thats like trying to lubricate a car engine with nitro-glycerine!)
Sound is immaterial....I need to concentrate on my PC when I am working so bleeps etc are as much as I need really....although I will admit to occassionally playing the odd bits and pieces.....but I don't need 3 million speakers cluttering up my workspace. (And I hate those built in monitor speakers)
I will be using at least 2x160G hard drives, but I won't mirror them ( noise and speed issues) and stripe means just one big disc, so there is is no point in having two.....I will have just C and D drives although some selective partitioning might come into it.
Wireless ain't an option.....interference from elsewhere can be a problem but also the more I find out about it you have to wonder about safety ie cordless phones and brain damage.
Mind you, one twit suggested a wireless router to hook up the two PCs....when they were about 1.0m apart!......apart from the transfer rate being at least half the speed of the Ethernet cable (or a Crossover Ethernet cable) there were more wires than a wired version!
Still I suppose it was abetter suggestion than Dell came up with to connect two computers...........A server.
But....what is 'a respectable video card'.....See? you are making me choose.
Thanks, though....Al.
-
You seem to quite well enough equipped to figure one out for yourself! You aren't gaming, I guess...so something straightforward would do. I like ATI Radeon, but nVidia do good things.
Be Vista ready...it is close enough to get some idea of what will be required there.
Paul
-
Vista is 64bit innit?......Hmmmmm...
There ain't much software around that supports 64bit yet, but I also think back to how long it took Msoft to sort out all the glitches in XP.....in fact they are still sorting it out.....will Vista take as long....who knows?
With graphics cards, what I dont know is: do I need 256, 512, 2x cards, what does geforce 7900 have over 7600, or radeon x1600pro?
1600pro even has a fan on it.....Uh?
It is a nightmare for me, so how is Mr Average supposed to get on?
Al.
-
The one critical question that must be asked before any of the others can be answered :-
What do you really want to use the machine for ?
Once you've answered that the rest should start to fall into place.
After all, if I went to buy a new car, would the supplier expect me to specify brass or titanium 'hydraulic valve lifters'?.....all I want is a performance car that will keep running and stay on the road.
This comes back to that first question ..... the supplier would expect you to know what you want to do with the car ;)
Dual Core or Single Core ....... the smart money is on Dual Core being the path to take especially if you are into video editing.
Memory .... you mention big file sizes ... so 2 Gig would be better.
Video card ..... It's not only gamers who require a powerful video card ... CAD,video and various presentation utiliies all benefit from a good card although not neccessarily the latest
Noise ...... you seem to imply that this is not a problem but trust me you don't want something that sounds like a jet taking off everytime its started up.
-
I should have added that the second most important queation is
"How much do you want to spend"
Although some (including my wife) say that this is more important thsn the other question ::)
-
Up to £1500.....but obviously preferably lower.
Really big Photoshop files (I have one that reached 1.1G) Clients require high res images printed at say A1 size. (one was done at AO).
".all I want is a performance car that will keep running and stay on the road....."
Basically the same criteria, but I don't want the PC almost coming to a standstill just because Outlook does a send/receive or a virus scan/update starts up.
I have tried an AMD3000 with 1G (and 64bit) but this suffered from bad build and mismatched components....ended up with, hanging, unplanned shutdowns, peculiar shutdowns, boot sector failures etc....never got the chance to evaluate it properly because of the problems.
I tried a D..L 820 Pentium D with IG (and mirror drives)....it couldn't cope amongst other things.......I guess paging problems mainly.
Went to a D..L 960 Pentium D with 2G (with stripe drives).....overheated and smoked....dunno why.
What is so odd is that my little old Celeron 2.3 with 700Ram ( and just C and D drives) is painfully slow, but it can just about keep running.....I am surprised it's not sitting in the corner, a quivering wreck!
Al.
-
Vista will have a 32 bit version. You won't want to buy it before early 2008, however, when it will be more stable.
With video cards, try them. If your dealer is worthwhile, he/she will have some choices, and a swap takes no more than 2 minutes. My eyes ain't your eyes...buy what looks good, and can cope with what you do.
Paul
Australia
-
I've been reading this thread with great amusement.
