New computer trilemma

[mypasswordis]

RAID isn't a backup. Windows 7 has a reasonable automatic backup system. the iMac would have Time Machine, which is awesome.

He doesn't mean backup of the OS/registry crap, he means a backup of data storage through mirroring drives. More or less unnecessary if going with SSD.

[Knuckledragger]

It sounds like you're going to build a Windows box, but I must cast a votefor a Mac. I'm kind of biased on the subject. You can stay with Intel chips that way. Max will convert between just about any two audio formats. Also, as I'm sure you know, it's quite possible to run Windows on Intel-based Macs. I use Foobar in Windows to do advanced file conversion an tag editing and then play back FLACs in Clementine. Clem is not perfect, but it the best FLAC app on OSX in my experience. It supports last.fm out of the box, too.

If you do decide to play games again, Steam is now on the Mac as well...

[mypasswordis]

i know what he means. it's still not a backup. there are many ways that all drives in an array can lose data.

Of course, but mirroring disks decreases the chances data is lost through whatever freak accidents/damaged sectors/etc... thus backup. You could increase data redundancy by mirroring entire servers, too.

[grawk]

Mirroring entire servers actually serves to make data less reliable, not more, if both are up at the same time...

[Salt Peanuts]

i wish i could just buy Macs instead of building machines.

Oh yeah, I'd rather have a new iMac or MBP as well. I mostly miss the physical process of building a pc more than anything.

[Torpedo]

RAID isn't a backup. Windows 7 has a reasonable automatic backup system. the iMac would have Time Machine, which is awesome.

I know, but considering my own back up strategies and lack of consistency it's a safe way to have better coverage than I'm having now. I'd keep copying from time to time the relevant files to an external.

The monitor's already in a landfill, you just haven't hit that point in time yet

Yes, I know, I'm resisting myself to accept that a nicely working device isn't practical and is obsolete. However that doesn't change it has an image quality that I can't find yet on LCD displays. This thing set up at 100Hz is fatigue free, and offers a level of detail and color quality which I think is very good. I may get bigger displays in a way thinner presentation, but not really "better". More convenient probably yes, but that's all. If I were to accept the monitor change as a necessity, I'd be more prone to get the iMac. In the worst case, if it's not up to the performance I expect, and I keep missing Windows applications, I may sell it for a loss and building the standard PC anytime.

I've just checked macrumours to see if it's a good time to buy an iMac, and looks like it'a not, an update is expected. I wonder if more performance for about the same price. This doesn't help much. I'll try to get the current machine working a few days/weeks more, so I can see if the iMac has more bonus points than the form factor. Is it safe buying a new Mac model as soon as it comes out?

Knuckles, what mac do you use with Windows? Bootcamp or parallels?

Edited April 19, 2011 by Torpedo

[grawk]

It's better in that it's a lower power usage, and lcds don't flicker, so the 100hz thing isnt' really relevant...

[Torpedo]

It's better in that it's a lower power usage, and lcds don't flicker, so the 100hz thing isnt' really relevant...

Mmm I'd need a lot of energy savings to justify the change, but thanks for the hint

[Salt Peanuts]

i finished building one 15 minutes ago. it's not that fun.

Probably doesn't help that you get paid for it.

[Torpedo]

i bet the contrast on that CRT is a lot worse now than it was when it was new.

You're evil. But you are damn right too. Contrast hasn't improved over the years. Nor will my vision.

[grawk]

The Onion has a suggestion.

[Dusty Chalk]

if you aren't a hard core gamer demanding 95 frames per millisecond in Crysis 6: Return Of The Silly Aliens, there wouldn't be any reason to get a high end card.

Video editing or OpenCL or Cuda programming would be the only other reasons.

i finished building one 15 minutes ago. it's not that fun.

Just curious -- what's wrong with it? I've actually found getting into computers easier (and more fun) with time, they seem to be more conducive to actually getting into, rather than trying to keep users out.

[Dusty Chalk]

Ah.

[Knuckledragger]

Knuckles, what mac do you use with Windows? Bootcamp or parallels?

When I was running 10.5, I had XP under VMWare Fusion. My lappy went into Apple to be repaired, and when I got it back the HDD was wipe. I upgraded to 10.6 and have not re-installed any Windows arrangement. I keep around a wheezy old Pentium IV box for running Exact Audio Copy and Foobar.