About 10 years ago I bought a 8mb memory module for my PC for an astonishing £100. There was great excitement in the shop that something so small could cost so much money.
I bought a new PC in 1999 and I'm still using that Pentium II with 256mb of RAM and it works adequately. I've dropped out of the computer 'technological arms race' because you will never win. As soon as you upgrade someone will bring out something new and you will have to by something better to cope with it.
The other day someone threw out a Packard Bell IMedia 4608 with 1GHz Celeron processor and 19gb harddrive on the estate where I live. So I brought it in doors and to see if it was working. I booted it up and got the blue 'sudden death' screen warning me that a fatal error had occured. I put a Windows XP CD disc in the drive and booted from that and ran chkdsk and it found a problem and resolved it. Apparently the people that threw the PC out had tried booting from a Windows 98 boot disk in the floppy drive (it was still in there) and couldn't work out how to recover their system and so they threw the whole PC out (minus the monitor).
Oddly, although this PC is about 3 years younger than my old PC but it is incredibly slow. So I've salavged the harddrive and nicked the memory from the Packard Bell and put them in my old PC. The Packard Bell also had a copy of MS Office XP on it. I use the harddrive for backups in the second slot of my old PC.
So I think I have found the future of computing, just wait for someone to chuck their PC out and upgrade that way. When you think about it, everyone that owns a PC is going to throw it out at sometime in their lives. It just requires patience and luck.
Cheers
downside
-
Downside.....that is what I am beginning to think.....
Everything is 'the best thing since sliced bread', but what did we do before sliced bread?
All I have seen happen over the last few yeras of having a PC, is that we are being led like lambs to the slaughter, to constantly upgrade to the next best thing, when I'll bet that being kept back somewhere, is the best best best thing say, 100Ghz triple processors with 100G of Ram and 10G hard drives.......If they sold it to us now, nobody would be upgrading.
Lets face it....nobody needs 2 x500G hard drives in reality....I probably only need two 80G drives.....one to work on, one to backup on....when my jobs are finished I take them off the PC, so I am not storing a huge amount which is all the hard drive is really for.
I accept though, that I need a 'memory rich' PC for speed, otherwise I will be forever waiting for an operation to complete.
Personally, I think the whole business of PCs and IT is a huge con trick.....As Adolf H said (roughly) you can fool the masses into believing a lie, easier than a small number of people.
Al.
-
This guy has some interesting things to say about the upgrade cycle: -
http://microsoft.toddverbeek.com/index.html
Have a look at his suggested OS alternatives (left hand icon).
Perhaps using a less resource-hungry OS is better than getting a faster computer. In 2 years of upgrades & security fixes etc, it'll be just as slow as your old one anyway.
WARNING.
His advice does have to be tempered by the fact that he dresses in a superman costume.
Arnie.
-
The other day someone threw out a Packard Bell IMedia 4608 with 1GHz Celeron processor and 19gb harddrive on the estate where I live. So I brought it in doors and to see if it was working. I booted it up and got the blue 'sudden death' screen warning me that a fatal error had occured. I put a Windows XP CD disc in the drive and booted from that and ran chkdsk and it found a problem and resolved it. Apparently the people that threw the PC out had tried booting from a Windows 98 boot disk in the floppy drive (it was still in there) and couldn't work out how to recover their system and so they threw the whole PC out (minus the monitor).
We have 3 PCs in our house. The old one which runs WIN 98 and was brought in 99, :).
The second one my spouse rescued from the side of the road, it has 128 MB RAM, a pentium ll processor, and 10 GB hard drive. It works perfectly for our 4 year old sons games.
The third and most recent PC was purchased in April with my tax refund - Win XP, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB hard drive and P4 processor.
Oh yeah, and hubby found an old washing machine on the street too. He brought it home, fixed it up and now we can wash our laundry for free instead of having to pay the laundry room to use their machines.
Its amazing what one can find on the street. :D
BD
-
How did we get from PC's to washing machines :)
How much RAM does your washing machine have?
downside
-
One of the problems with Photoshop is that it expands to make use of whatever facilities it finds available unless you deliberately throttle it back. However if you are handling files where the original is 1.1 gig then 2 G memory should in my opinion be the absolute minimum you would want.
Have a look at www.cube247.co.uk ....... or even talk to them about what you want I've found their advice to be impartial in the past and their machines get a good write up in many reviews.
-
How much RAM does your washing machine have?
I'm so glad that you asked that.
I have a washing machine with an embedded controller instead of a motor driven one, so it does have some RAM, I'm not sure exactly how much, but an embedded microcontroller system of this scale would typically have a clock speed of between 4 to 10MHz, ROM (program storage) of around 8K, and maybe 2k or even less of RAM.
It's a good example of matching computing power to the application in hand. A system of this sort can have input response times of less than 1millisecond & often don't need any sort of operating system, instead using a simple task scheduling program.
So absolutely no use for running photoshop.
-
Thanks Fallkryn....I'll talk to Cube
Al.
-
Hi arnietheother
Most impressive.
If the washing machine packs up I wonder if it could be used as a web server 8)
downside
-
Arquebus,
I fear my off-topic ramblings at the weekend may have added to your frustration, so by way of an apology, here's some of my more focused thoughts on choosing pc components.
"the potential supplier leaves it up to me to choose all the options....they are supposed to be the specialists.....how in God's name am I supposed to know what supports what?"
We all know it's because they don't know; all they have to go on is benchmark test results, which are not easily translated to efficiency in executing a particular graphics process.
I think that the best way around this is to devise your own meaningful benchmark. This might be the time taken to complete a processor-intense calculation on a particularly large file with a given number of applications open. Time this on your existing system and set yourself a target (say 10 times faster) and think about how much you would pay for that performance increase. See what the cost is of a machine capable of executing that task & try it out in the supplier's shop. If they're any good, they'll let you install a program on their demo machine to try it out. Something like a selective blur on a very large file would probably be a good example.
I reckon that the people best placed to give an indication on machine specification to meet your benchmark would be the software developers. You might get some indication from them of where to target your machine's performance.
Here's some more of my thoughts on computers: -
On Hard discs, Ram and Paging:
I think a processor must be spending a lot if it's time paging on a small scale - swapping blocks of data between its cache ram and external ram, but because this happens very quickly & isn't evident, (as ram is about 1000 times faster than a hard disk) it isn't noticed. So a large on-board ram cache should speed calculations quite a bit. I suspect this is so for performing operations on graphics files.
Paging ram to the hard disk is much more visible, and slower, due to the slow data transfer to and from a hard disk, and also because of the larger page sizes. To minimise its effects, you could get a fast hard disc as this is the slowest component in the read/write process. Choose one with very short access times (high spin speed). Also, get one with on-board RAM, which will speed read/writes considerably (especially when beginning writes of relatively small files).
It is possible with some OS's to select an area of the disk to be used as a swap partition, failing this, it may be possible to map the swap file to a particular area of the disk. Not all bytes on a hard disk have equal access times.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but it is possible to slow down the performance of some systems by adding RAM. (or put another way) Some systems allow optimisation of paging by balancing the ratio of swap partition /swap file size to RAM size. This can be unbalanced by increasing the RAM size. In this case, you should install all the RAM and partition / install your OS afterwards.
If you're using Photoshop under Windows to work with really large graphics files, see if you can limit the amount of memory it uses for things like 'undo memory' and 'tile cache size'. I'm not a Photoshop user, but I know that this is possible in other graphics programs.
And I'm not even finished yet...
-
On RAID arrays:
"stripe means just one big disc, so there is is no point in having two"
This is not the whole story, properly configured, a RAID array could significantly reduce your paging times.
Last time I looked at this, there seemed to be 4 or more standard arrangements of making a disk array, but when you think about it, there's only 2 basic principles:
1. duplicate the data on each disk - increase reliability & increase write / read times
2. distribute data over disks in order to increase write speed and reduce reliability by (at least) 50%.
If you want to reduce paging times, you'd want to choose option 2.