TBH, as much as you love your CRT, you owe it to yourself and your eyes to go take a good long look at Apple monitors. They are SEXY. Great gamma, which means deep blacks, lots of low level (dark) detail, and better resolution of highlights as well. Apple monitors are spendy and probably above your budget, but srsly, go look.

[HDen]

You should properly look into s-ips, h-ips displays, there's plenty of them at a good prices, and it doesn't have to be apple. I pasted a link earlier with information about this.

[Torpedo]

Thanks knuckles. I've been watching the 27" one in the iMac and it's among the best LCDs I've seen so far. I don't know if the cinema displays are even better. They're expensive, that's all I know about them, and that some years ago, they were made by Samsung and you could get them way cheaper directly, but not all Samsungs were the same as Apple used.

Let's suppose I bite the iMac. Would you get an i3 dual core, lower video card, 8Gb RAM but SSD + HDD, better than the i5 quad core with higher video card, 8Gb of RAM, but no SSD? Both options would set me back about the same.

[Torpedo]

You should properly look into s-ips, h-ips displays, there's plenty of them at a good prices, and it doesn't have to be apple. I pasted a link earlier with information about this.

Yay mate thanks, however I couldn't make much of that list, all links lead to Amazon purchasing pages, but no real reviews, pics or technical explanations.

[HDen]

the page is only for the model names and to know which lcd uses what technology, if you want reviews you can just google the lcd name, A very good one I know about is the Dell U2711 for example. I'm not sure about the prices in Europe, but that along with an i5 computer should set you back around $2000 total, maybe even less.

[Torpedo]

Oh thanks for the Dell tip, I always forget about them

[Driftwood]

RAID isn't a backup. Windows 7 has a reasonable automatic backup system. the iMac would have Time Machine, which is awesome.

RAID is absolutely not a backup. I've had RAID systems where the controller malfunctions and destroys the data. RAID is intended to provide higher availability.

You might feel good about how your data is redundant until something goes wrong and you lose everything anyway. There is no substitute for having your data on two separate systems.

[grawk]

and yet that's all the backup most of the data on my supercomputer has.

[Torpedo]

Computer still works, but the problem wasn't the SCSI stuff. It shut down itself even with the Adaptec card removed. Looks like I'll have to speed this up a bit. Almost decided to get an iMac and retiring the CRT, however:

- What do you think would offer better overall performance: i3 + SSD, or quad i5 with no SSD. Considering 27" screen resolution and image quality, is it worth investing in the better GPU? Price wise the i3 + SSD + HDD + lower model GPU would be about the same as the Quad i5 + HDD + higher model GPU.

- Does the iMac benefit that much of 8Gb RAM instead of 4?

- Should I wait for the soon to happen iMac upgrade? If that's highly advisable, I'd try to use the MBP alone until the new iMac is launched. I really like much better working on a desktop, but if the update is going to happen soon I could wait a few weeks.

[grawk]

Computer still works, but the problem wasn't the SCSI stuff. It shut down itself even with the Adaptec card removed. Looks like I'll have to speed this up a bit. Almost decided to get an iMac and retiring the CRT, however:

- What do you think would offer better overall performance: i3 + SSD, or quad i5 with no SSD. Considering 27" screen resolution and image quality, is it worth investing in the better GPU? Price wise the i3 + SSD + HDD + lower model GPU would be about the same as the Quad i5 + HDD + higher model GPU.

For most people, having the operating system and paging space on an SSD will make more of a performance difference than anything else you can do, bar none.

- Does the iMac benefit that much of 8Gb RAM instead of 4?

If you do something that requires it. Probably not, tho. You can add more memory later on the imac easily, and it will be much cheaper than paying apple for it

- Should I wait for the soon to happen iMac upgrade? If that's highly advisable, I'd try to use the MBP alone until the new iMac is launched. I really like much better working on a desktop, but if the update is going to happen soon I could wait a few weeks.

Yes, if you can wait, wait. It looks like an update is coming REALLY soon.

[Torpedo]

OK, thanks Dan. I'll keep using this PC until it crashes, which hopefully will happen after the new iMac is released. However I'll check some LCD monitors prices and PC hardware, still not completely decided to follow the iMac route

[Dusty Chalk]

Or you could get a Mac Mini and a Displayport adapter.