It's not necessary to have a hard disk on a pc - people have made systems with bootable flash drives. Paging to flash is much faster than to a hard disk, but there's no room for file storage, so you need a USB hard disk for file storage. The files are transferred to the flash area to be edited then copied back afterwards. Flash memory does start to fail after a given number of write cycles (depends on type 1000 - 1000,000 write cycles). Another tradeoff.
"somewhere, is the best best best thing say, 100Ghz triple processors with 100G of Ram and 10G hard drives......."
That's in the right direction but at least one order of magnitude away. Heavy duty calculations use clusters of computers & split the processing into chunks - each chunk being processed on a separate machine. SETI are using screensaver time on many thousands of idle computers to detect non-random patterns in EM data. Animation studios use render farms (clusters of networked computers) to perform ray tracing and image generation on each frame of a movie. Typically it can take one to several hours to render a single frame. Dreamworks have recently upgraded their kit and are now using upwards of 500 clustered Linux machines to create (in effect) a several THz machine with a 500+ core processor. It can render a single frame in 1/46 second. Dreamworks have this kit because they're probably using something like cinepaint to render 32 or 64 bit-per-channel images. I know it's not a feasible solution for a home / small business photo editor.
On water cooling:
Thermal management of the average desktop PC is dire. Fans are the most unreliable component in electronic / electrical systems (connectors win 2nd place). If that's not bad enough, fans collect and distribute dust.
There's an equation that describes how efficiently heat from a processor die gets to the surrounding air, it's just like ohms law:
heat flux = Temperature drop / thermal resistance
So, to get the maximum heat flow, you need to lower the thermal resistance.
The thermal resistance is made up of:
* die to package (can't do anything about this)
* package to heatsink (use good quality thermal bonding medium )
* heatsink to air (use a heatsink with large surface area & approximately double its performance by using a fan).
The weak link in this chain is the heatsink to air boundary, which, due to the large difference in thermal mass of metal and air is where most of the thermal gradient will be. It gets much worse over time as the fans coat the heatsink with dust, and the heatsink-to-air thermal resistance increases, then your processor gets hotter.
There are systems available with fanless processors, I've seen one that is thermally coupled to the case, which then acts as a very big heatsink. This isn't a new idea, it's been done in car radios (and many other types of equipment) for decades.
Blowing the hot air out of the case through the PSU isn't such a bright idea anyway, there are components in the PSU whose deterioration rate is exponentially proportional to temperature, and these are filtering voltage spikes out of the supplies fed to the computer's components. These age, the supply voltages get noisier & the components get hotter.
You can use fans with integral air filters that blow into the case. The case is then slightly pressurised with clean air, so the heatsink doesn't get contaminated with dust.
Water cooling gives a very efficient heat transfer from the heatsink due to the much higher thermal mass of water, and will give more reliable cooling, as long as you're careful to avoid leaks. It comes with the added benefit of silence.
Right there's me off the soapbox - I knew it was a mistake to drop by the tech help board - I'm off back to photo restoration.
-
Thanks Arnie......I am somewhat further now....
Al.
-
Just thought I would let those of you that are interested, I have gone the Socket AM2 route...You can imagine what that did to my wallet.
Al.
-
What are you going to do with your old PC?
Leave it outside your front door - I'm sure someone will find some use for it.
downside
-
Upgrade it....amazingly it appears it can take 4G RAM!
It will get 2G, though.
It will then get used by Madame and as a backup for the data on the new one.
Al.
-
Ahhhhhhh a happy ending :)
downside (not envious as he has upgraded to a Pentium III with 256MB RAM)
-
God, if that's upgrading, what the hell was it like before?
It must have been so slow your email came by horse and cart.
Al.
-
Hi Arquebus
What have processor speed and memory got to do with sending and receiving email?
They can't arrive any faster than ones internet connection permits which in my case is broadband. Am I to conclude that I'll be able to type an email faster on your latest computer? :)
As you can probably tell I'm not a power user - but I get by. I've just done a Windows Vista test and they reckon my current PC is not up to the job of running Windows next release. I hope that support for Windows XP continues for a few more years. Microsoft have recently stopped supporting Windows 98 so I reckon I should be able to carry on with my current system for at least 6 years.
downside
-
But Pentium III and 256 Ram is a bit dark ages isn't it?
Gadget
-
Hi Downside
I have to agree withyou, processor speed and memory has nothing to do with sending or recieving e-mails. I was running a pentium two till May last year, and had no problems with e-mails sending or recieving. All depends on on your internet connection, wether broadband or dial up.
ricky
-
If it's only e-mails then no prob but you try editing huge graphics files with 256 Ram :o
For example, when I was doing the collage for my latest avatar - it's not reallythat size ya know ::)
Gadget
-
Hi Gadget
I agree with that, but the statement from an earlier reply said that his e-mails must come by horse and cart, which has nothing to do with processor speed or memory. In fact the comp I use was built by a local company to the spec that I wanted, plus some input from the company that built it. I found it cheaper that way than buying of the shelf, being told that a computer can do this and that, and it can be upgraded . I got caught out a few years ago by spending £1700 on a comp, and being told that it could be upgraded when ever I wanted, only to find out about a year later that it would have to have a new mother board and higher spec processor for it to be upgraded . Top it all the company that sold it went bust the following year, and speaking to the makers of the one I had they even said that it could not be upgraded without new board etc. All boils down to what you want your computer to do.
ricky
-
When I was talking about emails by horse and cart I was purely being sarcastic.....it seemed at the time to be a suitable analagy bearing in mind Downside (with the greatest respect) hasn't tried to load or save and close a large Graphics file at the same time as trying to 'Send/Receive' Outlook.
Gadget appears to appreciate this....Thanks.
Some of the images I get involved with can be huge because clients want high resolution images that can be plotted (not printed) at A1 and AO size.
One of these images involved so much work it's overall file size was 1G.....Downside's PC would have crept into a corner with it's hands over it's head if he had tried to load it (Smokin'!).....It wouldn't have even been able to page for more memory I guess, because when paging takes place it looks for 'spare' memory on all running processes....the trouble is it always looks at the biggest operation taking place as well as the small ones, therefore it is almost self defeating inasmuch it tries to page the program you want to run.
That's why I need lotsa memory and a dual core processer because I don't have the time to waste waiting for things to happen.
And Ricky, Yep, that's the risk everyone takes when buying a computer...because it goes right back to the start of my original post....How the hell is the general public supposed to know what Graphics Card to buy?
It it wasn't for the fact that I know a bit, I would have ended up buying a Socket 939 PC, which is virtually all you can get at the moment because every supplier, PC builder and retailer is using up their huge stocks of these to get rid of them before AM2 takes over. (Even Dell is offering AM2 now).
Its a bit like the 32 bit issue....they are trying to get rid of all these even though 64 bit has been available for some time.....and you wait for all the people with average laptops when they find they can't be upgraded to 64 bit....not worth it.
Still, I ain't arguing wiv no wun....all I wanted originally was helpful advice from people that understood the problem.
Al.
-
Hi Gadget
70 million people are still using Windows 98, so I don't think I qualify for the Dark Ages. Someone on this board recently asked about obtaining a 'new' printer for their Windows 95 system.
I don't do any processor and memory intense processing so I don't have any problems running my PC. I don't play any graphics intensive games either.
My PC suits my needs. I'm sure there are plenty of people out their that are still using comparatively 'old' equipment and having no problems. Maybe we should start a poll - how old is your PC? :)
downside
-
Hi Gadget
70 million people are still using Windows 98, so I don't think I qualify for the Dark Ages. Someone on this board recently asked about obtaining a 'new' printer for their Windows 95 system.
I don't do any processor and memory intense processing so I don't have any problems running my PC. I don't play any graphics intensive games either.
My PC suits my needs. I'm sure there are plenty of people out their that are still using comparatively 'old' equipment and having no problems. Maybe we should start a poll - how old is your PC? :)
downside
So tell me please downside, why did you bother to get involved with this topic, when I made it quite obvious that I was using big files?
Al.
-
Hi
I think it all boils down to what you want to do with the comp, and what use you put it to, so you get the spec that will best do the job. I personally think its best to get one built to your own spec, than one of those of the shelf. Having experinced problems with past comps that I have bought from retailer's, and when it go's wrong having to pay so much a minute to speak to a tech adviser. All I would have to do is go down the road to the person who built mine, but everyone to their own choosing.
ricky
-
Ricky, You are right......
I could probably build one myself (although I have much more satisfaction and success when dealing with things that run on petrol) providing I knew that the specification I thought I needed would do the trick.
And of course then you have to select the correct components to give you that spec, but this leads to questions immediately.....which manufacturer's components are compatible with the other manufacturer's components?
Mine is being built by 'specialists' as it seems that even the big boys can't get it right (one caught fire) and this probably my best option.......I certainly won't buy from off the major retailers shelves.
If I build it myself and it doesn't work, I could end up spending a fortune on trying to replace a faulty part or a non-compatible item.....so I'll let someone else take the risk and they can build it for me.
Al.
-
Hi Arquebus
I found getting a good local computer specialist was my best option, although I didn't want such a high spec as you need. I tried retailers mentioning no names, and the prices they were quoting was out of my price range for the spec I needed. Like I said went to a good local specialist after asking other people around about their comps and where did they get them from. I saved myself nearly £300 doing it that way, and got the spec I wanted. Must admit the man I went to asked what I needed it for and told me what It would cost and gave me advice about the components he was going to install. When I went to pick the computer up, he even gave me the box's that all the components came in, with all the literature, and garruntees. I'm like you would never build one myself just in case it went wrong.
regards ricky ;)
-
Ricky, me old mate, at least we are in agreement....what is interesting is that mine is a £100 more than the one you bought a few years ago and mine includes OEM XP Pro SP2 loaded with the updates, Office Basic and three (yes, three) 19" TFT monitors.
Admittedly one of the monitors is for the old PC.....the old CRT / conventional monitors appear to be a bit on the dangerous side.
Al
-
Goodness, I go off for the day to the 'big' city and what happens ???
The real question/answer is horses for courses. Arquebus and I both produce (he for his clients, me for commission and exhibition) very large graphic files. It's not just the final image size that is important, it is the processing that is involved while producing the images. I can sometimes have as many as 10 - 20 large graphics files open while I'm creating an image - and many layers. A Pentium III with 256 Ram would just collapse in a heap.
I think ArQ's question was what was the best configuration for just this kind of work. It seems strange that anyone would suggest that he gets something with 256 Ram and says nothing about the video card ???
There's no need for a poll. We'll use our biggies, others with less demanding needs can use their smaller spec PCs. Personally, I prefer Apples but somehow got trapped in the PC hole about 10 years ago ???
I think Falkyrn gave the best advice on page one of this thread ;)
Horses for courses :)
Gadget
PS - and I have said nothing about the monitor - very important and a graphics tablet and a printer for proofing
-
Well at least Gadget appears to comprehend the 'situation'....
When I first started using PCs and AutoCad, I had to use a tablet (Calcomp, I think it was)....largely because I had leaned to 'draft' the real way (with a pencil and pen on a drawing board....I needed a substitute for the board I guess)....
Now?..... it is just more clutter and more things to go wrong, so I use a Laser or Optical mouse and work from the screen and program menus.
I forgot to mention CAD.....when I am working with Graphics/Photo Editing packages, I also have to have CAD open at the same time.....virtually all my clients do their files in CAD.
Another reason why I am not down the MAC route.
Al.
-
Well at least Gadget appears to comprehend the 'situation'....
I feel a bit like Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon - THe Doctor is in :D
When I first started using PCs and AutoCad, I had to use a tablet (Calcomp, I think it was)....largely because I had leaned to 'draft' the real way (with a pencil and pen on a drawing board....I needed a substitute for the board I guess)....
Now?..... it is just more clutter and more things to go wrong, so I use a Laser or Optical mouse and work from the screen and program menus.
I just have a very large work area. I couldn't do without my graphics tablet. I'm left handed so the tablet is on the left and my mouse (which I've always used with my right hand) is on the right - ambidextrous working :)
Gadget - coffee in the middle :D
-
Sinistro Eh?......a la Jimi Hendrix....(nicht sprechen sie Deutsch)
I can do a paradiddle with my feet.....ambi-ped-something-strus.